What is the difference between cloud, on-premise, and hosted ERP?

On-premise ERP lives on a server in your office, is paid for once with a perpetual licence, and is maintained, patched, and backed up by you forever. Hosted ERP is the same software running on the vendor's hardware in a single-tenant setup. Cloud ERP is multi-tenant SaaS built for the browser and mobile, with continuous updates, automatic backups, and support included in the subscription. EZIIL is cloud-native from day one, not a hosted version of a legacy on-premise product.

Why are custom steel fabricators moving from on-premise to Cloud ERP?

Three reasons. First, shop floors are going mobile and owners, estimators, and project managers are rarely at a desktop all day, so software that works from a phone or laptop wins. Second, the typical 15 to 150 person fab shop has zero full-time IT staff, which makes hosting your own ERP a hidden cost. Third, legacy on-premise products are aging out (FabTrol was discontinued in 2022, leaving 500+ shops looking for a replacement). Cloud ERP makes IT the vendor's problem and frees the shop to focus on fabrication.

Is Cloud ERP secure for a custom steel fabrication shop?

Yes, and meaningfully more secure than what most 30 person fab shops can build in-house. Cloud ERPs run on AWS or Azure data centers that are SOC 2 certified, redundant across regions, monitored continuously, and patched within hours of new vulnerabilities. The honest comparison is not 'cloud versus perfect security,' it is cloud versus an office server backed up to a NAS down the hall. EZIIL runs on enterprise cloud infrastructure with the controls that small fab shops cannot replicate at any reasonable cost.

What features should a Cloud ERP for steel fabrication include?

A fabrication-specific cloud ERP should provide project-based work order tracking (not just SKU-based), drag-and-drop capacity planning by department (welding, CNC, paint, assembly), plan-versus-actual cost tracking on every job, BOM and procurement tied to projects rather than warehouse SKUs, a mobile shop floor app on iOS and Android, EN 1090 or AISC traceability with heat numbers, mill certs, and welder qualifications, document control for drawings and weld procedures, and an open API for accounting, CAD, and nesting tools. If a demo cannot show these eight working together in a real project context, it was not built for fabrication.

What is the best Cloud ERP for custom steel fabricators?

The right cloud ERP for a custom steel shop is one that is cloud-native (not a hosted version of a 1990s product), built around projects rather than repeat-batch SKUs, priced on team tiers rather than per-user, and capable of going live in weeks rather than months. EZIIL fits this profile, with project-based BOMs and routings, drag-and-drop capacity planning, a mobile shop floor app, EN 1090 traceability, and flat-rate pricing starting at €120 per month. It is specifically designed for 15 to 150 person custom fab shops, not 500 person OEMs or process plants.

What is the difference between cloud-native and cloud-washed ERP?

Cloud-native ERP was designed from day one for the browser and mobile, with multi-tenant architecture and continuous deployment. Updates ship every week or two. Cloud-washed ERP is a 20 year old on-premise product that has been moved to a hosted server and rebranded as cloud. Updates still ship quarterly or yearly, the UI still feels like a 1990s client app, and mobile access is bolted on. Ask any vendor when the product was built cloud-native and what their release cadence is. EZIIL ships updates every two weeks.

How long does a Cloud ERP implementation take for a custom fab shop?

For a sub-150 person custom steel shop, the right answer is weeks, not months. Six to twelve month implementations are a red flag for shops in the 15 to 150 employee band, because the rollout cost exceeds the software cost. EZIIL is designed to go live with scheduling and project tracking in the first weeks, then layer in BOM, procurement, inventory, EN 1090, subcontractor, machine planning, advanced shop floor, reporting, shipments, and accounting integration modules one at a time as the shop is ready. No big-bang implementation.

How much does Cloud ERP cost for a 30 to 80 person steel fabrication shop?

Most cloud manufacturing ERPs charge $49 to $200 per user per month, which turns a 50 person shop into a $3,400 per month line item that grows with every hire. EZIIL uses flat-rate team-tier pricing instead: €120 per month for 1 to 15 users, €180 per month for 16 to 50, and €290 per month for 51 to 150. A one-time €300 onboarding fee covers setup. Modules (BOM, procurement, inventory, EN 1090, subcontractor, machine planning) are added as the shop is ready, not all at once.

