cloud based pov_single page

Cloud-based ERP implementations: Comparing the options By Timothy M. Hofer, Phillip Hazen, Saideep Raj and Michael Liebow

High Performance IT Insights

Summary: Key considerations when choosing a cloud-based ERP delivery model

As IT executives look to the future of their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, increasing numbers of them are considering cloud-based delivery options. This is true not only for start-ups and smaller businesses, but for large, global enterprises as well—those looking to the cloud for functionalities ranging from core back office to customer relationship management, financial management and human capital management. On-premises ERP will continue to be important to many companies for many years. But cloud options give enterprises the ability to develop cloud-based ERP solutions that extend application functionality to subsidiaries or business units in a faster, more flexible and less expensive way, or that support the integration of a merger or acquisition more readily from an IT perspective.

Such hybrid ERP delivery models—retaining on-premises ERP systems while providing alternative ERP options in the cloud—are increasingly popular. The two primary cloud delivery options are: the software-as-a-service (SaaS) model on the one hand; and the hosted or outsourced model on the other hand, in which common core ERP products are provided in the cloud through a third-party integrator. Both options have their merits. SaaS ERP provides rapid delivery of functionality, scalable pricing, and continuously refreshed functionality through multiple releases each year. The outsourcing or hosted ERP model enables companies to rely on a provider or integrator for hosting and application and infrastructure management, as well as guidance from a broader architecture and delivery perspective. The cost picture also changes because clients are able to shift capital expenses to operating expenses.

Another important advantage of a hosted or outsourced model is that it may provide more robust industry-specific templates. Such templates can accelerate implementation and reduce the need for customization—an important factor to consider because extensive customizations can undermine the business case for SaaS ERP.

This paper explores in more detail the merits of cloud-based ERP delivery options according to a number of criteria including cost, complexity, speed and risk. The analysis

can support IT executives by enabling them to make their ultimate decision based on a fuller set of implications, including what tradeoffs may be involved when it comes to

2

speed of development, the fit of a solution to a particular industry, and the availability of ongoing support and guidance.

Understanding SaaS ERP and hosted ERP: General considerationsHow does the on-demand or SaaS delivery model for ERP differ from the hosted or outsourcing model? (This paper will refer to the second option using the shorthand of “hosted” ERP, although in fact it is or can be a more comprehensive service including application outsourcing and infrastructure outsourcing, as well as consulting.) Both options are part of a larger IT trend toward shared delivery models for IT services. A previous Accenture paper, “Key questions every IT and business executive should ask about cloud computing and ERP,” provided an overview of the current market for cloud-based ERP. As shown in Figure 1, the marketplace for ERP is currently moving inexorably toward more shared or “multi-tenant” solutions. Multi-tenancy is a key driving force behind the lower costs and greater flexibility of SaaS solutions. With multiple tenants, a SaaS provider’s underlying support costs per tenant drops. The results are lower price to its customers as well as the opportunity for more effective product innovation and customer-to-customer collaboration within the cloud community.1 With hosted ERP, integrators can deliver SaaS-like pricing of their core ERP services by setting up a one-to-many service factory that gives them the ability to spread costs over multiple shared clients. Integrators also have the flexibility to create the hosting environment either in a private cloud or in the public cloud. Clients can gain significant advantages in terms of both cost and security by using an integrator.

Some additional important differences between the two delivery options are provided below. SaaS ERP SaaS ERP is a cloud-based delivery model in which an enterprise “rents” both software and hardware from a software provider. Access to the software is priced based on a consumption or subscription model. As noted, SaaS ERP is a multi-tenant solution; clients share an underlying code base and database structure with other customers of the ERP SaaS vendor. This approach can provide cost advantages because it reduces the overall infrastructure support that is required.

For most types of businesses, SaaS ERP products cover common core functions such as purchase-to-pay and order-to-cash. Some products that began as offerings specific only to a segment or piece of functionality (such as HR or CRM) are now expanding into the core ERP space. A variety of pricing schemes are available with SaaS ERP products:

