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SPECIAL REPORT

Next Generation Real-Time ERP Data Solutions Beyond ERP: Real-Time Decision Making for Competitive Advantage and Growth Technology and the Future of Data Business Intelligence and the Future of Excel Reporting Getting the Most out of ERP Software Excel and ERP: Bridging the Gap

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Published by Global Business Media

SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION REAL-TIME ERP DATA SOLUTIONS

SPECIAL REPORT

Next Generation Real-Time ERP Data Solutions Beyond ERP: Real-Time Decision Making for Competitive Advantage and Growth

Contents

Technology and the Future of Data Business Intelligence and the Future of Excel Reporting Getting the Most out of ERP Software Excel and ERP: Bridging the Gap

Foreword 2 Tom Cropper, Editor

Beyond ERP: Real-Time Decision Making 3 for Competitive Advantage and Growth Richard Sampson, Manging Director at Excel4apps Europe Sponsored by:

Published by Global Business Media

Published by Global Business Media Global Business Media Limited 62 The Street Ashtead Surrey KT21 1AT United Kingdom Switchboard: +44 (0)1737 850 939 Fax: +44 (0)1737 851 952 Email: info@globalbusinessmedia.org Website: www.globalbusinessmedia.org Publisher Kevin Bell Editor Tom Cropper Business Development Director Marie-Anne Brooks Senior Project Manager Steve Banks Advertising Executives Michael McCarthy Abigail Coombes Production Manager Paul Davies For further information visit: www.globalbusinessmedia.org The opinions and views expressed in the editorial content in this publication are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the views of any organisation with which they may be associated.

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Technology Hinders Human Capital?

Delays Feed Frustrations ERP: Solution or Stumbling Block?

Standard ERP versus Real-time Reporting Leveraging Microsoft and ERP Investments Unleashing Excel’s Power Effectively Managing Human Capital Navigating the Technology Crossroads

Technology and the Future of Data

8

Tom Cropper, Editor

Good Data is Vital A More Complex World Big Data, Big Opportunities Cost versus Reward

Business Intelligence and the 10 Future of Excel Reporting Jo Roth, Staff Writer

Excel is the Future Constant Evolution An Arduous Process A Key Advantage

Getting the Most out of ERP Software

12

James Butler, Staff Writer

When ERP Goes Wrong Selecting ERP A Need for Flexibility

Excel and ERP: Bridging the Gap 14 Tom Cropper, Editor

Popular but Risky Finding a Solution Need for Speed

References 16

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Foreword B

USINESSES ARE constantly seeking out ways

coming into businesses. If harnessed correctly this can

to make themselves more agile, streamlined

provide critical analysis and insights into every aspect

and effective. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

of operations. If not, it can flood a company with data

software is crucial to giving executives access to

hiding the real picture.

real time data about their business to help them

Jo Roth then looks at how this new age of big data is

make the most critical decisions. However, when

affecting one of the more common pieces of software

implemented poorly, ERP systems can exacerbate

– Excel. It’s been around for 30 years, but so-called

the very problems they are set up to address.

‘Excel risk’ is a real and growing phenomenon. There is

As our opening article explains, part of the problem is the use of technology in the workplace. Richard

a clear need for systems which harness everything that is good about Excel while eliminating all that is bad.

Sampson, Manging Director at Excel4apps Europe

James Butler then examines what ERP systems

shows how legacy IT systems can often hold back

need in the modern day and where this technology

human capital. Real time financial reporting can

is going, before we focus on one key issue: how can

enhance visibility of data while also reducing the

businesses bridge the gap between Excel and ERP?

burden on financial teams. The result is faster access

We’ll look at the latest Excel based ERP solutions in

to information, plus happier and more productive staff.

action and see how they can spark a revolution in

We will then look at the key developments which

business reporting for organisations of all sizes.

are impacting the way businesses use data. The arrival of the internet of things (IoT), increasing use of wearable and mobile technology and more advanced reporting systems all contribute to a flood of new data

Tom Cropper Editor

Tom Cropper has produced articles and reports on various aspects of global business over the past 15 years. He has also worked as a copywriter for some of the largest corporations in the world, including ING, KPMG and the World Wildlife Fund.

