Making the move to cloud based EDI Solutions

Whether you’re new to EDI or currently using an on premise based infrastructure solution, you may soon be considering the switch to a cloud based solution. The term ‘cloud’ is used to describe when something is accessed/ ran over a network connection and is no longer required to be stored locally. Cloud based solutions are seen to many as an unknown area, simply because in relation to other solutions they are fairly new to the market. However, many of us use cloud based solutions on a daily basis, such as Gmail, Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

Here are a few things to consider if you are thinking about adopting a cloud based EDI solution:

• Replace on premise infrastructure – Cloud based EDI solutions can replace on premise infrastructure and therefore do not require any further investment into expensive hardware. All cloud based EDI solutions can be fully integrated with ERP software solutions, e.g. SAP, Oracle etc.
• Scalability – As your business grows, as does your cloud based solution. Because your solution is based in the cloud, you are also able to increase and decrease its size if your needs are heavily driven by seasons for example, and as you only pay for what you use; this is easily adjusted for your needs. Whereas previously, if you needed to increase storage space, this would have been a rather costly and time consuming process.
• Reduced risks and increase knowledge share – It is no longer necessary for your organisation to employ a large IT team or staff with advanced EDI knowledge, as you are now outsourcing to experts whose core business is EDI solutions.  Investing money into new on premise solutions was always a risky business, especially with new technologies; but with cloud based solutions these risks are removed and your EDI supplier will only ever release updates when they have been rigorously tested and their solutions will always be backed by 24/7 support.
• Continually backed up – Ensuring that your files are continually backed up is often a very difficult and ensuring that multiple versions are kept at any one time incase of an emergency can be tricky. However, with a cloud based solution you are able to rely upon your provider to carry out the back up and data protection tasks, all of this is done remotely.
• Access anywhere, anytime – Obtaining access to your traditional EDI solutions off site until recently was almost unheard of. But since the introduction of cloud based solutions more and more businesses are accessing their EDI systems from wherever they are; link this with a mobile app setup with the system, you can monitor your EDI system no matter where you are.

Summary

All in all, cloud computing may still be a relatively new addition to the EDI solutions market, but it is certainly here to stay and is already proving to provide big improvements to companies who are both new to EDI or are switching from an on premise based solution.