Cloud Insights

Deploy Sage applications in the cloud with Sage Partner Cloud | Cloud at Work – with no monthly payments until July 2022. Cloud at Work, an approved Sage Hosting Provider is offering generous incentives to migrate Sage applications to the cloud now. You can now get up to 3 months of free cloud hosting* when you sign up for Sage hosting with Cloud at Work by March 31, 2022. You will receive immediate access to the hosting environment with no monthly payments until July 2022. This offer is available for all Sage applications: Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, Sage HRMS, Sage FAS etc. Get started today, for free, with Cloud at Work’s efficient, cost-effective, and scalable cloud deployment. Contact us directly to learn more about the Sage cloud hosting promotion and pricing options, or inquire with your Sage Business Partner. *Offer expires March 31, 2022. Qualifying businesses must establish a new 2 yr minimum Cloud at Work subscription.

Earlier in this series, The Cloud Wave: An SMB Imperative, we highlighted five areas of your operation at risk if you maintain the status quo and took a closer look into the first of those, supply chain challenges. Here we’ll discuss the impacts and dangers a remote workforce presents to an SMB’s technology infrastructure — and how cloud hosting can minimize those risks. What is the current state of remote work, and what does the fall of the office have to do with the rise of cloud technology? The state of work Forty-five percent of full-time US employees worked from home either all or part of the time in Gallup’s September 2021 update of its monthly employment trends. And 91% of them want to keep it that way — so much so that one-third of employees said they’d look for another job if their employer eliminated remote work. The reality is that digital tools such as Excel, Google Docs, video conferencing, virtual whiteboarding, and chat channels like Slack or Workspace have made a worker’s presence in offices less essential. At the same time, though, those digital tools have created or magnified significant technology challenges for employers. We’ve outlined three of those challenges below. Remote workers can be a bit messy There’s mounting evidence that remote workers aren’t as neat as they should be when it comes to risky online behavior. A recent survey from Tessian uncovered some facts that are sure to keep management up at night: Almost 40% indicated their cybersecurity behavior at home differs from what they practice at the office. More than a third admitted to picking up bad cybersecurity practices and using security workarounds while working at home. A majority of remote workers allow household members to access corporate devices for personal use, and 82% of workers admit to reusing passwords. Remote workers are also likely to use their personal devices for work, and they may also run mobile app versions of applications like Microsoft Teams or Zoom that can increase the risk that company data will pass through an insecure environment. Another study found that half of employees have downloaded or installed software not approved by their IT department. The VPN ain’t what is used to be Pre-pandemic, many SMBs relied on VPNs to provide remote access to a subsection of their workforce — typically purchasing enough VPN capacity to serve about 10% of their employees at any one time. Once everyone began working from home, these companies were hard-pressed to buy, install, and configure the additional VPN concentrators needed to keep newly remote workers working. The result? Slow, intermittent connections and frustrated, unproductive workers. In fact, executives in a poll conducted by Tanium in June 2020 named overtaxed VPNs as the second-biggest security challenge they faced as they moved to more distributed workforces. (The number one challenge was identifying new computing devices on the network, as remote workers logged on with their personal devices. More on this below.) An endpoint explosion The number of network endpoints has tripled during the pandemic — and more endpoints mean more risk. Unfortunately, the vast majority of cyberattacks are launched through network endpoints. One remote work security report surveyed security leaders and found that 79% pointed to network access as a top concern for securing a remote workforce. There’s good reason for their concern. A report from KuppingerCole shows that globally in 2020, endpoints connected to the internet experienced 1.5 attacks per minute! Another study by the Ponemon Institute found that 68% of organizations have experienced one or more endpoint attacks that successfully compromised data and/or their IT infrastructure. How cloud can help With an ever-increasing number of network endpoints, slow and over-taxed VPNs, and lax employee security habits, SMBs face a digital crisis. Fortunately, it’s a crisis that can be mitigated through the deployment of cloud technologies. For example, hosting the company’s ERP and other business productivity tools in the cloud minimizes, or even eliminates, the demand on VPN resources. Advanced, cloud-based endpoint protection tools along with multi-factor authentication provide increased security to remote connections. Today’s SMBs are wise to embrace the technology tools that support a remote workforce. Cloud applications provide remote workers with secure, fast, and reliable access to business applications while providing for essential security measures. If you’re considering a move to the cloud, reach out to a member of our cloud consulting team. And stay tuned for our next post in this series where we’ll explore the third risk in maintaining a technology status quo — data security.