What replaced FabTrol after it was discontinued in 2022?

FabTrol left more than 500 fabrication shops looking for a replacement when it was discontinued in 2022. The most common paths are migration to Tekla PowerFab, Steel Projects PLM, or a cloud-native fabrication ERP like EZIIL. For custom project-based shops in the 15 to 150 employee range, EZIIL is purpose-built around the same project, capacity, traceability, and shop floor workflows FabTrol covered, with the advantage of being cloud-native, mobile-first, and priced on team tiers rather than per-user licences.

Can Cloud ERP work for a fab shop without a dedicated IT team?

Yes, and that is the main reason cloud ERP fits 15 to 150 person fab shops so well. There is no server to host, no operating system to patch, no backup tape to swap, and no upgrade project to schedule. The vendor handles infrastructure, security, backups, and updates. The shop just needs internet access and the iOS or Android devices the team already has. EZIIL is run by hundreds of small and mid-size fab shops without a single full-time IT hire.

Will my data be locked in if I switch to a Cloud ERP?

It should not be, and this is non-negotiable when evaluating any cloud vendor. Ask for the export format up front. CSV or JSON exports of all your data should be available at any time, on demand, without an additional fee. EZIIL provides ongoing data exports as a standard feature, not a paid add-on, so the shop always owns its data and can move it elsewhere if it needs to. Open APIs for accounting, CAD, and nesting tools also reduce lock-in by keeping integrations on the customer's side of the line.

Does Cloud ERP integrate with QuickBooks, Tekla, SolidWorks, and nesting software?

A serious fabrication cloud ERP should have an open API and pre-built connectors for the tools custom shops already use, including accounting platforms like QuickBooks, Xero, and Sage, CAD systems like Tekla Structures, SolidWorks, and Advance Steel, and nesting or CNC programming tools. EZIIL offers an accounting integration module plus an open API, so BOMs from CAD flow in, invoices flow out, and the shop does not maintain three copies of the same data across three systems.

How does EZIIL compare to legacy on-premise fabrication ERPs?

Legacy on-premise fab ERPs require a server, an IT contractor, perpetual licences, occasional upgrade projects, and clunky VPN access from outside the office. EZIIL runs in the browser and on iOS and Android, ships updates every two weeks, includes the mobile shop floor app in the €120 Starter tier rather than as a paid upgrade, and replaces upfront licence costs with flat-rate monthly pricing. Project structure, capacity planning, EN 1090 traceability, and plan-versus-actual cost tracking are built in rather than bolted on.

Cloud ERP

What is Cloud ERP in steel fabrication?

Cloud ERP is enterprise resource planning software that runs on the vendor’s servers and is accessed through a web browser or mobile app. You do not install it. You do not host it. You do not patch it. You log in.

The opposite is on-premise ERP, which lives on a server in your office (or your IT vendor’s office), is paid for once with a license, and is maintained by you forever. The hybrid middle ground is hosted ERP, where the vendor runs the software but in a single-tenant setup.

For custom steel fabricators, the difference matters because the on-premise legacy ERPs that ran the industry for 20 years (FabTrol, Tekla PowerFab in its older deployments, JobBOSS² in older versions) are aging out. FabTrol was discontinued in 2022 and its ~500+ users are actively looking for replacements. The natural successor is cloud ERP, but only if the cloud product was actually built for fabrication.

Why Cloud ERP matters for custom steel fabricators

Three reasons cloud ERP matters specifically for fab shops:

Your shop floor is moving to mobile, your office is moving to the road. Owners, estimators, and project managers are not at a desktop all day. Site visits, supplier meetings, customer walkthroughs. Cloud ERP works from a phone or laptop wherever you are. On-premise ERP works in your office or via clunky VPN.
You do not have an IT team. The average custom fab shop in our ICP (15 to 150 employees) has zero full-time IT staff. Hosting your own ERP server means hiring a part-time IT contractor, buying backup hardware, and praying nothing breaks during a shipment deadline. Cloud ERP makes IT the vendor’s problem.