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SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION REAL-TIME ERP DATA SOLUTIONS

Beyond ERP: Real-Time Decision Making for Competitive Advantage and Growth Richard Sampson, Managing Director at Excel4apps Europe Unparalleled access to live ERP data with next generation reporting opens the door to more agile and accurate business decisions

T

HE ROLE of the C-Suite executive has never been more complexI. Increased scrutiny and regulation; acceleration of technology and digitalisation; shifting employee demographics; and an uncertain macroeconomic and political landscape mean the ability to make fact-based decisions in realtime can be the difference between glorious success or resounding failure.

Gaining competitive advantage and growth requires the C-Suite to drive continual internal improvement and stay at the forefront of innovation at both an organisational and industry level. These two elements are undeniably – and inextricably – entwined.

In light of this, it is remarkable how inefficient organisations are at aligning technology and processes with business strategyII to conduct “business as usual.” While boardrooms around the world want to push innovation and deliver shareholder value, they are often blind to this significant disconnect within the organisation.

How can we innovate and deliver value to shareholders if the processes we have in place today aren’t able to deliver? Surely, technology is the answer to create that efficiency.

Technology Hinders Human Capital?

Unfortunately, technology itself, in many cases, has become responsible for the wholly inefficient use of human capital. Complex – and often costly – tools are actually making people’s lives harder instead of easier.

As an example, accurate and on-time closing of the organisation’s financial books is a primary concern for CFOs and CEOs. Each month, finance teams can find themselves working up to 18 hour days to achieve this goal, which often is not appreciated among senior management.

Though this process has been accepted as the status quo for years, those days are numbered.

Today, the most talented people already gravitate towards organisations that genuinely WWW.CEOREPORTS.COM | 3

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The manual processing required to uncover answers for executives asking pertinent business questions is often significant

care about employees’ work/life balanceIII and give people the right tools to do their jobsIV. Also, consider that millennials – who refuse to tolerate work environments that do not respect work/life balance – will make up 75% of the workforce by 2025V. If the status quo is maintained, finance will become a non-preferred profession, a worrying thought for organisations that need the brightest and the best to manage their money.

C-suite members tend to underestimate the effort required to answer what they perceive as relatively simple business questions. The analogy of the graceful swan frantically kicking its feet under water to move from point A to B is an apt one. The manual processing required to uncover answers for executives asking pertinent business questions is often significant. The answer will ultimately arrive, but often hours or days after it is truly needed.

Delays Feed Frustrations

For many employees, ERP systems have actually added significant complexity to their work, plus heightened frustration.

In some cases, it

Delays in responses lead to frustration for both Finance and the C-Suite. Business leaders need answers quickly, as well responses to the subsequent questions those initial answers generate. On the other hand, finance teams are often desperately pulling data together to provide an answer. When the executive poses a related question, they must repeat the data interrogation process, wondering why there wasn’t greater initial clarity. Frustration with the process from each standpoint is absolutely valid; “businessas-usual” involves too much of the anecdotal “kicking under water.”

This scenario proves that competitive advantage is not just about innovation, but also about close examination of existing business processes and systems to ensure the right building blocks are in place. With effective “business as usual” processes and embedded technology, the CEO can accelerate innovation initiatives to drive competitive advantage and growth. Imagine how engaged and motivated a workforce would be given the tools to do their jobs on time and with a sense of pride!

ultimately increased the hours worked to achieve the same output

FIGURE 1: TRADITIONAL REPORTING CYCLE

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As the management guru Peter Drucker says, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

ERP: Solution or Stumbling Block?

The majority of CEOs have invested in technology with the ambition of improving business processes. For example, many organisations have invested millions of dollars in an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system by the time that software, implementation, consulting and maintenance costs are considered.

ERP was originally positioned as the answer, even if you weren’t sure of the question.

ERP was certainly intended to optimise core business processes. As complexity in organisations grew, this technology was seen as a must have. The benefits have been undeniably significant: removal of process duplication, data consolidation, and the breakdown of organisational silos, for example.

However, ERP hasn’t answered every question.

