When considering the costs of an SAP Business One cloud migration, you have to go into detail to get a realistic view of the expected expenses. The different billing models of the providers and technical pitfalls of one's own IT infrastructures can quickly eat up the savings. There is a threat of sensitive cost drivers that are easy to overlook in the complex ERP migration.
SAP Business One running on-premise costs
An initial measure has little to do with a cloud to do. Around the SAP Business One Cloud migration costs at all, one should first evaluate the operation of the existing hardware and software in order to objectively compare them later with the costs of the future cloud solution. The problem is that the costs for most local software and hardware components are structurally different from cloud pricing models. On-premise infrastructures require significant upfront investment in hardware and software, but are then depreciated. The cost of an SAP Business One Cloud remains even, or increases with more intensive use.
On-premise costs for operation
A large proportion of the costs of ERP in-house operations is of course the salary for IT specialists. However, the costs for staff recruitment, training and "downtime factors" such as holidays or illness must also be taken into account. It is true that in-house IT specialists are also necessary when using cloud-based solutions. However, because they are freed up from some tasks, they can focus more on the effective further development of the ERP system.processes focus.
Even in the case of on-premise operation, costs for external IT service provider rather the rule. These should also be included in the cost calculation. Among other things, expenses for system houses in the area of IT equipment, maintenance, repairs, etc. should be included.
Of course, the rest of the IT infrastructure, including space and electricity costs, must be included in the cost consideration.
Check existing contracts
Often existing, contractual ties in connection with the existing SAP Business One On-premise installations are overlooked. This starts with rental leasing contracts and also applies to maintenance and support contracts and extends to expenses, asset management and audits. The SAP Business One licences that have already been purchased to date can, for example, be transferred to SAP Business One Cloud at Cloudiax "take along". The annual costs for software maintenance are still incurred.
Billing models for an SAP Business One Cloud
It is important to clarify when estimating and planning the costs of cloud services: How does the respective provider measure the utilisation of its capacities? At the same time, you should scrutinise the aspects according to which these are billed. The spectrum ranges from hourly billing for the utilisation of individual instances to calculating costs according to data volume and availability levels. This means that companies need as precise an insight as possible into which cloud capacities are required in which quality levels, when and in what quantity. Otherwise, you start calculating with a relatively cheap model and end up with unexpectedly high costs for an SAP Business One Cloud after an "optimisation phase". This is particularly true of the offerings from the "cloud top dogs" AWS (Amazon), Azure (Microsoft) and Google.
The application architecture and performance, for example in terms of the required RAM or the transaction data volume, hardly play a role in the usually generously dimensioned hardware in data centres. In cloud operation, however, this can significantly increase costs.
Software landscape in an SAP Business One Cloud
In the case of a migration of an existing SAP Business One installation is rarely just about moving the SAP core application. Especially larger installations run some extensions or add-ons together with their SAP solution. Integration and with additional software packages is also more the rule. Other cloud services are also already being used to exchange data with SAP Business One.
The additional software may have to be moved with it or cause additional data traffic, which can affect the cost of the SAP Business One Cloud.
Last but not least, not all third-party software can be operated on the cloud providers' infrastructure. It is not uncommon for small and medium-sized enterprises to keep individual servers with outdated operating systems in operation. The reason is that they are running outdated special software for which there is no replacement, but also no update.
Versions and updates in an SAP Business One Cloud
SAP Business One systems are often large and complex structures, even for medium-sized companies. adjustmentschanges and updates are well weighed up and usually result in small projects of their own. Against this backdrop, upgrading to a current version is already being dispensed with. Depending on the cloud model, this is no longer easily possible. Even if the cloud provider is only used as a Software as a Service (PAAS) conflicts can arise that force you to update to a new version. At the latest, if the updates are security-relevant, there is no getting around it, regardless of the reason.
Other user requirements
Users often cannot simply carry on as usual after they have moved to an SAP Business One Cloud without being asked beforehand. For example, a cloud environment must always comply with very high security standards. Any kind of shadow IT installed by users themselves is unthinkable. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is often also mandatory. The individual user must also accept that their administrator has less power to act. It is no longer possible to make quick adjustments or deal with a malfunction immediately.
Correct calculation for SAP Business One Cloud costs
From the above and the sometimes necessary many options and variations of the providers, a realisation quickly emerges. A quick calculation of the number of users multiplied by the base price for cloud use is in most cases a pipe dream based on often overly optimistic marketing. The SAP Business One systems and often the requirements of the companies that use them are usually too individual.
It is worth investing in detailed research and talking to experts beforehand.
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