Industry experts highlight the need to embrace analytics as a powerful tool for modern enterprise performance management. Leading data management consultancy Altius has a goal to transform the potential reporting capabilities and performance management of businesses. The data management experts want companies to move away from making vital decisions based on traditional processes and replace this methodology with an automated, machine-driven system that integrated innovative analytics that defines business goals.

All businesses need to monitor their performance and have information accessible to inform and enable employees to make the right decisions. Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) systems have been working on delivering these results, adding value to a company by supplying information and insights to predict future performance.
EPM systems, however, do have limitation and at present, still, require a significant amount of time required on data entry and gathering data before any results and analysis can be performed.

Integrating EPM and Analytics

More businesses are starting to integrate innovative systems to analyse data, capable of storing large volumes of data that is readily available for real-time analysis, providing multiple layers of detail and insights that beforehand were not available to a business.

Altius has the vision to integrate advanced analytics into an EPM system, providing more insights and a competitive advantage over other companies, producing an integrated analytical and management process from sourcing data through to advanced analytics.

Delivering accurate details on revenue

Providing clear and current details of revenue profiles can enable a management team to truly understand what impact their decisions and other factors are having on profitability. Analytical models can provide vital details on business products, linking revenue and cost analytics within an EPM system provides a clearer view into overall business profits.

The process of monitoring revenues can be monitored regularly enabling management to keep a constant check if there are any changes to revenue streams. In a situation where the system predicts a decline in revenue, further capital and funds can be supplemented towards sales and marketing efforts. This process can be completely managed by automated algorithms, avoiding any requirements from analysts collecting and building data reports.

Generating informed and strategic business decisions

Creating a singular integrated system, data and processes mean the correct information can be delivered at the appropriate time, enabling businesses to make informed decisions based on useful data. As Altius highlights, it is vital to define the difference between interesting data and useful data. For example, a data science algorithm providing forecasts on potential revenue is interesting. A report displaying the same revenue forecast and how this impacts the rest of the business and its revenue streams are useful data. A system that displays the same output and enables further modelling to be added to determine the best decision is the intended goal of data companies like Altius.

In the previous year, integrating these types of systems and processes required extensive development efforts. Today, however, modern technical systems, the associated implementation costs and total ownership costs are considerably lower than it was just a few years ago.

Altius points towards the main challenge not concerning technical implementation but more of a cultural change. Company executives need to completely trust analytics, the system and data created to really enhance the rate of strategic decisions.

Leading EPM provider, Host Analytics allows customers to improve productivity, efficiency and the number of opportunities available to a business.

The cloud-based EPM solutions provider recently released a study called ‘The Total Economic Impact of Host Analytics’, delivered by independent research business, Forester Consulting. The results suggested that Host Analytics provides $1.2 million in benefits over a three year period a total return on investment measuring nearly 400%.

The study covered a range of businesses, with many highlighting the considerable value they have gained from using Host Analytics. The platform has enabled many businesses to deliver new initiatives that generally would involve the support of five additional professionals. The equivalent increased productivity and financial planning potential and analysis of staff measures to over $730 in savings over a three year period.

Aside from the benefits to the finance side of a business, the research showed a considerable impact on overall business performance, with improvements in operating income due to enhanced decision making. One respondent highlighted that the believed the biggest change was a shift in their focus from looking behind to looking forward to the future.

Ron Baden, chief executive officer at Host Analytics explains that they always believed the platform provided great value to customers and the latest study has placed a specific value to support this claim. Baden highlights that many financial professionals are seeking to improve and modernise how they perform jobs and to increase collaboration with other colleagues, and this is exactly what Host Analytics provides.

For this study, Forrester Consulting provided its Total Economic Impact methodology, interviewing active Host Analytics customers to measure cost, benefit, flexibility and risk factors that influence overall investment choices. Survey respondents were selected from a range of industries, from social media to manufacturing industries.

The study revealed several other significant benefits of Host Analytics:

Improved Scenario Planning – The system offers improved integration of data sources, enhance measurement of business spend and other features which support better scenario planning.

