The “information superhighway,” which was sometimes referred to as the infobahn, was a popular term used through the 1990s to refer to digital communication systems and the Internet telecommunications network. It is associated with United States Senator and later Vice-President Al Gore. Today, we mostly call it the digital highway. And it’s the road on which digital transformation takes place.
Let’s start by agreeing that your digital journey is a marathon versus a sprint.
Let’s also agree on the distinction between digitization and digitalization. The former, digitization, is simply the process of changing from analog to digital form and could refer to something as common as moving from hard copy documents to soft copy, i.e. going paperless. It’s a step in the right direction, and perhaps it was once considered to be transformational. But today, it’s merely a given, as in “who hasn’t done that?”
The latter, digitalization, is a giant step beyond that first one. It’s defined as the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities; it is the process of moving to a digital business.
Moving your ERP to the cloud constitutes a new business model, and is therefore transformational.
For many companies, cloud ERP has been a difficult choice. Running ERP software on-premise felt safe. Knowing exactly where your ERP software resided (often in a server closet) felt secure. Moving to an amorphous place called the cloud felt like you were relinquishing control. Let’s be honest. It was a little scary and it involved a leap of faith since you can no longer see the servers on which “your” software runs.
And beyond that, in most cases, it’s not actually “your” software anymore. You don’t own it. You “lease” it on a monthly subscription basis, like a magazine. Again, to be honest, you are in fact relinquishing some control since updates and patches and even upgrades are performed automatically. You need to come to terms with relinquishing those kinds of controls is a good thing. It’s more efficient and more cost-effective. And perhaps most importantly, it’s actually more secure.
The cloud is actually a world-class data center with far deeper pockets than yours. World-class data centers deploy world-class security, above and beyond what you could possibly afford to deploy in your server closet or your own data center.
Transformative change requires a new mindset and a new business model. That’s what makes it transformational and that’s also what makes it a giant step in your digital journey on that digital highway that we spoke about at the beginning of this article.
Ready? Or Not?
Bond Consulting Services (BCS) understands that despite the advantages of cloud ERP, some of you are not ready to make that move. We implement and support both on-premise ERP software solutions like Microsoft Dynamics GP and cloud ERP systems like Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Dynamics 365 Business Central. And we’ll work with you to determine the absolute best fit for your organization.
Visit us at www.BondConsultingServices.com or just pick up the phone and call 562-988-3451.
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