• Price per user per month

• Price per type of user per month

• Price based on some combination of functional modules used and number of users in each functional module SaaS ERP vendors normally require a minimum one-year commitment and upfront payment for the use of their tools. The underlying assumption of this delivery option is that, by choosing a SaaS ERP tool, the client will accept the core business process models inherent in the tool and will not deviate significantly from them. Although some industry-specific templates are beginning to arise for SaaS ERP, most customers will need to decide between, on the one hand, adjusting their

processes to align with the process models of the SaaS solution or, on the other hand, customizing the solution. If customization (and/or configuration) are required, the cost analysis will change. Hosted ERPHosted ERP (which can include application outsourcing and infrastructure outsourcing) is similar to the pure SaaS model in some respects, in that a company consumes software services on a variable basis through the cloud. With this option, the underlying ERP system is the same core system that the organization may already be running, but the application and infrastructure services are delivered and managed by the integrator as an extension to the core ERP. The hosted ERP delivery option can deliver important benefits to clients. Because the ERP solution is preconfigured, implementation can occur faster and at less risk. Because an integrator is handling the solution, hosted ERP gives clients a templated approach that handles everything from design and build to infrastructure and application support. Potential gaps between a client’s business requirements and the functionality of the solution can be identified immediately by comparing a leading-practice configuration against a company’s ability to “adopt” these business processes, which are setup specific for an industry. By maintaining strict adherence to only changing what is required to differentiate, the business can eliminate or reduce the customization required. The upfront investment for clients can also be lower because the provider offers hosting services of the ERP infrastructure. The following sections look at these cloud delivery options in more detail, comparing SaaS ERP and hosted ERP according to factors including cost, functionality, customization, speed and risk.

3

1“Key questions every IT and business executive should ask about cloud computing and ERP,” Accenture 2012, p. 3, www.accenture.com.

44

Figure 1: The current landscape of cloud-based offerings for ERP, ranging from dedicated, on-premise provision via private cloud to public cloud applications hosted at the provider’s data center. Investment is shifting at an accelerated pace toward the “more sharing” end of the spectrum.

Less sharing

Single tenant

Multi tenant

More sharing

Optimized business process



Provider’s business process as a service

At Site Corporate Data Center Provider’s Data Center Provider’s Data Center2. Hosted (SaaS Pricing) 3. Software as a Service

Provider’s Data Center4. Business Process as a Service

StandardAppsFeatures

CustomCoding/Apps

Shared/StandardApplicationFeatures

CustomCoding/Applications








Dedicated Database Dedicated Database Dedicated Database Shared Database Shared Database

Dedicated Infrastructure Dedicated Infrastructure Shared Infrastructure Shared Infrastructure Shared Infrastructure

SaaS

PaaS

IaaS IaaS

PaaS

SaaS

IaaS

B-PaaS

Private Cloud Public or Private Cloud Public Cloud Public Cloud

Higher cost (pay up front)Specialization Availability (Region/Industry)Traditional solutions (Greater product functionalitydepth and reference customers)Insourcing

Lower cost (subscription pricing)Speed and flexibility (changing business climate)Emerging solution (Product functionality depth in “first adopter”industries/countries)Outsourcing

1. On Premise

Source: Accenture analysis

5

As a starting point, it is important to understand what is actually common between these two cloud-based ERP delivery options. Both core ERP (the software used in hosted ERP) and SaaS ERP share many common underlying costs, including R&D, support, marketing, sales, developers and the ERP application software itself.

In doing a cost comparison, customers sometimes overlook the fact that both SaaS ERP and hosted ERP will incur implementation and application management costs. This is a common misunderstanding—something that can lead decision makers to underestimate the true costs of SaaS. With the SaaS model, implementation costs are still incurred, just as organizations incur such costs with their core ERP. And application management does not simply go away, either. Interfaces still need to get fixed; users will want new functionality and will need someone to contact when issues arise; and there will still be a need to support any custom configurations that are required. In other words, SaaS ERP involves costs beyond simply the pay-per-use aspect.

The following sections look in more detail at how costs can be compared in terms of software and infrastructure, as well as implementation and application management.

SaaS optionWith the pay-per-use model of SaaS ERP, for both software and infrastructure, payment types and agreements vary by vendor. Understanding a vendor’s pricing structure in detail is important, whether it is figured as price per employee or as an annual fee. These fees are the only source

of revenue the SaaS ERP vendors have to support all the underlying technologies of their solution, which include:

• Application development• Hardware purchases• Database management • Application upgrades• Research and development • Data center requirements

SaaS ERP vendors assume that the cost of capital in some way sits on their books (or on a subcontractor’s books) and is included in the pay-per use approach. In other words, SaaS ERP billings are considered an operating expense to the purchaser.

