Perhaps you’ve been working with your legacy ERP solution for quite a while. It’s become a part of the family, your team has become familiar with its quirks and limitations, and up until now, you’ve been comfortable with it. It has paid for itself and been a definite business asset.

But lately, you’ve begun to find that there are certain things that your system can’t do, and you may be facing complicated and costly workarounds just to keep your ERP solution up to date.

When your legacy ERP system starts having issues, your IT department may invest hours or even days diagnosing and resolving them. Because the hardware was expensive and because a great deal of effort was put into configuring it to your needs, you may be tempted to struggle along and make it last as long as possible, even past its normal life expectancy.

There is nothing wrong with having a “pet” legacy system, but it may come with a cost in time and resources. The question is, can you afford to keep it around much longer?

The “New IT” mentality: systems as tools

New IT appreciates the principle of using your systems to the full and replacing them when something comes along that is clearly a better tool for the job.  When a server starts acting up, perhaps because of poor application development or a bad patch of the operating system, New IT doesn’t waste time trying to figure out what is wrong and patching it up.

You may wonder if this is a waste of an expensive investment, but your investment becomes more of a financial burden if it doesn’t continue to fulfill its function.

Moving from Old IT to New IT is where the Cloud comes in. In today’s cloud-first world, you can access whatever infrastructure you need, keep it as long as it is doing its job, and then stop paying for it when you are done. Cloud-based infrastructure is purchased from a qualified Cloud partner and run on a pay-as-you-go basis. This New IT model makes it cheaper and faster to eliminate the old infrastructure and deploy new from scratch. Trying to nurse your old infrastructure back to health is a waste of time and money when a cloud-based solution can be up and running quickly with little disruption to your daily business processes. The Old IT model, having an IT staff working day and night to keep you up and running, is no longer necessary. Your cloud provider builds their reputation by having experts available 24/7 to care for any issues that arise. It is their responsibility to ensure the reliability of the systems so that you can concentrate on your business. With a reliable Cloud provider, your ERP solution is in very good hands.

When you choose Microsoft Azure as your Cloud platform, you have Microsoft on your side. The burden of making sure that the physical infrastructure is healthy is removed from your shoulders and placed in the hands of the experts. All the concerns and responsibilities about the hardware and its maintenance are theirs, not yours. Security, compliance, and protection are now their responsibility. All the time and energy you used to spend can now be put to better use growing your business. And with a partner like AKA, even the basics of sizing and monitoring your environment can be eliminated from your concern; AKA’s Cloud Operations Managed Services will run any Cloud solution on your behalf! Now IT can focus on innovation for your business and forget about running, maintaining, and upgrading your ERP solution.

Make the move to the Cloud

When you adopt the new Cloud IT, your infrastructure problems could be gone in the blink of an eye. To ensure the transition is a successful one, rely on a partner who knows not only the Cloud but also your industry. Each industry has unique issues, and understanding these issues requires hands-on experience. Our industry experts possess deep knowledge and experience gained from working in those industries and from years of close collaboration with our clients.

If you are ready to take back your time and free yourself from an unhealthy IT relationship, contact the Cloud experts at AKA. We can show you how to move to the Cloud and get back to the business of your business.

By AkA Enterprise Solutions, www.akaes.com