To appreciate the scope and impact of the computer chip shortage, you need only consider that everything in your life that has an on/off switch requires one. We’re talking about your phone, car, coffee maker, that Peloton you bought in 2020 — and your company’s computer server. It follows that when semiconductor production slows, so too does the manufacturing and distribution of every device that uses one. To jump straight to the chase here, computer chips that power servers, like the one sitting in your backroom, aren’t readily available. If yours fails, a new one is a long way off. When even Apple can’t lay its hands on a chip, there’s not much hope for SMBs. In the introduction to this series, The Cloud Wave: An SMB Imperative, we highlighted five areas of your operation at risk if you don’t take action, promising to look more closely at each area in subsequent posts. Welcome to part one, where we consider how supply chain agility (or in this instance, the lack thereof) is putting your company at risk. It’s not too far of a stretch to say that your business is hanging by a chip. So, how did we get here, where is the danger, and what can SMBs do to ensure business continuity? Plenty of TP, but not a chip in sight We all recall the early pandemic shortages, toilet paper being perhaps the most notorious. Now the big pinch is computer chips/semiconductors. If you haven’t shopped for a new or used car lately, you may not have felt the immediate impacts of the shortage — but it’s real. In addition to the automakers, large tech companies face major supply chain challenges. Apple has lost billions as a result. Microsoft and Samsung report losses too. Even online game players are feeling the effects. How did this all happen? The short story is this. When the pandemic hit, automakers dramatically cut production, ordering fewer semiconductors. In response, semiconductor makers reduced their production rates. Considering that a single modern car can use anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 chips, the ripple effect was enormous. At the same time, a newly remote workforce began gobbling up laptops, notebooks, video devices, consoles, and cabling — not to mention Pelotons. HP’s CEO, Enrique Lores reported that  PC use alone is up more than 20% during the pandemic. Quickly, we were in the perfect supply chain storm of too much demand and not enough products. Out of bargaining chips According to CEOs of major tech companies including Intel, IBM, Extreme, Cisco and Juniper, a shortage of processors and other components could affect the availability and price of IT hardware for at least the next 12 to 18 months. Current lead time on networking equipment is 50-plus weeks. Many manufacturers and other buyers of computer chips have less than five days’ supply on hand. If your server dies, or you need to scale operations, can you wait months for relief? What would being without your critical business management applications cost your business? “The supply chain has never been so constrained in Arista history,” said Jayshree Ullal, CEO of the cloud networking provider Arista. “To put this in perspective, we now have to plan for many components with 52-week lead time.” Mark Dohnalek, president and CEO of Pivot International, a global product development company, sums up the challenge well, “The new way of thinking during this chip shortage has become: if you don’t have it in stock, you don’t have it. This chip shortage has taught us that the only way to succeed is to buy way out in front of demand in order to secure what is needed from the supply chain. Without this security, companies will have a higher risk level of being shut down for periods of time.” The chips are down. It’s time to cash in. In light of the challenges, partnering with a cloud hosting provider who already owns and manages hundreds, thousands, or even millions of servers is a viable busines continuity strategy for SMBs. Cloud services providers have reserve capacity built into their infrastructures, insulating them from the worst of the chip shortage impacts. In addition, they are continually ordering new servers and server components, so the long lead times are less disruptive — they’ve built staggered lead times into their operating models. Plus, cloud providers have buying power that individual SMBs simply do not. When computer distributors do have inventory available, they are selling to big buyers. We often speak of the need for SMBs to build agility into their supply chains, but SMBs get a pass on the chip challenge. Through no fault of your own, the chips are down. All you can do is respond in the most tactical ways. For most SMBs, the best advice is to rely on fewer chips by retiring the office servers and hosting business management applications in the cloud.