Hosted optionWith hosted ERP, costs incurred by clients include the software and then a subsequent annual maintenance fee, usually in the range of 18 percent to 22 percent. Infrastructure costs are assessed on a consumption model, assuming a cloud provider is used.

In most hosted ERP implementations, the customer prefers to purchase the ERP software, either through normal provisions (software plus maintenance) or through a lease which would spread the costs over a number of years rather than requiring a large upfront payment. With either mode of purchasing, an advantage for customers is that they own the software and the modifications and can carry them from one provider to another if they purchase the ERP software separately. With hosted ERP, other than how the ERP software is purchased, a client typically has a pure opex model for assessing costs, meaning that the capital does not sit on the client’s books.

Cost considerations: SaaS ERP and hosted ERPWith hosted ERP, operating system and database administration support are not provided by the core ERP software but are included as part of the integrator’s monthly fee, so that support is a separate expense for hosted ERP. This is in contrast to the SaaS ERP option, in which operating system and database administration work is taken care of by the SaaS ERP vendor as part of providing the ERP capabilities and is included in the pay-per-use approach.

See Figure 2 for a summary of key questions to be answered in comparing software and infrastructure costs for the two cloud-based ERP delivery models.

6

Figure 2: Key questions in comparing software and infrastructure costs for SaaS ERP vs. hosted ERP

Comparison Category SaaS ERP Hosted ERP Similar?

How is ERP price calculated? Varies by vendor, such as cost per type of user or some combination of number of users and modules

Varies by vendor, such as cost per type of user, per processor, per application user, or per employee

Some overlap

Does the price paid to the ERP vendor include the cost of hardware/infrastructure software to run the ERP?

Yes, embedded in the price is the hardware to run the ERP application by the SaaS ERP vendor

No; in hosted ERP, the infrastructure is separately contracted and consumed via a third-party cloud provider

No

Does the price paid to the ERP vendor include upgrades?

Yes, upgrades occur 2 to 4 times per year depending on the SaaS ERP vendor

No, in that major upgrades are not included and require a new license purchase

Yes, in that some ERPs offer enhancements through maintenance that must be manually applied and then implemented*

Somewhat

Does the price paid to the ERP vendor include operating system and database administration skills?

Yes, the ERP SaaS vendors apply OS patches and monitor and administer the database

No (although the integrator can bundle these pieces into its pricing)**

No

When are software keys provided and software access granted?

After contract is signed and value of first year subscription payment is made

After contract is signed and payment is made, the software may be installed (assuming hardware is available)

No

Transaction model Operating expense Capital expense*** No

What does company retain? Company has ability to stop using software and be provided their data in an agreed-upon format

Company owns a version of the ERP software

No

Spikes in usage Automatic with some limitations Some burst capabilities although may need to be handled manually

No

Length of contract Minimum one year (usually) Based on decision to pay maintenance No

Type of support provided by ERP Vendor

24x7 as long as annual payment is made

24x7 as long as annual payment is made

Yes

Subsequent payments Annually; identical to initial payment calculation

Maintenance payment ranges from 15%-23% of initial purchase price

No

6

* Hosted ERP minimum scope would include mandatory ERP software patches; new functionality released and available through maintenance would normally be considered a separate enhancement project. Upgrades are out of scope for standard hosted ERP and are considered to be a separate project.

** Hana Enterprise Cloud was just released at the time of this paper and SAP may bundle these options.

*** Hosted ERP vendors now offer various ways to obtain the software, such as financing to allow for a monthly bill vs. an initial upfront payment.

7

Implementation costsWith both SaaS ERP and hosted ERP, start-up costs are involved in buying or renting the software. With hosted ERP, because the implementation is of a core ERP package, the software acquisition is normally done at the beginning of the project, with some annual yearly maintenance fees—usually ranging roughly from 15 percent to 23 percent of the cost of the software. Options are now available to pay for the core ERP software in more SaaS-like ways; each ERP vendor is different so it is important to ask about options.

The upfront software investment for SaaS ERP is in the form of pre-payment. Consider a SaaS ERP implementation involving 200 employees; 50 users require extensive access at a cost of $200 per user per month (numbers are illustrative for purposes of this example only). The remaining 150 are casual users and cost $100 per user per month. Once a client signs the contract, the client would need to commit to a minimum one-year contract and pay $300,000 (50 users x $200 + 150 users x $100 x 12 months).

