Head in the Clouds: Floating toward Cloud-based Solutions

Kiara Walker • July 11, 2022

Should I stay or should I go...

Within the ERP eco systems, a push toward cloud-based solutions from on-premise has been in recent time accelerated. Rapid growth and development from legacy and new systems are growing the number of available options for those looking to leverage a cloud infrastructure. But it leaves us to wonder- why now and what could it mean for your business processes going forward?


When you imagine cloud-based solutions, we don’t necessarily mean stratus or cumulus ones but instead a new way to manage solutions in real-time from any location around the globe, even a beach! Cloud based solutions refer to using a network of solutions connected to the internet and grants you the ability to access services from anywhere via the internet. Businesses are starting to step away from the hassle of dealing with on-premise solutions and on-site maintenance. With products like SAP S4 Hana and Sage Intacct, it is becoming increasingly popular to move toward cloud-based solutions for several reasons.


  • Cost 
  • Security 
  • Accessibility 
  • Reduced Risk 

“You know what's unique about Fisher Technology? Whether or not you decide to stay on-premise or explore the opportunities of a cloud-based solution, our experts will guide you through all options for your BPA Connections and help you figure out the best next steps” - Penny Process

Why the Switch?

As mentioned previously in an earlier blog, it is no secret that businesses are not too fond of dealing with on-premise issues and on-site server maintenance. After switching to the cloud, there are a far less tasks to worry about. While directly handling on-premise solutions may seem like an advantage, that's not always the case. Employees may end up spending more time on maintaining servers, updating software, or creating backups instead. Additionally, there may be certain system requirements needed for on-premise servers and, in all likelihood, need an IT services team to keep systems running at peak efficiency.


Thinking about switching to the cloud? It's important to advancing your business goals when determining which solution best fits your needs. Take time in exploring both the advantages and disadvantages of integrating. Here's a few key points to keep in mind:


Advantages Disadvantages
No need to use on-premise hardware and reserve server space Data limitations based on storage and cost availability
Access key information at anytime and anywhere Internet outages cuts access to your information
Ability to back-up data in regularly scheduled intervals Time consuming data recovery
Software updates and maintenance handled by the cloud provider Dependence on cloud provider
Cost can be low, spread evenly through a subscription-based model Discontinued support if a product successor is released


What do cloud-based solutions mean for you? 

It is important to address the elephant in the room…Yes, I’m looking at you, on-premise solutions. With the great migration to on-cloud, there becomes less of a roadmap for products like Sage 100 or 300 as well as SAP Business One, the predecessors to Intacct and S4 HANA.


Security and control play a factor in whether a company decides to switch from an on-premise solution to a cloud-based solution. In an on-premise environment, enterprises retain all their data and are fully in control of what happens to it, for better or worse. Companies in certain industries with extra privacy concerns are more likely to hesitate to leap into the cloud before others because of this reason.


In a cloud-based environment, the validity of ownership of data is one that many companies – and customers, tend to have doubts about. Unexpected errors or system outages can render your software unusable, meaning during that time you may not be able to reach valuable information and data.


Because the software does not often run on allocated hardware, this makes local hardware requirements significantly lower. Additionally, maintenance of the hardware and software is also carried out automatically by the cloud provider. Software updates are installed automatically. Those advantages significantly reduce the workload for the company's IT department (if they have a department at all, and they could choose to outsource IT entirely).

The Fisher Difference 

We challenge you to look at what a cloud based solution means for your day-to-day business operations. Can you avoid manual entry and avoid critical business errors by optimizing your workflow?


Regardless of whether you are using an on premise system or and in-cloud solution, the bottom line is that BPA Platform will fit perfectly into either environment. For existing customers, we want you to know that Fisher Technology is here to help you move toward a system that works for your business process. If you currently host an on-premise environment, we encourage you to see what your future may look like if you decide to stay with your existing configuration or explore the possibility of moving to a cloud-based solution. Whether it is ease of use or convenience, those using a cloud-based system should know that there are numerous features accessible to use through BPA Platform, we’re here to connect with you and demonstrate which ones best suits your needs in any environment of your choosing.


