Myth #1 — “The new version is difficult and time consuming to deploy.
And any customization you’ve done will be lost when you upgrade.”
Fact: Infor has developed a toolset specifically designed to streamline conversion/upgrade. They have cut deployment
time using implementation accelerators and pre-built industry platforms. Infor has eliminated the need to modify the
application’s source code to either customize the software or salvage existing customizations. You can now automate
business processes using IPA (Infor Process Automation). There’s no longer any need (or capability) to create and
support costly COBOL programs. IPA offers a graphical, drag-and-drop-based design tool that allows you to automate
business processes by combining application data from various sources. This tool is powerful, straightforward to use,
and can be accessed by applications not part of Infor including clinical software such as Epic™, other third-party
software, web services, etc.
Myth #2 — “Because CloudSuite is a multi-tenant cloud hosted application, it’s less secure and offers less flexibility.”
Fact: Cloud hosted applications are the future of computing. A multi-tenant model is transparent to the user and is no
more vulnerable than any other type of cloud deployment. Cloud security is more robust and comprehensive than onpremise hosted applications principally because most organizations don’t invest in the systems, staffing, and
redundancy that a cloud provider does. Additionally, the cloud eliminates the investment organizations have to make
in acquiring and maintaining the expensive infrastructure to run ERP software. Infor claims 99.5% guaranteed server
availability, 24/7/365 (99.9% historically).
Myth #3 — “Users of CloudSuite V11 lose access to or control over their data.”
Fact: This misperception seems to have sprung from data storage now moving to the cloud. The data base doesn’t
reside on-premise anymore – but that doesn’t mean you don’t have access to your data. Replication sets available
through V11 allow users to access the data they need when they need it. In reality, even when data is stored onpremise most of the data used in custom reporting is located in a limited number of tables.
V11 offers a powerful and streamlined approach to accessing data. Users no longer have to hunt for data and log in
and out of systems to retrieve their data. Replication sets give access to the data you need when you need it.
Myth #4 — “Because the user interfaces to V11 are so different from preceding versions,
the time to train new employees and to re-train current users will be lengthy (and costly).”
Fact: This falsehood turns reality upside down. If anything, the other versions with all their confusing form
naming conventions and clunky user interfaces were much harder to learn. Infor targeted a great deal of
attention and investment on developing software that is much more intuitive. Its look and feel has more in
common with mobile phone apps than “old-ware” interfaces. Users of prior versions will quickly adapt and new
users will get further along the learning curve faster. Infor has also invested heavily in training tools to help
users get up to speed quickly.
Myth #5 — “Being an early adopter of V11 is risky as the software is buggy.”
Fact: You aren’t an early adopter. The software is now three years old and has been on the market and in use for
the past two years. Approximately 200 companies have moved to V11. The software is now proven and the rate
of adoption has been growing because of its superior functionality, flexibility, and feature set. It is a powerful
platform that is stable – yet adaptable.
Myth #6 — “The quality of reporting with V11 suffers.”
Fact: This is an odd myth if for no other reason than Infor users have been clamoring for improved reporting and
analytics for a while. V11 delivers a dimensional reporting capability and embedded analytics that vastly surpass
anything the earlier versions offered – how this could be twisted into poor reporting functionality escapes me.
Admittedly, users don’t really have to run reports as frequently as in the past because dashboard views now
present the needed information on-screen. The capabilities to dive into your data have been expanded for both
routine reporting and when you need specific information for decision-making.
Time to Re-capture the Value of Your Investment
In V11, Infor has created software superior to their earlier versions and to other ERP applications. It offers
power, flexibility, and ease of use. Users now have the opportunity to fully re-capture the value of their
maintenance expenses as those investments have led to innovative new features and expanded functionality.
The cloud-based model is more affordable to deploy, customize, and maintain. If you’re thinking about updating
your ERP software, before you let any “myths” get in your way, you owe it to yourself to first look at CloudSuite
V11. If you have specific questions, we’d be glad to answer them.
