Cloud is everywhere. We have an average of 80 apps on our smartphones. As employees, we use another 36 cloud services at work. Cloud is not the future. Cloud is the now. Organizations continue to increase their investment in cloud environments—leveraging the technology to drive their businesses forward. In fact, nine out of ten companies will have some part of their applications or infrastructure in the cloud in 2019. Is your mining organization in the cloud? Here we highlight some of the key characteristics and advantages of cloud ERP software for companies in the mining industry.
Cloud, hosted and on-premise — what’s the difference?
The terms cloud and hosted are very similar, and for our purposes, they can be used interchangeably. Both refer to an off-premise installation accessed through an Internet connection. On-premise refers to the configuration where your servers and software are installed locally in your offices.
While technically the only difference between hosted cloud ERP and on-premises ERP is where the hardware and software are physically located, there are other significant differences that can deliver real value to your mining operation. Below are six ways a hosted ERP may be the best choice for your mining business.
1. IT resources required
When you own the server and operating system you own the maintenance. This can be a costly and time-consuming headache for mining companies. When using a cloud hosting service, the provider absorbs these costs.
Many mining organizations, especially during the early exploration and assessment phases, are leanly staffed. All available personnel and budget are focused on the mission. Few organizations have an internal IT staff, so cloud ERP makes smart sense. With fewer resources required to deploy, operate and maintain your mining accounting software, you can direct those resources to your core mining operation.
2. Real-time data access
One of the undeniable benefits of hosting your mining ERP in the cloud, is the instant access to real-time customer data, reports and analysis, from a PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet. With anywhere, anytime access your employees can be productive wherever in the world they may be working.
3. Support for global expansion
Increasingly, mining operations are going global. Hosting your mining ERP in the cloud is a strategic move for global mining companies. Without the need to purchase, configure and maintain servers on site, each new office can be up and running quickly and cost-effectively, with everyone accessing the same central database to promote collaboration.
4. Cost savings
In an on-premise environment, mining companies are responsible for the costs associated with their server hardware, maintenance, updates, memory and software. In the cloud though, you pay an annual or monthly fee to a third-party hosting provider for the resources you use and don’t have to worry about costs for maintenance, security patch updates, hardware upgrades or support. Therefore, cloud hosting of mining ERP is easier to budget for, as costs are stable — and overall costs tend to be much lower than the costs to establish and maintain an on-premise solution.
5. Enhanced security
Implementing cloud ERP for your mining business is almost certain to bring a higher standard of security than your in-house IT team can achieve. Hosting providers provide a wide array of security tools and features, including multi-factor authentication, data encryption, updated virus protection, automated backups and robust firewalls to protect your mining data and ensure it’s always available to you (and not available to hackers).
6. Disaster recovery
There’s a higher risk for hardware to be damaged or data compromised due to external factors or natural disasters, such as flooding or server crashes, while on-premise. In a hosted environment, your mining data is housed in secure data centres with multiple levels of security, electrical power backups and (depending on the provider) redundant servers.
A hosted mining ERP solution is a smart option for mining companies looking for flexibility, scalability, accessibility, affordability and security. Have questions about how to bring your mining operations into the cloud? Let’s start a conversation.
