Cloud Players Storm the Gates of ERP

April, 2012

Cloud-based applications are gaining market acceptance, and they are now storming the last fortress of on-premises applications—enterprise resource planning.

The response of existing players gives ERP customers today a range of deployment options. They can choose on-premises ERP, hosted ERP, cloud-enabled ERP, or a hybrid deployment of any of them. But to qualify as cloud ERP, the system must embrace the five essential characteristics of cloud computing, as outlined in our report, Choosing Between Cloud and Hosted ERP, and Why it Matters.

CloudERP RBFig1 - Cloud Players Storm the Gates of ERP

The varied responses by traditional ERP providers to the threat from new cloud-only ERP vendors has created market uncertainty. When relying only on marketing literature, potential buyers find it difficult to discern whether a vendor’s “cloud” offering is in fact cloud ERP or hosted ERP.

While hosted ERP delivers some of the same benefits as cloud-based ERP, prospective customers need to appreciate the significant differences. Furthermore, hosted ERP does offer some of its own unique benefits. Complicating the decision is the fact that cloud ERP providers themselves display the characteristics of cloud computing to varying degrees. Customers therefore need criteria to decide whether hosted ERP or cloud ERP is the best strategic choice for their companies.

The full report aids organizations in understanding the significant differences between cloud and hosted ERP and why the difference matter. It explores the five essential characteristics of ERP in the cloud, and the growing market acceptance of cloud ERP. It concludes with practical recommendations for buyers considering cloud or hosted ERP.


This Research Byte is a brief overview of our report on this subject, Choosing Between Cloud and Hosted ERP, and Why it Matters. The full report is available at no charge for Computer Economics clients, or it may be purchased by non-clients directly from our website (click for pricing).