That is where BPA Platform comes in. More than just offering a piece of software, Fisher Technology provides unparalleled service, and consulting that not only gets your automation started, but optimizes and enhances your existing processes.


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Don’t Buy the AI Hype — Buy the Honest Conversation

By Nicole Laurier • April 2, 2026
Sit through enough software demos and a pattern starts to emerge. Somewhere between the slide on streamlined workflows and the one about real-time visibility, the presenter leans forward and drops the phrase: AI-powered. The room nods. Someone scribbles it down. And the question nobody says out loud is — what does that actually mean? To be fair, AI is genuinely changing enterprise software. Real progress is happening in how systems learn from data, flag problems early, and cut down on manual grunt work. This isn’t an argument that AI is all smoke and no fire. It’s an argument that not all AI is the same thing — and that mid-market buyers are getting a raw deal when it comes to telling the difference. The Pressure to Lead with AI Mid-market ERP and CRM vendors are caught in a tough spot. Enterprise players have poured billions into AI, and their customers are asking the same questions regardless of company size. So “AI-powered” has quietly shifted from being a technical description to a marketing checkbox — something that needs to show up on the website, in the pitch deck, and in the renewal conversation, whether the product genuinely justifies it or not. This isn’t a dig at any one vendor. It’s the water the whole industry is swimming in right now. When buyers expect AI and competitors are claiming it, stretching the definition becomes hard to resist. The result is a market where “AI-powered” can mean anything from a genuinely sophisticated machine learning model to a rebranded reporting dashboard. Both might be useful. But they’re not the same thing, and they shouldn’t carry the same price tag. What "AI-Powered" Often Looks Like in Practice at “AI-Powered” Often Looks Like in Practice A few patterns come up again and again: Predictions that are really just history repeating . If a system flags a customer as “at risk” because their order frequency dropped, that’s not a prediction — that’s a report. Useful, sure, but it’s been available for years. Platforms like BPA Platform have delivered exactly this kind of data-driven alerting and exception reporting through straightforward business rules and workflow logic — long before anyone was calling it AI. The capability was always real. The rebrand is what’s new. Automation dressed up as intelligence . Routing an invoice to the right approver based on a spend threshold. Triggering a follow-up when an order status changes. Escalating a support case that’s been sitting too long. These are rules-based processes — and BPA Platform handles them through its codeless automation engine without needing a machine learning model anywhere near them. They’re reliable, auditable, and they work. When vendors slap an AI label on this kind of automation, it doesn’t make the feature more powerful. It just makes the buying conversation murkier. Generative AI bolted on rather than built in . The scramble to add large language model features to existing products has produced some genuinely useful results — and some that are basically a chat window glued onto software that hasn’t fundamentally changed underneath. The question worth asking isn’t whether there’s a generative component. It’s whether it’s working from relevant data, wired into actual workflows, and backed by someone who’ll own the problem when it gets something wrong. A Simple Framework for Evaluating AI Claims A Simple Framework for Evaluating AI Claims You don’t need a data science background to push back on what vendors are telling you. A handful of direct questions will do most of the work: Whose data is it learning from — ours, or a generic model? A system trained on your business behaves very differently from one drawing on industry-wide averages. What happens when it gets it wrong? Every AI system makes mistakes. How a vendor answers this question says a lot about how seriously they’ve thought it through. Who owns it when something breaks or changes? Features tied to third-party models can shift behaviour when those models are updated. That’s a support question, not a technical footnote. Can we see it running in a live environment? Demo environments are controlled by design. Asking to speak with a reference customer who uses the feature in production is a completely fair request — and the answer tells you a lot. So, What Should You Actually Do? What Should You Actually Do? None of this is a case for tuning out AI conversations entirely. Informed skepticism is different from blanket cynicism. AI is developing fast, and what isn’t quite there yet could look very different in two or three years. The vendors worth watching are the ones building seriously on solid data foundations — and being straight with customers about what’s ready and what isn’t. The ones worth being cautious about are using AI language mainly to justify price rises, paper over product gaps, or match a competitor’s latest press release.  Your business deserves sharper questions than that. Ask them. The vendors with real answers won’t mind. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Full disclosure: this blog was written with the help of Claude, Anthropic’s AI assistant. Yes, we’re aware of the irony — a post about not blindly trusting AI was drafted with the help of AI. But that’s rather the point. Used thoughtfully, with a human steering the ideas, challenging the output, and rewriting the bits that sounded like a robot trying to sound like a person, AI can be a genuinely useful tool. It didn’t write this. It helped write this. There’s a difference — and that difference is exactly what this blog is about.

