Introduction
Understanding the value and Return on Investment (ROI) of your software investments is crucial to the successful implementation and employment of resources to ensure the solution is yielding results and economic returns. Application decision-makers often evaluate how much value they will gain after investing in a software application, so it’s important to bring that mindset into the conversation when talking about Oracle Hyperion and Oracle Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) Cloud, especially as it pertains to the modernization of Oracle Hyperion.
Modernizing Oracle Hyperion puts you at a crossroads; you either upgrade to release 11.2 or migrate to a cloud-based solution such as Oracle EPM Cloud or Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Regardless of the decision that makes the most sense for your business, the important thing is that you take action as soon as possible. Why? Because any version of Oracle Hyperion below release 11.2 will lose Premier Support by the end of December 2021.
As part of Oracle’s pledge to protect your software application investments and continuously deliver new updates, fixes, and security patches to Oracle Hyperion, it has committed itself to provide Premier Support for applications that are part of the Continuous Innovation model through at least 2032.
This is a major benefit that Hyperion clients shouldn’t let it pass them by as working with a supported Hyperion version effectively protects their instance against data breaches, cyberattacks, added costs, and low-performing software.
Your Hyperion supports mission-critical tasks of your day-to-day business operations, so it’s really important that you do everything in your power to protect that investment by securing Premier Support through at least the next 10 years, with the possibility of it being expanded to more by Oracle.
ROI of Oracle EPM Cloud vs Hyperion
With more than 20 years in the market, Oracle Hyperion has become the golden standard in the industry for EPM solutions. While many feared that the on-premises version of Hyperion was a dying cause, Oracle strengthened its commitment by making it a part of the Continuous Innovation model that promises Premier Support through at least 2032 as mentioned earlier, with ongoing delivery of updates, fixes, and security patches.
Still, organizations need to have a cloud strategy in the next 10 years as the migration to the cloud is imminent for those looking to accelerate their digital transformation journeys and ensure being able to work with the most modern, up-to-date software applications out there.
Based on your unique situation and specific business needs, you need to carefully evaluate what the right, short-term and long-term steps are for your business.
Understanding the total cost of Hyperion EPM and its ROI, it’s important that you perform a deep-dive assessment of what both the on-premises and cloud-based solution models perform like in terms of direct and indirect costs and benefits.
As a benchmark, research commissioned by Oracle has shown in the past that every dollar invested in EPM can potentially yield a 200% increase in accrued profit after five years.
Now, measuring the profitability of your Hyperion investment can help indicate what modernization steps to take or which technology to move to. Overall, it’s a great data point to make strategic decisions about your Hyperion software, including a robust evaluation between the on-premises and cloud options.
Oracle EPM Cloud is an express ticket for companies looking to achieve scalability, agility, high-performance, and lower the total cost of ownership in stark contrast to its on-premises counterpart. Here are some of the main ROI components when evaluating both solutions.
Costs & Pricing
Application owners are always looking for ways to save money. Inherently, cloud solutions are well-known for their subscription-type model where users only pay a fee rather than purchasing an on-premises solution with a large investment made upfront. If you’ve been working with Hyperion for many years now, chances are that your Hyperion software is already generating benefits and overcoming the time value of money.
To reiterate, keep in mind that SaaS solutions like Oracle EPM Cloud enable you to pay a monthly or annual fee for the use of the software solution. Hyperion on-premises requires you to make a significant upfront investment.
Also worth mentioning is the cost of hardware. Of course, Oracle EPM Cloud is free of these types of expenditures while Hyperion on-premises calls for hardware, install fees, maintenance costs, and more.
Easy deployment
ROI is impacted by how flexible and quick it is to deploy a software solution. Cloud-based solutions are the clear winner in this debate as it seamlessly gives users more control, storage, and sometimes more features than on-premises solutions. Of course, on-premises solutions give you more control and flexibility when it comes to choosing the right third-party integrations (this of course can cost you more as you have to set up sufficient infrastructure to support those integrations).
Stability and Security
Oracle EPM Cloud, being a cloud platform, is a stranger to downtime and if the situation takes place, it is quick to fix the issue. Also, Oracle EPM Cloud is easier to manage through mobile devices, something that’s simply not the case in Hyperion on-premises where users need to be physically present at the place where the solution is installed.
In terms of security, both Oracle EPM Cloud and Hyperion on-premises offer robust security capabilities that protect your investment. In the cloud, it’s easy to strengthen security remotely with the added bonus of having your backups prepared for you instead of you having to be responsible for them. While on-premises, it’s easier for you to control all aspects of your system’ security, typically having an in-house team that can quickly engage in disaster recovery while completely owning the storage and backup management process.
Conclusion
Download our infographic, “Oracle EPM Cloud Migration – Key Considerations and Benefits” to see a summarized overview of the key considerations and benefits of moving your Hyperion EPM workloads to the cloud.
