What is Infor CloudSuite? A Flexible, Option-Rich ERP

By: Keith Wayland    October 31, 2023

A flexible cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, Infor CloudSuite provides employers with a variety of options with regard to deployment and organizational system needs. Because Infor CloudSuite lives on the cloud, it offers unmatched scalability, security, and affordability.

But those benefits are just the tip of the iceberg. In this post, we’ll discuss everything there is to know about Infor CloudSuite and the value it offers organizations in the modern-day workplace.

What is Infor CloudSuite?

Infor’s latest version of CloudSuite is a multi-tenant cloud ERP solution, designed and built to provide organizations with visibility into every aspect of their business. Organizations can choose to deploy CloudSuite as a public cloud (multi-tenant), or, for industries with compliance requirements, privately (single tenant).

CloudSuite provides the ERP functionalities that enterprise businesses require, without the unnecessary point solutions often found in rigid, on-premises ERP systems. These may include efficiency-reducing standalone addons, such as document management, or payment processing, which all come standard in CloudSuite.

Who Can Use Infor CloudSuite?

Companies of all sizes can benefit from using Infor CloudSuite as their cloud ERP system. Enterprises in a variety of industries can configure CloudSuite to their specific needs; it’s used in the aerospace and defense, automotive, facilities management, fashion, food and beverage, healthcare, public sector, hospitality, industrial machinery, and retail market spaces, just to name a few.

CloudSuite’s diverse applications shouldn’t be viewed as a shortcoming. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The system is highly configurable and customizable, allowing organizations of any industry to modify the standard functionalities to meet unique business needs.

For example, with regard to healthcare, Infor CloudSuite helps facilitate productivity and planning to improve patient care quality, while reducing costs, by helping companies:

• Streamline patient billing and revenue
• Accelerate medical innovation and research
• Optimize patient scheduling
• Coordinate post-discharge care and maintenance

What Does Infor CloudSuite Do?

Of course, Infor CloudSuite offers the base financials, sales, materials, and procurement requirements of competing ERP systems. More than that, it also serves additional areas of the business, such as supply chain management, expense management, business intelligence, human capital management (including payroll), and other corporate functions.

Depending on the industry vertical, Infor CloudSuite can include specialized applications, such as

• Product lifecycle management
• Compliance management
• Customer relationship management
• Enterprise asset management
• Workforce management

How Can Organizations Deploy Infor CloudSuite?

Companies can choose to run Infor CloudSuite strictly in the cloud, or in a hybrid deployment that includes cloud and on-premise systems. In either case, the code base is the same for simplicity and reliability.

Most clients connect to Infor’s cloud ERP system via a web browser such as Safari, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Edge. Depending on the enterprise’s industry, there may also be a rich client available for power users.

Upgrades are automatic, managed by Infor, deployed every 30 days, and happen mainly behind the scenes. This is a major advantage of cloud-based systems over on-premise systems; on-premise updates need to be coordinated with the vendor, consume more resources, and occur less frequently.

How Does Infor CloudSuite Handle Data Integration and Security?

Depending on a client’s business requirements, integration tasks for data can vary. Infor offers several approaches to data integration, each designed to keep client data secure and provide upgrade-safe options for integration and configuration.

For example, Infor CloudSuite integrates with a customer security assertion markup language 2.0-compliant identity provider, such as Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services, for user authentication. And partnering with Amazon Web Services (AWS) enables us to employ multiple layers of security that safeguard customer data, enforced by a team of security specialists.

What is The Latest Release of Infor CloudSuite?

The latest release of Infor CloudSuite is the multi-tenant V11, first made available in 2018. All new clients use this version; current clients who aren’t using it will need to upgrade by 2030, as Infor will be discontinuing services and support for Lawson on-premise systems.

Function, feature, and release schedules for Infor CloudSuite vary based on the client’s industry, as well as the functional implementation the client selects.

Infor upgrades its cloud environments based on a published maintenance schedule that is specialized to meet the needs of each industry. So, when Infor releases new features to its cloud ERP system, clients simply choose when they want to adopt them.

What Kind of Service Level Agreement Does Infor CloudSuite Offer?

Infor offers a 99.5% uptime service level agreement for Infor CloudSuite, with an actual historical performance of 99.9996%. Infor partners with AWS for its around-the-clock data center services; AWS operates in 31 geographic regions, and 99 availability zones, with 450+ points of presence.

Does Infor CloudSuite Undergo Regular Audits?

CloudSuite is audited for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, Service Organization Control 1, International Traffic in Arms Regulations, and Statement on Standards and Attestation Engagements 16.

Plus, Infor tests its business continuity and disaster recovery plan every year and is audited by a third party. CloudSuite customers can review audit results on request.

How is Infor CloudSuite Licensed and Sold?

Infor CloudSuite is available on a subscription basis and is sold by both Infor and its partners, like RPI. While the cloud-based ERP is typically priced per-user, per-month, in some cases, pricing is calculated based on the total number of employees in an organization. Contract lengths vary; however, the typical contract is three years, and the minimum contract length is one year.

What Training and Support is Offered with Infor CloudSuite?

Infor offers clients full training, consulting, and planning services. With regard to technical support, Infor Extreme support and CloudSuite support are included and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Implementation accelerators are also provided with many CloudSuite packages, along with training and education services as part of a CloudSuite subscription.

Infor holds its primary client conference, Infor Connect, once a year. Intimate user group events, including RPI Consultants’ CloudSuite Bootcamps, and conferences serve clients in different industries and locations.

Clients can also participate in Infor’s industry advisory council or in its Executive Cloud Council. Membership spans clients of various company sizes and industries, and helps Infor continually increase the value of its cloud offerings.

RPI Consultants has a 20-year-plus track record of working with customers across the entire lifecycle of the Infor and Lawson ecosystem. Our experience includes guiding organizations through implementing and optimizing their Infor and Lawson ERP systems.

Along the way, we’ve established an excellent reputation for our low-overhead model, designed to achieve the maximum results at a minimal cost. For more information about the cloud-based ERP expertise we can bring to your company, contact to us today.