Relying on your ERP system for business mobility

Data accessibility is so important to modern organisations, especially after the impact of COVID-19. The shift to remote work has placed a much more significant focus on cloud-based solutions as the pathway to maintaining profitability and efficiency. As a single source of truth to capture data across your entire organisation, your ERP or business management system should be the foundation of your business mobility. This is why the cloud-based ERP systems are becoming more prevalent, they empower your team to improve efficiency from anywhere and at any time.

MYOB Exo is a sophisticated, traditionally on-premise ERP system that can fully integrate your financial and business management data. The software has been deployed in over 3000 mid-tier organisations across Australia and New Zealand. Companies have benefitted from the typically lower cost to implement than other mid-market ERP packages.

Benefits over an on-premise system

Hosting brings a raft of benefits to modern organisations:

• Anywhere, anytime accessibility – as long as you have an internet connection you have access to your system,
• Collaboration and communication – your team can work together confident they are looking at the same up-to-date information at the same time,
• Scalability and flexibility to your changing needs – hosting providers allow instant scalability to support your growing team or operations with low upfront cost,
• Disaster recovery and continuity – automatic backup files and backup servers maintain continuity and preserve your data securely,
• Ongoing maintenance and burden of responsibility – no need for onsite server maintenance, upgrades, housings, and software upgrades.

MYOB Exo’s mobility challenge

As an on-premise solution, MYOB Exo requires direct access to the physical server that houses your database. This is very desirable for companies who:

• Need deep integration with other systems,
• Struggle with poor internet connections,
• Have particular and customised functional requirements,
• Have security concerns and prefer to be in direct control of their database, or
• Have existing I.T. infrastructure that can be leveraged, saving costs in the short term.

However, MYOB Exo also suffers from the common limitations of on-premise solutions, compared to more modern cloud ERP systems.

• Restricted accessibility and potential for remote work – users generally need to be onsite to access data; there are VPN and remote desktop workarounds, but these are slow and face reliability issues,
• Infrastructure dependence – you must budget for the resources to purchase and maintain on-premise servers, a mix of large upfront and ongoing costs,
• Burden of responsibility – your team is responsible for backups, maintenance, disaster recovery, and software updates; it is a significant undertaking to ensure this is done properly,
• Slow and expensive scalability – once you reach the capacity for a single server you must purchase, maintain, backup etc. another compounding the burden of responsibility.

With all the benefits that come with an on-premise solution, for a vast majority of organisations, the benefits of working in a true SaaS environment far outweigh the benefits of remaining on-premise. Unless your current system has specific, dedicated functionality that is ultimately required for your organisation, many larger, more complex organisations will be better off in the cloud.

If MYOB Exo remains your preferred solution, we offer ExoHosted, a fully hosted solution with many of the benefits of a full SaaS Cloud solution.

Leverage a flexible, mobile MYOB ERP in the cloud

 MYOB Acumatica (formerly MYOB Advanced) is a powerful cloud-based business management platform. It is based on the fastest-growing SaaS cloud ERP platform in the world, Acumatica. Acumatica is built for the cloud, not a legacy system that has been adapted to a hosted environment. MYOB Acumatica shares the same platform, network, and functionality suite as Acumatica and you benefit from its localisation to the Australian and New Zealand market.

You can manage your entire organisation from the scalable, flexible, integrated MYOB Acumatica business management platform. Like MYOB Exo, it collects both financial and non-financial data from across multiple branches and arms of your complex organisation and brings it all together as a single source of truth in the cloud. However, MYOB Acumatica has a different and expanded set of functionality compared to MYOB Exo.

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) safely and securely manages all MYOB Acumatica data storage in the cloud. Backups are run daily and stored on a 30-day schedule,
• A range of integrated modules, including industry-specific editions, inventory management, project management, customer relationship management (CRM), payroll and workforce management, and more,
• Analyse data in real-time with live dashboards, automatically maintained by the connected database,
• SaaS-based subscription model: you only pay one single fee to MYOB for what you use, including server requirements and easy-to-add and customisable licences for additional users,
• Use the MYOB Acumatica mobile app to see all this information and more can be viewed anywhere, anytime. The app can also create cases, log expense claims, update contacts, or approve documents – so your entire team is constantly connected for greater efficiency with MYOB Acumatica.
• Cost efficiency and return on investment – Software as a Service (SaaS) systems are billed on a subscription basis and allow more measurable ROI.

