Posted by Barney Beal, Content Director, NetSuite

Companies running their ERP system in the cloud have a distinct advantage over their competitors thanks to its ability to scale rapidly, roll out to new subsidiaries or divisions easily and the freedom from software and hardware maintenance that it supplies.

That’s a message NetSuite has been hammering home for years. In fact, Cloud ERP: Your Unfair Advantage was the subject of Zach Nelson’s keynote at SuiteWorld 2014.

So how widespread is this advantage and how long will it remain an advantage? Well, an early look at some forthcoming survey data from Mike Fauscette, vice president for the software business solutions group at IDC, suggests that companies that have already invested in cloud ERP can still count on a financial systems that is more agile and able to adapt to changes or growth in their business than a majority of their competitors who are running on-premises software. According to Fauscette’s survey of 4,000 organizations across 19 countries, nearly 60 percent of respondents said that they do not run ERP (financials) in the cloud. The numbers for the human capital management functions of ERP were roughly the same. However, businesses that reaped the rewards of cloud ERP may not be able to count on that advantage forever. According to that same survey, 20 percent of respondents plan to move at least a part of their ERP functions to the cloud.

Fauscette’s data suggests some strong momentum not just for cloud ERP but cloud business management systems in general. It’s something that NetSuite has seen firsthand.

Gartner, another industry analyst firm, conducted its own survey recently, claiming that 47 percent of organizations plan to have ERP in the cloud in the next five years, though Louis Columbus thinks Gartner’s number is too low thanks to the adoption of two tier ERP.

What does it all mean for the software buyer or those who have already invested in cloud ERP? Fauscette will discuss the momentum for cloud-based enterprise applications, what it means to the marketplace and for businesses making applications investments in the cloud and how today’s business leaders are using cloud ERP to modernize IT, maximize business value and gain competitive advantage in an upcoming webinar. Fauscette will also be sharing insights and survey results around drivers and inhibitors for investments in the cloud and how it fits into application planning.

That webinar will be held Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 10 a.m. PT, 1 p.m. ET. Registration is available here and comes with a white paper, Why CFOs Must Lead the Charge to Modernize the Business Now.