This interview is part of our Expert Advice series, where CEO's, CMO's and best selling authors share their expertise.
François Nadal is CEO and Founder of myERP.com - a cloud-based all-in-one business application.
Bryan: Please describe briefly what cloud computing is, and why small business owners should be making use of this.
François: To put it simply, cloud computing or “cloud” is just another word for “the Internet” or “the Web.” Google’s search engine is a good example of a cloud computing application, as well as Gmail, Google Docs or myERP.com. All the data processing and computing are done in the cloud, or more precisely on remote servers (Google or myERP.com servers) and the results are then transmitted back and displayed on users’ Web browsers. There are many reasons why small business owners should take advantage of the cloud. Cost, simplicity and accessibility would be some of the obvious ones. With online applications like myERP.com or Google’s search engine, small businesses don’t have to worry about buying additional hardware and software, and having to configure it, maintain it and so on, like they had to with “traditional” applications. It all runs in the “cloud” and is accessible from anywhere and almost from any device, as long as it has a Web browser and is connected to the Internet. Cloud computing is the future of technology and small business owners simply can’t afford to ignore it.
Bryan: How stable is cloud computing? Both in terms of hacker/virus attacks, and in regards to accessibility/uptime.
François: Cloud computing is more stable, secure and reliable than most IT systems (servers, software...) run by small businesses themselves. Companies like Amazon or Google spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build their datacenters and can afford to hire the world’s best IT administrators to make sure their services are secure and accessible 24/7. Having worked with both companies, I know first-hand how important they value security and accessibility. That’s why internally, we chose Amazon’s data-center to host myERP.com’s cloud application. In addition to security and accessibility, we found that cloud computing was also more cost-effective and flexible for a fast growing company like myERP.com.
Bryan: Where do you see cloud computing in 5 years time? Is it the future of computing or a simply a complement to it?
François: Cloud computing represents a fundamental paradigm shift in technology and is really the future of computing. In today’s economy it just doesn’t make sense for small businesses to keep spending tens thousands of dollars in buying, configuring and maintaining servers and traditional license software. Instead, by using cloud applications like myERP.com and paying only for what you really use, small business owners can invest that money to grow their core business.
Bryan: You come from a business finance and development background. What led you to create myERP.com?
François: I believed there was a better way to use technology to help manage a business than spending huge amounts of money in hardware, software and consulting and hope that everything works. That’s what I call the “Plug and Pray” model. Instead I had the idea of building a “Plug & Play” all-in-one application that would manage in one place key functions a small business owner would need to run her/his business effectively: from accounting to CRM, inventory, purchasing and all the way to bank deposits.
Bryan: What is myERP.com?
François: myERP.com is an all-in-one online business application. We designed it with small businesses in mind, with an intuitive graphical user interface that makes it very easy to use. With the myERP.com online suite, small business owners can manage in one place vital business functions like accounting, CRM, inventory and purchasing.
Bryan: Can you explain how will using myERP.com help small business owners run their business more efficiently?
François: With myERP.com online business suite, small business owners can start managing their business in the cloud in minutes, not months or year. And there’s no need to spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy, install and maintain some new software and hardware. myERP.com is accessible for free (up to 2-users) with a Web browser and an Internet connection. And with our Quickbooks wizard, small business owners can easily import their business data into myERP.com. In addition, because all the functions inside of myERP.com (like accounting, CRM, inventory and purchasing) are built from the ground up to work together, the risk of having data double-entry errors and supply chain mishaps simply disappears.
