CTRM in the Cloud
Brady PLC
Introduction
The days when businesses were required to procure and manage the technical infrastructure that software
requires to run are fast disappearing. 61% of businesses were expected to have at least some parts of their
operation hosted or in the Cloud by the end of 2013 and enterprise Cloud application revenues are projected to
have reached $67.3b by 2016 (IDC).
Cloud based E/CTRM solutions can typically be implemented in a relatively short time frame, with significantly
reduced in-house IT intervention and no increase in infrastructure expenditure. This dramatically opens up the
market for smaller companies in need of E/CTRM systems, who historically had improvised with spread sheets
as a consequence of limited IT staff resources. At the other end of the spectrum, larger organisations benefit
through the increased scalability and flexibility that in turn allow them to consume new services, features and
technologies more easily and in a more cost effective and agile way.
For Constellium, one of Brady’s customers, the rationale for opting for a Cloud-based solution, was all about
having ‘fixed operational costs (OPEX) rather than investing in infrastructure and skills needed to maintain a
specialised solution ... having easier access to skilled resources at Brady for problem resolution. We let the
supplier take care of ensuring there is security and failover for example’.
With the continual changes in regulation, increasingly intense competition and tighter margins, Cloud based
E/CTRM solutions make sense now more than ever. However, many in the conservative world of E/CTRM
continue to be put off making the transition. This is largely because they continue to be held up on a number of
misconceptions or simply because they don’t understand the options and benefits available from marketing
leading E/CTRM vendors like Brady. Brady can help customers understand the Cloud landscape and ensure that
clients get the right solution for their business. Brady’s Cloud solutions & services deliver reduced total cost of
ownership, industry leading security, reliability & compliance as well greater flexibility and scalability – through
a state of the art and future proofed platform. All of which enables businesses to move into the Cloud with
confidence.
Cloud Atlas
Today the term ‘Cloud’ can be used to mean many different things ranging from full multi-tenanted (or multicustomer) shared system/services running in the public cloud through to virtual or dedicated private cloud
environments. What’s right for one organisation might not be right for another. For example, customers wanting
ultimate control might opt for a dedicated private Cloud setup and often, for larger organisations taking their
first steps into the Cloud, this makes sense. The economies of scale might not be the same but there are still
significant benefits. Virtual private Cloud extends these benefits further without compromising on security or
control. For example, one key benefit is the lead time to be up and running with a private Cloud solution.
Production, test and sandbox systems can be made available almost with the flick of a switch and this represents
a dramatic improvement over on–premise deployments. The same is true for subsequent changes and additions
to those systems. New versions, features and technologies can be made available faster making Cloud solutions
more responsive to the changing needs of the business.
Dedicated or virtual private Cloud can be viewed as a low risk first step, giving clients the scope to become
accustomed with their new environment. Moving on from this, Brady w27W7F