17 Sep Cloud ERP – Native vs Hosted Solutions: The Choice That Will Define Your Financial Operations
Are you making the right cloud decision for your organisation’s future?
The shift to cloud ERP is no longer a question of ‘if’ but ‘how’. For CFOs and finance managers, understanding the critical distinction between native cloud and hosted solutions could mean the difference between transformational efficiency and costly technical debt.
The Hidden Costs of Hosted Solutions
Many finance leaders assume all cloud solutions are created equal. This misconception can prove expensive. Hosted solutions—traditional on-premise software running in cloud infrastructure—appear cost-effective initially but carry hidden long-term burdens.
With hosted solutions, you’re still managing traditional upgrade cycles, maintenance requirements, and the complexity that accumulates over time. Many organisations defer costly upgrades, creating expensive migration projects that can disrupt operations for months.
Native Cloud: Built for the Future
Native cloud solutions eliminate these challenges entirely. Built specifically for cloud environments, they deliver automatic updates without operational disruption, eliminate traditional upgrade cycles, and provide predictable operating expenses.
The Financial Reality Check:
- Native cloud solutions typically show higher annual software costs
- However, they eliminate infrastructure expenses, maintenance projects, and upgrade costs
- When factoring in SQL server licences, server hardware, backup systems, and periodic major upgrades, native cloud often delivers superior total cost of ownership
For medium-sized organisations, native cloud provides enterprise-level reliability and security that would be cost-prohibitive to implement independently—plus superior integration capabilities and faster access to new functionality.
Making the Strategic Decision
The choice between native cloud and hosted solutions isn’t just about technology—it’s about positioning your organisation for sustainable growth. Native cloud solutions provide the operational flexibility that modern finance teams require, especially in our post-pandemic business environment.
Key Questions for Your Evaluation:
- Can your current system adapt quickly to changing business requirements?
- Are you prepared for the true cost of your next major upgrade?
- Does your technology roadmap support or constrain your growth plans?
The organisations making the move to native cloud now are gaining competitive advantages that will compound over time. The question isn’t whether to make this transition—it’s whether you can afford to delay it.