Last week, we discussed the fact that a cloud migration is not an upgrade, but rather a reimplementation. If you treat it as a straight push to the next version, you're going to miss out on functionalities that could be very beneficial for your organization. Framing this as a reimplementation means understanding that although it's the same vendor, same products, and same product line, the capabilities are totally different and require a more intense level of effort that just an upgrade.
To reflect this complication, the Infor Government Essentials package focuses on the deployment strategy. While on-premises systems had a sort of finality to it, the approach for Essentials is to prioritize the core scope so that the organization can immediately start reaping the benefits of the Infor SaaS solution. As they continue using the system over the years, then they can grow the other capabilities as they see fit. You can think of this as a system activation within a 12 month period (more or less depending on the organization), followed by a continuous rollout of additional applications beyond the core.
At the end of 3, 4, or 5 years, you should have all of the functionalities that are traditionally done on premises in a single phase. Handling the implementation this way is a more fiscally conservative decision because it poses less risk to the organization and offers more financial advantages, which is a win-win for anyone in the public sector. It's also an innovative approach to providing cities and counties with a delivery model that is appropriate for SaaS in the same way the old implementation model was for on-prem.
Honestly, we want to get rid of the term implementation. Instead, let's think of it as laying the foundation because you're setting up the basics before building off of it to enhance what is already in place. Another thing is to stop calling it a "project" and start saying "process." A project starts and ends, whereas this has a clear start but is then ongoing. Once the foundation is set, it will go through different phases as you progress and won't always require on-site consultants helping out full time.