For many employees, ERP systems have actually added significant complexity to their work, plus heightened frustration. In some cases, it ultimately increased the hours worked to achieve the same output. Faced with such a proposition, no business leader would sanction a negative-sum game. However, this situation is a reality.

For example, it’s no secret that many business users find standard ERP reporting tools difficult to use. Because of the complexity of data structures in systems like SAP, Oracle, and Peoplesoft, these users depend on IT or consulting resources to create reports that they and their executives need – or wait on lengthy downloads of static information from a warehouse to where it’s formatted and analysed, which is usually Microsoft Excel. The same issues with data access occur across all departments, but Finance usually feels the greatest impact.

Standard ERP versus Real-time Reporting As Figure 1 shows, traditional reporting from ERP systems involves defining and executing reports

SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION REAL-TIME ERP DATA SOLUTIONS

FIGURE 2: EXCEL-BASED REPORTING CYCLE

using standard tools – like Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE), Oracle Financial Statement Generator (FSG), and SAP’s Advanced Business Application Programming (ABAP) – yet the data is typically dumped into Excel for formatting, review, and distribution. This disconnect is fertile ground for inefficiency and inaccuracy, especially when changes are made and data must be exported to Excel again.

Is there a way to expedite financial reporting from ERP systems? In its IT Market Clock for Financial Management Applications 2015VI report authored by analyst Nigel Rayner, Gartner defines a class of Financial Analytic Applications as follows: “Financial analytic applications are prebuilt solutions that enable finance users to analyse financial data for various purposes, including monitoring aged debtors or receivables and analysing budget variances or financial statements.” These solutions have predefined connectors to data sources like ERP systems, and their architecture masks an ERP system’s complex underlying structures.

In comparison with the previous figure, Figure 2 shows the reporting model for a Financial Analytic Application that uses Excel to define, execute, review and distribute reports in much less time.

The ability to refresh values in place through special linked formulae and to drill-down to a full audit trail eliminates the disconnect between ERP data and the reporting mechanism.

Financial Analytic Applications help finance users interpret financial data in reports and inquiries and include predefined reports and inquiries for users to run. With such features, these applications offer finance teams – and executives – fast access to accurate real-time transactions, without having to wait on updates to an external data warehouse. This significantly cuts the time required for report creation and month-end closes, improving productivity and job satisfaction while leaving more time for business analysis that informs decision-making.

During monthly closes, accountants and financial analysts need a quick view of accurate data, trial balances and last minute journal entries

in the General Ledger without going back through multiple data extraction steps that delay the close process. With Financial Analytic Applications that interface directly to the ERP system, analysts simply click to refresh reports that reflect new balances as soon as they post to the ERP system.

Such capabilities can easily shave at least a day off the monthly close process, according to users of these reporting tools.

Leveraging Microsoft and ERP Investments An organization’s IT landscape is often characterized by two distinct and separate environments: the ERP system – such as SAP, Oracle E-Business Suite, or Peoplesoft – and the Microsoft Office product set, including Excel.

What if the interface to a Financial Analytic Application was Excel? With an Excel-based Financial Analytical Application, you can bridge the gap between the ERP system and Excel, leveraging and expanding both platforms to empower frustrated ERP users. For the CIO, these solutions are easily implemented and maintained in contrast with standard ERP reporting tools, which keeps IT staff content. For the CFO and CIO, they feature an appealing price point, especially when compared with standard ERP reporting tools.

A survey of finance practitioners by gtnews, a unit of the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), found that 73% use spreadsheets for more than half of their FP&A analytical workVII. Surely, an Excel-based reporting tool would contribute to job satisfaction in Finance!

Unleashing Excel’s Power Despite Excel’s popularity, consultants caution against its use as a minor subsystem with potentially outdated data, but let’s consider the power of Excel as a front end for a Financial Analytic Application that links to real-time ERP data. With a next generation Excel-based Financial Analytic Application, users no longer export static ERP data from a warehouse to an isolated spreadsheet, but instead view real-time WWW.CEOREPORTS.COM | 5

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With an Excel-based Financial Analytical Application, you can bridge the gap between the ERP system and Excel, leveraging and expanding both platforms to empower frustrated ERP users

data as it is stored in the ERP through Excel – a favourite and familiar tool. The features of an Excel-based reporting tool create an environment where finance users don’t need to engage IT staff or consultants for a quick answer to a question, because the tool will refresh data with a mouse click. The tool also empowers them to perform subsequent interpretation of the data they discover.

