Cloud Vs SaaS: What’s the Difference?

(This post was last published on February 6th, 2018. It has been updated for accuracy and completeness.) 

Cloud and Software as a Service (SaaS) are two terms you see all the time now. When evaluating different technology options to run your business, you’ll see descriptions like cloud-based, hosted, SaaS, IaaS, or PaaS.

It’s important to understand these terms because their differences affect how you interact with the different technology you use every day.

So, what do these different terms actually mean?

What is a Cloud ERP System?

(This post was originally published on April 20, 2016. It has been updated for accuracy and completeness).

A growing retail business often needs to upgrade their technology to keep up with operations. One of the bigger technology investments you’ll make is in an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. This technology often becomes the lifeline of your business. It’s where you handle your financials, order processing, product information, reporting, and more. It’s been a technology that retailers and wholesalers have turned to for many years to manage all different aspects of their business.

Just like other technology systems, ERPs are also making the move to cloud services allowing them to be more affordable and flexible. This article will define what an ERP is, the benefits of cloud-based ERP systems, and list out today’s top ERP systems. We hope this helps you decide whether you’re ready for an ERP and how to evaluate the best one for your business.

Comparing SaaS vs Open Source eCommerce Platforms

Picking an eCommerce platform for your online business isn’t easy. With an overwhelming number of platforms to choose from, merchants must compare architecture, functionality, price, flexibility and more. Some merchants might have development and coding skills they can leverage, while others want an out-of-the-box platform with minimal set-up.

While there are many ways to compare platforms, this article focuses on two different software architectures – open source versus Software as a Service (SaaS). These two popular platform types put eCommerce software in two separate camps and dictate how you interact and finance your platform.

Let’s look at how these platforms differentiate from each other and which one might be better fit for your business. (more…)