KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 16 — In the information technology world, cloud computing is perhaps the most cutting-edge innovation of the 21st century.
Perfect for any business, cloud allows corporations to set up what is essentially a virtual office, while giving them the flexibility of connecting to their business from anywhere at any time.
With the growing number of web-enabled devices used in today’s business environment, adoption of new innovative solutions such as cloud has become more vital than ever before.
For the uninitiated, cloud-based computing, which is also called Software as a Service (SaaS), effectively allows users access to software applications that run on shared computing resources via the internet.
These computing resources are maintained in remote data centres dedicated to hosting various applications on multiple platforms.
As a result, it largely makes everything need-based and on-demand, from data security to storage, thus giving users freedom from the burden of huge investments.
To help Malaysian enterprises and corporations leverage on such innovations, home-grown IT specialist iEnterprise Online Sdn Bhd (iEnterprise) has become the channel partner of California-based Rootstock Software to provide Malaysians with the next-generation Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning, better known as Cloud ERP.
Rootstock Software is a worldwide provider of cloud ERP on the Salesforce Cloud Platform.
Through the partnership, iEnterprise will offer the software subscription services to customers in Malaysia and the region.
Apart from that, the 20-year established IT solution provider will also provide implementation, integration and support services to the clients who wish to adopt Cloud ERP system.
Highlighting the benefits of Cloud ERP, Rootstock Asia Pacific regional vice-president Henk Bruinekreeft told Malay Mail that the modern, flexible and digitally-connected system is designed to help transform companies and deliver a more personalised customer experience.
The IT veteran also pointed out that because Rootstock Cloud ERP is built on the market-leading Salesforce Cloud Platform, it shares the same cloud as Salesforce CRM (customer relationship management).
When combined with Salesforce CRM, Bruinekreeft said the software would offer a single platform to grow and manage a business with a single customer view.
Bruinekreeft also recalled that when they first started building the system in 2011, they set three main criteria — to be flexible, modern and digitally-connected.
According to him, the software has the flexibility to quickly adapt to customer needs and business changes.
“As businesses nowadays become more customer-centric to keep up with the customers’ demand, the software’s powerful analytics would let you act on vital business information and drive innovation,” he said.
Apart from that, Bruinekreeft said the software is scalable and digitally-connected, allowing the users to stay in close contact with their customers, suppliers and employees.
“Boasting an embedded social media and custom portal features, the software can also connect with any devices from anywhere in the world,” he added.
Offering a broad range of solutions, Bruinekreeft said the software would perfectly suit manufacturing, distribution and supply chain organisations to help them grow and manage their businesses.
“The core industries that are geared towards us are heavy equipment manufacturers, high-tech manufacturers, medical equipment device manufacturing as well as aerospace and defence,” he added.
Highlighting the importance of moving towards cloud computing, Bruinekreeft said the technology offers businesses accuracy, efficiency, accessibility of data and great connectivity that will eventually help elevate the customer experience.
Moving forward, Bruinekreeft forecasted that there will be a “tsunami” in ERP Cloud, mainly because many of the systems we are using today were implemented around the year 2000.
“A lot of the people who designed those systems are retiring and a group of millennials are joining the workforce and expect systems like mobile phones.
“Companies with old-fashioned and outdated infrastructure will not be able to attract the right calibre of talents for the future if they fail to offer them state-of-the-art solutions,” he said.
Bruinekreeft added that the successful companies in the future will be those who are now enabling digital information, if not they’ll soon find themselves too far behind to catch up with their rivals.
Speaking about the partnership, iEnterprise chief executive officer Jimmy Cheah said the idea behind introducing such solutions in Malaysia was to help Malaysian companies boost productivity and competitiveness.
“The move is in line with the cloud computing strategy which provides lower cost-of-ownership and faster deployment.
“On top of that, it is also supported by the industry and even at a national level with our Industry4WRD initiative,” he said, referring to the initiative that was launched by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in October 2018 to facilitate companies to embrace enhanced technologies in a conducive and comprehensive manner.
Cheah also pointed out that Rootstock Cloud ERP is a powerful software with applications in manufacturing, supply chain, finance, service management and analytics.
“All industries wanting to use digital technologies to improve their business processes, competitiveness and customer experience can benefit from using the software.”
He added that Salesforce has the largest application store or marketplace called AppExchange where customers can further extend their digital transformation with over 3,400 apps all developed and certified on Salesforce platform, ready to be deployed and integrated.
The software, which is already available for implementation in Malaysia, is on a subscription basis and the annual fee varies depending on the number of users and modules required.
“There is no required investment in infrastructure, disaster recovery or even maintenance personnel as cloud computing provides for all these including software upgrades,” he said.
Simply put, Cheah said with the subscription fee and internet access, customers can quickly deploy Rootstock Cloud ERP and start their journey towards digital transformation, safely and effectively.
