When considering accounting and business software for your cannabis company, nothing beats cannabis enterprise resource planning (ERP). Whether you’re a large or small operation, a grower or manufacturer, cannabis ERP offers several benefits for companies who hope to integrate their cannabis business processes, increase efficiency and data security as well as improve reporting and compliance initiatives.
Depending on your business process requirements and operations setup, there’s a deployment option that delivers ERP clarity the way you want it: SaaS, Cloud and On-Premises. The question is, which one is right for you?
With any cannabis these ERP deployments, you get total visibility across your entire operation for unparalleled insight. However, with specific variations in each of these options, only you can decide which ERP deployment model will work for your cannabis company.
SaaS Deployment Option at a Glance
- Often not customizable
- Vendor manages servers, software, data, backups
- No maintaining servers or software, so no need for dedicated onsite IT staff
- Data security, backups managed by the software vendor
- Very flexible & fully scalable as you grow
- Lower upfront costs from a subscription model
SaaS Cannabis ERP implementation is similar to a cloud deployment model in that the ERP vendor hosts your software and servers. You’re effectively outsourcing the IT infrastructure and staffing required for on-premises systems. Your cannabis software vendor is responsible for maintenance, security, backups, and upgrades included in your agreement. Pricing is usually per user; monthly or annually.
Since your computing, storage, and software come as a bundled service and not an installed product dedicated solely to your company, the SaaS deployment offers a cost advantage, but customizations are uncommon. Do you really need customizations, anyway?
Cloud (Hosted, Hybrid) Deployment Option at a Glance
- Cloud cannabis ERP software is fully customizable
- Central control over data
- No maintaining servers, no need for dedicated IT staff onsite
- Data security, backups managed by the software vendor
- Fully scalable as you grow
A cannabis cloud ERP deployment delivers your accounting and business process software over the internet. Your software and servers are located offsite, accessible anywhere you have an internet connection and connected device. Like a SaaS deployment, you don’t have to worry about too much technical management or IT staffing often required from an onsite solution. Like an on-premises deployment, you have dedicated servers, but your cannabis software vendor manages them for you.
On-premises Deployment Option at a Glance
- On-premise cannabis ERP software fully customizable
- Dedicated IT infrastructure, staff & onsite servers
- You own & maintain servers, software, upgrades
- You control & manage data, security, backups
- Larger upfront investment but lower total cost of ownership (TCO) over time
- Usually integrates with existing business software (e.g. CRM, EDI, RFID)
- Full control, less flexible
An on-premises deployment is what still comes to mind when many cannabis operators think of an ERP implementation. Typically requiring you to have onsite IT infrastructure and supporting staff, you control the software on servers located at your business location. Your IT and internal staff manage upgrades, backups, and maintenance.
The Growing Popularity of SaaS Cannabis Deployments
Many cannabis operators see the inherent value in a SaaS deployment due to its ease-of-use, seamless management and up-to-date cannabis compliance features. By moving away from traditional on-premises to a SaaS or cloud ERP deployment, cannabis companies are able to afford more features with greater flexibility.
Only you can choose the deployment method that fits your company best. At c2btek, we take the time to evaluate your needs and offer all of these options to get you the right fit. Talk to one of our cannabis business process experts to learn more.
