EDI/B2B Cloud Services: Is it for you?

You might wonder whether the outsourcing of electronic data interchange (EDI) is worthwhile for your business. In this article, we will inform you about the benefits of EDI/B2B Cloud Services, and what to look for when searching for a suitable provider.

Especially in the IT field, a great deal of knowledge and expertise is often necessary to handle tasks professionally and smoothly. For this reason, any company that wants to introduce electronic data interchange (EDI) to automate and standardize its communication processes should first ask the fundamental question of whether it can meet the high requirements of EDI with its own internal resources. If this is not the case, a thorough analysis of various options should be conducted.

If you are unsure whether EDI outsourcing could be beneficial for you, the following points can help you decide.

Focus on your core business

Before any kind of outsourcing is decided on, the question arises of how important it is for your business to handle certain processes internally. If your company’s success depends on your employees having the necessary know-how and the means to implement the essential processes easily, this calls for an in-house solution. However, if the desired service is only peripherally related to your core business, it makes more sense in most cases to rely on external service providers.

In terms of electronic data exchange, more and more companies are convinced of the benefits of flexible outsourcing and cloud services: while your staff can concentrate on the core business, in the background, a professional EDI service provider assures the smooth flow of data around the clock.

Instead of having to rely on the constant readiness of your team, you can calmly pursue your plans when incidents occur outside of regular business hours. Your professional service provider will be supporting you with its 24/7 service, at a fraction of the cost that would be incurred if you had initially chosen to hire and train your own experts.

Ability to respond flexibly to rapidly changing business demands

What is the probability that requirements asked of your company by your customers will soon change again? If the probability is high, the question arises as to how to quickly and flexibly you will be able to react to such changes with your own team.

Keep in mind that professional EDI/B2B Cloud Services are designed for maximum flexibility. You can at any time readjust the volume of electronic data exchange to your needs and allow newfound business partners to immediately connect thanks to the instant scalability inherent in cloud-based solutions. If your EDI demands go down, it is much easier to dial the service back (and not have to worry about the expensive investments made to support any of the demand.)

What to look for when searching for a suitable EDI provider

It can be said that electronic data interchange requires highly specialized personnel. Should you have an internal solution in sight, professional implementation would be realized through an enormous effort, because you have to invest not only in the training of internal experts, but also in a high-performance IT infrastructure.For this reason, more and more companies opt for simple and flexible use of EDI/B2B Cloud Services. Therefore you should not compromise, particularly in regards to privacy and security.

In addition, when searching for a suitable EDI service provider, the following basic requirements are essential:

• Ensure that the data center of the desired service provider is ISO 27001 certified.
• The more specialized the IT infrastructure of your provider the better. If you want to outsource the exchange of electronic data, then its infrastructure should be optimized for business integration processes.
• The B2B processes should also be ISO 27001 certified and ITIL-compliant.
• The fewer parties your service provider involves in its delivery platform, the smoother the coordination. Choose a provider that hasall functionality from a single source. (the fewer software components?
• Engage a service provider whose staff takes over the operation of electronic data interchange in the core business, so that you can rely on EDI specialists.
• Depending on how you are positioned internationally, you should consider the global reach of your service as a decision criterion. Having its own international locations considerably facilitates cross-border cooperation.
• Examine references and the range of experience of your service provider to make sure that you select a professional one.

Our conclusion: Inform yourself thoroughly – our guide will help you!

Nowadays, it is no longer necessary to make expensive investments in your own data center. Many companies prefer the flexible and scalable possibilities of EDI/B2B Cloud Services that are provided by professional EDI service providers. Benefit from a secure and powerful EDI infrastructure, optimum scalability and predictable monthly costs.