If you’re deciding whether to host your Sage 100cloud or Sage 300cloud application remotely, one of the first and most important decisions you’ll need to make is who will host it for you. Cloud Service Providers (CSP) are technology companies offering a cloud-based platform that could include infrastructure, application hosting and storage services. You’re familiar with the usual suspects: Microsoft Azure, AWS and Google Cloud. But bigger isn’t better in the case of Hosted ERP. As you begin your search for a provider to host your Sage ERP application, we encourage you to review these three essential considerations.
1. Security practices – who’s holding the keys
Security practices are naturally the biggest consideration in deciding on a CSP to host your Sage ERP solution. There are two main components to security: the physical security surrounding and associated with the data center itself, and the virtual infrastructure the CSP has in place to protect your data from server downtime, power outages and natural disasters.
One objective measure is to look at the provider’s data center tier rating, rated from 1 to 4. While a Tier 1 data center can be little more than a powered warehouse, Tier 4 data centers are considered “fault tolerant.” This means (among other things) that unplanned maintenance does not stop the flow of data. Day-to-day operations continue regardless of any support taking place. Look for a CSP who’s data center has received the Tier 4, highest classification.
Another security practice to look for is 24x7x365 monitoring, alerting and notification. You want to know if something occurs that could impact your ability to access your applications. There are many other security considerations to be aware of, so be certain to educate yourself and question each CSP until you’re satisfied. We invite you to compare Cloud at Work’s cloud data centers and security protocols to any in the world.
2. Access to the source – layers are only good in a cake
When you have a question or concern about your Hosted ERP application, when something just doesn’t seem right, or you simply cannot access it — who do you call?
The overwhelming majority of companies that use Amazon or Azure or Google to host their applications will never ever speak to these behemoths when an issue arises. Most companies’ relationships with their CSP pass through many layers. In fact, in many instances, you won’t even choose your CSP, a company in one of those layers will choose it for you.
A managed service provider (MSP) might be one of those layers.
The Cloud at Work ERP hosting service is different. You have a question — you call us. You have a problem — you call us. One call. No layers. We’ll work with you and your Sage business partner to identify issues and get you back to business quickly.
3. A CSP who knows ERP — yes, there is such a thing
Is it important for your CSP to actually have an understanding of what it’s hosting for you? From the CSP’s standpoint, the answer is no. From your standpoint, we think the answer should be a resounding yes. In part this goes back to eliminating the layers we spoke about in #2, above. A hosting company that understands your Sage ERP application is able to give you the attention and support you need to keep business running without passing the buck to someone in one of the other layers. For example, working in conjunction with your Sage business partner, our Cloud at Work hosting solution can include updates of all patches and fixes so you can be assured that your Sage ERP is always up to date.
Finding a CSP that actually understands your Sage ERP application may seem a bit like finding a Googlewhack — and that one result is the Cloud at Work solution. Cloud at Work is a different kind of CSP. We understand Sage ERP solutions and we understand the companies that rely on them — and that makes a difference.
Make the right cloud choice
We’ve hopefully given you some things to think about here and offered some insight into why Cloud at Work is different than other cloud service providers.
Cloud at Work offers two top-of-the-line cloud product offerings. Our Virtual Private Cloud is a 100% Virtual Private environment for organizations that place extreme value on redundancy, security and availability. Our Hybrid Secure offering is specially designed for smaller Sage environments and utilizes SaaS like architecture to deploy semi-dedicated resources.
Both offerings provide the most secure and economical ways to host your Sage software. And, while Cloud at Work is focused on providing hosted Sage applications, our technology is capable of providing Virtual Desktops, as well as hosting of any other third-party application to streamline your technology platform even further.
We invite you to learn more about hosting Sage 100cloud or Sage 300cloud by contacting one of our Cloud at Work consultants.