Migrating your financial data to the cloud can feel daunting. It requires investment, meticulous planning, and the potential for temporary disruption to daily operations. However, the benefits of a cloud-based enterprise resource planning system will make the initial challenges worth it in the long term.

These benefits can include reduced operating costs, streamlined and automated processes, and increased agility for finance teams — critical competitive advantages in today’s economy. 

Only 27% of finance teams have fully moved to the cloud, according to insightsoftware research published in September. Sixty-two percent operate in a hybrid setting with both on-premises systems and cloud applications, while 11% use only an on-premises infrastructure. Of those who haven’t migrated, 42% plan to do so within the next year, with nearly 50% planning a migration within the next two years.

The cloud has been around for some time, so why are some finance teams just now beginning their migration journey? 

First, vendors and legacy platforms are pushing their customers to the cloud. Second, implementing a new ERP system is a significant undertaking, and challenges such as deploying new technology, migrating legacy data, and training employees across the organization require considerable time and resources. 

While some initial productivity dips may be unavoidable during the transition period, the right strategies and tools can minimize disruption and pave the way for a smoother, more successful implementation.

Derisking the migration

Planning is a critical first step. The data migration process presents significant complexities and risks, such as downtime, especially when implementing a hybrid model where data consistency between on-premises and cloud environments is paramount.

To ensure a smooth transition, prioritize the following:

• Robust data backup: Implement a comprehensive data backup strategy to protect against unexpected setbacks and data loss during migration.

• Strategic data assessment: Identify your essential data and prioritize its migration. This ensures that critical information is readily available in the cloud environment.

• Data accessibility and transformation: Ensure your data can be quickly accessed, combined and transformed to meet your evolving business needs.

Maintaining reporting consistency is vital. Organizations need to maintain their responsiveness in challenging economic conditions, making data-informed decisions wherever their IT teams are in the process. Best-of-breed solutions can ensure that financial and operational reporting is consistent before and after the migration, enabling self-service, customizable reporting that never leaves your organization flat-footed.

Choosing the right software

Selecting the right cloud ERP solution is critical to your journey. From an innovative roadmap to early delivery of AI capabilities, the right ERP can help your organization scale. But just as important is ensuring you are positioned to derive the most value out of your investment. While cloud solutions have vastly improved native reporting offerings over their on-premises predecessors, many adopters are finding that self-service reporting remains out of reach, either through complexity or cost. Best-of-breed solutions can help ensure these investments deliver the ROI you require. 

When deciding, carefully consider your business needs and goals, software integration capabilities, the implementation process, and the importance of an intuitive user interface to minimize your team's learning curve.

Empowering your team

Cloud ERP adoption provides organizations of all sizes an opportunity to renew their culture and break down silos, both of teams and data. As more organizations bring more lines of business closer to their finance strategy, new technology adoption presents a key opportunity to improve productivity, collaboration and resource efficiency.

Early and comprehensive employee training on the new ERP system is essential for smooth transition and continued productivity during migration, as is increasing their self-reliance with a new system, freeing up your organization’s technical resources to focus on other optimization efforts, such as implementing AI initiatives. 

Moving from an on-premises ERP to the cloud represents a significant shift, especially for finance teams, who may have relied on the same processes for years. Effective training empowers employees to identify areas for increased productivity, including the ability to easily and responsively customize financial views and reports that provide your organization with critical financial data.