On the face of it, things have just got a lot more confusing when selecting a software strategy for your enterprise.   

But not really;  things have just moved on; maybe you should too ? 

There are three primary deployment methods:

• On-premise. management and maintenance of the infrastructure and application is down to  you.  eg. MS Dynamics
• Private-cloud. you only maintain the application and not the infrastructure.  eg. Acumatica
• Public-cloud. you subscribe and the maintenance of the application and infrastructure is performed by the service provider.  eg. Salesforce

There are three application strategies:

• Best-of-breed.  separate solutions are deployed in to functional area silo's that are not connected.
• Suite.  where you run your entire business on one system. eg. NetSuite
• Loosely-coupled.  where consumer-centric edge applications share common data (or a ERP back-end).

So what is the best approach?

The best solution depends on your pain points, long-term goals, agility, circumstance and budget. However we can say this:

• On-premise and the Private-cloud is costly, distracting and inflexible.  This effects your profits and revenue opportunities. 
• Public-cloud is modern, cheaper and more flexible.
• Best-of-breed is fun at first; until you end up with a confusing and costly mess.
• Suite's are great.   But the user experience for certain functions is sub-par.  
• Loosely-coupled combines common back-ends for processing and compliance with consumer-centric "edge"solutions for user experience.  The best of all worlds.

Here is why?

• Mobile and consumer-centric "edge" solutions are already familiar to your employees.
• Productivity is increased since the user experience is remarkable and tailored to the job function
• ERP access and module costs are reduced

How do I get started?

Start with a business design review to determine the right blend of systems and integrations for your organization.