How BPA Platform Transforms Finance Teams into Revenue Drivers

By Nicole Laurier • September 8, 2025
Automation in finance plays an important role for an organization and is a key driver for moving the company forward. With the right automation tools, finance teams can directly impact the bottom line, accelerate cash flow, and unlock new growth opportunities. BPA Platform empowers finance professionals to transform from cost centers into profit generators, delivering measurable revenue impact across every financial process. From Cost Center to Revenue Engine: The Finance Transformation Traditional finance departments focus on expense management and compliance. But forward-thinking organizations are leveraging finance automation to drive revenue growth. BPA Platform enables this transformation by connecting financial processes directly to revenue outcomes, turning every automated workflow into a growth opportunity. When finance teams eliminate manual bottlenecks, they don't just save time—they accelerate revenue recognition, improve cash conversion cycles, and enable faster business decisions that capture market opportunities. This strategic shift positions finance as a competitive advantage and primary driver of company growth. Finance Automation with BPA Platform Cash flow is the lifeblood of revenue growth. BPA Platform's finance automation directly impacts your company's ability to generate and collect revenue by streamlining critical cash flow processes: Automated invoice generation reduces billing cycles from days to hours Intelligent payment routing accelerates customer payment processing Real-time payment tracking eliminates revenue recognition delays Automated dunning processes recover revenue faster from slow-paying customers Poor credit management doesn't just create bad debt—it destroys future revenue opportunities. BPA Platform's credit control automation protects revenue while enabling growth: Real-time monitoring identifies customers before they become collection problems Automated workflows prevent revenue leakage from account management gaps Integrated communication tools maintain sales relationships during collections BPA Platform transforms financial reporting from a backward-looking compliance exercise into a forward-looking revenue optimization tool: Real-Time Revenue Analytics Automated data consolidation provides instant revenue visibility Dynamic dashboards identify revenue trends as they happen Predictive analytics forecast revenue opportunities and risks Automated variance analysis highlights revenue optimization opportunities Strategic Decision Acceleration Automated reporting eliminates month-end delays that slow business decisions Real-time profitability analysis guides revenue-focused resource allocation Instant scenario modeling evaluates revenue impact of strategic options Core BPA Platform Solutions That Drive Revenue Journal Entry Automation: Revenue Recognition Acceleration Manual journal entries create dangerous delays in revenue recognition. BPA Platform's automated journal processing ensures revenue hits the books immediately when earned; eliminating month-end revenue recognition bottlenecks, enabling faster financial closes and more timely business decisions. Expense Management: Maximizing Profit Margins Every dollar saved in expense processing flows directly to profit margins. BPA Platform's expense automation doesn't just cut costs—it amplifies revenue impact. Expense savings from automation can be reinvested into revenue-generating activities, creating compound growth impact. Intercompany Management: Scaling Revenue Across Business Units Growing companies often struggle with intercompany transactions that slow revenue recognition and create compliance risks. BPA Platform enables seamless revenue flow across business entities eliminating intercompany transaction delays that prevent timely revenue recognition and business unit optimization. BPA Platform for Revenue-Driven Finance Transformation  The most successful companies don't just manage finances—they leverage finance automation to drive revenue growth. BPA Platform provides the tools, integrations, and insights needed to transform your finance team from a cost center into your company's most powerful revenue driver. Your digital transformation starts with one conversation—and the sooner it begins, the sooner you gain the competitive edge. Contact Fisher Technology to discover why organizations across North America trust us to deliver automation solutions that drive efficiency, agility, and growth.

