During the pandemic, every entrepreneur faced the same serious challenge: how could management continuity and normal company operations be maintained when circumstances required a shift to remote and/or hybrid work at very short notice? In many cases, one answer proved to be implementing or improving the company’s existing ERP system (Enterprise Resource Planning), particularly a cloud-based ERP that enables flexible remote work. Which functions should an ERP system for remote work provide?
The ERP functions considered essential in a given enterprise depend largely on its activities and objectives. The key is to establish how Enterprise Resource Planning should help, which processes it should improve, and which departments it should support. Ideally, it should connect every area of company operations, making the business more flexible and less dependent on unpredictable events such as an inability to work from the office during a pandemic. In the past, many companies chose not to implement updates or systems such as ERP because a shift to
remote work on that scale appeared unlikely. When it did happen, it became a catalyst for changes that are, in fact, a natural direction of development for companies that want to keep pace with trends. Digital transformation and
cloud migration proved necessary rather than merely possible. As cloud adoption becomes increasingly important,
cloud ERP should be
easy to implement and integrate, support the latest technologies, and adapt to ongoing change by evolving with current trends. These are universal qualities expected of an enterprise resource planning system. A good ERP also gives remote employees access to all important information in one place, regardless of their location.
Cloud ERP keeps every stakeholder up to date with changes, processes, and team progress. Work is faster and smoother because documents are stored in the cloud, their electronic circulation eliminates errors and duplicates, and the entire company uses a single source of information, making reporting and general communication easier. To determine which ERP tools will be most useful, analyze employees’ main everyday challenges—including those of the
CEO—and the company’s long-term objectives. This makes it possible to build a flexible ERP system adapted to the enterprise’s current activities and processes.
The biggest problems with ERP systems in remote work
ERP systems offer many benefits for remote work, but problems do arise. Companies resist introducing
cloud ERP mainly because of the time and cost involved, particularly when they face the challenge of upgrading an older system. The older and less frequently updated the ERP, the more expensive and time-consuming migration to
cloud ERP will be. However, the investment ultimately pays for itself, and maintaining a cloud solution is significantly less expensive. Another problem is employee compliance with security rules. ERP safeguards are highly advanced, and vendors treat security as one of the most important considerations in system development. During remote work, however, the person using the system may be the weakest link. To minimize risk, everyone should follow the rules.
This article provides a ten-point employee guide designed to make the most important principles easier to remember. One disadvantage of cloud solutions is that they require constant and reliable internet access. Employees need a high-quality connection in order to use all the benefits of
cloud ERP without disruption. Once connectivity problems have been eliminated, access to the company database makes remote work highly efficient and fast.
ERP system security during remote work
As noted above, security is one of the most important—if not the single most important—issues for Enterprise Resource Planning vendors. Without a guaranteed
high level of security, they have little to offer customers, who invariably regard it as a deciding factor in implementation.
Cloud ERP solutions have multiple layers, so advanced safeguards and backups are extremely effective and will protect the company and its data as long as established security rules are followed. It is important to remember that people are often the weakest link: they act less predictably and sometimes make ill-considered decisions, such as sharing a password, which the system itself would not do. This is why employee compliance with company security policy is just as important as ERP safeguards.
Remote cloud ERP—is it worth it?
First, ERP systems are not reserved for large enterprises and corporations; smaller companies can also use them successfully. As already discussed, keeping pace with cloud migration and digital transformation is becoming essential for companies that want to remain in the market and face challenges with greater confidence that their data is secure and processes uninterrupted. A cloud ERP system provides precisely that assurance. Vendors invest in making customers feel supported and heard, so
cloud ERP implementation is becoming easier and data is increasingly well protected. Using cloud-based enterprise resource planning during
remote work reduces the volume of documents and substantially improves their processing and archiving. It optimizes processes, planning, and progress tracking and helps ensure that the company never faces serious downtime or data loss. To answer the question in the heading: yes, it is worth it.
