Cloudy with a Chance of Migration: Shifting from On-Prem to SaaS

Cloud growth has been a persisting, timeless “megatrend”.. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, there was an expectation that the cloud sector, like all industries, would suffer setbacks. Contrary to expectations, the cloud market didn’t just endure, it thrived. In fact, by some metrics it grew even faster in 2020 than in 2019.

In the maintenance space, this growth in cloud adoption was reflected in the rising popularity of cloud-based maintenance management software within manufacturing, healthcare, and other asset-intensive industries. While on-premise computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) have proven their effectiveness, the needs of an ever-expanding cloud landscape present new hurdles that limit the power and capacity of CMMS solutions.

Enter SaaS-based CMMS solutions that operate with greater functionality and flexibility, ensuring quick, responsive and scalable options to fit evolving enterprise needs. The technology has arrived and is ready for enterprise leadership to move the cloud initiative forward.

Keeping the Lights On: Moving Maintenance Management to the Cloud

As the pandemic forced more operations to adopt a remote working model, enterprises scrambled to manage their assets and ensure optimum efficiency. Previously, on-site maintenance management ensured that organizations could configure their systems to industry-specific requirements. However, this proved to be exceedingly expensive and require outsourcing for additional implementation.

The software-as-a-service (SaaS) approach to maintenance management was the update that enterprises needed to move out of legacy working models and into a more agile one. By taking maintenance management securely off-premises, increasing its accessibility, and ensuring easy-to-configure solutions from third-party service providers – like TMA systems – enterprises can be better equipped to meet the growing expectations of an increasingly digital ecosystem.

Some of the key benefits that cloud-based SaaS maintenance management solutions provide include:

• Scalability: A perpetual problem faced by on-premise systems, SaaS-based maintenance management is unbound by on-site server architecture, and is able to expand and evolve in response to the newest changes in technology and the needs of the organization.
• Cost Efficiency: With cloud service costs dipping by almost 25% annually, it is appealing for enterprises to make the shift to cloud-hosting, especially with the benefit of increased efficiency and flexbility at a lower price point.
• Recovery & Sustainability: State-of-the-art-recovery tools ensure that any data recovery efforts following downtime on the cloud can be done so in real-time and with much lower risk to data. With a lower carbon footprint and energy consumption rate, cloud-based servers are attractive to environmentally-conscious enterprises.
• Collaboration & Turnaround: Comprehensive, digital collaboration tools ensure improved decision-making in real-time, resulting in better turnaround times on critical tasks.
• Future Readiness: Built on a modern infrastructure and with the most up to date technology, the cloud’s scalability and agility ensures a future-proof solution.

The Security Misconception: Why you Don’t Need to be Afraid of Taking the Next Step to Cloud

Despite all the positive features of a SaaS-based system, there are enterprises that still have cold feet about taking the next big step towards the cloud, mostly in the form of security concerns. In recent years, there was some cause for concern, with reports showing cyberattacks increasing 50% year over year, with businesses witnessing 50% more attacks per week in 2021 than in 2020. Several high-profile attacks across the globe in the last year alone have also led to vast losses in financial and reputational capital.

Despite these reservations, enterprises can breathe a little easier when it comes to cloud-based maintenance management systems. In fact, they have proven to be more secure than their on-site counterparts. This is because the cloud-infrastructure of today is subject to strict compliance guidelines and even greater security measures, due their proliferation and service to high value industries. With secure encryption for all data on the cloud, and the obligation of updates and security compliance falls on service providers, so enterprises can safely store their data and continue their operations undaunted.

Taking Maintenance Management to the Next Level: TMA Systems as your Partner of Choice

The current maintenance management ecosystem is poised for a new era of expansion. Innovative technology is constantly in development to tackle the diverse hurdles faced by the business, including increasing costs, penalties from downtime, and parts acquisition disruptions. 5G and IoT will be the key drivers on this journey and will be the heralds for Maintenance 4.0 – a system that is built and operated entirely on the cloud.

This will only become a reality when enterprises find the right partners to help them with the migration process. A rushed or flawed cloud strategy can often cause more harm than good and come at a cost to enterprises. TMA Systems is the right technology partner for forward-thinking companies that need an expert service provider with top-of-class software, services and support.

With over 30 years of experience, TMA Systems has been revolutionizing cloud-based systems across multiple industries with advanced and configurable technology solutions. With end-to-end technical support and a diverse list of product capabilities, TMA ensures future-proofed software to drive enterprise operations looking to commit to the Cloud.

‍To gain a deeper understanding on the critical value of maintenance management for the SaaS migration movement – and how TMA Systems can help you achieve this goal - download the our whitepaper, “To Cloud or Not to Cloud: Putting the Maintenance Management Debate to Rest” here.