When evaluating financial management systems, it’s important to look at the option of a cloud-based solution versus an on-premise one. While both are viable options for many businesses and should be evaluated on a case by case basis, sometimes clear examples emerge from real-world situations that showcase the benefits of the cloud. Here is an example of how Dynamics GP in the cloud helped OmniVue client Athletes’ Performance stay up and running when Hurricane Irene hit the eastern seaboard in August of 2011.
Athletes’ Performance is the global leader in human performance. AP facilities train some of the world’s most elite athletes and teams, while the company’s corporate wellness business, Core Performance, provides integrated wellness solutions to companies like Intel. The company has four Athletes’ Performance training facilities across the United States, several on-site fitness centers at corporations, and a corporate office in Norwell, Massachusetts. It is home to 15 employees who handle all payables and receivables for the company, including expense reports, vendor payments, rent and other items that must be processed on a weekly basis. Norwell also happened to be right in the path of Hurricane Irene, one of the largest, most extensive storms in recent memory. Â
In the aftermath of the hurricane, their corporate office lost power for an entire week. To make matters worse, the office building itself was completely inaccessible, because of electric locks that secure the premises during power outages. Because of this, employees weren’t able to get into the building at all, and it was physically impossible to print checks.
Despite these setbacks, business didn’t come to a grinding halt. The office didn’t have electricity, but other places did – including some employees’ homes, a few coffee shops and most reliably, the public libraries in southeast Boston. Athletes’ Performance employees started working out of these locations, where they were able to access the company financials through Microsoft Dynamics GP. Daily activities continued – hundreds of payables were entered, the month-end close stayed on track, and other company locations were able to do business as usual, despite the temporary shutdown of the corporate office.
“We process a high volume of payables each week, and even though the office was down, we were still able to conduct day-to-day business,” noted Amy Spurling, the CFO of Athletes’ Performance. “Thanks to OmniVue’s private cloud, we didn’t lose an entire week of productivity.”
This story would be very different if Athletes’ Performance were using an on-premise ERP solution instead of a cloud-based one. Let’s look at a hypothetical scenario: What if their ERP system was housed on a server in their office building? If this were the case, they would have no access to Dynamics GP or any financial data stored on that server. Even with a disaster recovery plan in place and on-line backups, data can’t be restored if the system isn’t accessible. It would be impossible to access the system or the data until power was restored to the server. In this case, it would result in a full week of downtime.
In addition to the corporate office being unable to function during the outage, other locations would suffer as well. Athletes’ Performance has other offices across the country with access to the Dynamics GP system. If the server at the corporate office in Norwell was down, then the system would be down for everyone.
At OmniVue, our success is tied to our clients’ success. We know you have more important things to worry about than your financial software, especially in the aftermath of a hurricane. With a cloud-based solution, your critical business processes can keep running even when the electricity isn’t.  So let us worry about your ERP system – after all, you’ve got a business to run.
Author Jeff Pyden
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