Self-service reporting for finance users becomes a reality with an Excel-based Financial Analytic Application, a nirvana for those finance teams reliant on IT to build reports and queries. Yet, those users are not creating spreadsheet silos because there is a direct link to the live data in the ERP system. The tool also fully integrates with an ERP system’s existing security profiles and hierarchies.

With a next generation Excel-based reporting tool, financial analysts can rapidly build specialized ad hoc reports and drill into the report for specific transactional information that executives need for explanation and informed decisions. The disconnect between Finance teams and executives is removed.

Automated report distribution is another productivity-enhancing aspect of Excel-based reporting. With these tools, users create templates that execute financial reports and output them to a shared directory or to specific email contacts.

At a mouse click, monthly departmental reports in a variety of formats, from static HTML and PDF to live data in Excel, are refreshed and emailed.

Automated distribution of key information at specific points in the month can proactively give executives the latest information.

Effectively Managing Human Capital

One of the biggest headaches for CEOs is making sure that the organisation has the right 6 | WWW.CEOREPORTS.COM

talentI, but human capital is perhaps the most difficult type for organizations to track, report and forecast using ERP data. Employees continually shift categories – new hire, promoted, retired, rehired, and have changing attributes – bonuses, raises, benefits, skills, and performance. It’s easy to see how organizations and their human resource (HR) departments are challenged with effective workforce management, even with volumes of detailed ERP data. Fortunately, next generation Excel-based reporting can access a variety of data outside of financial information, including HR data.

Many standard ERP reporting tools dump data into a text file, meaning it can’t be easily manipulated or combined with other HR report data without rekeying into Excel – a productivitydraining and error-ridden process. Again, we see poor communication between the executive team and the HR department, with frustration at best and an inability to make critical decisions at worst as the outcome.

Excel-based reporting tools empower finance users Given accurate and timely transactional reports through next generation Excel-based reporting, HR can play a more strategic role in the organization. Better reporting frees up time for more analysis – and prediction – of employee and talent needs. This improved workforce management can truly impact the bottom line.

It’s a win-win proposition for HR users of ERP systems and executives alike.

Navigating the Technology Crossroads Organisations are at a crossroads. CEOs, CFOs and CIOs not only need to build the technology roadmap to support the business model of the

SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION REAL-TIME ERP DATA SOLUTIONS

future, but also need to ensure that the processes of today are optimised to provide the infrastructure on which to innovate.

Real-time ERP system data is key to making those critical technology and business decisions. However, as technology develops at an ever increasing rate, the strategies of the last 20 years no longer apply. Native ERP tools with twice yearly enhancements from mega-vendors won’t ensure competitive advantage, and companies are weary of devoting significant resources to a never-ending ERP implementation that promises a better run business – at some point in the distant future.

The speed of innovation is being enhanced by small, agile software developers. The good news is that in a world dominated by smartphones and apps, many next generation software solutions like Excel-based reporting complement your existing infrastructure rather than require you to replace existing systems. They provide low cost,

less project-focused implementations to the delight of IT. Organisations and executives can finally return to running their businesses today while accurately planning for tomorrow with realtime data.

Contact If you would like to find out more about how Excel4apps can help your organisation become more agile and unleash the power of Excel for competitive advantage, please Contact Us. Excel4apps Europe 6th Floor, 1 Fore Street London EC2Y 5EJ United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0)800 756 6869 eu@excel4apps.com

References:

PwC, “People strategy for the digital age: A new take on talent – 18th Annual Global CEO Survey,” 2015,

I

http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/hr-management-services/publications/assets/people-strategy.pdf Suer, Myles F., “The Secret to IT Business Alignment,” ComputerWorld, 13 July 2015,

II

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2947482/it-management/the-secret-to-it-business-alignment.html Fast Company, “These are the companies with the best work-life balance,” 2016,

