On Premises vs. the Oracle Cloud – How to Know If Cloud Technology Is Right for You

Whew! This has been quite a journey these last few blogs as we’ve discussed everything cloud, including the significant differences between Oracle Cloud ERP and Oracle on-premises ERP, how to make the right business technology decision for your needs, and how to start framing your software strategy so you end up with the right solution for your business’s future.

Here in Part 4 of the series, we’ll wrap up our learning with a look at your options for cloud technology beyond Oracle ERP Cloud, and we’ll talk about best practices for modern software implementations (both cloud and on-premises).

Your Options for Cloud Technology – More Than Simply Cloud ERP

Years ago, when the cloud first became popular, most people grew to know the cloud through SaaS (Software as a Service).

SaaS programs offered recognizable functionality online that users had been using on their desktops previously, such as spreadsheets, invoicing, and much, much more.

Because of these early tools (still popular today), which introduced most people to cloud technology, “the cloud” is often viewed simply as a collection of programs available online and ready for mobile access. Oracle Cloud ERP would fit this category, along with the entire Oracle Cloud Applications line up, but there’s so much more to the cloud than just SaaS.

Oracle offers a wide variety of robust cloud technology, including:

• IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service)

  This cloud technology option offers a cloud-based infrastructure you can use to house your workloads (both Oracle and non-Oracle), which can reduce some of your IT burden and spend while ensuring that you always have the power and elasticity you need to support rapid business evolution.

• PaaS (Platform as a Service)

  PaaS cloud technology simplifies the development process for companies looking to create internal or client-facing apps in onshore and offshore environments. PaaS also provides a secure method for implementing DRaaS (Disaster Recovery as a Service), which is a lightning-fast business continuity solution that replicates your systems in real time and offers nearly instantaneous failover in the event of a business interruption.

  In fact, there’s a lot more to cloud technology than you ever thought possible, so your best bet is to ask a cloud expert when you’re ready for more information.

Best Practices for Modern Software Implementations

Now that you know there’s a lot more to the cloud than you thought, and you also know that cloud technology may not be a direct replica of its on-premises counterpart, it makes sense that you always need to carefully investigate the details and make no assumptions about cloud capabilities.

Since you know these facts, the best practices for modern software solutions should make perfect sense to you:

1. Always create a clear business case that justifies cloud expenditures.
2. Apply a “postmodern” approach to your cloud technology or on-premises technology implementations.

Let’s unpack these just a bit because what these two best practices are saying, in essence, is that you should look before you leap into the cloud and you should add on to your systems piecemeal, or only as needed.

Best Practices Explained

Looking before you leap into cloud technology – that’s a given. Even if you’re adopting a “cloud first” strategy for your business, you’ll still carefully weigh the capabilities and value of cloud solutions versus on-premises before you make a choice. You may choose to simply stick with the on-premises software you currently own until the cloud technology alternative you want is mature enough to meet your needs, or you may choose another path, but either way, you’ll do your homework first.

Again, this first practice makes complete sense to most businesses, so we don’t need to belabor the point.

What seems less common-sense is the idea of a postmodern implementation, in which you mix and match your solutions, adding and removing smaller pieces of functionality in order to maintain your agility, which ensures you always have a dynamic solution that meets your evolving requirements.

Where this idea of postmodern implementation gets really interesting, however, is when you use it to migrate your business software over to cloud technology.

You’ve probably already heard that cloud is not “all or nothing,” so therefore, by using a postmodern approach, companies can begin their cloud journey right now and take advantage of competitive cloud technology immediately. After implementing a few cloud solutions, transformational companies can then continue their gradual transition to the cloud over the next decade as cloud solutions become ever-more powerful.

This approach is worth consideration by all companies, so it’s a good idea to find out more and round out your knowledge.

Learn more about the postmodern approach and find out why Gartner research firm advises that you start your cloud technology research process immediately. Download the Gartner report, “What Oracle ERP Customers Need to Know About Oracle Cloud Applications,” to get the facts you need to succeed with your business’s cloud or on-premises future.

Thank you for sticking with us through every part of this lengthy, four-part investigation into Oracle Cloud and on-premises solutions. If you have additional questions, Centroid is always available to help you get answers.