📺 Stream EntrepreneurTV for Free 📺

What is Your Plan for Business Transformation – Cloud Migration or Cloud Adoption? It's all about data, and what you do with it

By Kunal Nagarkatti

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Shutterstock.com

Data is the new oil, a very widely used and accepted phrase about the criticality of leveraging business data to optimize operations and facilitate informed decision making. If data is the new oil, then in order to succeed in the long run, an enterprise needs to ensure that its financial applications engine is top-notch. Managing humongous volume of data is a major challenge, not just for business behemoths, but also for SMEs.

The Thought Behind Your Cloud Strategy:

So, what does an enterprise do to ensure that they add more to the bottom line? How do they become prudent about CAPEX and optimize performance and TAT. Cloud has become a "go-to' solution for all optimization needs – infrastructure, performance, availability, accessibility, etc. But, is the "one solution, fits all' approach ideal? Is it just a trend that has sent businesses into a frenzy of cloud adoption, without linking their actual requirements with long term goals? Is there a particular approach that a business could take to ensure that its decision to move to the cloud doesn't result in a tumultuous journey ahead? The key lies in realizing the business requirements, short as well long-term objectives and also what you expect out of this significant shift.

Migration or Adoption?

A couple of decades ago, when businesses implemented on-premise ERPs in order to optimize their operations, these ERPs garnered a lot of appreciation for the value they added to the business. But, the business landscape has undergone a paradigm shift in the last two decades. In such a scenario, moving to the cloud brings a lot of advantages. What businesses fail to apprehend is that cloud migration mostly refers to the infrastructure benefits of the cloud. But, the most critical aspect that you need to realize is, "have you derived optimum value from your ERP'? Cloud migration or the "lift and shift' approach will undoubtedly lead to cost reduction, but will it ensure true business value? Any opportunity to leverage the new age business enablers such as digital, AI, mobility, automation, etc., is out of reach for a legacy on-premise ERP. So, when an enterprise can gain a competitive edge by harnessing the power of these enablers, is it really advisable to focus on only one aspect of cloud enablement? Enterprises should consider this aspect while devising their cloud migration strategy.

Adopt, to Transform:

In recent years, as businesses expanded and their requirements grew in scale and complexity, upgrades and customizations were often the solution to ensure return on their ERP investments. But, as a result of uninformed decisions or lack of intent from implementers, customizations have reached a stage where on-premise ERPs have turned too fragile to be taken to the cloud. Now, the route that businesses can take is to completely discard their legacy on-premise ERP, migration plans, and adopt cloud-based solutions such as Oracle Financial Cloud. Though it is not an easy decision, it is certainly a prudent one. This will not only ensure cost saving, but also empower your business with all the enablers that Oracle Financial Cloud has to offer.

Create a New Age Enterprise to Succeed:

Oracle Financial Cloud offers customized dashboards for quick and easy monitoring, performance augmentation and informed decision making. It also offers mobility solutions for easy, anytime, anywhere access to business data and reports. ERP Chatbots can be integrated with ERP to help decision-makers fetch reports and key data with a single query instead of going through a tedious extraction process. Enterprises could also explore the automation possibilities to streamline and expedite business processes. Adopting Oracle Financial Cloud from a legacy on-premise Oracle ERP is a critical decision, but it can give your business the thrust it needs to succeed in the long run. So, the most important question to ask yourself is: are you ready to transform your business? The answer will be key to formulating your Cloud strategy and roadmap.

Kunal Nagarkatti

COO, Clover Infotech

Marketing

How to Actually Get Returns in Your Marketing Efforts

The field of newsletter marketing offers a highly cost-efficient channel for achieving high ROI in promotional campaigns, thanks to new AI-powered tools that identify target audiences and track their engagement with ads, enabling the ability to optimize spend.

Franchise

These 5 Bad Habits Are Hurting Your Business — Here's How to Break Them

When you develop these negative habits, it can severely impact work performance and, because the behavior has become so routine, you may not even realize the harm you're causing. Here's how to tackle these 5 bad business habits head-on.

Business News

James Clear Explains Why the 'Two Minute Rule' Is the Key to Long-Term Habit Building

The hardest step is usually the first one, he says. So make it short.

Growing a Business

Hiring an Agency of Some Kind Is Inevitable as You Grow — These Are My Insider Recommendations For a Successful Agency Relationship.

For many entrepreneurs, hiring an agency — whether it's a PR agency, a branding agency or a sales training agency — is new ground. I've been in your shoes and I've worked on both sides; these are my suggestions to find the right agency partnership.

Side Hustle

3 Secrets to Starting a Small Business Side Hustle That Gives Your Day Job a Run for Its Money, According to People Who Did Just That — and Made Millions

Almost anyone can start a side hustle — but only those ready to level up can use it to out-earn their 9-5s.

Business News

These 'Expressive Avatar' Deepfakes From a Billion-Dollar AI Startup Look Scary Real — Here's Who's Already Using the Technology

Is that a real person or an AI clone? New technology makes it nearly impossible to tell.