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In this article we will focus on the important items to consider when looking to move from your legacy ERP to a cloud ERP. This is the fourth in a series of six articles in which we focus on digitally transforming your business with Acumatica, the Cloud ERP. Previously, we covered the 5 Reasons to Choose Acumatica ERP, Modern Field Service Management, and What to Expect in a Legacy Replacement.

1. Consider Integrations

The first item to consider and understand when upgrading your legacy solution is ease of integration. Legacy ERP systems are older, outdated software solutions that require the full attention of IT professionals to meet business needs. They tend to be a collection of siloed systems, rather than one integrated system. This can add unnecessary strain and expenses due to increasing maintenance costs for multiple system integrations.

With Acumatica, you are receiving a modern ERP that welds these segregated system integrations together by using web services such as REST and SOAP APIs to form one single source of the truth. This allows Acumatica to integrate without the need for a third-party connector for essential business applications like Adobe, Salesforce, Shopify, FedEx/UPS, among many others. To see the full list of Independent Software Resellers (ISVs) which extend Acumatica to meet your business needs, please click here.

Through Acumatica’s consistent user interface, you have all the applications you need within one system of record. This will help drive adoption, and ensure your employees don’t have to be trained on multiple complex interfaces.

2. Understand True Cost

Understanding the true cost of Acumatica versus your current legacy ERP is our second recommendation. Acumatica recognizes this importance and built the Acumatica TCO & ROI calculator to help you make a more informed decision.Written in Acumatica’s Customer Bill of Rights, you will find that Acumatica offers consumption-based licensing, sustainable pricing, and implementations without hidden fees. These key differentiators are what separate Acumatica from legacy systems. With consumption-based pricing, you will not have to pay a per-user licensing fee. This allows your company to quickly scale based on your business or customer needs because you will only pay based on the amount of computing power you need. Additionally, Acumatica guarantees sustainable pricing, as well as implementations without hidden fees. This allows you to appropriately forecast the future costs of your ERP and budget accordingly.

3. Decide Deployment Method

Security is a primary concern for many companies when selecting a deployment method and Acumatica allows you to choose between the public cloud, private cloud, and on-premise.The Amazon Web Services (AWS) SaaS public cloud offering is the most popular deployment method, accounting for around 90% of Acumatica’s customers. However, if you control confidential and sensitive data such as medical information or government contracts, the private cloud may be your best option. Whether you choose to deploy in the public or private cloud, Acumatica adheres to strict security protocols to ensure your data is protected.

4. Establish Timeline

Good planning is essential for a successful cloud upgrade.  It should not be rushed, and minimally disruptive to your business operations.  Take the time to identify key systems that are necessary for your business.  Build your upgrade around these first, before upgrading other “less critical” siloed systems. To help develop a strategy that works best for you, Acumatica will match you with a local Valued Acumatica Reseller (VAR) partner, like Opus, that will help design your custom implementation project.

With Acumatica you have a couple of different implementation options – FastTrack Deployment and Full Implementation. FastTrack Deployment provides a robust, scalable, and repeatable deployment framework that enables your business to go live in 90 days or less. It is best suited for General Business, Distribution, and Construction editions due to the scarcity of complex integrations. Full Implementation is meant for those with more complex integrations like you would see in the Manufacturing and Retail-Commerce editions. Your Acumatica VAR partner will be able to provide insight into which option would be best for you. 

5. Assign Evaluation Team

To round out your legacy ERP replacement strategy, it is crucial to carefully choose your evaluation team. Acumatica is a comprehensive ERP system, so we recommend having at least one member of every department included. This will allow them to better understand the capabilities of Acumatica and also act as a liaison for the department to help the Acumatica VAR understand current processes and structure.Unlike legacy ERP systems, Acumatica allows you to easily manage your platform for your specific business needs, as well as your employees. Due to its role-based configuration, your evaluation team would be able to define the access controls for your users. This streamlines processes and maximizes operational efficiencies because your users will only have access to the items they need. Once a user’s role and settings have been established, they can personalize their workspace based on their needs, without paying a developer or a third party to customize. They can add, edit, and remove dashboard reports, build their own workspace by adding essential business items to their “Favorites” workspace, or filter and manipulate data according to their needs.

Closing:

Are you currently using a legacy ERP and are ready to explore making the move to a modern platform? Our team at Opus has the knowledge and experience needed to help you evaluate your requirements and explore Acumatica as a replacement for your legacy ERP system. Please schedule a no-obligation call with us or request a demo.

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