Most SaaS ERP contracts are for one, two or even three years, and are payable in advance. (Customers sometimes choose the longer term to lock in price rates.) Payment is made up front, at the time of licensing, even though a period of time is required for configuration before the service actually becomes usable. In other words, the beginning of the contract usually involves a “dead” period when no value is realized. Procurement departments should consider not only the price rates but also the timing of payments based on planned usage by types of users and modules.

When a client renews a SaaS contract, the standard unit pricing could increase. Keep in mind, this charge is the only one assessed in the SaaS ERP model. It covers all costs—from R&D to enhancements to the hosting and monitoring of the environment. As the number of ERP users increases, the cost will increase based on the negotiated price per user; however reduction of ERP users may not translate to reduction of cost as pricing models may again vary between ERP vendors. In other words, the cost per user in the SaaS model may actually increase if the number of users falls below a predetermined threshold.

With hosted ERP, implementation costs will more than likely be slightly higher than with SaaS ERP. Software must be installed and the system must be sized and servers provisioned via a third-party cloud provider. However, the hosted option carries with it important benefits to be balanced against cost factors, including reduced risk and the ability to implement a solution based on pre-configured, industry-specific practices.

As with the SaaS option, it is important with hosted ERP implementations to carefully control customizations, only implementing those deemed essential to run a differentiated business.

There is not currently an effective or accurate way to compare hosting costs during development for hosted ERP vs. SaaS ERP. With SaaS ERP, the infrastructure cost is embedded in the “price per” approach used by the SaaS ERP vendor so there is not an easy way to extract this value. As noted previously, during implementation of a hosted ERP solution, the infrastructure for non-production environments is separately contracted with a third-party cloud provider or through the third-party systems integrator, so that cost is available, although it may be bundled in the price for the hosted ERP.

8

Application management costsAs noted, it is important to understand that application management costs exist in both the SaaS and hosted models. The misconception that SaaS ERP incurs no application management costs stems mostly from the fact that vendor pricing for SaaS ERP, paid on a “per-something” basis (for example, per employee or per type of employee per month), covers many infrastructure items such as the hardware, maintenance of the operating system, and database administrative tasks.

After go-live, a SaaS ERP customer continues to “rent” the underlying technology (shared infrastructure and shared database) through the per-user fee. More than likely, some customizations, add-ons or interfaces will be developed or configured uniquely as part of a SaaS ERP implementation. It is also natural to assume that break-fix may be required in cases where an interface changes or other enhancements are required. In addition, the need for help desk/functional contact support will still exist: although some functions are taken care of by the SaaS ERP vendors (such as password reset), users will still have questions or they may want to request enhancements or changes.

As upgrades are rolled out (approximately two to four times per year depending on the SaaS ERP product), a customer will need to review each upgrade’s functionality to see if it will have an impact on the existing production solution. In other words, some minimal regression testing will usually be necessary to accommodate each upgrade just to ensure the existing functionality still works. For example, training may sometimes be required after an upgrade is released. Another important cost factor to consider is that hosted ERP requires database management of the provider’s single-tenant application. Hidden within the cost-per-user fee for SaaS ERP are economies of scale in a multi-tenant environment when compared with the dedicated databases of a single-tenant hosted ERP implementation. For example, if an organization decides to make changes and a post-implementation project starts, SaaS ERP has tools to create a new environment in less than one hour; for hosted ERP, this step could range from a few days up to three weeks, including provisioning of the hardware in the cloud, installation of the software and transfer of any data.

Considering these factors, application management of SaaS ERP tools should always include a release management plan, environment management playbook, and configuration management documentation that is reviewed and updated continuously.

Another factor to consider is whether a customer has the skills to support the delivery option that is chosen. With the hosted ERP model, many support tasks require a technical resource; with the SaaS ERP model, this work can often be done by a subject matter expert without deep technical skills.

Cost considerations, although prominent in any IT executive’s decision-making process about cloud-based ERP, must be balanced at all times against other issues which may, if not managed properly, undermine the cost benefits presumed from one option or the other. One important issue has to do with the risks and complexity associated with customization and ensuring that the proper business functionality is in place.

