Choosing an online ERP can be confusing. There is a growing list of vendors offering a range of different ERP models with features that may or may not be beneficial to your business. So how do you determine which ERP solution will meet your individual business needs? This guide will help you understand everything you need to know about working online with an ERP solution and how to evaluate which one will best suit your business goals, workloads, performance and security requirements.

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withonlineERP
See the bigger picture and make
better business decisions

2. 2 Grow your business with online ERP myob.com/enterprise
Contents
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Realise the full potential of your business 3
Making the right choice 3
A closer look at online ERP 4
The benefits of online ERP 4
Online security 5
Which online ERP will meet your needs? 6
Choosing the right online ERP provider 7
Avoid fake online ERP 8
A solution that grows with you 8
Start taking care of business with online ERP 9

3. 3 Grow your business with online ERP myob.com/enterprise
Realise the full potential of your business
The key to taking your business to the next level is having the right
technology solutions in place. This is essential if you want to gain the
ability to look into every aspect of your entire operation. When you can
see the bigger picture, you’ll make better decisions. You can plan ahead
and grow. And you’ll save time and money.
Many small and medium businesses enjoy the benefits of modern
technology through an online enterprise resource planning (ERP)
solution. With an online ERP they are able to realise the full potential
of their business.
Making the right choice
Choosing an online ERP can be confusing. There is a growing list of
vendors offering a range of different ERP models with features that may or
may not be beneficial to your business. So how do you determine which
ERP solution will meet your individual business needs?
This guide will help you understand everything you need to know about
working online with an ERP solution and how to evaluate which one
will best suit your business goals, workloads, performance and security
requirements.

4. 4 Grow your business with online ERP myob.com/enterprise
A closer look at online ERP
ERP software that is deployed, run and accessed in an online
environment is classified as online ERP.
An online ERP is deployed and managed across multiple servers
and database resources. This provides you with plenty of
flexibility, allowing you to easily scale resources up or down
as your needs change.
All data lives online rather than on individual physical devices,
such as your desktop computer or tablet, so your data is easy to
access and manage. It also means your data is highly protected
with encryption, key management and strong access controls.
The benefits of online ERP
Online ERP solutions provide the flexibility to build an entire
business management solution that meets all of your individual
needs. With online ERP your business benefits from:
> Access business information anytime, anywhere from
any device with a browser
Data updated in real time, so you’ll never use out of
date information
Pricing is subscription based to be more cost effective
Resources can be easily scaled up or down as you pay
per user
Automatic upgrades to ensure you’re always using
the latest version
Quick implementation for an easy transition to a
new system
Hosted and managed by service provider, so you can
focus on your business

5. 5 Grow your business with online ERP myob.com/enterprise
Online security
A major concern for businesses thinking about choosing an online ERP
solution is security. They want to know if their private information will be
safe in the hands of third-party providers and if they can get their data back
when a contract ends.
Some worried businesses implement private or on-premises ERP instead
of moving online. They believe their company data will be safer. However,
this isn’t always the case. Often, an online ERP solution provides you with
stronger security and data protection than a private deployment. That’s
because online ERP providers:
Rely greatly on providing high levels of security because a breach
would destroy their reputation and put them out of business
Build redundancy, security and data protection into their online ERP
Usually have stronger virtual and physical security measures in place
and these are validated through regular audits
Usually hire specialised IT staff with in-depth security knowledge

6. 6 Grow your business with online ERP myob.com/enterprise
Which online ERP will meet your needs?
Here are some questions to help assess your business. Once answered
you’ll be able to decide whether or not a particular online ERP solution
will meet all of your individual business needs.
What are your business goals?
Identify your priorities. Maybe you want to improve cost management,
productivity or decision-making. Note down how you intend to
measure success.
What kind of resources do you have or need?
Make sure you assess what kind of experts you have in your company
and if you’ll need any external resources.
What kind of features must you have?
It’s highly likely you’ll need a solution capable of financial and customer
management. Is integration with other applications a priority? Maybe your
business also needs multi-currency support.
Do you have to meet any external requirements?
This includes any external regulatory requirements relevant to your
industry and also customer, supplier or partner requirements.

7. 7 Grow your business with online ERP myob.com/enterprise
Choosing the right online ERP provider
There are many online ERP vendors trying to win your business. So how
do you choose the right one? What you’re looking for is a vendor who will
become a trusted partner. A vendor that will take the time to know your
business before recommending a solution.
Before you do business with a vendor, ask yourself if they:
Provide clear information about their solutions?
Offer demos or trails?
Provide transparent pricing?
Offer strong presale customer support?
Clearly state important details such as contract length, terms, data
protection and security, plus who owns the business data and what
happens to it if you decide to terminate the contract?
Provide customer references?

8. 8 Grow your business with online ERP myob.com/enterprise
Avoid fake online ERP
Do not trust vendors who host their ERP solution in a remote
environment and try to pass it off as an online solution. This is
deceptive because these applications are not designed to be
used online. They often lack all the features and benefits of a
true online ERP.
The following points will help you spot a fake online ERP application:
Vendors usually require you to pay for the software upfront
rather than on a subscription basis
Pricing model is based on the number of users or clients
The ERP system is accessed via remote terminal applications
that must be installed on each user’s device
You have to install software on your mobile devices in order
to use mobile apps
You can’t easily scale up or down when your needs change
You have to use propriety tools in order to integrate the ERP
software with third party applications
Lacks the latest security tools required to protect your data
A solution that grows with you
It’s a good idea to implement an online ERP solution that allows you
to add more features as your business grows and your needs change.
You can start off with the main functions and then easily deploy
additional modules as you see fit.
Take a look at a vendor’s third-party providers for any applications
your business needs. These can be used to create an online ERP
solution tailored to your business.

9. 9 Grow your business with online ERP myob.com/enterprise
Start taking care of business with
online ERP
An online ERP solution can help take your business to new
heights. It will provide greater insight into your business.
You’ll also gain more control, along with the flexibility to grow.
You’ll have the power to take control of the complexities of
managing your business at every level, and support all aspects
of management.
With a wide range of vendors and online ERP solutions to
choose from, it’s important for you to assess all of your needs
in detail. This will help you determine the best online ERP
deployment for your business.

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