8 Reasons Why Platform as a Service is a Smart Choice for SMBs

By Henrich de Leeuw, CEO of SEIDOR in South Africa

ERP software has seen rapid growth in recent years following the Covid-19 pandemic. Although it can be quickly deployed, ERP systems are complex and require significant computing resources that can be expensive to acquire and maintain internally.

By hosting ERP software on a Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model, businesses can leverage the scalability and cost-effectiveness of cloud computing while maintaining full control over their ERP system because the application environment is dedicated to their business and not. shared with any other tenants (businesses).

This allows SMEs to have their ERP solution in the cloud and have full control over it.

PaaS also provides a stable environment for businesses to develop and deploy improvements and customizations to their ERP software.

While many ERP systems offer some level of customization, custom enhancements, customizations, and development are more often a challenge when it comes to native SaaS ERP solutions. Generally, there are limitations on the infrastructure or software platform as they are shared with multiple tenants.

This can lead to businesses outgrowing their existing ERP system because it cannot be upgraded to meet specific business requirements.

PaaS can also be used to integrate ERP systems with other business applications. For example, a business may use an ERP system for financial management and a separate CRM system for customer management.

Using a PaaS platform, SMBs can create integrations between these systems, allowing for seamless and secure data transfer as well as a more unified view of business operations.

Together, ERP and PaaS allow SMBs to leverage the scalability, cost-effectiveness, development tools, and integration capabilities of PaaS platforms to enhance the capabilities of ERP systems.

PaaS offers several key advantages:

1. Reduced IT complexity.With PaaS, organizations do not need to manage and maintain the underlying infrastructure that supports their ERP system. This reduces the complexity of the IT environment, freeing up resources to focus on other areas.
2. Increased agility.PaaS allows organizations to quickly develop, test and deploy new applications and features, providing greater agility to adapt to changing business needs. This is especially important in the fast-paced world of ERP, where new features and capabilities are constantly evolving.
3. Lower costs.By using PaaS, organizations can avoid the significant capital costs associated with building and maintaining their own IT infrastructure. Instead, they pay on a subscription basis for the services they use, with costs typically based on usage. This eliminates the need to install, maintain and upgrade hardware and software, making world-class technology solutions much more affordable.
4. Scale.PaaS and ERP solutions can be scaled up or down according to business requirements, allowing SMMEs to add or remove features as needed. This flexibility allows SMBs to scale up or downsize their business without worrying about IT infrastructure limitations, and to respond quickly to changes in demand or business needs without investing in additional hardware or software.
5. Customization.With PaaS, organizations have full control over their ERP software and data, allowing for greater customization and integration with other systems. This can lead to improved efficiency and productivity, as well as better decision-making through improved access to data.
6. Streamlined processes.ERP solutions can provide a centralized database that can streamline processes, improve data accuracy, and eliminate duplication of effort. By automating processes, SMEs can save time and resources that can be redirected to core business activities.
7. Improved collaboration.PaaS and ERP solutions enable better collaboration between employees, departments and business partners. By providing access to real-time data and collaboration tools, SMBs can improve communication and decision-making.
8. Better customer service.PaaS and ERP solutions can enable SMMEs to provide better customer service by providing a unified view of customer data, tracking customer interactions, and streamlining customer support processes.

By giving SMEs more opportunity than ever to focus on their core activities and grow their business, PaaS can take them to the next level.

It provides the building blocks needed to respond to demand, making businesses more flexible, efficient and competitive in a rapidly changing environment.