BPA Platform: Bridging On-Premise and Cloud Systems Together

By Nicole Laurier • August 5, 2025
Organizations struggle with a fundamental challenge: their critical business data lives in two worlds. Essential systems remain on-premise for security and compliance reasons, while new cloud applications promise enhanced functionality and scalability. The result is often data silos, manual processes, and frustrated users who can't access the information they need when they need it. BPA Platform recognizes this reality and delivers what organizations actually need: a single integration and automation platform that works seamlessly across Cloud, On-Premises, or Hybrid environments without forcing businesses to choose just one deployment model. How BPA Platform Addresses Hybrid Integration Challenges Modern enterprises operate in a complex ecosystem where legacy on-premise systems must work harmoniously with cloud-based applications. This hybrid environment presents unique challenges including data synchronization, security concerns, varying communication protocols, and the need for real-time connectivity. Organizations require solutions that can maintain data integrity while enabling seamless workflows across both environments. BPA Platform addresses these challenges through: Tasks & Steps Framework - BPA platform provides the ability to build flexible automation processes with logical building blocks using an intuitive drag-and-drop interface. Comprehensive Tool Library - BPA platform includes tools used to create steps within a task, providing functional building blocks that interface with common technologies, systems, and applications across cloud and on-premise environments. Secure Integration - BPA Platform integrates cloud-based, on-premises, or hybrid hosted business systems using end-to-end AES 256 security with double encryption to protect business data and transactions. This security-first approach ensures that sensitive data remains protected regardless of where it travels. Flexible System Architecture - BPA platform can be deployed on-premises or as an iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service). It uses client software to design tasks, a server for connectivity and processing, and a data store for data and tasks. Multi-Protocol and Format Support - BPA Platform empowers you to bring all your data workflows together, supporting a wide variety of file formats and protocols including XML, CSV, JSON, HTTP, SMTP, OAuth, and more to drive your business forward seamlessly across different systems and applications. This comprehensive protocol support ensures that virtually any system can be integrated without requiring costly custom development. For organizations looking to optimize their hybrid IT architecture, BPA Platform's cloud integration solutions offer a proven path to success, combining the reliability of on-premise systems with the scalability and innovation of cloud platforms. Benefits of BPA Platform BPA Platform delivers comprehensive integration value through key capabilities that address critical enterprise needs: Reduced Development Time and Costs - BPA Platform significantly reduces system integration development times and costs while supporting integration with any data source. The platform provides flexibility to maintain, configure, and adapt data synchronization as business requirements change. Universal Connectivity - Connect to any SaaS or on-premises application or system through an extensive library of pre-built connectors and business process automation tools. This eliminates integration limitations and reduces implementation time. Scalable Architecture - Multi-instance architecture ensures reliable performance with multiple integration processes running simultaneously. Enhanced fault tolerance maintains system stability and business continuity. Flexible Processing - Support for both real-time processing and batch data integration handles different business requirements within a single platform, from immediate data synchronization to large-volume reporting tasks. Enterprise Security - Powerful authentication, access control, and data encryption protect sensitive information throughout the integration process, ensuring compliance with regulatory and corporate security requirements. These benefits deliver immediate ROI through faster integration development, improved operational efficiency, and reduced maintenance overhead while positioning organizations for long-term integration success. Hybrid Integration Excellence with BPA Platform As organizations advance, the need for flexible, secure, and scalable integration solutions becomes increasingly critical. BPA Platform empowers businesses to achieve true hybrid integration, seamlessly connecting systems and applications across both cloud and on-premises environments. Designed to support a multilayered, enterprise-wide technology architecture, BPA Platform enables complete interoperability between your existing tools and future innovations. This not only solves today’s integration challenges but also provides a resilient foundation for growth, adaptability, and the adoption of emerging technologies. By choosing BPA Platform, organizations position themselves for long-term success — with the agility to support evolving business models and ever-changing market conditions. Ready to Transform Your Integration Strategy? For organizations looking to optimize their hybrid IT architecture, BPA Platform's comprehensive integration solutions offer a proven path to success, combining the reliability and control of on-premise systems with the scalability and innovation of cloud platforms. Whether you're supporting multiple applications across multi-cloud environments, enabling digital transformation initiatives, or ensuring compliance with industry regulations, BPA Platform delivers the secure, flexible connectivity your business needs to thrive.  Ready to discover how BPA Platform can transform your organization's integration capabilities? Contact Fisher Technology today; we can assess your current environment, understand your business objectives, and provide you with a clear roadmap to integration success!