In the first part of our series on the huge difference that an implementation partner can make when setting up a new financial system (e.g., one built around cloud ERP software), we touched upon several big benefits from having a positive business relationship, including:
- Help with integration: Software-as-a-service solutions vary in their compatibility with other utilities such as Salesforce.com (for customer relationship management) or various document management tools. A partner can provide critical assistance when it comes to customizing existing software and building new applications to get the right fit for a particular set of business requirements.
- Roadmap creation: Gathering up all the resources and personnel needed to hit your project's deliverables, milestones and overall goals is much easier when you do not have to work alone. Implementation efforts often fall behind schedule and run over budget — a 2014 Blueprint survey found that a mere 11 percent of technology initiatives "regularly" conformed to their budgets — so such guidance is essential.
- Training and future support: SMBs are not standing still. They gain new customers, expand into additional markets and set fresh priorities. Their tools also change along the way, which is why ongoing training and support from partners is so important to maintaining the value of a modern cloud-based ERP system.
Let's look more at the training and support angle. Sometimes it is not the initial setup that is the issue with cloud financial software, but rather the actual day-to-day use of it. This problem was hinted at in a late 2014 poll of IT professionals in the U.S. and the U.K., which revealed that nearly half of respondents felt their organizations lacked the expertise to get the most out of a switch to cloud services.
You have cloud software in place but aren't getting the maximum value from it. What happens next?
Say you have subscribed to a SaaS application because your old platform — perhaps something built around QuickBooks and a bunch of Excel sheets — just wasn't keeping up with your company's growth. The initial relief of being able to mostly leave behind redundant data entry might quickly give way to uncertainty about how to harness the power of the new application. After a while, you end up not using it much or at all for this reason.
An implementation partner can help get your project back on track.
The actual vendors of the cloud software, who deal with numerous customers each day, might not have the time or niche knowledge to provide assistance at this relatively late stage in the game. Enter a cloud implementation partner. Did you do the initial implementation DIY or with someone else? No problem!
With a much more targeted focus than these software makers, an implementation partner can effectively approach you like it would a brand new client. As a result, you would get a full range of support services, such as:
- Learning the ins and outs of your business: Close collaboration leads to an understanding of what you need from cloud accounting software. In other words, it answers the question "what would success look like in your particular situation?"
- Fitting the cloud solution to your requirements: Each case is indeed unique. Maybe the main obstacle is in obtaining accurate, timely reports, or, alternatively, in connecting accounting data to Salesforce.com. A partner can step in and start coming up with a solution that addresses these challenges.
- Making adjustments later on: Cloud implementations are not set in stone. For example, an organization might omit reports or invoices that need to be customized, or require additional dimensions due to a business acquisition. Adjustments are critical for your solution to keep up with your growth, and a partner can help make them easier on you.
- Providing long-term support: Just like with an SMB that is first getting acquainted with cloud software, a company looking to get more out of its cloud implementation benefits greatly from partner resources such as training and technical guidance.
"An implementation partner can approach you like a new client."
Businesses take a variety of paths to the cloud, and their roads are not always straightforward or free of stops and starts. An experienced partner realizes this. Accordingly, it can work with you whether you are just getting started or in need of help with a previously problematic implementation.
A partner lets you reach success more quickly
With a partner like Arxis at your side, you get on a fast track to success, whether you are beginning a brand new project or revitalizing an existing one. Nuanced evaluation of your business requirements, help with integrations and ongoing education all set your organization up for long-term prosperity when using modern applications such as Intacct and Adaptive Insights. There are plenty of potential challenges when implementing cloud software, but working side by side with a top-notch partner gives you the transparency and experience to overcome them.