Customization considerations with Saas ERP Each SaaS ERP vendor has a unique way to customize its products specifically to a business. Some offer toolsets (commonly embedded as a toolkit within the Platform as a Service or PaaS) that enable an organization to make specific changes or enhancements. In fact, certain extensions, such as a standard bill-pay application or industry-specific customizations, may be available through an app store. Such a store—a central website managed by the SaaS ERP vendor—offers pre-built solutions from other third parties to the community of users for an incremental charge. This means that SaaS ERP users have the ability to leverage the work completed by others, finding a solution or extension on the app store at a fraction of the initial cost. The customization question, however, must be carefully considered. Some SaaS ERP products do not offer any toolset for PaaS customization. In such cases, the only way to get customized functionality is either through changes made directly by the SaaS ERP vendor to the core software base or by a custom solution built separately that interfaces with the

SaaS ERP. In cases where a PaaS toolset is available, it is important to understand any limitations with building customizations as each toolset offers different degrees of flexibility. The fact that customizations may not be an option with SaaS ERP, or that severe limitations on such customization may be in place, is often not adequately understood and considered during the selection of a cloud delivery model. Similarly, because customers or clients are dependent on the SaaS ERP vendor for future functional updates, it is important to understand how requests for new functionality are prioritized. Although in some cases it may be possible to partner with SaaS ERP vendors to accelerate a release timeline, in general a vendor will want to build a solution or update for all customers, embedding new functionality in the product itself.. Although SaaS ERP offers important benefits in terms of cost and scalability, these benefits can potentially be undermined if the software solution itself does not adequately support the particular processes of an industry. Because SaaS ERP is at an early stage in its evolution, relatively few pre-configured industry solutions exist that offer functionality as rich as that in the core ERP products themselves. In some early-adopter industries, certain SaaS ERP customizations (also known as add-ons) or pre-configured options are available. (See box: “SaaS add-ons from Accenture Advanced Enterprise Solutions.”)

9

Functionality and customization: Risk and complexity considerations

Saas add-ons from Accenture Advanced Enterprise SolutionsAccenture Advanced Enterprise Solutions (AAES) is a patented framework and set of deliverables that industrializes all aspects of an ERP program and related business services. Available for 19 industries, it links industry-specific leading business processes and key performance indicators with a preconfigured ERP platform (on-premise, private cloud, public cloud or SaaS) that can be leveraged throughout the application lifecycle, from analysis and design through implementation and support. For example, Accenture and SAP worked together to assess potential functionality gaps in SAP’s ERP SaaS product, Business ByDesign that could have an impact on implementations in the chemicals industry. Drawing on 30 years of experience in the chemicals industry, Accenture prioritized and filled five key functionality gaps with add-ons that met functionality seen as critical to chemical companies. These add-ons help enable a SaaS ERP system to work toward key functional needs within an industry, and therefore have a direct impact on a company’s performance beyond the obvious areas of return such as elimination of hardware, software, data center space and software maintenance For companies using SaaS solutions as extensions to an on-premise core ERP system, AAES supports integration of operations between corporations and their subsidiaries within a hybrid IT landscape.

Customization considerations with hosted ERPThe fact that the software provided in the hosted ERP delivery model is still a core ERP system is an important advantage to consider when performing a benefits comparison. Core ERP products have been around longer than SaaS ERP; they generally offer a wider array of functionality and more industry-specific logic. In addition, because the ERP system is hosted in the cloud, the infrastructure cost is a pure consumption-based model; servers are provisioned only when needed for certain business needs or increased user counts. Clients incur less risk of over-purchasing hardware, and capital expenses can be avoided. Another important advantage of hosted ERP is that, through the services of a leading integrator, the software template is in many cases preconfigured to the needs of a particular industry or subsector and based on industry-leading practices. This pre-configuration enables a turnkey approach guiding an organization from design through build and then into application management and support. The industry pre-configuration is valuable to enterprises that want to extend functionality to a subsidiary, unit or acquisition because it does not force the new organizational entity to accept a global template that may not be appropriate for its way of doing business. The preconfigured template approach also typically results in a shorter implementation period, shaving weeks or months off typical core ERP delivery times.