Making your way through the ERP Selection process eBook

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MYOB Exo in the cloud with ExoHosted.

MYOB Exo can be hosted in the cloud with ExoHosted. It is an innovative solution that combines the classic MYOB Exo Business software with our cloud-based technology, allowing you to take advantage of uninterrupted, 24/7 service. This ExoHosted framework is maintained and managed by the expert Kilimanjaro Consulting team. you can trust us to manage every aspect of your MYOB Exo journey, from your implementation and support to your cloud migration. ExoHosted represents the next step in accelerating your business at a reasonable cost and to heights previously unimaginable.

Long-standing MYOB Exo clients who are not yet ready for a cloud migration can still benefit from working in the cloud. ExoHosted gives you the full accessibility of your on-premise system, anywhere, anytime through a web browser. As your database is no longer stored on-premise, you remove the costs of server maintenance and hardware capital costs – instead, this is all bundled into a monthly hosting fee.

MYOB Exo OntheGo

The OntheGo App is free and included as part of your main MYOB Exo licence, based on the number of Finance and CRM licences you currently have. MYOB Exo OntheGo is designed to give you access to your data, in real-time, for staff that are potentially on the road.

Within the app, you can:

• View debtor and contact information, past transactions, activities, tasks, and invoices,
• Raise sales orders and quotes.

OntheGo is primarily designed to give you out-of-office visibility of your data, but very little writeback functionality is available. MYOB Exo OntheGo is a suitable option for mobile sales teams who travel to meet with clients and require visibility of up-to-date information.

Integrated cloud-based connected services

Integrating cloud-based connected services is a common early step on the pathway to the cloud. Connected services ad specific functionality for your teams and are directly integrated into MYOB Exo. Using these systems in the cloud gives anytime, anywhere access for your operational teams to improve efficiency, while retaining your core MYOB Exo ERP as a single source of on-premise truth. The power of these add-on services can fill gaps or enhance the capability of your native MYOB Exo system.

The MYOB Exo experts at Kilimanjaro Consulting have developed other Application Programming Interface (API) or synchronisation tools to facilitate a wider range of integration to cloud applications. SynKit and Vision K Xeno API are two solutions that facilitate integration to applications that are not directly designed to integrate with MYOB Exo.

Use these clever integration tools to integrate popular cloud-based applications such as:

• HubSpot,
• Salesforce,
• AroFlo,
• Shopify, and more.

Taking the next steps

Choosing and using the right software solution is paramount for improving efficiency in your complex organisation. Our consultants will work with you to make sure your MYOB ERP is built to fit your needs, now and into the future.

There might be other positives in moving to a SaaS cloud environment,  like eliminating costly on-premise server maintenance. MYOB Acumatica is a powerful tool for those organisations ready to take the next steps. Ensure you are informed about the implementation process and the other areas you can see efficiency improvements. If you choose to move your ERP system to the cloud at a later date, these cloud-based integrations can be preserved to streamline the transition.

How can software solutions improve real businesses?

The Arcadia Corporation successfully transitioned into the cloud and achieved a single, efficient platform from which they now manage their Inventory, Accounts, and CRM. They decided to move to MYOB Acumatica when they opened a new location and needed extra support managing their inventory complexities. Moving from MYOB Exo to MYOB Acumatica improved functionality and provided end-to-end management of its products. Additionally, integrations with their core business management system enhanced visibility and simplified reporting for the finance and sales teams.

MYOB Acumatica Case Study Arcadia Group

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Our team is experienced and proven in cloud migrations. Talk to us to understand the benefits and challenges, prioritise system mobility, and plan your journey into the cloud. Email sales@kilimanjaro-consulting.com or call 1300 857 464 (AU) or 0800 436 774 (NZ) to learn more.