Cloud Laggard ERP Leapfrogs Other Apps, Gets Vertical

[IanInsights] – Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the central system of record for many enterprise businesses, enabling companies to collect and manage data ranging from sales and finance to human resources and marketing. Yet despite the fundamental role ERP plays, it has been an absolute laggard for two of the most important trends driving business for the past decade – cloud computing and verticalization.

The transition to the cloud has been slow due to a very lengthy ERP lifecycle that is, in some cases, just now catching up to the cloud. Large enterprises that had invested millions and sometimes even billions in ERP systems prior to 2002 did not rip out those hefty investments to shift to the cloud. They understood the CapEx vs. OpEx benefit, but since they’d already made the capital investment, they opted to leave the on-premise solution in place to depreciate over time. These big businesses simply couldn’t write off the significant investments they’d made – at least not without creating a shareholder revolt. (read more)