Hosted has become increasingly popular in the last several years. Companies have discovered that when they move their important applications to the cloud, capital expenditures on infrastructure are lowered, security is heightened and their IT staffs can focus on high-value activities. For companies considering whether to host their Sage 100cloud or Sage 300cloud remotely, it’s important to understand just what that means, and how to choose to right partners to make your venture into Hosted ERP a success.
The difference between Hosted ERP and Cloud ERP
The terms Hosted ERP and Cloud ERP are often used interchangeably. While both Hosted ERP and Cloud ERP can be accessed remotely, there are definite distinctions between the two. Neither Sage 100cloud nor Sage 300cloud — despite having the word “cloud” in their names — are considered Cloud ERP. What’s the difference?
Hosted ERP is a web-enabled ERP software solution. Your company purchases and owns the software, but instead of it being in house or on premises, the software is installed on a remote server provided by a Cloud Services Provider, or CSP. The configuration allows authorized users within your company to access the application over an internet connection. Hosted ERP applications are single tenant, meaning your company’s licensed copy of Sage 100cloud or Sage 300cloud is installed on your CSP’s computers for your use only. This means that any time Sage publishes a new release or update, that change will not automatically impact your instance of the software. Instead, it will need to be installed by your business partner or hosting provider.
Cloud ERP applications are (usually) multi-tenant. Simply put, multi-tenant means that there’s one instance of the Cloud ERP installed on the CSP’s computers and that one instance serves multiple subscribers, or tenants. Generally speaking, then, when the publisher makes a change to the software, all subscribers see the same change. Cloud ERP applications fall under the SaaS (Software as a Service) umbrella term.
Both Hosted ERP and Cloud ERP rely on a CSP or hosting provider — the company that provides the technology infrastructure. The decision on which hosting provider to trust is an important one.
How to choose a hosting provider
Choosing the right provider to host your Sage 100cloud or Sage 300cloud application is nearly as important as choosing the software itself. Think of your hosting provider as a landlord, a gatekeeper, a caretaker, a tour guide, and a repairman — all in one. You’re going to want to find a good one.
Ask anyone to name a hosting provider and you’ll hear the big names like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google. These behemoths largely do not know or care what software they are hosting, and they are definitely not going to be the ones to call when you want to get started with Hosted ERP or when you have an issue down the road.
If you’re Netflix and you want Amazon to host your software, maybe you could pick up the phone and speak to someone. But the rest of us are going to need some help – in the form of intermediaries — companies that interact with the hosting provider on your behalf. There are typically several layers of intermediaries between you and your Hosted ERP, including your Sage busines partner, a Managed Services Provider (MSP), Sage ERP Online Services (SEOS), a smaller CSP and others. In short, when a major hosting platform is involved, your ERP application is many layers away from your control. We’ll take more about the risks inherent with these layers (and how to avoid them) in upcoming posts.
While they don’t have the same name recognition as AWS or Azure, there are hundreds of other CSPs. But largely, they put up the same barriers to interaction that the big guys do. In other words, you’re going to need intermediaries with most of them too.
A different kind of hosting service
Cloud at Work is a different kind of CSP. We understand Sage ERP solutions and we understand the companies that rely on them. As a sister company to Net at Work, the top Sage Partner in North America, Cloud at Work was founded as a service to our own clients that were seeking Hosted ERP options. Since then, we’ve been busy building Cloud at Work into an extraordinarily robust cloud hosting platform that we believe can stand toe-to-toe with the biggest names out there. And once you factor in the fact that we eliminate the need for those layers of intermediaries, we humbly believe we’re the single best option for companies looking for cloud hosting for Sage 100cloud, Sage 300cloud and all other Sage applications. Interested in learning more about hosting Sage 100cloud or Sage 300cloud? Contact one of our Cloud at Work consultants.