Efficient book closing – Host Analytics allows businesses to close their accounts quicker at the end of financial periods, opening up available staff time to focus on planning, process improvement and other critical business activities.

Retaining Employees – Host Analytics removes the time and effort required within financial processes, resulting in improved job satisfaction.

The Total Economic Impact of Host Analytics study contains details of each business interviewed, the main challenges facing each business prior to implementing Host Analytics, and in-depth cost analysis along with the benefits and return on investment.

The general manager for ERP/EPM SaaS at Oracle said their business has experienced 100% year on year growth within Australia.

Just looking back a few years, Oracle’s SaaS customers were fairly small. Many businesses that were using Oracle SaaS were unable to afford the capital costs of having an on-site system.  Today, regular users of Oracle products are transferring from on-site premises to SaaS.

Whilst the business implement an ‘applications unlimited’ policy, referring to on-premises applications will trigger further development for the next few years, customers can enhance their systems by transferring to the Oracle Fusions SaaS platform.

John Leonard, General Manager of ERP/EPM SaaS explains that nearly every project is completed within a year, with many being delivering in under 8 months. Leonard also highlights the sheer expense of on-site upgrades, suggesting they can incur costs of nearly $20 million for larger businesses. Transferring to SaaS offers a low-risk alternative to potentially costly and risky upgrades. Due to regular features releases, SaaS enables simpler adoption of new technologies, including blockchain.

Leonard explains that back in 2012, most Oracle CRM customers were using on-site software but by 2016 many had transferred to SaaS. A similar transition is now occurring within HR and Finance software.

Australia is following in this path with an extensive list of local customers ranging from investment business QIC to fast food chain Hungry Jack’s implementing SaaS. To further support customers moving to Saas, Oracle provides an option enabling companies to utilise the consultancy operation of Oracle and customers pay on delivery.

ERP is a top priority for Oracle in regards to SaaS during the next year. Leonard explains that many SaaS competitors provide point solutions, but Oracle’s SaaS applications use the same codebase and data model. Leonard believes that companies are looking for a provider to includes the whole of their business, rather than one specific area.

A key advantage of SaaS is that it allows users to monitor their software without viewing customers data. This means users can analyse potential issues before customers notice and identify any trends and react appropriately. Leonard believes that SaaS is the fastest method to provide innovation to customers, offering a significant advantage over other competitors.

Some users at Cetera were cautious of Oracle Saas platforms for ERP, EPM and HCM but have recognised the benefits of a single entry point, innovative planning and budgeting tools, along with standard Excel-based UIs.

Transforming existing conventional applications to a new and smaller range of integrated tools can be a cautious exercise for many businesses. Whilst many professionals prefer to maintain their traditional software, the benefits and simplicity of SaaS generally result in enhanced efficiency, winning over any sceptics and resulting in improved business performance.

US-based Cetera Financial Group, the main provider of services and technology for financial companies went through the process of implementing Oracle ERP Cloud for financials, accounts and procurement, and Oracle EPM Cloud for planning and budgeting.

Matthew Whitehead, vice president of financial planning and analysis at Cetera explained that the simple lack of custom features of new SaaS applications was a concern. Users questioned whether transferring from a familiar system into a perceived rigid system was a wise choice.

Cetera worked with implementation partners PwC to deliver a procedure to reduce customisation and ensure the business gained the best results from configuring Oracle ERP Cloud Software. The initial evaluation generated a range of questions such as why Cetera thinks they differ from the thousands of other installs that Oracle has performed over the years to create an efficient cloud solution.

In terms of Oracle EPM Cloud, Whitehead explains the issues were more pronounced due to the software forcing users into its financial frameworks and workforce planning. Cetera focused on selecting its main goals and financial modelling requirement to establish the EPM software’s key performance indicators.

The result? Cetera reduced its chart of accounts from the general ledger, enabling users to focus more on other accounts. Whitehead explains the system provided them with speed and flexibility in the capability to forecast, plan, report and measure continuously.

