Global service organizations need to migrate to the Cloud to maintain a competitive and operational edge – IDC reports
In a recent IDC Buyer’s Guide, they present the case for Cloud migration: highlighting the competitive benefits that can be gained, the considerations organizations need to consider during their digital transformation journey, and what to consider when choosing a Cloud ERP vendor.
One organization reported to IDC, highlighting the need for digital maturity to handle disruption, that “we can’t be resilient without the right technology. We rely on our ERP system to keep us resilient.”
In addition to advising on digital transformation strategy, IDC duly highlights the issues that legacy systems will cause, and their impropriety in handling market disruption, large datasets, and meeting the modern expectations of an organization.
Keep reading to learn how to form your digital transformation strategy, what the market trends show, as well as how legacy systems will hinder growth.
The Current Market Trends
In general, IDC finds that 51% of organizations already consider themselves a digital business, while 49% are still transforming.
This statistic highlights the contesting nature of those organizations with digital systems and those with legacy systems, as the former will likely find huge benefits from digital maturity. This is affirmed in the guide as an organization reported to IDC that “moving to the Cloud was the only way we have been able to remain competitive.”
Of those who are transforming, the top three priorities when digitally transforming are:
- 30% want to find a return on investment quickly
- 24% want to reduce costs of current systems
- 23% want easy execution of their digital transformation strategy
When asked to name their vision of the perfect ERP system, these were the top three features named:
- A modern and intelligent system that enables our business to scale, with speed and agility (53%)
- One digital platform that handles all our internal and external workflows (41%)
- Integrated digital workflows without manual workflows (37%)
The Benefits of Cloud ERP
Cloud ERP is the solution that these organizations need to: reduce costs, scale with speed and agility, integrate internal and external workflows, as well as reduce manual workloads - this suggests that Cloud migration is a case not of if, but when.
Those organizations who report being a digital business were asked how their digital transformation with Cloud ERP impacted their business outcomes, they named three top areas of benefit:
- Improved visibility (42%)
- Digitally enabled (39%)
- Optimized processes (38%)
- AI leveraged to monitor, provide insights, and predict (38%)
IDC’s findings make clear that the right Cloud ERP will enable organizations greater visibility and insight into and across their data by integrating it into a common data model.
The Cloud is key not just to reducing costs and optimizing processes but also to providing organizations with more strategic insight into their business operations, allowing them to make data-led decisions when it comes to navigating turbulent market conditions that show no sign of going away.
What should organizations consider when evaluating Cloud ERP vendors?
For those seeking successful digital transformation, there are key areas they should focus on when evaluating vendors to ensure they find a return on their digital investment and that technology aligns with corporate strategy.
IDC highlights that the main focus of digital transformation should be to breed resilient operations that can navigate disruption effectively. This naturally requires strategic insight and agile operations.
Global talent shortages still affect the office of the CFO, but an ERP vendor with an intelligent AI capability can support these teams by reducing the effects of manual workloads. Change management is key here, as identified by IDC, such as ensuring ethical AI governance is being followed and teams are onboarded appropriately.
AI can also support teams in becoming strategic, using data visualization techniques to ensure strategic insight is understood by all teams, while also providing teams with more time to focus on strategy rather than manual tasks.
New enforcement of sustainability and ESG reporting compliance means all business functions need improved data visibility, and integrated data models, to tackle this increasingly important requirement.
Employees remain unengaged and integrated HR and financial data is required for workforce planning and data-led talent strategies to make the most of current teams and improve retention and engagement across the employee experience.
Final Thoughts
It’s clear that those using legacy systems will struggle to navigate the uncertainty and disruption of today’s markets but will also suffer under future disruption.
Those organizations that are investing in digital transformation will find huge benefits in the Cloud, not just cost efficiency, allowing them to refocus on business continuity, operations, and strategic thinking.
A recent Nucleus report finds that Cloud migrations have improved their return on investment by 12.5%, and in the coming two years will continue to increase the return on investment by at least another additional 10%. Yet, on-premises costs are likely to keep increasing.
Those who want to breed organizational resilience must embrace digital transformation and Cloud-enabled capabilities to refocus on strategic management of their operations and costs to navigate turbulent market conditions today and in the future.
To learn more about IDC’s findings on Cloud adoption trends, read the infographic. Consult Unit4’s website to learn more about how our digital solutions can breed resilience and strategic thinking in your organization, or book a demo today.