The cloud wave is coming. Perhaps it’s more accurate to call it a cloud tsunami. Your business has two options: ride the wave or get crushed by it. And if that weren’t enough, the tide is bearing down on businesses during one of the most uncertain times in recent history. Call it the perfect storm. Surviving the storm requires you to continually move your business technology forward. The forecast is clear: it’s time to move your business management operations to the cloud. In the introduction to this series we’re calling The Cloud Wave: An SMB Imperative, we overview five areas of your operation that are at risk if you retain the status quo. In upcoming posts, we’ll visit each of the five in greater detail — not as a scare tactic, but rather as straight-up advice from technology professionals who’ve seen firsthand the differences between businesses that embrace change and those that ignore it. Five Risks in Maintaining the Status Quo Our team here at Cloud at Work have identified five areas of risk potentially affecting every small and midsized business (SMB). Still,  companies that have not invested in cloud infrastructure are at particular risk. Supply chains lack agility The computer hardware supply chain is in chaos. Hardware lead times can be as much as one year. What if your server dies? The office is (almost) gone Everyone is working remotely, putting added stressors on your technology infrastructure, security, and collaboration. Security is insecure It’s not a matter of if, but when an attack occurs, and cybersecurity insurance carriers have strict new mandates. Inflation is a one-way street Inflation is higher than it’s been in decades. Even if it comes down, computer hardware costs are only going up. The workforce has forever changed The employment landscape has changed in ways no one could have predicted. Attracting and retaining top talent is a permanent challenge for technology laggards. The Experts Have Spoken We’re not alone in our concern for companies that aren’t investing in their business management technologies. Industry research giants like McKinsey, Aberdeen, PwC, and IDC all warn of the threat of obsolescence for companies that don’t invest in IT modernization — and highlight the opportunities for those that do. McKinsey researches note, “Success in the age of digital disruption will belong to companies that digitize their core businesses, launch new business models, and apply state-of-the-art technologies— activities that are possible only with sophisticated IT architectures and well-coordinated technology teams.” Aberdeen research found that when businesses transform their entire IT infrastructure to support the today’s technologies, they see significant benefits, including improved security (60%) and a reduction in regular IT costs (33%). PwC asks, “If not now, when? That’s the question to ask about modernizing your legacy applications. Building and running cloud-native applications frequently contribute to overall improvements in scalability, reliability and cost efficiency.” IDC’s VP of Worldwide Research said, “In today’s digital-first world, business outcomes and innovation are increasingly tied to the ability to develop and use innovative technologies and services anywhere, as quickly as possible. Cloud is the foundation for meeting this need. Entire industries want to intelligently leverage data to their advantage and can do so because they have faster access to digital technologies built on a cloud foundation.” In a recent Forbes article, the CEO of a cloud migration company put it bluntly, “Moving your data and workloads to the cloud is an imperative. Delaying may harm your company’s operational efficiency, while doing serious damage to your competitive edge.” The Risk in Inaction Business as usual is no longer enough. The risk inherent in inaction is too great — and the opportunities associated with cloud technologies are too compelling. We invite you to join us throughout this series. We’ll look more closely at each of the five business stressors, and how migrating all or part of your business management applications to the cloud can help mitigate the risks — and in many cases even turn the risks into opportunities.

