Is the cloud the future for financial management systems?

The cloud has long been tipped as a revolution in business management.

It has a lot to offer in terms of accessibility, economies of scale and enabling organisations to be more responsive when it comes to buying services to fit demand. But what about financial management systems – with respect to core financial applications is the cloud likely to have an impact there too?

Gartner says yes

At the end of last year, a survey carried out by American research and advisory firm Gartner indicated that the cloud does seem to be the future for financial management systems. According to Gartner we are currently seeing a huge sea change in the way that businesses choose their financial management applications. Gartner surveyed 439 global senior financial executives and found that migration to the cloud was happening a lot more quickly – and sooner – than many had predicted. The research found that 36% of businesses will be using the cloud to support more than 50% of their transactional systems of record in just two years. So, by 2020 we could be seeing a significant organisational shift.

The cloud option for a financial management system

A large number of organisations seeking financial business applications are now purely looking for options in the cloud. And this is not something that is limited to larger organisations with plenty of resources to absorb a cloud migration. The Gartner research identified that around 45% of smaller organisations are already planning to move to the cloud by 2020. That’s compared to 37% of medium sized enterprises and 40% of large enterprises. So, right across the spectrum there is considerable enthusiasm for cloud migration for key financial systems.

The cloud has been a game changer

On-premise solutions are increasingly being de-emphasised in favour of cloud solutions, which continue to grow in popularity. While accounting professionals have been somewhat slower when it comes to embracing cloud technology, improvements in security and the obvious advantages that are delivered by the cloud have meant that even those who are more conservative about a switch to the cloud are beginning to look into migration in the next few years.

The cloud and financial management systems

The cloud has a number of key benefits that make it an attractive option when it comes to a financial management system (FMS).

• Enhanced security – there is plenty of evidence to show that cloud solutions now offer security that is more complete and better quality than many on-premise solutions.
• Scalable infrastructure – cloud-based services can be built up and scaled back, depending on business need, without incurring great cost every time.
• Business agility – cloud based financial management systems enhance business agility, providing real time insights and enabling mobile access.
• Evolution tailored to business goals – the flexible nature of cloud-based services enables financial management and support to be tailored to the actual needs of an individual business.

If you’d like to find out more about a cloud based financial management system and what it could do for your organisation our team of specialists is here to help.