Supporting a remote workforce is no longer an option for most businesses today, it’s a necessity. If you’re like most business owners, you may not have planned or even considered enabling a remote workforce when you set up your on-premise ERP system.

To operate at maximum efficiency, remote workers need reliable and rapid access to critical business software and data. While internet speed is important, one of the most important factors that most companies forget to consider is bandwidth.

Bandwidth vs. Speed

The first step to enabling a successful remote workforce is understanding the factors that impact their ability to operate efficiently. While both bandwidth and speed influence how quickly your systems can operate off-site, these two terms are not interchangeable.

Speed, which can also be described as Latency, is the delay data packets experience while moving through a network and is often blamed for poor application response time and frustrated users.

Bandwidth describes the maximum data transfer rate of a network or Internet connection. It measures how much data can be sent over a specific connection in a given amount of time.

Imagine data as water running through your garden hose. The water pressure determines how quickly water travels from the spigot to the end of your hose. That’s your speed, but the total volume of water than can be delivered in a given period of time is still limited by the diameter of the narrowest opening. That’s your bandwidth. If you’re trying to fill a bucket as quickly as possible, you’ll want to have excellent water pressure AND a hose with a large diameter.

Before enabling a remote workforce, you must eliminate as many bottlenecks as possible to ensure good performance. The bottleneck you have the most control over is your server. If your remote workforce is accessing critical software from an on-premise server, you may be trying to fill a swimming pool with a garden hose the size of a drinking straw.

The Right Solution for You

Updating your on-premise system to enable a remote workforce requires additional hardware, software, licenses, and IT support. Even with these updates, your bandwidth is still limited by the internet connection at your server location.  You may have a fiber connection that is extremely fast, but that is still a “garden hose” and not a “water main” moving at the same speed.  So end-users experience service delays, while others are in line ahead of them.  A VOIP telephone system sharing the same internet service further exacerbates this situation, as VOIP systems give priority to voice quality over data.

Cloud Hosting resolves this issue by hosting your system at a state-of-the-art data center designed to provide speeds much faster than your local network with bandwidth large enough to accommodate hundreds of remote employees simultaneously. In addition to these benefits, cloud hosting ensures that your server hardware and software are always up to date without any disruption to your service.

Your entire ERP system, along with all the necessary integrating solutions will be available in the palm of your hands so users can work remotely as required. Bring together all the critical systems used to manage your business, seamlessly and with a very cost-effective and scalable solution. With Cloud Hosting, you have the freedom to effectively scale up or down depending on overall usage, user requirements, and the growth of your remote workforce.

Other Benefits of Cloud Hosting

• Fast implementation time, providing quick access to full functionality
• Comprehensive IT support and maintenance
• Hardware, operating systems, and database system upgrades included
• Disaster recovery management with backups at the data center and offsite location
• Industry-leading security beyond what you can provide on-premise
• On-the-go access from anywhere with an internet connection
• High-speed performance from leading-edge technology such as solid-state drives
• Scalability to support changing business needs and supporting growth
• Rapid return on investment

To learn more about the cost-effectiveness of moving your ERP system to the cloud, read our article What Is the ROI for Cloud Hosting.

If you’re tired of using outdated systems and the extensive costs of managing on-premise servers, transitioning to the cloud may be for you. Through the Attivo Dedicated Cloud, we have helped clients regain control of their company’s IT costs through world-class hosted infrastructure while significantly reducing costs. Click here for more information about transitioning ERP systems like Macola or SAP Business One to the cloud or visit our FAQ page for answers to the most common questions.

If you have questions about cloud hosting and how the Attivo Group can help effectively transition your business give us a call at 877-428-8486.