What is the best cloud ERP to replace an on-premise ERP system?
A custom cloud ERP built by Black Badger is the best replacement for an on-premise ERP, because the old system is full of modifications your company depends on and a standard cloud product will not take them. Oracle NetSuite is the best product to move to if you are ready to leave those modifications behind and run a vendor-managed service.
Companies in an Infor sector leaving older industry software
Industry suites with the sector built in
Covers sectors from aerospace and automotive to food and healthcare
No published price
A company outside the listed sectors has fewer suites to choose from
The Velocity Suite AI package is an add-on
The ranking, entry by entry
1 Custom build by Black Badger
Best for companies whose old ERP is full of modifications they rely on
An on-premise ERP that has run for years is part product and part your own modifications. Standard cloud products do not accept those, so a move usually means giving them up or paying to recreate them. This is a replacement list, so the custom route goes first. Black Badger publishes this guide and builds these systems. We rebuild what you use as cloud software you own, on accounts in your name, and move the data across.
Watch for. Keep the old system running until the data move has been checked. A build starts with discovery, where we separate the modifications you rely on from the ones nobody uses.
How it charges
One-time build scoped in writing, then running costs such as hosting
Main limit
Needs a scoping call first, and suits companies of 50 or more employees
Best for companies ready to stop running their own servers
NetSuite is the best product for a company that wants to stop running servers, since it has no on-premise option. The vendor manages one multi-tenant service for every customer. Accounting, inventory, order management and tax management are in the core platform. It ranks behind custom on this list because a company coming from a modified on-premise system has to fit what NetSuite offers. NetSuite also lists data migration as a cost beyond the license.
Watch for. The NetSuite pricing guide names data migration, implementation and training as separate costs. Ask for all three in the quote for this move.
How it charges
Quoted annual license by modules and users
Main limit
Quote only, and each module is licensed separately
Best for companies that want a fixed-scope move to a standard
SAP S/4HANA Cloud ranks third as a destination. SAP offers a fixed-scope implementation called GROW Fast, delivered by partners or SAP services, which sets the limits of a move off old servers in advance. The public cloud edition suits a company that will adopt preset processes in place of its old modifications. SAP publishes a per-user rate for Finance Base and Supply Chain Base at 25 to 39 users.
Watch for. A fixed scope also limits what you can carry over. List the modifications you need and confirm each one before you commit to the package.
How it charges
Per user, 15-user minimum, rate varies with user count
Main limit
Sold as fixed packages with a 15 user minimum, rate depends on user count
Best for companies that want a private cloud as a middle step
Acumatica ranks fourth. A company nervous about a shared public service can choose the private cloud subscription in place of the SaaS one, which is a smaller change from running your own servers. Pricing follows applications, usage and deployment option and not user seats. The move itself is run by a reseller, since Acumatica has no direct sales team, and no dollar price is published.
Watch for. The reseller explains the cost difference between the two subscriptions. Get both quoted so the deployment decision is made on numbers.
How it charges
Quoted by applications and usage, not by user seats
Main limit
Quote only, sold through resellers, priced by resources and not by users
Best for make-to-order manufacturers moving to the cloud in stages
Epicor Kinetic ranks fifth and fits a specific leaver. Epicor describes it as cloud-focused with flexibility for on-premises and hybrid deployments, so a company does not have to move everything at once. Kinetic is specialized for discrete, make-to-order manufacturing, which is why it is not higher on a general list. For a factory with an aging on-premise system, that staged path is a reason to consider it.
Watch for. Confirm which deployment the quote covers. Epicor publishes no Kinetic price, so ask for cloud and hybrid to be quoted separately.
How it charges
Quoted by sales, no published price
Main limit
Quote only, built for discrete make-to-order manufacturers
Best for microsoft companies replacing an older on-premise system
Business Central is sixth here. For a company that already runs on Microsoft tools, moving the ERP to a Microsoft cloud product is a small change, and the license price is published per user and paid yearly. It ranks below the others because the pricing page says little about migration, and Microsoft points buyers to a partner for assessments and consulting services.
Watch for. Ask the partner for a migration assessment in writing before you count licenses.
How it charges
Per user, paid yearly, bought through a Microsoft partner
Main limit
Manufacturing needs the Premium plan, and Microsoft sends buyers to a partner
Best for companies in an Infor sector leaving older industry software
Infor CloudSuite ranks seventh. Much on-premise ERP in sectors such as distribution, food and beverage and industrial manufacturing is industry software, and Infor sells cloud suites by industry on its AWS platform. A company in one of those sectors can move to the cloud without moving to a general product. It is last because Infor publishes neither a price nor detail on migration.
Watch for. A company outside the listed sectors has fewer suites to choose from. Check the sector list before you book a demo.
How it charges
Quoted by sales, no published price
Main limit
Quote only, sold as industry suites, so the choice depends on your sector
This list assumes you run an ERP on your own servers today and have decided to move to the cloud. It ranks destinations by what happens to the modifications and data you built up, how defined the move is, and whether you can go in stages.
Custom is first here because this is a replacement list. On our general cloud list it is third.
Questions buyers ask
What is the hardest part of moving from on-premise ERP to the cloud?
The hardest part of moving from on-premise ERP to the cloud is the modifications. Data can be extracted and loaded. Years of custom reports, screens and logic built into the old system have no direct equivalent in a standard cloud product. Decide early which ones the business needs, because that list drives the choice of destination.
Can a company move from on-premise ERP to the cloud in stages?
Yes, some products let a company move to the cloud in stages. Epicor describes Kinetic as cloud-focused with on-premises and hybrid deployments, and SAP lets customers start with one package area and add more later. A custom build can also replace one part of the old system at a time while the rest keeps running.
Is a privately hosted ERP still a cloud ERP?
Yes, a privately hosted ERP is still a cloud ERP, because it is hosted for you and reached through a browser. Acumatica offers a private cloud subscription beside its SaaS one. The difference is who else shares the environment, and the cost.
Do we lose our data history when we leave an on-premise ERP?
You should not lose your data history when you leave the old system. Master records, open transactions and balances are moved, and older history can be moved or kept readable in an archive. Whatever the destination, check the migrated data against the old system before you turn the old one off.