QAD : The Continued Shift to Tech On Demand

It's been several years since manufacturing companies started the shift to using technology in the cloud. On Demand technology makes sense in so many ways, and nothing could have proven the point more dramatically than the recent pandemic-driven changes and adaptations most companies had to undergo.

Adaptive Manufacturing Enterpriseshave an advantage over other manufacturing companies right from the start because the ability to innovate and change business models is part of their DNA. Many of these companies moved to the cloud early, either by upgrading their existing ERP systems to a newer cloud-based version, or by starting over with a new solution and technology stack optimized for the cloud.

They took that shift to tech on demand as an opportunity to revisit business processes to eliminate unnecessary steps and improve efficiency and productivity. And even if they started the cloud journey without realizing how anERP solutionand platform in the cloud would help them become more adaptive, they soon discovered themany advantages. Here are a few of the things customers tell us they most like about their shift to on demand technology.

The news is full of scary stories about hackers invading business systems to steal personal data and trade secrets, or even to hold the systems for ransom. Sometimes it seems like there's nothing anyone can do to stop the hacking. Many people assume their systems are safer on premise than inthe cloud, but the opposite is true.

Companies still using on premise business solutions have it tough when it comes to susceptibility. They have limited budgets and limited staff, and the staff is spread thin helping users, performing backups andupgrades, and writing reports or system modifications to meet users' needs.

Cybersecurity is also their responsibility, but they usually don't have the luxury of monitoring all the news about potential hacks and security flaws. It's one responsibility among many.

On demand solutions have the latest in technology to detect intrusions and prevent hacking. They have processes in place to update and patch systems at any time of the day or night, as soon as the revised code is available. Security is a key part of their product offering, and they take it very seriously.

When you're running your key business systems on premise, you need to plan for upgrades and replacements for obsolete or failing hardware. You never know when your business may undergo a growth spurt or contraction. You need to plan to have capacity available for peak workload times, even if that capacity sits unused the rest of the time. It's a tough balancing act.

That's another worry that cloud computing takes off your plate. You know your monthly costs in advance, and you know what it will cost to accommodate a growth spurt. You don't need to worry about hardware failures or ensuring you have capacity for peak workloads. That's the job of your cloud provider.

The cloud provider can spread the cost of spare hardware or unused capacity over multiple customers, so the effect on your monthly license fees is minimized. And since customers follow different calendars, peak times will vary between them, allowing the cloud provider to service everyone without having hardware that sits idle much of the time.

Yourcloud provider guarantees performance. Period. They have the hardware, personnel and procedures to ensure they meet the performance guarantees.

Your in-house IT team cannot always guarantee performance. They are constrained by the lack of failover systems to use in case of catastrophe or unpredictable hardware failures. They may not have the staff in place to react immediately, or the skills to diagnose and repair issues quickly.

The same goes for uptime. Many people see the guaranteed uptime, also known as service levels in the cloud contract, and they think their own in-house systems do better.

But most companies don't measure up-time. When they do, they invariably find that on demand solutions provide better service levels than an in-house IT department can.

One of the most valuable attributes of cloud computing is its predictability. Uptime, service levels, response times, costs-all these variables that make running IT in-house so hard are no longer variables. There are contractual agreements, and your on demand solution provider makes sure to fulfill the contractual commitments.

Nobody can predict when a disaster will strike. Bad things can happen anywhere in the world at any time. If they happen to occur in the location near your in-house computing center, you could be down for hours. Days. Weeks. Or worse.

On demand providers have multiple computing centers in various parts of the world. Their computing centers have strong security, physical as well as cyber so they can react quickly to any threat. They have sophisticated failover procedures just in case anything does go wrong. Worst case, you'll experience a momentary blip, but even that is unlikely.

Teaming with customers and suppliers is a core part of the way manufacturers do business today, but when you run IT in-house, it can be hard to provide access to required information or applications while still ensuring the rest of yourdataremains secure.

Cloud providers ensure that their systems are accessible anytime from anywhere, and they have security built into their networks as well as the applications they provide that prevents access to any data-even individual fields-if the user isn't authorized to access it. As a result, manufacturers are free to open their systems to collaboration with customers and suppliers without fear that an innocent mistake or deliberate data piracy will leave them vulnerable.

If it sounds to you like cloud computing is the way to go, that's because it is. What on demand tech provides is peace of mind, so you can focus on running your business rather than worrying about IT details. Whether you are looking for a new ERP solution or considering upgrading from an existing system,QAD has the tools and technologiesto help you move to the cloud and become a moreadaptive manufacturing enterprise.