IFS Cloud: Two Years On...

Working as a specialist recruiter in the IFS Market for over 4 years now, it’s safe to say that IFS has been through a lot of changes. With newer versions of IFS being release every few years and updates coming through thick and fast - IFS has certainly retained its innovator reputation.

The arrival of IFS Cloud back in March 2021 was a huge milestone for IFS and their customer worldwide. Providing a product that speaks to the future of tech, the release of IFS Cloud signalled the start of an ERP revolution.

Since its launch last year, IFS Cloud promised an offering unparalleled to anything IFS customers had previously seen. But whilst there was a lot of noise surrounding its initial release has it lived up to its initial hype? What’s the market consensus one year on? And most importantly, what could be holding businesses back from moving to IFS Cloud?

A Unique Vantage Point

It’s our unique vantage point as specialist IFS recruiters that gives us a bird’s eye view of the IFS market. Understanding how, why, and which customers have reacted to the IFS Cloud solution launch has revealed the newly formed shape of the IFS market. And, it certainly has people talking!

In the ERP industry itself and even down to the IFS sponsored cable car in central London –it seems that IFS Cloud is everywhere… but is it actually?

Walking the Walk...

From my experience, it seemed customers keen to implement IFS Cloud soon after product launch were those relatively new to IFS ERP whereas legacy customers were (and still are) reluctant to make the move. I know for clients who use older versions of IFS such as Apps.7, 8, 9, and 10 – the Cloud appeared to be too much of a risk.

Only a handful of clients the team and I have worked with over the past 2 years made the decision to go-live with IFS Cloud. As such, there still remains a lingering hesitancy for IFS customers to upgrade to Cloud because of how the platform is managed. With IFS Cloud managed by IFS directly, it’s set-up isn’t suited to every sector. For example, for IFS customers in the Defence sector handling sensitive dataIFS Cloud writes them out of an upgrade because their system wouldn’t be hosted in-house. I know first-hand that some of these customers have been told that if they still want their data to be on-prem, then this is still an option, and they can still have access to IFS Cloud as a product with IFS’s support in running subsequent system upgrades. But I’m yet to see significant uptake in this avenue.

Branded as easy to deploy, IFS Cloud promises an easy transition from their older IFS products over to their newer solution. IFS clients have found this to be true but only as their data is in a good place to be migrated across. Cleansed properly prior to the move, it’s important for customers to ensure their data is in order so that when they do receive their new solution – the cloud product can be optimised. Often at times it’s more of a reflection on the customer rather than the cloud solution itself.

Although, client plans scheduled for this coming year alone perhaps highlights a shift in market preference. Sold as a solution for everyone, IFS Cloud is now a single platform covering everything from ERP, CRM, EAM, and FSM. Creating a one stop shop for best of breed modern technologies, with their clear focus across other areas and the ability to service new markets better, IFS has seen an uptake in a rapid customer sales outside of the tradition ERP.As such, increase in sales clearly signals that IFS Cloud is here to stay – with no signs of slowing down!