The business is growing, this is excellent news. It also presents some situations that will take careful research and decision-making. Expanding the reach and scope of the business model may have already pointed out that the company has Outgrown Quickbooks. This is not unexpected since QB is designed for the small business profile. It doesn’t make using it a bad choice. It can, however, make it necessary to migrate the business to a more flexible and robust solution. Stop-gap measures will only work for so long before they become costly. An article in Entrepreneur points out some of the signs of outgrowth to look for as a starting point.
What happens next is due diligence in researching the products available as the next level in the company’s growth and development. Looking at the pros and cons of using an on-premise solution vs. a hosted or cloud-based option. It also means that the scalability must be there to handle any up or downturns in the economy and business requirements so that transitions are as seamless as possible.
On-premise which, realistically, is the first and traditional option looked at does have its good points and its drawbacks. One drawback is the upfront cost of procuring the software package and any expanded IT equipment and/or personnel needed. Yes, it feels more secure, more in control of the company intel. However, any in-house customization by the IT crew can be disabled or wiped out by updates to the package. Avoiding that pitfall can mean delaying upgrading the software for the sake of convenience. This is not the best option, it means boxing the business into an ERP crisis. The solution provider needs to be part of the overall picture, finding the right answer to the upgrade dilemma is a mission critical issue.
Cloud-based or ‘hosted’ solutions offer flexibility as well as robust scalability along with updates applied continually as the software is improved. There is less opportunity for the business to outstrip the capacity of the software to keep in step. Customization and training can be offered through the solution provider without the need for the business to add specialists to their core IT team. The extra benefit to cloud-based systems is business continuity during major facility/physical changes or even recovery from a disaster.
The company will want a solution provider that doesn’t just sell and run. A business needs an ERP partner and that provider needs to be partnered with the software manufacturer. It’s a direct chain that begins with the decision of which software package is right and proceeds with implementation and full support. The provider your business is looking for should be Technology Management Concepts (TMC). TMC offers Dynamics GP, Dynamics NAV, and Dynamics CRM as an MS Gold Certified Partner. As a Fully Certified Netsuite partner TMC offers the Netsuite ERP solution. For full in formation on how TMC can take your business to the next level contact us. We look forward your inquiry.
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