NAME – INDERJOT SINGH COURSE – CIS8004 STUDENT NUMBER – 0061089593 ASSIGNMENT - 1 1 Executive Summary ERP and CRM are both very much important for an organization but on top of that is the Cloud Computing which offers features that both offers on different platforms. With cloud computing, companies can easily process huge data within few minutes and this helps the company to make better decision and helps in understanding the market more efficiently. 2 Table of Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 3 Strategic Plan .................................................................................................................................. 3 Need for changes............................................................................................................................. 4 Internal Change Drivers .................................................................................................................. 4 External Change Drivers ................................................................................................................. 5 Current State of the Organization ................................................................................................... 5 Critical Success Factors (CSF) ....................................................................................................... 5 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................... 6 References ....................................................................................................................................... 7 3 Introduction Cloud Computing is a type of computing that solely relies on sharing of computer resources rather than being dependent on local servers. Cloud Computing can be said as the storing and accessing data and programs simply from the internet rather than relying on the computer’s hard drive. It is mainly used for computing services which includes servers, storage, databases, networking and software analytics and many more (Cloud and cloud, 2017). Practically use of Cloud Computing is simply limitless. There are various forms of Cloud Computing like SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. Strategic Plan The main difference between On-site ERP and Cloud ERP (Saas) is that On-site ERP is installed locally whereas Cloud ERP is available globally. With On-site ERP, there are updates always available to the current versions. If any new update comes, then company needs to install it again from the beginning resulting loss of previous enhancements that were made. Company that is using ERP is now five years old and need to get an update. Cloud ERP which will get updated continually by the provider and the company can always get the latest systems and the latest version of the ERP software. The advantage of using Cloud ERP is that even if the system gets updated, previous installments and modifications will pass on automatically. The main reason of doing so because with Cloud ERP, systems get much faster also the processing also gets faster which will directly increase the productivity as well as the performance. 4 Need for changes The application the company is using currently is On-site ERP which is much outdated and requires lot of support and maintenance which the company current does not hold. Also, with On-site ERP systems, there are updates always coming which are very difficult as the IT specialist of the company need to install it again from the beginning. To avoid all these, the company should opt for Cloud ERP systems where the company need not to worry about the updates as the providers will update them. Also, there is the CRM solution that is installed in the company is also backdated and which is not mobile enabled and the upgrade promises on giving these new features and capabilities along with the Cloud Computing services that comes merged with it . The biggest advantage of Cloud Computing is the Internet of Things which is basically controlled and monitored with the help of Cloud Computing from which the company as well as the employees would be benefitted the most. Internal Change Drivers The company should consider on installing Cloud Computing and should give up their ERP Systems and CRM Solutions as both now are available with Cloud Computing feature enabled in it as this would greatly reduce the workload from the IT specialists as they need not to install the system again and again. With the inclusion of Cloud Computing, company can monitor and collect data from their employees. This will help them in assessing their employees in a much better way which will in turn help them in increasing the productivity as well as the performance. 5 External Change Drivers With the help of Cloud Computing, the company can know much better about their external environment which helps in making better decision planning which will in turn give the company an upper hand over their competitors. They will also be affected with the social factors, legal factors, economic factors, political factors, and technological factors. Current State of the Organization Currently the company is involved in ERP and CRM technologies. ERP is used to increase the efficiency and eliminates any repetitive processes. It also maintains accuracy, consistency, and security of data whereas CRM is used to place the information of all the clients in one place and every member of the team can easily view that information. It can also help in generating reports and one can easily view the whole interaction with the client. Using all these, the company lacks many good features of Cloud Computing like the Security, Storage and furthermore helps in better processing of the data . Critical Success Factors (CSF) With the use of Cloud Computing, companies can take the advantage of Internet of Things will practically make their reach limitless. With Cloud Computing, they can store data anywhere and any part of the world and can be easily accessed. Also, the wearable that use Internet of Things can track the movements of their employees and the data that is collected will be stored directly over the cloud where it will be processed so that the company can make better decisions using this piece of information. 6 Conclusion Cloud Computing is the new era of computing where it does not depend on the local servers to get connect or look for hard drives for the resources. Cloud Computing is a groundbreaking achievement and the company should consider installing it. It also helps in making better decision making which can give the company an upper hand over their rivals. 7 References Amiri, A.K., Cavusoglu, H. and Benbasat, I., 2014. When is IT Unavailability a Strategic Risk?: A Study in the Context of Cloud Computing. Hollensen, S., 2015. Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education. Rothaermel, F.T., 2015. Strategic management. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.Rittinghouse,