III

http://www.fastcompany.com/3062026/the-future-of-work/these-are-the-companies-with-the-best-work-life-balance Johnson, David, “Businesses need to equip staff with the tools to do the job,” Computer Weekly, March 2016,

IV

http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Businesses-need-to-equip-staff-with-the-tools-to-do-the-job

V

Deloitte University Press, “Global Human Capital Trends 2014 – Engaging the 21st Century Workforce, 2014,

http://dupress.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/GlobalHumanCapitalTrends_2014.pdf Gartner, “Using Financial Analytic Applications to Build an Accessible Enterprise Reporting Infrastructure,” 2015,

VI

http://go.excel4apps.com/gartner gtnews, “2014 gtnews FP&A Technology Survey,” 2014,

VII

https://www.gtnews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2015/09/2014_gtnews_FP_A_Systems_Survey1.pdf

Many next generation software solutions like Excelbased reporting complement your existing infrastructure rather than require you to replace existing systems.

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Technology and the Future of Data Tom Cropper, Editor The age of big data is here, but how can businesses harness its power in a way which meets their core objectives?

The challenges facing executives are becoming increasingly complex.

Regulation and oversight is growing and the business and political environment is becoming increasingly fluid

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VERY DAY business leaders make critical decisions which impact on the fortunes of their organisations. Unfortunately, those decisions are often based on information which is inaccurate or out of date simply because that’s the way it’s been done for years.

To illustrate, take this popular story from the world of politics: a government minister was pondering a possible new policy. He asked his economic advisors how much the programme would cost. They replied that there was no real way of knowing, but that didn’t matter to the Minister. He wanted a figure on which to base his decision.

The expert furrowed his brow and peered out of the window where the number 97 bus was passing by. He shrugged and said: “It’ll cost £97million.”

The Minister was delighted and the policy got the green-light. That the information he’d based his decision on was wrong didn’t seem to matter.

Good Data is Vital Similar stories are being played out in businesses across the world. Top level executives need information about the business in order to make critical decisions. They ask their finance teams, and eventually they get an answer. True, getting this answer may require hours or even days of work behind the scenes, crunching the numbers and analysing the data, but the executives are happy. At the end of it all they have the information they need.

The trouble is; for many businesses operating through existing ERP software packages, that information may well be wrong or out of date.

Finance teams will often export data into Excel before cutting and pasting the information into a report. The process can take hours and in the fast moving world of modern business, that can make it out of date. Equally, cutting and pasting information into Excel increases the risk of error, while subsequent exports of data can lead to 8 | WWW.CEOREPORTS.COM

duplicate copies of the same report containing different information. Executives may not pick up on this for the simple reason that it’s the way it’s always been done.

The costs of a ‘business as usual’ approach can be difficult to analyse because all too often they are not easily measurable. They come in the form of stagnation, missed opportunities, and poor business decisions. However, in a world in which business is changing, next generation processes and data systems are becoming more important than ever before.

A More Complex World The challenges facing executives are becoming increasingly complex. Regulation and oversight is growing and the business and political environment is becoming increasingly fluid.

Businesses are frequently operating across borders and working with multiple teams in multiple locations around the world. Workers are becoming more mobile and require a more flexible and dynamic approach to management.

Moreover, the age of big data means information has a growing value for businesses.

Internet of things (IoT) technology has profound implications for how businesses will make use of information. The concept behind IoT is to enable physical objects such as a car to transmit data over the internet. Experts suggest the IoT marketplace could grow by up to 350% over the next five years1. Devices can be attached to tools and objects and report back data such as usage and performance to a central data base. For example, the use of telemeters can obtain information about how company cars are being driven. Companies can then help staff to improve their driving, or to choose more efficient routes to save time and fuel. The information on driving stats can also be fed into insurance costs with some insurance firms offering discounts for those clients who install telemetry devices on their cars.

SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION REAL-TIME ERP DATA SOLUTIONS

The growing wearables market also increases the amount of information which could be fed back into a datacentre. According to CCS, the wearables market stands at $14bn, but by 2020 it could have more than doubled to $34bn2. Wearables have a number of possible applications in business. Augmented reality such as Google Glass can enable people to carry out work on the go, while smart watches add to the options for mobile working. In all, they have the potential to enhance the mobility of the workforce while also further increasing the amount of data coming into a business.