Cetera also transformed their existing planning and forecasting tool, Solver BI360. The new Oracle planning and budgeting cloud service (PBCS) has enhanced the forecasting potential at Cetera and maintained the preferred choice of interface for most users.

Whitehead explains this is the place where Oracle provides its Hyperion business intelligence and corporate performance management system. Whitehead highlights that PBCS also includes Hyperion Financial Reporting Studio, offering a more solid reporting system, allowing for reporting in both HTML and PDF formats. Whitehead explains that Excel is still a prominent focus for financial teams but to serve the requirements of business users Cetera really needed a more standardised, streamlined and simpler system.

Oracle ERP Cloud – Single Entry Point

For Cetera, one of the main challenges was determining how to communicate the impacts on procurement, expenses, planning and budgeting, areas that affect many users. Cetera was also in the process of transferring its expense system from an onsite SAP Concur to Oracle ERP Cloud.

Whitehead along with Jeffrey Buchheister, CFO of Cetera worked with marketing and communications to deliver a clear strategy that could be passed on to it users. In-house training teams and HR would support with training.

Whitehead explains that they delivered a series of communication strategies to ensure the vision was clear and more importantly, how it would impact each department and the benefits it would bring. The underlying message was that Oracle ERP Cloud and EPM Cloud would create an industry shift that promotes further growth and creates further insights into the business.

In hindsight, Whitehead suggested that a helpful process would have been to focus on more complex cases and really determine the solutions to each individual case and really understanding potential challenges that Cetera may face in the future.

Now ERP and EPM is in the cloud, employees have more access to data and insightful information. Individual accounts and logins for a range of systems including BI360 and Concur are no more, replaced with a singular intranet login via Oracle cloud, encouraging overall user experience.

Users can record performance and goals all within one portal that also integrates planning, budgeting and the ERP side of the business. Whitehead believes the entire end-user experience has been transformed and improved dramatically and general feedback has proven the system change has been a huge success for Cetera.

Leading developer of storage solution DataDirect Networks, along with SQream, leading developer of GPU accelerated data warehouse have confirmed a solution that enables users to deploy large scale warehouse analytics. Using a combination of both systems, the innovative solution allows end users to effectively enhance the overall performance of business queries without incurring any challenges.

An ‘Accelerating Analytics at Scale for Higher Quality Business Decisions’ webinar is planned between DDN, SQream and analyst company 451 Research to provide more details on the technology.

Businesses worldwide are starting to truly understand the complexities of efficiently measuring their substantial data stores. For many companies, the sheer amount of data now exceeds the capabilities of conventional data warehouses. To improve the use of data, analysts are exploring new architectures that will enable them to access, analyse and extract valuable data in an efficient manner.

DDNs architecture includes the required infrastructure to deliver a turnkey, GPU-focused analytics system. Comprising of the DDN AI200 NVMe-based storage system, the NVIDIA DGX-1 Deep Learning Server and its switching infrastructure, the A³I solution utilises parallelism to create the potential within SQream DB. The combined solution enables businesses to measure data quicker and at a considerably lower cost than conventional data warehouses.

Kurt Kuckein, senior director of marketing at DDN explains that their customers are continuing to find innovative ways to utilise analytics to deliver fresh insights into the business operation. According to Kuckein, the new partnership with SQream is transforming how companies can leverage their data and provide further value.

David Leichner, the CMO at SQream explains that there is a strong synergy within the partnership with DDN. A combination of the highest quality breed hardware, along with the database acceleration technology at SQream will result in improved capabilities of business insights. Leichner goes on to suggest that through the partnership with DDN, they can offer a solution that helps customers enhance their analytics performance and at the same time minimise any potential risk or challenges whilst meeting the requirements of each business.

