Moving to the Cloud

One of the last areas that is about to adopt Cloud software in great numbers is the manufacturing market, large and small. The benefits are simply too great to ignore any longer. The current demand for business software to metalworking manufacturers is stable and increasing, particularly in market segments where shops are inherently small in size. The strongest increase in business software is coming from job shops and custom manufacturers in various market sectors that need an easy to run, easy to implement, easy to budget comprehensive business system that is highly configurable.

The evolution of Cloud technologies is helping these small to mid-size custom manufacturers compete more aggressively. Prior to the cloud evolution, business systems that provided many benefits such as inventory visibility, quoting and estimating speed and accuracy, accounting, etc. were predominantly deployed in an on-site model that was unreachably expensive and difficult to implement. For this reason many small shops shied away from a software purchase – a move that negatively impacted their ability to compete.

Cloud software is changing all of that by deploying mission critical data (inventory, accounting, capacity, estimating or work order management) that allows job shops and custom manufacturers to compete on the business side with systems that are affordable and easy to use.

ONE SIZE NO LONGER FITS ALL
Even though Cloud technologies are more cost efficient and easier to deploy, many of these systems still have one disadvantage: they are often inflexible. It is absolutely critical for cloud software providers to realize that the “one size fits all” mentality of manufacturing or ERP systems is no longer needed. In short, flexible cloud business software that allows manufacturers to build “fit for purpose” solutions is better suited to meet the demands of custom shops.

Every job shop or custom manufacturer is unique in regards to their competitive edge. Each one of them must achieve the flexibility they need in rapid fashion without the need to write costly and time consuming customizations. Configurable Cloud manufacturing software must address their need to be in the Cloud to be more cost efficient and secure, yet be flexible so the manufacturer can become more competitive. During the coming year, expect to see more job shops and custom manufacturers working with Cloud providers that offer a comprehensive package of business process management that allows them to configure the solution to meet their unique business processes.

ANYWHERE, ANY TIME
Another critical need for job shops and custom manufacturers is increased control over their business at all times. This is driving further and accelerated adoption of mobile solutions, whether it be the operator on the shop floor that needs to enter his data, the sales rep in the field that needs to check inventory levels or issue quotes on the fly, or the business executive that needs to check on the business intelligence data while in the air. Mobile, easy to deploy tools are helping to advance this trend.

This means Configurable Cloud manufacturing software must be able to be deployed on all major mobile devices on the market. Shops need this flexibility and they will adopt greatly if they are able to use their own devices. So in 2015, watch for manufacturers and their software vendors to move further into “bringing your own device” to work so that employees can perform their job activities anywhere, on any tool, at any time.

GREATER SECURITY
In the past, one of the main concerns about Cloud technologies was security. Not anymore. We can now safely say that the Cloud model offers greater security than any small manufacturer can guarantee with their own IT department, simply because Cloud hosting vendors are data and security experts and have procedures in place that are hard to rival. Cloud software offers a simpler way to deploy, easier way to pay and a more secure way forward. Let the manufacturer focus on making things, the software vendor provide the most comprehensive solution, and the IT industry make sure data is safe! This is where it all shines.