Remote work is great for work-life balance, but can be bad for security. New networks may be unsecured and data from your business’ IT systems could be compromised during transfer. Without warning, something as innocuous as working in a coffee shop or knocking out a few tasks between flights could be enough to put your entire operation at risk. It’s no wonder 86% of chief experience officers (CXOs) believe remote employees increase the risk of a data breach. But they’re certainly not the only hack factor. Here’s how to approach protecting your sensitive company data from multiple angles with the help of hybrid cloud. What is hybrid cloud + security? Hybrid cloud combines the benefits of public cloud services with on-premise, private cloud infrastructure to create a powerful computing model for handling complex workloads and modern applications. Hybrid cloud security protects the data, applications, and infrastructure which are part of the hybrid cloud. That includes data security for information in transit as well as at rest. The design gives businesses more flexibility and increases their agility. At least 39% of global businesses are already using hybrid cloud, based on results from a 2020 O’Reilly survey. Protecting your data Leaders, employees and entire IT systems all share some responsibility in keeping your organizational data safe. To preempt a breach, take the following data security steps: Solidify and share your cybersecurity policy. Data security should be everyone’s priority. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. The onus is on leaders to continually educate their staff, contractors and other vendors on their role in protecting the company’s information assets. Use a cybersecurity policy to keep everyone informed and accountable. Secure your internet connections. The coffee shops and coworking spaces employees often feel most productive aren’t always the most secure. Instead of policing where remote teams can work, encourage them to utilize the company’s virtual private network (VPN) before connecting to public Wi-Fi. Doing so encrypts the data they access and provides a layer of protection from cyberattacks. Utilize a password manager. Remembering a series of unique, long passwords for every account is challenging for anyone. Password managers do the heavy lifting by generating strong passwords, storing them securely and logging the user in automatically. Update accounts with two-factor authentication (2FA). You’ve probably seen 2FA when you log into your bank accounts. It’s the two-step process that asks you to answer a “secret question” or sends a new, time-sensitive code to one of your devices after you’ve entered your username and password. This additional protection has been shown to block 99.9% of automated attacks. Install encryption software on your devices. Lost or stolen devices pose a serious risk to your SMB. Encryption software allows you to restrict access if an unauthorized user attempts to use a device once it’s been reported missing. Encourage your employees to encrypt files and documents they share via email or chat applications, too. Include firewalls, antivirus software and anti-malware for everyone. These should be regularly updated for any device that accesses company information. Make sure you have a technical support team in place who can help remote employees with this type of device management. Don’t rely on your hybrid cloud’s default settings. To ensure configurations align with your needs, perform regular systems audits. Leverage your well-defined API frameworks to identify bottlenecks and better adhere to data compliance regulations. Finalize backup and disaster recovery plans. Hybrid cloud architecture solutions often come standard with data duplication and recovery tools for cloud assets. However you’ll want to create a plan for any on-premise applications or data. Duplicates will ideally be stored in regionally diverse areas and backed up remotely from your source data. As we’ve seen, data security goes beyond remote workers, even if they are on the front lines. Staying ahead of the growing number of sophisticated attacks means addressing vulnerabilities across multiple fronts. A hybrid-cloud storage solution can help fortify your efforts. ol { list-style-type: decimal; list-style-position: inside; padding-left: 20px; font-size: 22px;}ol li {padding-bottom: 15px; font-weight: lighter;} ol li strong { font-weight: bolder;}

Deploy Sage applications in the cloud with Sage Partner Cloud | Cloud at Work – at no cost until April 2022. You’ve likely seen messaging from Sage surrounding its cloud initiatives. It has gained a lot of momentum with end-users, and Cloud at Work, an approved Sage Hosting Provider is offering generous incentives to migrate Sage applications to the cloud now. You can now get up to 3 months of free cloud hosting* when you sign a Cloud at Work contract by the end of December 2021. You will receive immediate access to the hosting environment with no payment required until April 2022. Plus, add in additional savings available via our Sage Cloud Development Fund: Sage Users who subscribe to Cloud at Work hosting for a minimum of 24 months will receive a credit to be spent with their Sage Business Partner to be used for: Sage version upgrades, software, support contracts, ISV’s, or other Sage projects. This year-end offer is available for all Sage applications: Sage 100, Sage 300, Sage 500, Sage X3, Sage HRMS, Sage FAS etc. Get started today, for free, with Cloud at Work’s efficient, cost-effective, and scalable cloud deployment. Contact us directly to learn more about the Sage cloud hosting promotion and pricing options, or inquire with your Sage Business Partner. *Offer expires December 31, 2021. Qualifying businesses must establish a new Cloud at Work subscription.

