Smart Manufacturing Blog

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Innovation and Technology

Plex Manufacturing Blog

Two Reasons Manufacturers Should Consider SaaS and Cloud ERP

Plex Team September 20, 2016

Two Key Takeaways from the Forrester SaaS Report Forrester recently published a report highlighting six breakout SaaS vendors and the unique benefits delivered by SaaS solutions. The vendors that Forrester included in its May 2016 report, entitled Breakout Vendors: SaaS Business Applications, all had a track record of customer wins and fast growth, a strong ecosystem of partners and investors —…

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Oracle Hoping NetSuite Purchase Will Provide Entry to Cloud ERP Market

Jim Shepherd August 2, 2016

If there was any remaining doubt that the ERP market has shifted to the cloud it was dispelled last week when Oracle announced its intent to buy NetSuite for $9.3B. Despite already owning four different ERP products the company has clearly recognized that native, multi-tenant SaaS products like NetSuite, Plex, Workday, and Salesforce.com are the future of enterprise software....

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Debunking Cloud Myths: All Cloud ERP Is Not the Same

Jim Shepherd July 20, 2016

Mint Jutras, an ERP industry analyst firm, may have said it best: “All SaaS is cloud computing, but not all cloud computing is SaaS.“ There are huge benefits with systems made for the cloud versus those that are simply hosted in or converted to the cloud, and understanding those differences is important in an environment where software vendors do everything they can to confuse buyers....

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MFC Netform Capitalizes on Demand with Impressive Automated Operations

Plex Team June 30, 2016

Dennis Howlette, Co-Founder of Diginomica, shares highlights of his tour of the MFC Netform factory. MFC Netform is primarily a maker of powertrain parts for the automotive industry using flow forming processes....

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Debunking Cloud Myths: Total Cost of Ownership

Jim Shepherd June 29, 2016

I always welcome conversation about this statement – “ERP is much cheaper to run if I just own the software instead of renting it in the cloud.” It’s an opportunity to expose the true cost of legacy software ownership. TCO analysis is too often limited to comparing one-time license costs to ongoing subscription costs, ignoring more significant ‘ownership’ costs that add up....

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Debunking Cloud Myths: Security and Reliability

Jim Shepherd May 23, 2016

At every trade show we attend, someone comes up and says, “I just don’t trust that the cloud is secure or reliable.” This myth comes from years of misinformation and, frankly, perceptions created by software vendors that have poor cloud solutions and are desperately playing catch-up....

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Five Business Benefits Driving Manufacturing Cloud ERP Solutions

Jim Shepherd January 6, 2016

Business needs drive technology adoption, not the other way around, and more and more manufacturers are turning to a modern cloud ERP solution to address those needs. Cloud ERP software solutions, particularly SaaS, have passed into mainstream adoption. It is not a matter of if your company adopts it, but when and to what degree (at the plant level or across the entire enterprise). ...

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Why Cloud? SaaS Matters.

Jim Shepherd December 1, 2015

When you consider cloud-based services, it’s important to understand not just the features and functionality of the solution, but also the differences in the underlying delivery model. Consider a cell phone as compared to a land-line: they both perform the same function, but one allows you to roam untethered. ...

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Know Thy Cloud: 3 Pillars That Define Cloud

Jim Shepherd November 3, 2015

Prospects and customers constantly ask us to help them cut through the noise and understand why SaaS-based ERP delivered via native cloud is different, and how it can benefit their business. Many flavors of cloud exist even within the specific realm of cloud ERP solutions, but native cloud, or cloud applications specifically and exclusively delivered as a service have unique and impactful…

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Techonomy Detroit: The Transformational Power of Tech

Jerry Foster October 29, 2015

Recently I had the privilege of participating in Techonomy Detroit, a gathering of business, civic, nonprofit and academic leaders, where I was able to take a step back from my daily focus on the Plex Manufacturing Cloud and think about the broader impact of technology and manufacturing on communities and society....

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