Fashion in the cloud

Fashion in the Cloud

October 9th 2020 Hector Ritondale

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There’s possibly no faster-moving industry than the world of fashion. With the pressure on to pursue year-on-year business growth while managing seasonal variations and ever-increasing customer demands, not to mention a high-speed, international supply chain, precision planning combined with optimum levels of business agility is the only way to get ahead and stay ahead.

With a view to best managing the everyday challenges that come their way, more fashion businesses have invested in ERP solutions to provide that all-important centralised, end-to-end solution that pulls together all aspects of the business. But, with more businesses investing in ERP solutions, it’s vital that fashion businesses use their ERP solutions to their full potential, taking advantage of the many benefits they can provide. In order to do this, more and more organisations are shifting ERP systems to the cloud, resulting in increased levels of flexibility and agility, in conjunction with the multiple existing benefits that an ERP solution can bring. So, what are the benefits to be had from taking ERP into the cloud?

1. Managed hosting service
Cloud ERP means that everything is managed by a third party, providing remote user access via the internet in real time, as and when needed. There’s no need for any dedicated IT resource in-house to look after all things ERP, freeing up the IT team to focus on more strategic, value-add activities instead of firefighting more mundane, time-consuming issues. Responsible for maintenance, updates and trouble-shooting, a managed hosting service provides enhanced levels of system resilience and higher system availability, ensuring that crucial continuity of ERP access that the most dynamic fashion business require.

2. Cost effective
ERP in the cloud follows a subscription-based pricing model, meaning you only pay for the services you need. This almost ‘pay-as-you-go approach’ is much more palatable, not to mention affordable for smaller, growing businesses, and there’s the added bonus of not having to bear the cost of maintaining servers and hardware, something that’s taken care of by the cloud provider. The lack of indirect IT costs and the speed of deployment mean a rapid ROI and a lower TCO, making it much more viable for fashion businesses of all sizes and budgets.

3. Efficient updates
All handled by the cloud provider, upgrades and updates are managed centrally. Quick, effective updates are carried out little and often, in-line with industry best-practice, with your business no longer required to wait for larger, less frequent upgrades to bring the system up-to-date. Updates and upgrades are no longer a major disruption for the business, with less unforeseen downtime and rapidly delivered benefits making a real difference to the business as a whole. It’s not just software upgrades either, with regulatory and compliance updates ensuring compliant, frictionless international trade in even the most diverse of territories.

4. End-to-end Security
Once a key concern of those businesses considering a move to the cloud, the security provision offered by reputable cloud providers is second to none. If you consider that the cloud provider is responsible for managing the security needs of multiple customers, then it makes sense that it’s in their interest to make things as secure as possible. When it comes to ERP in the cloud, it’s most likely that the security measures you will experience will be far more watertight than anything it would be possible to achieve in-house, with many businesses seeing an increase in security when moving to the cloud. Add to this the advanced disaster recovery and business continuity capabilities on offer and you can see why the cloud holds such an appeal.

5. Scalability
ERP in the cloud is the most versatile of deployment methods. Such is the flexibility of the offering that your chosen ERP solution can scale and flex in-line with your particular business requirements. This might be to match seasonal variations or to support the business as it grows and expands into new territories or new markets. Vitally, this means your systems will no longer hold your business back, growing alongside your business as it develops and evolves, supporting your businesses through whatever challenges the turbulent fashion industry might throw at it.

Opting to deploy your ERP solution of choice in the cloud enables your business to harness the full power and flexibility of the system, optimising the solution benefits while reducing costs and risk. To succeed, fashion businesses need to build responsive, agile organisations, nimble and efficient enough to meet the challenges of doing business in the modern fashion industry. ERP in the cloud does just this, providing the secure yet scalable foundations on which to develop a flexible, responsive business for today and the foreseeable future. Speak with one of our experts today to find out more!