DataDirect Networks Explained

DDN is a global leader in supplying big data storage to data-focused businesses worldwide. For over 20 years, DDN has been involved in designing, developing and launching optimised systems and software and storage solutions that allow businesses and agencies to create more value and enable more time to gather insights from their data. The DDN storage technology enables businesses to gather, store, process, analyse and distribute their data on a large scale in the most timely, reliable and cost-efficient manner. Clients working with DDN include some of the leading financial services companies, healthcare, manufacturing and energy business worldwide.

Introducing SQream

SQream focuses on its SQream DB, a GPU data warehouse system that enables the highest level of business intelligence from significant data stores. Businesses worldwide use the SQream DB to measure large volumes of data, for enhanced performance and to reduce costs as well as the potential to scale large amounts of data. SQream DB is available to users internally or via the cloud.

The software market has continued to evolve over recent years, offering a range of systems to support businesses worldwide.

Of the many brands competing, the focus seems to be placed on Anaplan and Adaptive Insights. Both companies provide a unique service, with Adaptive Insights existing for nearly 15 years whilst Anaplan has only just recently emerged. Codex Recruitment explores the benefits and values of each system for businesses.

Measuring Cost

Adaptive Insights software is available to around 100 countries worldwide, providing a simplistic and accessible option for low to mid-level businesses seeking a user-friendly tool. In contrast, Anaplan is more of a high-end product that is limited to a select number of clients due to its high initial market cost.

Compatibility with Excel

There will always be a requirement to control your business processes and data via Microsoft Excel. Adaptive Insights is the system that enables customers to drag and drop information into custom templates far easier than other tools. The dashboard enables employees to utilise a tool known as integrated process tracker which provides useful details to ensure individuals are guided through the entire integration process. Anaplan, on the other hand, is not as flexible to sync with Excel data.

Compatibility with small companies

There is a range of benefits to both Anaplan and Adaptive Insights but in terms of suitability for smaller companies, Adaptive Insights is proven to be more popular. It offers a more friendly option that is flexible and suitable for the requirements of smaller businesses.

Business Intelligence Tools

There are many software packages available today that can provide business intelligence solutions, enabling managers and analysts to continue focusing on their day-to-day duties whilst the system delivers on specific targets. Industry experts believe Adaptive Insights provides a more superior level of real time data analysis and individual dashboards that display results specific to each individual user.

Ultimately, both Anaplan and Adaptive Insights provide a range of valuable benefits to its customers looking for the most suited software package for their business. An analysis suggests, however, that Adaptive Insights may meet more requirements of a standard business.

A new study by Oracle claims that long standing cultural habits and a ‘short-term’ mindset are the main barriers preventing further collaboration between finance and HR teams.

The study exploring HR and Analytics includes an analysis of over 1,500 finance, HR and other business professionals worldwide. The report suggests that in order to really harness the value of data and to ensure companies can continue to evolve in a rapidly changing talent market, HR professionals need to take a different approach with analytics technology and enhance collaboration with their finance teams.

HR and Finance teams deliver different, yet crucial skill sets for a business. Traditionally, the two teams do not work closely, but industry leaders at Oracle believe this needs to change in order for companies to maintain a competitive lead within today’s progressive market and talent industry. Donald Anderson, the Director of Organisation & Talent Development at Oracle believes the main step to remove traditional barriers between HR and Finance teams is to create a collaborative mindset, using the right skills and expertise to collect and measure data which can be used to make critical business decisions. This alone would lead to considerable benefits for a business and its level of performance.

With the continued launch of innovative technology, rising recruitment costs and a surge in demand for new skills, today’s global talent industry is more competitive than ever and businesses need to ensure they remain competitive within this market, HR teams need to consider their overall approach towards analytics, skills and integration with finance to create a competitive lead.

According to results from the Oracle study:-

-Over 90% of Finance and HR professionals intend to prioritise data-driven collaboration this year.

-In order to harness data value, HR and Finance teams will need to develop new skills. The survey results showed that just under 50% of members are unable to use analytics properly to measure outcomes and over 80% are not equipped to understand predictive data for determining future plans.