Big Data, Big Opportunities All this data flooding into a business brings opportunities. Effective data analysis can show business leaders a more in-depth view of what’s happening within the business. It can show how their staff is being deployed; what products are the most profitable; when they sell most of a certain item or where they are wasting the most cash.

However, with that comes the risk of data overload. All that information can only help if you have an idea what it is telling you. The need today is for smart business intelligent systems which know what information is required, can provide it in real time, on the go and in a way which is easy to access. Many ERP software packages available on the market simply are unable to do that.

In 2014 Gartner predicted that many heavily customised ERP systems would be relegated to the category of ‘legacy’ technology to be replaced by what it called ‘postmodern ERP’3. Today, that next generation technology is here, but many companies are still using old fashioned systems

reliant on out of date software hidden behind a shiny new interface. They are slow, cumbersome and inefficient – and increasingly they can’t cater to the needs of modern businesses.

On the other hand, the leading next generation ERP systems provide enhanced functionality across the board. They can be accessed from anywhere at any time; they offer complete drill down capabilities and up-to-the-minute reporting in real time. Most of all, they are flexible and can fit around the way a company already works.

Cost versus Reward Such systems inevitably come at a greater initial cost. While they may seem to be obvious for a larger organisation, small and medium sized businesses will ask themselves whether or not they truly need them and whether they can justify the additional cost.

When calculating this, a business needs to ask itself several questions: how much is a legacy system costing in terms of lost data and errors, and precisely what more could the latest cutting edge technology bring to the business? How valuable would be the ability to input and view data while on the move? How useful can it be to see real time updates and up-to- the-minute accounting information? How grateful will the finance team be for the reduced administrative burden and what can be done with those extra man hours?

The world of data is moving extremely quickly.

Some businesses are putting in the work to ensure that they keep up and realise the full potential of their workforce. Others are still lagging behind. The future will belong to those who are quicker to embrace change and evolve their processes.

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Business Intelligence and the Future of Excel Reporting Jo Roth, Staff Writer Excel has been crucial to business reporting for years, but with the arrival of big data and real time business intelligence, can it maintain that position in the future?

All too often you will hear executives shrug their shoulders and say “Excel can’t do that,” when in fact it can. All that’s missing is the knowledge and understanding of the system

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HEY SAY there is a long running joke – “What’s the most used function in any piece of business intelligence software? The Export to Excel button”. Microsoft Excel has been key to businesses of all sizes for over 30 years. It’s there for accountants dealing with small businesses to help keep the finances in order and it’s also used to display complex financial information for some of the largest blue-chip global powerhouses. With new business intelligence features being brought in for 20164, Excel looks determined to hold onto its position at the heart of business. Even so, Excel has also become notorious for creating as many problems as it solves. So what does the future hold?

Excel is the Future Speaking to InvestTech.com, Excel expert Ken Puls said that, no matter how big a company might be or how many systems it has, most data is exported out to Excel before decisions can be made. “I’d go so far as to say that there are only a handful of finance departments in the world who do not run their decision making analysis through Excel 5,” he added.

It doesn’t require a high level of technological expertise from users and it is open for stakeholders to make changes and add information. It represents an ideal sandbox through which a business can organise its data.

Even so, for many Excel is far less useful. In 2013, Forbes magazine described Excel as possibly “The most dangerous software on the planet6. Tim Worstall argued that Excel had become increasingly complex making it more and more difficult for executives to stay on top of all that data. A single error in one data cell can cascade into major discrepancies which can leave a gaping hole in finances.

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A fine example can be found from one of the biggest financial companies in the world.

Errors in JP Morgan’s Excel sheets contributed to a $6bn trading loss and what became known as the ‘London Whale Debacle’. Rather than automating the system, they had been copying and pasting data in Excel. Inevitably they made some mistakes and those errors led to vast miscalculations7.

This story shows the reality of Excel in big business. The experts at JP Morgan were not using Excel in the high tech automated way one might expect from one of the biggest investment banks in the world – they were simply using it the way millions of other people do, by copying and pasting data from one sheet to the next.