Deploy Sage 100 or Sage 300 in the cloud with Cloud at Work – at no cost until 2022. You’ve likely seen messaging from Sage surrounding its cloud initiatives. It’s an initiative that’s gaining a lot of momentum, and both Sage and Cloud at Work, an approved Sage Hosting Provider are offering generous incentives to migrate Sage applications to the cloud now. You can now get up to 4 months of free cloud hosting* when you sign a Cloud at Work contract by the end of September. You will receive immediate access to the hosting environment with no payment required until January 2022. Plus, add in additional savings available via our Sage Cloud Development Fund: Sage Users who subscribe to Cloud at Work hosting for a minimum of 24 months will receive a credit to be spent with their Sage Business Partner to be used for: Sage version upgrades, software, support contracts, ISV’s, or other Sage projects. Get started today, for free, with Cloud at Work’s efficient, cost-effective, and scalable cloud deployment. Contact us directly to learn more about Sage cloud hosting pricing options or inquire with your Sage Business Partner. *Offer expires September 30, 2021. Qualifying businesses must establish a new Cloud at Work subscription. The subscription and access to the hosting environment will begin when the contract is signed and continue through December 31, 2022.

Earlier, we worked to explain the differences between Public and Private Cloud and why the public cloud is not the best option for hosting your Sage BusinessWorks application. While the public cloud is an effective home for SaaS applications, for companies running Sage BusinessWorks, private cloud hosting is the single best option. It amplifies the advantages of the cloud while minimizing the traditional disadvantages. Here we look more closely at the differences, benefits, and downsides associated with both public and private cloud hosting options for Sage BusinessWorks. Private Cloud Hosting — SaaS minus the sass When we refer to Software as a Service (SaaS), we refer to a software application hosted on a public cloud. Dropbox, Google Sheets, Microsoft Office 365, and Salesforce are common examples of SaaS applications. NetSuite and Acumatica are SaaS ERP applications. Sage 100 and Sage 300 are not SaaS applications. But they can become Cloud applications, and in doing so can capture many of the benefits associated with SaaS. Both Sage 100 and Sage 300 were designed to run on premise. However, both can be hosted in the cloud — becoming what we call Hosted ERP applications. (Read about the differences between Cloud ERP and Hosted ERP.) For businesses, there are clear upsides to SaaS solutions — but there are disadvantages associated too. For example, SaaS ERP users have more limited customization options, they have no control over when the software is updated, and data usage fees can be unpredictable and expensive. A private cloud hosting option shares SaaS solutions’ benefits, but goes further by providing distinct, unique benefits including updates on your schedule, enhanced security, and more extensive customization capabilities. At the risk of confusing the situation, it’s possible to host Sage BusinessWorks on a public cloud. That still doesn’t make it a SaaS application — rather, it’s another hosting option in addition to private cloud hosting. And in most ways, it’s an inferior option. Public Cloud Hosting — Still not SaaS It is possible to host your Sage BusinessWorks on a public cloud service. However, it’s less than ideal. If you host your Sage BusinessWorks on a public cloud, the added layers of bureaucracy between you and your ERP unnecessarily complicate the deployment, adding cost, inconvenience, and frustration. You won’t interact directly with a public cloud provider. Instead, you’ll go through multiple intermediaries that may include a managed services provider (MSP) and a secondary cloud services provider (CSP). Public cloud services like AWS and Azure are not ERP experts and certainly not Sage experts. When you have a question or a problem, it may be challenging to know whether to contact your Sage business partner, your MSP, or your CSP. Depending upon the nature and complexity of the problem, there may be finger-pointing and confusion that increases the time needed to resolve your issue. In addition, there are hidden costs associated with public cloud deployments that tend to punish companies for growing. Quick guide to the differences Below is a quick comparison that helps identify the differences between SaaS ERP, and both a Public Cloud Hosted ERP and a Private Cloud Hosted ERP.   SaaS ERP Public Cloud Hosted ERP Private Cloud Hosted ERP* Predictable monthly IT expenses ✓ ✓ ✓ Lowered IT infrastructure investments ✓ ✓ ✓ Quick set up and deployment ✓ ✓ ✓ Anywhere, anytime accessibility ✓ ✓ ✓ Security handled by hosting provider ✓ Software updates on your schedule ✓ No application limitations ✓ Supports extensive customization ✓ You know who’s actually hosting your application ✓ Hosting provider specializes in ERP – specifically Sage BusinessWorks ✓ *Private Cloud service providers vary in the services they provide. This comparison uses Cloud at Work’s offerings as a basis. Private Cloud Hosting for Sage BusinessWorks is an ideal way to provide your organization with the many benefits of SaaS ERP applications, without many of the downsides. Private Cloud Hosting makes smart business sense for companies with lengthy investments in Sage BusinessWorks who are looking to maximize and revitalize that investment for years to come. Questions about Sage BusinessWorks Hosting? Contact us.

