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Five Tips For Transferring From A Legacy To A Cloud System

Forbes Technology Council
Mark Rhyman
Mark Rhyman is the co-CEO and chief business development officer at Big Bang ERP.

With cloud computing still on the rise, the days of on-premise software seem numbered at best. Gartner predicts the worldwide public cloud services market will grow 18% in 2017 alone. And cloud computing is projected to increase to $162 billion by 2020, according to data from Salesforce. These projections are vastly due to businesses understanding the added value that SaaS, PaaS and IaaS bring to the table as far as day-to-day business activity in today’s rapidly changing ecosystem.

The real question is: Are you ready for the day your legacy system fails and you have to take on the challenge of transferring your business to a cloud ERP, CRM or industry-specific platform?

As an industry leader in the field of cloud ERP, CRM, MRP and ITSM consulting, my team and I have managed many implementation projects that include tremendous amounts of data migration, customization and continuous support throughout the process. If you’re considering making the leap to a cloud business solution, it's important that you and your team prepare yourselves adequately for the changes ahead and that you know what to look for when shopping for a solution that is right for you.

1. Select the right solution.

There are multiple cloud-based business solutions on the market but not all of them fit all industries. Selecting an ERP or CRM is already a lengthy process that takes time, energy and money for the implementation, so choosing the right one is of utmost importance. Re-implementation can put a whole business’ survival at risk.

2. Choose a system that’s a “true cloud” solution and not a “fake cloud.”


With true cloud, customers get instant access to product upgrades and are allowed to customize the platform without having to reimplement them every time there is a product enhancement. Fake-cloud vendors typically do not host, manage or maintain the business solutions. Instead, they turn responsibility over to a service provider.

Choosing the wrong system could mean delayed and cumbersome product upgrades, costly and unstable integrations and customizations, unplanned downtime, poor security, limited support and costly capacity extras, not to mention the concerns that come with working with a third party.

3. Engage your staff.

Keep your team informed. Assure them that they will be adequately trained for the challenges ahead and that there will be a support system in place. People tend to get comfortable with their tools. The idea alone of change makes some staff members uncomfortable because of the fear of learning a new system and how they will perform with it. Some people might even fear losing their job. Get department heads engaged to be early adopters and broadcast the message to their team. Appoint a dedicated resource on your staff to act as a sponsor/project manager.


4. Plan deployment carefully.

I’ve seen several business owners who were not able to establish proper cut-off dates, even though the system was ready to go live. There were multiple internal pushbacks out of the fear of going live.

The ideology of getting it perfect is a perception that varies from every individual in the company. I would much rather suggest going live even if you are 90%-95% ready rather than delay the whole company by another quarter because someone is uncomfortable.

5. Train, train, train.

Take it from an expert in cloud business solutions: There can never be too much training. Educate the staff and have them use the self-learning portals and study guides for their roles. Ensure that training is being done. Most of the time, people will get bored of doing it. You want to maximize your chances of having all of your staff members ready to roll once you kill the connection to the legacy system.

6. Plan your investment.

Differentiate nice-to-haves versus must-haves. Take a phased approach and implement must-haves first, as nice-to-haves might be costly. Ask for ventilated estimates that you can pick and choose from.

There is a solution out there for everyone, whether it’s dependent on customization or out-of-the-box features. There are experts who can help you in many capacities, whether it be for a full implementation or simply for support or customization after the fact. Whether you are hiring a team of experts to do the work or managing it on your own, it is still important for you to ensure you have committed to taking all of the steps above if you want to guarantee a successful transition. You have to ask yourself, “If I'm willing to invest my money, why would I not be willing to invest my time, as well?”

