The rocket fuel your business needs: Cloud-based enterprise software

Rocket that's blasting into space from the launchpad with lots of smoke | cloud-based Infor

Businesses are paddling fast to weather inflation while still making headway in accelerating their operations. In the rush, a potent ally often goes unnoticed in their digital arsenal: cloud-based infrastructures – arguably the rocket fuel for your business engine.

It’s said often in this digital era, that to do well against the competition, businesses need to maintain efficiency and flexibility, just as much as the positive push of their workforce, to avoid falling behind and seeing the competitive gap widen.

Empowering swift responses to market challenges

Cloud-based enterprise software emerges as a game-changer for businesses, offering them agile platforms that allow fast pivots in response to any market challenges. With these solutions at their disposal, enterprises gain access to robust data that forms the bedrock for smart business decisions. With this kind of flexibility inherent in these platforms, businesses can be empowered to grasp emerging opportunities while remaining attuned to the evolving needs of their customers.

So, the real question they need to ask is: Why isn’t your business already operating within the cloud?

Empowering CIOs as revenue multipliers

As we look ahead to the landscape of 2025 and beyond, chief information officers are ready to shoulder more strategic responsibilities within their organizations. Beyond simply maintaining existing applications, CIOs now need to prepare to spearhead revenue generation, facilitate the launch of new products and services and orchestrate overall business growth. A fascinating shift is underway – IT teams are no longer confined to the role of support; they’re now the architects of grand organizational visions.

Cloud-computing adoption becomes the driving force behind this transformation. According to IDC’s research, a significant shift is expected, with “40 percent of the G2000 recalibrating their cloud strategies to align with business outcomes rather than mere IT requisites”.
Incorporating cloud-based solutions allows CIOs to delegate routine software management to specialized providers, freeing up valuable time for strategic initiatives. Rather than expending resources to maintain the status quo, IT teams are now catalysts for innovation, leveraging insights to nurture novel products and services.

Innovate faster to grasp opportunities

The shackles of on-premises and legacy systems tend to confine companies to maintaining their existing infrastructure. However, the rapid digitization over the past few years has underscored the need for strategic IT initiatives. Cloud-based solutions enable organizations to grow and innovate without being encumbered by expensive infrastructure investments.

The always up-to-date nature of cloud makes it possible to take advantage of new, innovative functionality more quickly and cost-effectively than was historically possible. If an initiative succeeds, it can be scaled rapidly and seamlessly to a wider audience. If it fails, the project can be quickly changed or shut down. Consequently, cloud solutions don’t just optimize IT; they catalyze a culture of innovation that permeates the entire organization.

Driving change and global growth

In an ever-globalizing business world, emerging markets and remote work stand as the new frontier. Traditionally, capitalizing on these opportunities has resulted in complex and costly endeavors, filled with technical barriers. Cloud solutions can rewrite this script, offering businesses the ability to establish and expand operations virtually anywhere, without heavy capital investments.

Furthermore, cloud solutions facilitate smoother collaboration between remote offices, business units and headquarters, helping to move beyond geographical barriers. With support for multiple languages and currencies, localization is easier to achieve.

In today’s economy, downtime means revenue loss. The business landscape demands unwavering accessibility to critical applications. Cloud computing, with its reliable infrastructure, stands as the answer to this challenge. Offering 24/7 availability, regardless of location or device, cloud solutions can deploy equipment that surpasses the reliability of most on-premises solutions, ensuring unrestricted uptime.

Simplify ESG and compliance

Navigating compliance and sustainability has often proven to be complex, expensive and fraught with risk for businesses reliant on on-premises and legacy systems. Meanwhile, in a cloud-based SaaS world, security and compliance updates can be pushed out automatically to the entire organization the moment they’re available. Not only does this simplify the process of keeping systems up to date, but it also ensures that everyone in the company has access to the latest information and tools to do their jobs effectively.

This is particularly pertinent for heavily regulated industries like pharmaceuticals and healthcare, as well as for companies operating across multiple countries.

Minimize risk, maximize collaboration and productivity

In pursuit of agility and functionality, workers often resort to shadow applications and systems outside the official IT framework. However, this can expose businesses to unnecessary risks. Cloud-based applications, when employed within the right security infrastructure, empower workers to collaborate more efficiently while safeguarding sensitive information and intellectual property.

Cloud-based enterprise software isn’t just a tool – it’s a paradigm shift that empowers businesses to navigate the complexities of today’s landscape with unbound agility, innovation and resilience.