Is Cloud ERP Safe

[Arsslan]

Hi,

Please can some one tell me is Cloud ERP Safe to use for your business ?

THanks

[Dani]

I have no clue what that is.

[rproffitt]

I've read such claims before and my view is it's inherently unsafe. That is, if your business ERP is its lifeblood and the cloud provider you used is shut off by any of the usual methods or events then your business is toast.

Nod to https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2012/08/06/apple-co-founder-steve-wozniak-distrusts-the-cloud-is-he-right/?sh=43af80ce6042

If you do decide to go with a cloud solution, does it also have a system you can run on your own local server?
If not, that cloud ERP is unsafe.

[Dani]

I just googled what an ERP is.

I would trust a cloud solution over an in house platform / intranet any day of the week.

Just switched recently from Quickbooks Desktop to Quickbooks Online.

I mean, I guess it ultimately depends on what resources are available in-house. If it's between outsourcing a cloud solution to an enterprise that's known to have reliable uptimes, versus running critical functionality on a dusty server in the corner of the room, with a hard drive that can fail at any time, and a systems admin who works remotely due to covid, and is only on-site an hour a week, then, for me, there's just no question.

[rproffitt]

My brother is turning off his Quickbooks Cloud in a few months. Why? Recent price increases and he can do the accounting without their cloud.

As to server reliability it's not hard to make your own cloud. Also, in over 2 decades we've yet to see a hard drive failure. Why? We get reports ahead of time with SMART plus we know what to look out for.

[Dani]

The hard drive for the 2.5 year old Dell Precision workstation sitting in the corner of my office just recently failed. It runs our security card swipe system. It's in my locked office in New York. I'm in California. All I could manage to do is buy a brand new server, walk my mom's contractor/handyman through turning it on and connecting it to the router, and installing TeamViewer. It was an all day affair.

On another occassion, the local DVR failed. Switching to cloud-based cameras has been a lifesaver.

[jwenting]

Public cloud solutions may be cheaper and convenient in the short term, in the long term they're expensive, brittle, and leave you open to the whims of a third party (or multiple third parties) for the availability and security of your data.

That may be a risk you're willing to take, but I for one (and my customers and employers agree) wouldn't trust any mission critical data and process to such a system.

There were several examples recently of hundreds if not thousands of websites and systems going down at the same time because a public cloud provider (be it Amazon, Google, or whomever) had problems and had to take their servers down for hours.
There are also examples of companies completely destroyed because their public cloud provider suddenly decided to cancel their contracts. Think Parler who lost everything when Amazon (they were built on AWS) for political reasons (Amazon's management are Biden supporters, Parler's management are Trump supporters) shut down their contract without warning, leaving Parler with no product, no user information to even contact their users about what happened, and no income stream.
And of course that's not just public cloud providers. Youtube has done similar things to their content creators, deleting channels without warning because someone didn't like the content they were posting (despite it not breaking any TOS clause). Twitter can ban you for no reason and you have no recourse, as can Facebook, and if you're business is built on those platforms you now have no business.

Yeah, think of that when you sign up for a public service to build your business model around.

[meayrs]

I think it would depend on the provider and what security protocols they have in place. Microsoft Dynamics is supposed to be uber secure. I use QuickBooks Online as well and have 2FA in place. Still, I'm not sure how secure their backend is. Hopefully, it's not as bad as T-Mobile's...lol.

[rproffitt]

For meayrs, it's time to read https://www.upguard.com/breaches/power-apps

[TyaSuite]

It was back then in the '90s when the term ERP came into the picture for centralized data management. Around a decade later, Netsuite came up with the Cloud ERP thing, and it has been evolving since then.

Back then, several issues held the reasons for cloud ERP failures, like - Internet speed issues, cloud security from intruders, downtime, etc.

Well, it's almost 3 decades since then and the Cloud ERP is now something businesses prefer over on-premise systems which helps them save a lot of costs and make quick and smarter module choices as per their preferences and priorities.

Apart from being smart and scalable, the Cloud ERP systems are highly secure. I have been working with various clients in this business for so many years and have a long list of successful implementations without any issues. Organizations are preferring such solutions and the Industry is highly reliable on them, with the reducing workforce and affordability concerns for internal software and teams.

Now, coming to your query there are multiple cloud ERP solutions available in the market, which are highly safe and have no issues with the Cloud.

I would suggest preferring a solution using Amazon Cloud (AWS) which is the safest and has zero downtime. Rest you can have your contract with the Vendors providing you with all the necessary support. It's just about selecting the best service for you based on your budget and time.

Hope this helps!