Within the study, Oracle explains that Finance and HR professionals are exploring emerging technologies which can support business performance, in particular, Artificial Intelligence. Results show that around a quarter of respondents currently use AI to identify specific ‘at-risk’ talent and develop their talent pipeline. Few businesses are using AI to forecast overall performance or to search for the best talent. According to the report, over 70% of the respondents intend to use AI to forecast high performing candidates and select the ideal match candidates with CV/resume analysis. Other AI measures highlighted by respondents include shaping their talent pipeline, identifying at-risk employees and supporting interactions between chatbots and employees.

Emerging technologies, analytics and AI are creating a range of opportunities for HR teams to analyse important insights and make informed decisions that can create that competitive advantage. With more HR professionals planning to invest and focus on AI over the next year, it will likely mean businesses will be competing on a new scale to search for the best talent.

UK business Bedford Consulting has been selected as the EMEA Regional Partner of the Year by Anaplan, leading provider of software solutions for multiple companies including corporate performance management and operations.

With its headquarters in the US, Anaplan has in excess of 1,000 global customers. As is the case with other vendors, Anaplan has a system that includes a range of partners that support its customers with overall design, build and implementation of their new products.

The annual awards specifically focus on celebrating and highlighting the leading performing partners across the Anaplan network. The main award for the EMEA region went to Bedford Consultancy, a business that specifically works in project implementation and overall business change on the Anaplan platform. Bedford consultancy has its headquarters in London, with additional office locations in Belfast and Dusseldorf.

Neil Doyle, co-founder and chief executive at Bedford Consulting explains that their business was one of the first Anaplan partners within the UK and since then have been involved in a range of implementations with some of the biggest businesses worldwide, completing over 200 projects to date.

Bedford Consulting works mainly with Anaplan in ‘Financial Planning, Analysis, Sales and Operation, Workforce Planning and Financial Consolidation’. Doyle explains that they support clients throughout the entire project process and are greatly involved in the pre-sales stage as well as within project delivery. Doyle believes their long-standing partnership with Anaplan is now really paying off, with the latest award being their second major achievement in the last year. To begin with, Bedford provided support for both Cognos and Anaplan implementations but two years ago decided to work exclusively with Anaplan, transforming into the biggest focused partner within the UK.

Other Awards

The APAC Regional Partner of the Year Award went to QUNIE, a business consultancy supporting the NTT Data Group. Twelve Consulting were named the Americas Regional Partner of the Year and Deloitte was awarded the Global Partner of the Year award.

Ron Dimon, the MD and lead alliance partner for Anaplan at Deloitte US stated that their client uses Anaplan to support improving profitable revenue growth, enhancing operational activity and creating new insights into improving their overall business.

Other leading consultancies that are currently partnered with Anaplan worldwide include Accenture, Bain & Company, EY, PwC and Wipro.

Host Analytics, a leading provider of cloud-based EPM solutions has confirmed an agreement to be acquired by a major private equity firm, Vector Capital.

The business focuses on transformational investments across technology companies. Within the agreement, StarVest Partners, the biggest shareholder in Host Analytics will remain a major investor in the business.

Dave Kellogg, the chief executive of Host Analytics explained to media that they are very excited to be collaborating with Vector Capital and enhancing their potential growth within the continued expanding EPM market. Kellogg emphasises that Vector Capital offers a range of financial and operational resources, along with an expert team that offers an experienced track record and an innovative plan to progress the business further forward.

David Fishman, the managing director at Vector Capital explains that Host Analytics provides a combination of innovative products, an experienced and skilled workforce and a range of leading blue-chip customers, providing an ideal platform for future development. Fishman highlights how impressed by the strong business focus of Host Analytics and is impressed by the planned product roadmap.

Stephen Goodman, the vice president at Vector Capital stated that they believe Host Analytics is ideally positioned to gain from the range of opportunities within the cloud EPM marketplace. Goodman explains how excited they are to invest in Host Analytics to deliver new organic market opportunities and via new acquisitions.