The result is inevitably errors, duplication of data and lost information. For an organisation the size of JP Morgan even minor errors can cost them billions of dollars.

Constant Evolution Despite such stories, Excel continues to sit at the heart of business just as it has done for the past three decades. It was in 1985 that Excel first appeared on the Mackintosh system, shortly before the release of Windows. Its easy to use drop down menus gave it an instant edge over competitors such as Lotus 1-2-3 and it has been constantly evolving to beat its competitors ever since. For its fans it’s that ability to evolve constantly and update itself which is its biggest asset.

The latest business intelligence features in Excel 2016 allow it to get data from a variety of sources, be it public websites, corporate databanks or online cloud applications and display that information clearly and precisely in Excel. By linking to data systems, Excel makes it much easier to update and share accurate and up-to-date information.

SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION REAL-TIME ERP DATA SOLUTIONS

However, there are still problems. One of the biggest is the disconnect between what a program such as Excel can do and what its operators know about. All too often you will hear executives shrug their shoulders and say “Excel can’t do that,” when in fact it can. All that’s missing is the knowledge and understanding of the system. One of the most important improvements for the future, therefore, could be the ability to educate and inform users.

An Arduous Process Bringing in data from ERP solutions, however, can still be extremely time consuming and complex. Furthermore, in the fast moving world of modern business, data can sometimes be out of date by the time it has been analysed.

Follow-up questions may also need refreshed data downloads, which can leave a business with several Excel data exports showing different versions of the truth. The key for the future is to link Excel more seamlessly with various data sources.

Hence the rise of ERP solutions which offer the ability to refresh data within Excel much more quickly. The use of specially linked formulae allows an ERP system to refresh data in place.

They can offer finance teams the priceless ability to get fast real time access to financial information without having to wait for time consuming and costly uploads from the data source.

The benefits can be felt throughout an organisation. C-suite Executives will be happier because their questions are answered more quickly, finance teams will be happy because they are spending less time exporting data to Excel and the entire company will benefit because it is working on the basis of accurate financial information enabling business leaders to make more effective and profitable decisions. The reduction in the administrative burden will also cut back the workload of key staff, enhancing satisfaction, and enabling them to be more productive in ways which truly drive the business forward.

A Key Advantage Process innovation could therefore be a key factor to the future success of all businesses. Those which manage to analyse data quickly and accurately will be more flexible and agile with a superior ability to make effective decisions. With new technology contributing to rapid improvements in Excel based ERP solutions, the gap between those organisations which use it well and those which do not is growing. Understanding the technology and incorporating it effectively into business operations could deliver a crucial competitive advantage now and into the future.

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Getting the Most out of ERP Software James Butler, Staff Writer ERP Software can deliver enormous benefits to all businesses, but if it’s not used correctly, it can cause more problems than it solves.

They say CEOs are making the move to the cloud to reap the benefits of standardisation, innovation and customisation

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HEN DANISH shipping giant Maersk decided to deploy ERP Financials ten years ago, they hoped they’d bring about uniformity and would streamline their financial processes. The results were not good. Today it serves as a useful example of what can happen when ERP solutions are deployed in an inefficient way.

When ERP Goes Wrong Maersk’s problems stemmed from the way they customised the system. They gradually added increasing layers of complexity. They would perform a change for Japan, followed by a change for Brazil and then Germany. At no point did they stop to ask how a change in one part of their system would affect the rest. Eventually it became so complicated that even the developers no longer recognised their own software! The company had no choice but to painstakingly reinstall the entire system from scratch.

The ERP market is showing tremendous growth.

A report from Allied Market Research forecasts the ERP market grow by 7.2%CAGR between 2014 and 2020 to reach $41.69bn8. Their use is growing not just among larger companies but also among small to medium sized enterprises as they seek to take advantage of the benefits they can bring including: •V isibility: It makes every piece of data in every department within an organisation visible and clearly accessible to those who need it. Having all this information in one single depository can aid collaboration and streamline processes.

• I mproved reporting: You will now be able to manage data across multiple departments in one place. You can analyse and compare functions across departments without the hassle of multiple spreadsheets or emails.

Having a single resource can minimise the risk of duplication and improve the accuracy of information on which crucial decisions are based.

