EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) has been there since the early 70s. It has been the ready-go-to technology for businesses to automate their processes, facilitating smoother business transactions with their trading partners. However, to sustain in the modern era, an enterprise needs to reconsider switching from traditional EDI software to cloud-based EDI solutions.
It is predicted that global public cloud spending will hit $200 billion by 2022, as more and more enterprises are moving their existing systems to the cloud. Hence, to align with this trend, enterprises need to consider shifting to cloud-based EDI solutions seriously.
There are multiple business benefits a cloud EDI can offer over the traditional version. It harnesses the power of a cloud and relieves businesses from EDI limitations while ensuring smoother connectivity with the trading partner’s applications, which again shows a trend in migrating to the cloud.
Here are some reasons why traditional EDI is challenging and why your enterprise should think of moving EDI to the Cloud,
1. Reduced Costs
A cloud-based EDI solution does not require hardware or much maintenance while traditional EDI software which is hosted on-premises requires a significant amount of hardware and maintenance costs.
2. Easily Scalable
A cloud-based EDI solution can cater to customization requirements for each trading partner by easily increasing or decreasing the data storage size as per the needs. Traditional EDI solutions cannot be scaled up in size quickly and effectively, which might show serious scalability issues and create hurdles for your business continuity.
3. Accessible Anytime, Anywhere
In today’s world where mobility is everything, having restricted access to EDIs is a big let-down, as with traditional EDI solutions. A cloud-based EDI solution can be accessed anytime, anywhere, and the only thing you need is an internet connection.
4. Secured Data
By moving to the EDI Cloud, you can ensure that all your stored data and applications are safe and secure, as everything will be maintained by the service provider. Traditional EDI would require you to employ IT staff to make the necessary changes or upgrades, which can be costly and time consuming for your business.
5. Automation
Cloud-based EDI automation enables efficient transaction execution, and reliable product and service delivery, thereby improving customer experience. On the other hand, Traditional EDI can be error-prone and requires heavy administration in-house, which can cost you a lot.
Cloud EDI accelerates Digital Transformation
Enterprises find traditional EDI as more inflexible when compared to Cloud EDI, which enables enterprises to move towards digital transformation. Cloud-based applications have several advantages such as reduced cost of ownership, automated upgrades, flexibility, and many more. Although there are many EDI providers in the market, choosing the right partner that provides a complete EDI software integration solution is vital for your business success.