For the past nearly 50 (yes, really) years, businesses building and maintaining their own onsite IT infrastructure was the only game in town. Cloud computing has changed all that. A whopping 61% of businesses migrated at least some of their workloads to the cloud in 2020. Likely your business is already running more than one SaaS hosted application (Microsoft 365 or Dropbox, anyone?), and it’s a guarantee that your employees are. However, many Sage BusinessWorks users remain tied to the onsite deployment and the heavy IT burden and costs that go with it. Now is an excellent time to move your Sage BusinessWorks to a hosted model. Here are three reasons why you shouldn’t wait any longer to make the move. 1. Take control of your business Sage BusinessWorks is likely the backbone of your business operations, with all accounting, sales, inventory, purchasing, manufacturing, project management, and other functions managed through the application. Even short periods of downtime can be devastating, impacting your ability to service customers and zapping employee productivity. Should your server crash, it could take days or weeks to repair or replace it, costing tens of thousands (or more) in expenses and lost revenue. If resiliency, system performance, or security breaches become issues, your organization risks losing ground — and customers — to the competition. In short, Sage BusinessWorks is mission-critical, which makes the cloud an ideal place to protect it. With a hosted ERP model, your company’s instance of Sage BusinessWorks is hosted on a private cloud services provider’s (CSP) server in a highly secure environment. Private CSPs host your entire production environment in a stable and secure location with 24x7x365 monitoring and support. With near 100% availability guarantees, hourly backup snapshots, and professional disaster recovery services, your Sage BusinessWorks data will be safe, and your organization can continue operations, even in the event of a disaster. 2. Increase the value of your company If you are considering merger and acquisition opportunities, an IPO, or a business continuity strategy, you’ll want to maximize your company’s value in every possible way. A company with a bulky in-house computer system — especially when it runs the ERP — could be seen as risky by potential investors. There’s some mystery surrounding an internally hosted IT infrastructure that makes it more difficult for investors to access, understand, value, and maintain going forward. In short, investors demand visibility and accessibility — two things most in-house ERP deployments lack. With the vast majority of workloads either in the cloud or moving to the cloud, the cloud becomes the place to park your Sage BusinessWorks. With your hosting company handling all maintenance and support of the system, a budgetable monthly cost, and the cloud deployment providing anytime, anywhere access, investors have a clearer, more concise vision of your operation that’s extremely valuable. 3. Improve employee productivity Labor is the single largest expense for most companies, so it’s of strategic advantage when you can optimize every hour worked. Is it really in your company’s best interest to continue to host and maintain Sage BusinessWorks on premise? In addition to the staff time required to keep it running optimally, there’s also the “window within a window” remote access inconvenience that zaps performance and wastes time. Also, in this tight labor market, it’s increasingly difficult (and expensive) to hire and retain talented IT professionals. In short, your human capital may be better spent on activities other than maintaining your ERP application in house. Moving your Sage BusinessWorks to a hosted cloud deployment model allows you reallocate IT resources to focus more on growing the business and less on maintaining and updating technology. In addition, cloud deployments provide convenient anytime/anywhere access for your staff — something that proved invaluable during the pandemic. The flexibility, reliability, security, and accessibility provided through a hosted ERP scenario can boost overall productivity and allow you to focus resources more strategically. Your company’s investment in Sage BusinessWorks is significant, spans many years — and will perform well for many years to come. But your method of deployment could use an update. Cloud Hosted ERP offers numerous benefits to growing companies, including improved security and backup, better visibility and accessibility, and enhanced employee productivity. As a Sage Cloud Hosting specialist, Cloud at Work understands Sage BusinessWorks and will work with you and your Sage partner to make the transition to hosting simple, straightforward, and seamless. Contact us with your questions.