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Cloud ERP solutions are preferred the world over for their awesome flexibility, powerful innovation, and lower cost of maintenance. No wonder many successful business brands have built their business on the foundation of ERP systems. In spite of that, there is a constant clamor on the security concerns related to cloud ERP solutions. 

Cost reduction is one of the key pillars of any successful business, but businesses also do not want to compromise on flexibility, ease of use, operational efficiency, and collaboration. This is exactly where cloud ERP systems have an edge. 

The vast majority of global big brands these days rely on some type of private cloud solutions, and these cloud solutions make the foundation of big businesses. All market predictions mention that in the years to come more businesses will switch to cloud-based ERP solutions from legacy software solutions. Apart from all other advantages, faster rollout of services is a key advantage of cloud ERP solutions. In spite of so many advantages, security concerns over cloud ERP are often pointed out. 

Are the much-talked-about security concerns regarding cloud ERP systems justified? Do cloud ERP solutions offer some distinct advantages in terms of data security? In this blog post, we will explain these things one by one. 

Busting the Myth of Cloud ERP Security Concerns 

Security aspects within all business systems are of paramount importance. Legacy software solution providers often express their concerns on the security of cloud ERP systems and claim to offer better security. According to most experts and seasoned users of cloud ERP systems, these concerns are baseless for several reasons. 

The first thing that one should consider is that in-house security staff and security tools may not be updated all the time to address evolving security concerns. On the other hand, cloud security solutions are constantly backed by a large team of security experts, who constantly update security best practices and tools to offer uncompromising security safeguards. 

It is almost impossible for the in-house teams to stay updated on a regular basis on the new viruses, evolving malware threats, and data-breaching efforts that make organizational IT security vulnerable. In fact, cloud ERP solutions offer some advanced security measures not usually embraced by in-house resources. Some of the security safeguards implemented by cloud ERP solutions include firewall testing across multiple layers, in-stream packet scanning, frequent vulnerability testing, and strong authentication and role management. 

What Are the Biggest Cloud ERP Security Benefits? 

Cloud ERP solutions clearly offer great value in terms of data security and safety safeguards. Here, we will explain the key cloud ERP security benefits. 

Reduced Cost of Security Management

Thanks to cloud ERP, businesses can lower the costs of managing security to a great extent just because all the security responsibilities and concerns are handled and addressed by the cloud solution provider. A cloud security solution provider will provide robust systems to detect security vulnerabilities and threats and will facilitate addressing these security loopholes almost instantly. 

Since cloud providers are well equipped with predefined and industry-trusted measures and procedures to address these concerns, multiple responsibilities, and roles, they help reduce the budget requirements related to cloud ERP security. The client companies only need to pay a subscription fee for the cloud-based ERP system they are using. 

Automatic Updates

The software-as-a-service (SaaS) model holds true for most leading cloud ERP systems. The model is considered ideal for most companies, as it ensures automatic upgrades and regular updates without involving any manual permission and requests. 

Since ERP systems are most vulnerable to frequent security risks and hacking attempts, quick and automatic upgrades and frequent system updates play an important role in improving a system with the latest and most advanced features and by meeting the latest security requirements. 

Safeguarding from Denial-of-Service (DoS) Attacks

Cloud ERP systems enjoy a great edge in terms of dealing with denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. This DoS attack takes place at times when legitimate and valid users are prevented from accessing the ERP service by the attackers. The vast majority of such attacks occur when too many superfluous requests sent by the attacker flood and choke the system so that original user requests cannot be fulfilled. 

Cloud ERP solutions, on the other hand, operate through distributed data centers spread all over the world; naturally, so many servers across locations cannot be flooded by superfluous requests at a given time. Distributed data centers and servers of cloud networks thus ensure a much-enhanced defense against all types of DoS attacks. On top of this, cloud-based ERP system providers have dedicated teams to handle such attacks and hence can thwart DoS attacks much faster. 

Adhering to Advanced Encryption and Compliance

Cloud ERP systems ensure encrypting data in both transit state and at-resting state, and such comprehensive encryption ensures more security for the system as well as data. Cloud ERP systems come with security tools that actively use the HTTPS protocol to deal with web traffic and highly secure SDKs to implement encryption for apps and default encryption for data in-store. 

The cloud ERP systems ensure extreme ease in respect of meeting security compliance needs. To ensure speed in meeting compliance needs, cloud-based ERP systems provide pre-built templates that save a lot of time and effort for the in-house team. Without doing much except tapping on a few options and buttons, enterprises can adhere to compliance needs and can avert risks. 

Checklist to Select the Most Secure Cloud Provider

Now that you have a fair idea about the advantages of opting for cloud ERP solutions, let’s provide here a comprehensive checklist to choose the right cloud service provider. 

• What kind of flexibility does the agreement with the cloud service provider offer? How flexible are they in cases of decreasing the scope of the contract or termination of the contract? Do they have a well-articulated exit practice?
• Is the country of server location legally binding with the compliance requirements of the company? 
• Does the service provider have a global footprint and are the services rolled out on a global scale? 
• Do the security certificates provided by the cloud provider company fulfill the security needs of the business?
• What is the minimum uptime of the service? 
• What kind of promptness does the customer support of the service provider ensure? How fast can customers get in touch with a help desk and what concerns they can resolve? 
• Is the service provider equipped enough to deal with every legacy software and tool that is being migrated to the new ecosystem? 
• Does the cloud service offer a good template engine with a multitude of templates that can be reused? 
• Does the service offer a robust backup system to deal with unforeseen events and calamities? 
• Does the cloud service have a well-articulated strategy to allow access via mobile devices and to address corresponding security breaches? 

The above-mentioned considerations aside, a company still needs to have onboard a specialist with comprehensive knowledge of cloud migration and customizing the tools based on business-specific requirements. The cloud service must go through rigorous penetration testing. 

Conclusion

Cloud ERP solutions have emerged as more efficient and secure for all enterprise niches and segments. Business-specific customization and security enhancements are continuing to make cloud ERP platforms more reliable than ever before.