Comparison of SaaS and IaaS in cloud ERP implementation: the lessons from the practitioners

What is it about?

As cloud computing has become a widely accepted solution, it could be feasible to deploy some of the most complicated applications, such as an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to the cloud. It does not only change the system access but also how implementation can be done. While ERP vendors have promoted SaaS as the future of ERP systems and the extant literature mostly focus on the cloud-based SaaS ERP, however, there is a short of research on cloud-hosted ERP implementation in the IaaS model, which plays an important role in the area of cloud ERP. To fill the knowledge gap, a multiple-case study is conducted to identify the different deployed models of cloud ERP systems in the implementation projects. How the emerging cloud computing technology influences ERP implementation is investigated by interviewing consultants related to the projects. The findings illustrate that not only SaaS but also IaaS and PaaS cloud computing services are widely applied in cloud ERP implementation. This study also indicates that certain technical limitations of cloud ERP might have a positive effect on the outcome of ERP implementation.

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