Software as a Service (Saas) vs. On-Premise Dynamics GP

The world is changing…companies are looking more and more towards “the cloud” for their computing needs. It started with CRM systems, which some organizations consider “not business critical”, but now the cloud has encompassed full-blown Enterprise software and Microsoft Dynamics GP is no different.

So what is driving this trend towards Hosted solutions? Is it cost? Is it efficiency, or is it just a passing fad?

Aberdeen (c) reports recently released a study that highlighted the fact that the number of small to medium companies looking towards hosted solutions has increased substantially since 2009.

What’s driving organizations into the Cloud?

What I’ve found with my Clients and interactions with “soon to be” Clients is that cost is not the biggest driver pushing people into the Cloud. It’s strategy and focus. In other words, some organizations realize that their expertise does not lie with maintaining servers and upgrading system patches. They reserve those efforts for others while they remain laser-focused on growing their business effectively and efficiently. They let others worry about keeping their systems up to date and working properly…as they should.

When a company can find a “best of breed” accounting system like MS Dynamics GP available in the Cloud as a Hosted solution, then the decision is relatively simple. Microsoft has ingeniously developed a business model whereby their VARs (Value Added Resellers) can now offer Dynamics GP as a Hosted system. It’s quite competitively priced against other Cloud ERP systems (eg: NetSuite). Since Microsoft is still heavily investing R&D $’s in the future of MS Dynamics GP, the competition is going to struggle to keep up.

So how can I find out more about Hosted Dynamics GP?

If you’re interested in learning more about Dynamics GP in the cloud, feel free to contact us or comment on this post. We offer all of our Clients a side-by-side comparison of the total cost of ownership of the on-premise solution vs. hosted and let them make the decision. As a Silver Enterprise Resource Planning Microsoft Dynamics Partner, we offer both solutions and are happy to allow that flexibility for our Clients.

By Andrew King, WebSan Solutions Inc.