Considering a move to the cloud requires more than an understanding of the capabilities that cloud ERP solutions offer. You will also need a broader awareness of migration approaches, industry trends, and technology considerations. As part of Quest’s 2019 Cloud Webinar Series, Mukesh Baldua and Kishor Pawankar of World Wide Technologies discussed the reasons behind choosing Oracle ERP Cloud and the ERP Cloud migration approaches to help you get there.

The Why: Choosing Oracle ERP Cloud

With a robust set of features out of the box, Oracle ERP Cloud users have the opportunity to impact business functions at all levels with modern capabilities. Administrators and managers profit from increased automation, AI capabilities, and embedded analytics while a re-designed user interface, intuitive self-service functionality, and increased mobility empower end users. Through an agile delivery model, Oracle ERP Cloud users benefit from both regularly released feature enhancements and a reduced need for specialized resources for operations and support. Overall, Oracle ERP Cloud customers find a faster time to value with a lower total cost of ownership.

For businesses with an existing highly customized footprint, a move to the Cloud can create opportunities to analyze or re-design customizations with extensions available. With built-in tools and accelerators to support reimplementation, businesses do not need to implement their entire solution on Cloud to leverage the benefits of Oracle Cloud reporting. Co-existence strategies and Oracle Cloud reporting service allow customers to realize benefits while protecting their existing investment in their legacy solution.

Determining Factors for Moving to ERP Cloud

Baldua and Pawankar identified several key determining business and technology factors for moving to Oracle ERP Cloud.

ERP Cloud Across Industries

According to Baldua and Pawankar, few industries exist that are not actively approaching the Cloud. With increasing prioritization for the end-user experience, data availability, and functional control over the solution, combined with the maturity certain Cloud applications have now reached, more industries are moving toward the Cloud or balancing a co-existence between Cloud and on-premises solutions.

Debunking Oracle ERP Cloud Myths

Baldua and Pawankar also debunked quite a few Oracle ERP Cloud myths that customers use as a reason not to migrate to ERP Cloud. The images below show some of the common myths about ERP Cloud and why they are not true.

The How: Oracle ERP Cloud Migration Approaches

The approach a business takes to implement Cloud applications depends on the type of business implementing it. How you answer the following questions of your organization can guide you toward a migration strategy.

• How extensive is your organization’s current Oracle footprint?
• Is the scope of your business operations local and limited or global?
• How complex are your integrations?
• Do you generally run standardized business processes or are they highly customized?
• From a revenue perspective, is your business small-to-medium or medium-to-large?

Phased Approach vs. Big Bang Migration

While the phased approach may be considered a more fail-safe option, it tends to carry a higher cost. Thus, businesses that are well suited for a “big bang” approach may benefit from giving it consideration. Businesses fitting the following characteristics may find that they are well suited for considering a “big bang” strategy for implementing cloud application:

• Maintain a smaller existing Oracle footprint
• Have a local or limited geographical presence
• Support a limited number of applications
• Possess a more standardized business process
• Smaller-to-medium scale

While “big bang” approaches present with inherent challenges, so too do phased approaches. The following can mitigate challenges associated with organizational change management for phased approaches:

• Clarify the segregation of activities and duties
• Automate or define processes to reduce operational challenges
• Create an OCM plan to facilitate user transition
• Obtain stakeholder buy-in and sponsorship

To support integration, specifically interfacing to multiple instances in the interim phase, middleware can handle and split the translations. Baldua and Pawankar also recommend the streamlining and optimization of reports, in addition to the utilization of data warehouse capabilities to consolidate reports when required, to address reporting across multiple instances during phased approaches.

To learn more about business drivers and Oracle ERP Cloud migration methods, check out the full Cloud Webinar Series presentation and the additional Quest resources attached below.

Additional Resources

For more Oracle ERP Cloud resources, case studies, best practices, etc., check out Quest’s Oracle ERP Cloud Content Center. There are resources and training available for all aspects of ERP Cloud, including risk management, financials, extensions, and more!

COLLABORATE 20 will take place April 19-23, 2020 at the Mandala Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV! Call for Presentations is now open. Don’t miss your chance to share your stories, insights, and advice with the Quest Oracle Community! Submit an abstract by October 11, 2019, to be considered to be a speaker at the conference.