Vector will provide the financial transaction from Vector Capital V, a fund valued at $1.4 billion raised in 2017 to invest specifically in technology companies within the software, internet, digital media and communications. Host Analytics will continue to maintain its main headquarters in California and will continue to offer leading EPM services to its customers worldwide.

Ray Wang, principal analyst and founder of Constellation Research explains that customers expect leading EPM businesses to offer new product innovation and growth. According to Wang, this acquisition will enable Host Analytics to acquire other vendors and continued to develop their capabilities for existing and new customers.

The proposed acquisition is due to close within the next few weeks, subject to confirmation from regulatory authorities. The overall agreement has already been approved by the Host Analytics board of directors.

Vena Solution has recently announced it has raised $115 million in funding managed by the business JMI Equity.

Its current investor, Centana Growth Partners was also a participant in the latest funding round, reinvesting again after managing the previous funding round in 2016.

This is one of the four major events in the industry over the last few months. Anaplan went through the process of an IPO. Adaptive Insights was then purchased by Workday and Host Analytics was bought by Vector Capital.

JMI Equity has gained experience in the industry after prior investment plans in Adaptive Insights. Industry sources suggest that investments typically range from $15 million up to $125 million. It is believed the actual investment figure made by JMI Equity was in the region of $80 million.

Peter Arrowsmith, the general partner at JMI Equity explained that the business will select companies to invest in with proven business models and a clear opportunity to enhance further growth. Arrowsmith emphasised that Vena Solutions ticked all the boxes, explaining that their customers aren’t just satisfied with the service but are passionate about the company products and the solutions it offers within the finance market. Arrowsmith states that they are very much looking forward to collaborating with the Vena team to further expand the business and its associated growth opportunities.

Where will the investment go?

Media news suggests the investment will be support accelerated growth and the scaling of operations globally. At present, Vena has its headquarters in Canada, with additional offices in New York, London and Alkmaar (the Netherlands). It is predicted this list of offices will expand as it plans to expand its portfolio of sales and services offices worldwide.

Don Mal, the CEO is believed to be interested in expanding the number of channel partners linked with Vena Solutions. With Adaptive Insight now part of Workday, there are equal opportunities for Vena to improve its partnerships with other ERP organisations. Vena will be exhibiting at SuiteWorld later this year but is not currently listed as the main sponsor. This type of investment, however, could be something that Mal considers for 2019. Vena has created a strong relationship with FinancialForce and is predicted to expand its focus at Community Live this year.

Business success in Canada

Mal explains that Vena has shown its value to many satisfied customers by offering an easy to use software, that is equally quick to adopt an essential for implementing timely and informed business choices. Vena is part of a small collection of Canadian technology businesses with the customers, products and worldwide potential to attract investment in excess of $100 million.

The main challenge for Vena Solutions is to ensure the business can expand worldwide. This will require establishing hubs within additional countries, which can lead to other challenges for the leadership team and CEO. There are discussions about whether Mal will continue to manage the business in the long term or seek a new replacement.

Enterprise Times

Vena Solutions has delivered an accessible and powerful software service to support finance processes. This is proven by the added confidence of Centana reinvesting in the business. Eric Byunn, a partner at Centana Growth explains that Centana initially invested in Vena because of its innovative product goals – essentially creating a financial analytical platform that is both powerful and simple for anyone in a business to use, whether this is for finance, compliance or business activities. Byunn explains that today they are proud to be doubling down on the business after experiencing how much value their goals have been. Vena has established more customers and created a stronger team, making it a popular choice in the business software market.

Mal is likely to look to empower the leadership team further as the company continues to expand. The business now has an equity partner that has successfully pushed 19 companies through IPO’s. There is the potential that Vena Solutions could be number 20.

Mal carefully selected their funding partner and explained that it was a selective decision in finding someone that is a perfect fit for the culture of the business and shares similar ideas in how to lead the business. Mal explains that their next step is to really scale the business and lead the market with expanded growth, and with the support of JMI, this is definitely possible. The question is now which destination will Vena Solution be selecting?