A cloud ERP system can help bring about improvements in virtually every area of your day-to-day operations. It enables you to bring about growth in your business without hiring new members of staff, so it is an important area to explore before committing to making new hires. But do its benefits extend to cybersecurity?
Cloud computing is known to be highly secure. In fact, it generally beats regular, on-site storage in various ways. The lack of a physical server creates an instant barrier to data breaches, but that is only the beginning. Let’s look at the full range of benefits of cloud ERP for your cybersecurity.
What features of cloud ERP make it great for cybersecurity?
When you choose a cloud ERP solution, your platform is based in the cloud rather than hosted from physical, on-premise infrastructure. This facilitates a range of robust security features.
A Secure Perimeter and Internal Firewalls
A high-quality cloud ERP solution includes perimeter firewalls that check the safety of any data you attempt to store in your file packets. This is important because you are being trusted with the sensitive data of your customers and clients.
The best cloud ERP systems also provide internal firewalls. Many breaches come from within, often because an employee accidentally falls prey to a phishing scam. With the internal firewalls that cloud ERP provides, you have additional layers of protection against this type of intrusion as well.
Rapid Disaster Recovery
With its cloud-based infrastructure, this type of ERP system protects customer data by regularly backing up your:
- Operating systems.
- Applications.
- Data.
This makes it easy to maintain security systems and services even when disasters occur. Beyond this, these backup and recovery protocols maintain maximum uptime, giving your customer peace of mind about the security of their data. Bear in mind that you are more likely to provide a positive customer experience by reassuring people of their online safety, and cloud ERP can help with this.
Lower Costs
Cloud ERP gives you access to world-class security measures at a cheap rate because the cloud provider handles those responsibilities. Predefined procedures will deal with potential threats immediately, so you have it all covered by the cost of your subscription fee.
Advanced Intrusion Detection
A firewall is a strong line of defence, but you need to know whenever an intrusion attempt occurs. Cloud ERP includes intrusion detection capabilities that track and record attempts and deliver event logging solutions. Not only is this information helpful to know; it also enables you to remain compliant with industry standards. Cloud ERP has these tools built into their ecosystem so you don’t need to do anything.
Automatic Software Updates
When you are overly reliant on hardware, your business depends on the status of that hardware. If there is any fault or problem with the hardware, it can have far-reaching consequences for your business. And if that hardware is breached, it can be very difficult to recover your data.
What’s more, your hardware is the source of updates, and employees in the field will have to download it from there. This is an inefficient approach compared to cloud ERP, whereby all of your devices can get automatic updates from anywhere, giving them the latest security measures without putting a strain on your resources.
Denial-of-service Attacks
Cloud ERP is ideal for handling denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. These types of attacks prevent legitimate users of your service from access by overloading the system with requests that cause systems to freeze up. Cloud ERP is equipped to handle this, as the systems run on distributed data centres that are optimised to defend against DoS attacks.
What’s more, cloud providers have teams that are dedicated to responding to DoS attacks to nip them in the bud. There may still be a little downtime, but disruption will be far less than it would within an on-premise ERP system.
Encryption
Cloud ERP vendors encrypt your data while in transit and at rest, bolstering the security further. With protocols like HTTPS and SDKs, you get cutting-edge encryption of your data that makes it virtually impossible for intruders to steal.
What’s more, cloud ERP systems make compliance easier. You get pre-built templates specific to your industry, making it possible to stay compliant in just a few clicks. This will save you time and effort when you need to:
- Make risk-aware decisions.
- Facilitate accountability.
- Promote financial oversight.
What are some best practices for cloud ERP security?
Data breaches can have serious repercussions like bad publicity, declining stock prices and hefty fines. The security of employee and customer information should be a top priority. As such, you should follow some best practices to make the most of the security features of cloud ERP systems when you implement them.
- Produce a robust security and governance strategy.
- Keep software updated at all times.
- Focus on IoT security where necessary.
- Secure your ERP integrations.
- Evaluate your disaster recovery capabilities.
- Implement centralised identity and access management via your cloud ERP.
How to Find a Secure Cloud ERP Provider
As you can see, cloud ERP solutions offer a number of potential advantages for your organisation’s cybersecurity. But it is important to go with the right provider for your needs. When evaluating a platform’s suitability for your business, consider the following when assessing security features:
- Flexibility of agreements and exit practices.
- Server location country – is it legally binding with your compliance requirements?
- Does the vendor have a global footprint? How many clients do they have?
- Look at the security certificates of the cloud provider.
- Check the minimum guaranteed uptime.
- How prompt is customer support? Can you expect swift resolutions?
- Does the service include a robust backup system for disaster recovery?
- Is there a well-articulated strategy for dealing with breaches through mobile devices?
Once you choose your provider, it is important to work with a specialist who can manage the cloud migration and implementation of the new system. They will have the expertise to ensure every facet of the new platform is secure.
Why choose Eventura as your Cloud ERP implementation partner?
Eventura has been providing robust business solutions to countless organizations for over two decades. We are ERP experts and can identify all of your business needs, and deliver a comprehensive ERP solution that works for you.
As Sage 200 Partners and NetSuite Solution Providers, we can help you identify which solution will fit your business needs the best. Our expert team of business analysts, developers, consultants, technicians and support staff can guide you through your entire project, from initial scoping through to implementation and on-going support.
We’re also managed IT service providers meaning we can help you identify your entire IT infrastructure requirements from day one. If you would like to speak to one of our ERP experts, you can request a free call back here.
