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ERP implementations are notorious jobs. The stakes are too high and the threshold for making mistakes is very low since it can directly impact the business. Some of the common problems that could result in failed ERP implementations are:
- Wrongly defined business goals
- Inefficient planning
- Unending timeline of projects
- Zero ownership from stakeholders
- Lack of Change Management (User adoption, training, etc)
In case of proprietary software, you have to spend millions on licenses, and implementation, and yet end up underutilizing the time & material, miss project timelines, question your hosting options and limitations a vendor locking brings in. The TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) is calculated based on these parameters. The cost incurred for an ERP implementation is often high, and it is ideal to consider these factors during the selection of ERP software.
What if all you had to worry about was ERP hosting?
ERPNext — Open Source Cloud ERP
A modern solution, largely associated with small and medium businesses, ERPNext is raging across the industry as a no non-sense, value-for-money ERP software. The modern and user-friendly UI gets more work done in fewer clicks. The underlying web frappe framework makes ERPNext so simple yet powerful, that even large scale enterprises are considering this solution.
It’s not just an ERP, it’s a platform.
Being fully open-source, ERPNext comes with no license fee. It has proven competent for more than 1000 businesses of any niche worldwide. ERPNext has been built to give you enriched user experience, you just need to figure out the hosting of your ERPNext account. And that’s where this blog will come in handy.
1. ERPNext Cloud: Elegance gift-wrapped
ERPNext Cloud offerings are the SAAS plans that Frappe Technologies, the core maintainers of ERPNext offer to their customers.
1.1 Simplicity: Within a few seconds, your cloud instance will be ready for use anytime and from anywhere! The biggest benefit is the simplicity with which you can begin your ERP implementation journey — zero worries about the technicalities. That’s handled by us. Each ERPNext account that is created comes with a pre-configured email server and our team is constantly monitoring servers for ensuring top-notch performance.
1.2 Support Warranty: We also help you scale as your business grows. Moreover, our support team is available for any functional queries that could be an obstacle in your journey and unlimited bug fixes as well as security upgrades. You can raise issues using the In-App Support and monitor ticket status as well. The customers of ERPNext Cloud enjoy the benefits that come with our Service Level Agreement, and we guarantee 99.5% uptime.
1.3 Database Backups: Every day, ERPNext will do a full backup of your database(s) and they are replicated on another machine, following the master-replica architecture. You can set the frequency of backups and download them as in when needed. You own your data! You can also easily duplicate your production database for a temporary test environment (offered free of cost) for the testing new features, beta version upgrades.
1.4 Deployment & Release: Every third week, a minor release is done by ERPNext team to ensure that the bug fixes and feature enhancements (if any) are delivered to the customers. If you are on ERPNext Cloud, the deployment is done in off-peak hours and mostly there is no downtime. The timezone-aware deployment tool ensures that your business hours are not affected by scheduled maintenance.
1.5 Extensibility: ERPNext supports REST API, so based on your SAAS plan, you can choose to integrate with certified third-party apps effortlessly and create your own version of ERP. With server scripts enabled for cloud accounts, you can also customize and tweak the working of modules as per your desire.
All this is included in the hosting fee, which means you don’t need to pay more for availing these services. You just gotta select the plan of your choice and begin your journey with ERPNext Cloud within seconds!
2. ERPNext Self Hosted backed with Frappe Support
2.1 Own your architecture: ERPNext Self Hosted Plan is recommended for customers with advanced technical knowledge since this involves setting up and monitoring your entire hosting architecture. However, if you wish to have a private server but don’t have the IT resources, we can set up a private server and monitor it for you once you have subscribed for this plan.
2.2 Benefits of Self Hosting: Unlike the SAAS offerings, benefits that come with this plan are astonishing:
- Unlimited storage and emails — no bounds on how much you consume
- Account Manager from ERPNext
- Onboarding support for you to kickstart your business in ERPNext
- Functional Support
- Bug Fix Guarantee
- Scalability & Performance Upgrades
- Security & Vulnerability Fixes
2.3 Liberty to customize: The robustness, scalability and performance of your architecture matter a lot and we ensure that you don’t miss out on any upgrades or security fixes. Since there is no one else sharing the server, you get the liberty to customize the product as per your business demands.
Please note that the Frappe team doesn’t delve into customisations but we have a strong partner network that can be plugged in for custom developments, implementations, and more!
Don’t Let Curiosity Kill the Cat
ERPNext can also be self-hosted and you can easily manage it for your business: be it a custom script or a feature that you develop for your instance only. However, the cost of recovering from opening this Pandora’s box of customisations is quite high. Over the years, we have come across clients who got carried away with the power that the frappe framework gave them.
After a certain point, there was no rescue but to connect with the experts. Being an open-source community of more than 10,000 members, there is no vendor-lockin and you may consult anyone from the forum or our partner network. If things still don’t look well for you, the Frappe team is just one Contact-Us link away!
When used smartly, ERPNext can empower you to manage your business operations smoothly. It is literally the world’s first Do-Whatever-You-Want ERP. You must choose which hosting you would want to deploy ERPNext on. It’s not light against dark, or easy vs complicated. It’s about deciding which offering suits best for your organization.