The objection most owners raise: “But my data lives on someone else’s server.” That is true. The honest answer is that for a 30 person fab shop, the cloud vendor’s security is meaningfully better than what you would build in-house. AWS and Azure data centers are SOC 2 certified, redundant across regions, and patched continuously. Your office server is not.

How Cloud ERP works for a steel shop

The mechanics are simple:

You sign a monthly or annual subscription.
The vendor provisions your account on their cloud infrastructure.
You and your team log in from any device.
Your data is backed up automatically.
Updates ship continuously, you do not run upgrade projects.
Support is included in the subscription.

For a custom steel fabricator specifically, a good cloud ERP should give you:

Project-based work order tracking (not just SKU-based)
Drag-and-drop capacity planning by department (welding, CNC, paint, assembly)
Plan-versus-actual cost tracking on every job
BOM and procurement tied to projects, not warehouse SKUs
Mobile shop floor app that runs on the iPhones and Androids your team already has
EN 1090 or AISC traceability for compliance (heat numbers, mill certs, welder qualifications)
Document control for drawings, weld procedures, and inspection reports
An open API so your accounting (QuickBooks/Xero/Sage), CAD (Tekla, SolidWorks), and nesting tools can connect

If a cloud ERP demo cannot show you those eight things working together in your project context, it was not built for fabrication.

Best practices for evaluating Cloud ERP as a custom fabricator

Demand a fabrication-specific demo. Generic “manufacturing” demos waste your time. Bring a real recent job and ask the vendor to model it.
Read the pricing carefully. Per-user pricing kills fab shops with seasonal labor. A 40 person shop on $49/user/month is $1,960/month and rising with every hire. Look for flat-rate or team-tier pricing.
Check the implementation timeline. “6 to 12 months” is a red flag for a sub-150 person shop. “Weeks, modular, go-live with scheduling first” is the right answer.
Verify cloud-native vs cloud-washed. Some vendors moved 20-year-old on-premise products to a hosted setup and call it cloud. Ask: was this built cloud-native, when, and what is your release cadence? Cloud-native products ship weekly or monthly. Cloud-washed ones still ship quarterly.
Confirm your data is portable. Ask for the export format. CSV/JSON exports of all your data should be available at any time, no lock-in. This is non-negotiable.
Talk to a current customer that looks like you. Ask for a reference of a 30 to 80 person custom steel fabricator using the product today. Not a 500 person OEM. Not a process manufacturer. Your shape, your size, your industry.

How EZIIL helps custom steel fabricators move to Cloud ERP safely

EZIIL is built cloud-native for custom project-based steel fabrication. We do not have an on-premise legacy version. The product is shaped by what 15 to 150 person fab shops actually need:

Cloud-native from day one. Built for the browser and mobile, not ported from a 1995 client/server app. We ship product updates on-the-go, not every two years.
Project-based, not SKU-based. Every cloud ERP screen revolves around the project (job/contract). BOMs, schedules, costs, documents all live under the project.
Drag-and-drop capacity planning, daily/weekly/monthly views. You see the shop’s real capacity in seconds, from your phone if you are at a site visit.
Mobile shop floor app (iOS and Android) included in every tier. Operators time-track, see drawings, log status, scan parts. Included in the €120 Starter, not a paid upgrade.
EN 1090 traceability is a real module, not a checkbox. Material certs, welder qualifications, NDT results, all captured against the project. The audit trail prints itself.
Flat-rate pricing without per-user fees. €120/$140 per month for 1 to 15 users, €180/$210 month for 16 to 50, €290/$338 month for 51 to 150. One onboarding fee of €300/$350. That is it. Most competitors charge $49 to $200 per user per month, which turns a 50 person shop into a $3,400/month line item.
Go-live in weeks, not months. Start with EZIIL Starter. Add the BOM, procurement, inventory, EN 1090, subcontractor, machine planning, advanced shop floor, reporting, shipments, and accounting integration modules one at a time as you are ready. No big-bang implementation. No 6 month rollouts..