As your business grows, your processes become more complex, more demands are placed on your time and resources, and your customers expect more. Dealing with bigger demands doesn’t have to mean bigger budgets and more headcount.

Today, cloud computing is transforming how small and midsize companies do business by making it easier to address growth challenges. Afraid that cloud becomes a more expensive investment in the long run? When looking at the out-of-pocket investments or the ‘total cost of usage’ – so the total costs for purchasing and maintaining an on-premise solution, it turns out that the investment for a cloud solution does not necessarily have to be more expensive.

When browsing the web, you have probably seen the “on-premise versus cloud iceberg” figure which is perfectly able visually to indicate the difference in costs between the two. In summary, with on-premise, you’ll see that the initial purchase and annual license costs are above the ‘water’. However, additional costs include hardware maintenance, downtime, and ongoing IT management costs are ‘below the surface’. By contrast, with a cloud solution, you know in advance exactly what the costs are. In addition, IT management is included in the monthly fee, updates are performed automatically and you do not have to worry about data & performance. Your IT department only needs to manage the system purely at a functional level.

What advantages does cloud offer?

• Work smarter, not harder.
  The cloud opens up new and efficient ways of working, including being able to stay productive from anywhere and access data and insights that improve your customer interactions. With a business management system, processes like entering orders and processing invoicing can be automated to free up your team to focus on other tasks, effectively getting more work done with the same amount of people.
• Reduce upfront and operating costs.
  Rather than spend up front on servers, software, and services, the cloud offers a pay-as-you-go model that allows you to scale as you grow. Cloud-based business solutions from Microsoft and Boltrics give you big company capabilities—plus reliable performance, enterprise-grade security, and low maintenance — all without a big company price tag.
• Transform your business.
  Transform IT from a headache into a flexible, affordable driver of innovation. As an emerging business, you can now use technology to automate operational processes and provide more personalized customer experiences. With the flexibility of the cloud, you can scale your business solution quickly and with minimal upfront costs, allowing you to actively implement ideas generated throughout the organization.
• One single point of contact.
  Cloud offers the advantage of having one single point of contact for both managing your system and application. For example, making sure your SQL database environment runs smooth. In an on-premise environment, this is usually managed by your (external) system administrator. But he or she lacks the knowledge and expertise surrounding this topic. As a result, performance decreases and uncertainty arises where these performance issues come from. Is this the responsibility of your system administrator or your software vendor? With cloud, you are eliminating this uncertainty because IT management is the responsibility of one party.

Are you ready for the cloud?

With flexible, scalable technology that simplifies your logistics and operational processes, and helps you work more efficiently, you’ve got what you need to make a bigger impact with the resources you already have.

When to choose for on-premise or cloud?

If you have an excellent server park and a strong IT department, then an on-premise may be preferable. When the server park becomes outdated in the (nearby) future or when you want to outsource IT management, it is always possible to switch from on-premise to cloud. Whether you choose on-premise or cloud, Boltrics is here to guide you every step of the way in your journey. Let us help you explore what 3PL Dynamics can do for your business today and in the future.