In doing the cost-benefit analysis, it is important for executives to bear in mind that costing for hosted ERP is based on accepting a pre-configured ERP template as a means of accelerating the implementation. By not deviating significantly from the template and by limiting customizations to only those required to run a differentiated business, the overall cost to install and run the cloud-based core ERP extension can be significantly reduced, while system functionality can still meet a significant portion of the needs of companies and their subsidiaries. (See sidebar, “Reducing costs and risks with a preconfigured ERP solution.”) For most organizations, the hosted ERP model will be nearly identical to how they have determined support costs for ERP services in the past. Overall support costs should be less assuming there has been little to no customization (except, as noted, for the consumption-based model of infrastructure services which would normally be included within the monthly support costs from the integrator). However, the software purchase approach may be different. Many ERP vendors offer SaaS-like ways to purchase or lease their software. For purposes of comparisons in this paper, it is assumed that the company buys the software directly from the vendor and then pays a yearly maintenance cost. Our experience is that many organizations using a hosted ERP model buy the ERP software directly, rather than leasing it from a third party, because that approach provides the flexibility to bring operations in-house or to work with a different third party in the future.

Development costs can also be reduced if the hosted ERP model for a subsidiary and the on-premises ERP model for the central corporate organization are identical, because the subsidiary can benefit from any customizations performed for the core ERP system.

11

Figure 3: Reducing costs and risks with a preconfigured industry-specific ERP solution A key consideration in comparing SaaS ERP and hosted ERP delivery options is the extent to which a solution embeds industry-specific practices in the template that guides implementation and subsequent services. This chart compares SaaS ERP with a hosted ERP approach that involves adopting an industry template from the integrator/provider.

SaaS ERP Hosted ERP adopting an industry template Implementation Implementation involves configuration, testing,

and conversion and possibly customization (using SaaS ERP’s platform tools), such as RICEF’s.

Design begins from a base template and identifies deviations that could potentially drive higher implementation costs to support client-specific RICEFs.

Application management

Application management is required; first, all RICEFs developed require a break-fix component. Each upgrade usually requires some form of regression testing even if these additional capabilities are not going to be used to ensure the existing system runs properly. One item that is different is the underlying configuration; many times these can be handled by non-IT resources as the configuration is somewhat simpler than a traditional ERP tool.

Typical support based on functionality in scope; partial FTEs are possible by leveraging an integrator’s solution factory.

Post-implementation services

Some upgrades may require a project to accommodate them, rather than simply turning them on; change management may be required as well. In addition, SaaS ERP tools are still maturing and they are offering new functional modules; evaluating, configuring and testing are all still required.

The hosted ERP model adopting an industry template would apply legal patches only. New releases of function-ality need to be evaluated and implemented as a separate project.

Application software Application software and infrastructure are combined in a SaaS ERP tool. SaaS providers, as part of their billing to clients, take care of many of traditional items that third-party providers would be contracted for: e.g., hardware provisioning, OS monitoring and patching, database management and software maintenance. It is critical to note that this is the only form of revenue (other than consulting services) for SaaS ERP tools; these costs cover all R&D, data center costs, hardware, and associated licenses to run their application.

Clients buy ERP software directly from the vendor. Some vendors offer SaaS-like pricing; maintenance would occur annually ranging from 15%-23% of initial purchase price.

Infrastructure Using the hosted model with an industry template, an integrator partners with private cloud providers who manage the OS; the integrator has database require-ments and software maintenance (e.g., patches) require-ments. That work is typically included in the application management contract.

12

Today, when every business is now a digital business (for more, see the Accenture Technology Vision 2013, www.accenture.com), the on-demand, elastic technology of cloud computing needs to be considered by enterprises in every IT and business decision. The key question is not “Should we use cloud?” but rather, “How can we put cloud to work and weave its capabilities into the fabric of our enterprise—with business value uppermost in mind?”

Especially important during this transition period—when IT environments are evolving from legacy systems to the cloud—are hybrid environments in which on-premises ERP systems are augmented by cloud-based offerings. These cloud extensions can help organizations become more nimble—giving subsidiaries substantial IT functionality without compromising the integrity of installed systems, or integrating an acquisition faster and more effectively.

Conclusion: The importance of a trusted advisor

13

As IT organizations are increasingly finding, “cloud” does not equal “simple”—nor does it necessarily mean “cheaper” unless a deeper understanding of the capabilities and trade-offs of different cloud delivery models are accounted for.

Whether an organization pursues a SaaS ERP model or a hosted ERP model, a “service integration” perspective will still always be important. For most organizations, a trusted advisor will be critical, consolidating various services and marrying the technologies to deliver on the one-to-many advantages that the underlying cloud technology promises to bring.

About AccentureAccenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 266,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Copyright © 2013 Accenture All rights reserved.

Accenture, its logo, and High Performance Delivered are trademarks of Accenture.

cloud based pov_single page

Documents