Effective supply chain management, enterprise resource management and logistics management tools have allowed companies to be more resourceful, efficient and focused on staying within budgetary restrictions. By relying on these kinds of tools to make them more flexible and efficient, companies across the globe can improve operations and, most importantly, increase revenues down the line.

In the business world, no other technology has been as catalytic as the cloud. Supply chain operations, especially, are beginning to feel the effects that the cloud has had on the manufacturing and retail industries. One of the biggest drivers of adoption is the oversight that can be provided by cloud-based tools, but recently, another distinct advantage has come to the surface: security.

According to a 2015 report published by MarketsandMarkets, the cloud security vertical will likely be worth $8.71 billion by 2019, increasing at an expected compound annual growth rate of 15.7 percent beginning in 2014. This means that there are and will be a plethora of cloud-based security solutions for businesses to choose from, making the cloud inherently safer and giving companies another reason to invest in supply chain tools deployed in the cloud.

The cloud is proving more secure than on-premises systems.

Companies moving to the cloud

As a testament to the more secure nature of the cloud, a few multinational companies are making the migration to virtual environments. For instance, according to ZDNet contributor Chris Kanaracus, Capital One has plans to diminish its data center footprint from eight facilities to three by 2018. Instead of relying on physical equipment, the company intends to move most of its operations to the cloud.

Cloud migrations by companies like Capital One and General Electric are being scrutinized by legal teams to make sure privacy is maintained throughout the process. However, according to Capital One CIO Rob Alexander, one of the reasons the company is moving to public cloud deployments is that it “enables us to operate even more securely in the public cloud than our own data centers,” he said. In other words, once the legal teams are on board, enterprises like Capital One and GE can successfully migrate to the cloud without worrying about privacy.

Supply chain tools

Because of the growing popularity of the cloud in businesses around the world and the inherent security that cloud environments bring to the table, there are several kinds of solutions that supply chain managers can implement within their organizations to enact real, lasting change. Investing in Oracle Value Chain Planning applications, for example, is a great way to take advantage of the security of the cloud while simultaneously creating a more efficient supply chain.

Cloud deployments, therefore, are proving to be more secure than private on-premises systems. By partnering with Inspirage, supply chain operations can make sure they are getting the most out of their Oracle solutions. The cloud experts at Inspirage cover end-to-end supply chain application implementation so that companies can take advantage of the cloud without having to sacrifice quality in the supply chain.