•C ustomer service: Having all customer information centralised helps sales teams build relationships with potential clients.

•C ollaboration: Information from each department is funnelled into a centralised location and can be made visible for all. This reduces the risk of developing siloes within an organisation in which individual departments work entirely separately from one another.

It helps them share data and information more quickly and facilitate inter-departmental collaboration.

•C ustomisation: It might not have worked for Maersk but, if done correctly, a company can customise a system to its own particular requirements. Most ERP vendors offer a range of solutions and applications. Each can stand alone or integrate with a suite. The business can implement them according to their specific requirements.

With these benefits, though, come a range of potential problems. Customisation is, indeed, a double-edged sword. If handled incorrectly, it can increase complexity and risk surrounding the implementation. Customisation might also make it more difficult to upgrade a system in the future and can also undermine best practice developed by the software manufacturer. Many businesses experience problems due to poor customisation which can lead to a system mismatch with their requirements.

Cost is a major barrier, especially for smaller organisations. Purchase and implementation will represent a significant outlay especially for small and medium sized businesses. There is a temptation to view ERP as the domain of larger companies. That’s not necessarily true, but any organisation has to have a keen eye on the ROI to ensure that they do not end up wasting money.

Selecting ERP All these issues, therefore, make it increasingly important that a business implements ERP in the

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right way. The most important factor is to get a system which works for the particular organisation and, for that to happen, all the relevant stakeholders must have a say in selection.

Executives may often feel that software should be the realm of the IT department, but they can bring valuable insights into how the system will be used. It’s vital for the executive team to work hand in hand with the IT department to select the very best solution for the business.

There are a host of ERP solutions which dazzle the buyer with multiple functions. But if a company only needs a small portion of these functions, it can end up simply wasting money while simultaneously adding unnecessary layers of complexity.

It can be more useful to buy a system which has a relatively small number of features in order to streamline those into the company operating system. When deciding what those features will be, a company needs to assess its needs both now and into the future. This will be a significant purchase and, if all goes well, it will run for many years. So customers need to extrapolate business requirements ten years down the line. How will the business grow and evolve in that time?

Systems vary considerably in cost. The ROI will derive from the value a business gains from the system so, before making a purchasing decision, customers need to have a good idea what that ROI will be. It’s all about buying in as much or as little functionality as required.

It can be useful to get advice and support from an ERP consultant. They will have a better idea of the available software and what it can do.

However, this advice must work hand in hand with stakeholders from within the organisation such as IT departments, executives and finance teams.

Leveraging a wide range of skills, experiences and perspectives can be extremely helpful. On the one hand there’s the knowledge of the software brought by the consultant, while, on the other,

those within the company can offer knowledge of the business and its current systems and requirements. A combination of these insights will lead to the best choice.

A Need for Flexibility As the ERP market develops, more and more users are looking beyond high tech multi feature software packages and moving towards flexible and easier to use systems. As the Allied Market Research report (mentioned earlier) confirms, the fastest emerging segment in this market is in cloud ERP. KPMG estimates that 20% of ERP organisations are in the cloud with the number set to grow significantly over the next few years9.

They say CEOs are making the move to the cloud to reap the benefits of standardisation, innovation and customisation. Users can also take advantage of innovation more quickly as vendors add updates instantly to their cloudbased systems.

Moreover, they are easy to install, which plugs into another key driver – ease of use. Business intelligence systems are still often complicated and difficult to use. Users can spend hours exporting and formatting data into Excel reports leading to confusion, duplication and errors.

Customers are crying out for systems which are more intuitive and work around them, which is why many are turning their attention towards Excel based ERP. These work on the key selling point of using Excel – a system they already know and understand – as the front end. Data can be linked from cells ensuring automated real time updates of information. Reports which used to take days can now take minutes.

Usability is truly the most important step forward for the market. It seeks to take something complicated and turn it into a system which is intuitive for everyone. Bridging the gap between a system everyone uses such as Excel and ERP software could be the next crucial step in that development.

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Excel and ERP: Bridging the Gap Tom Cropper, Editor Why Excel Based ERP solutions could be the future of business data management.

With the amount of data businesses gather and analyse increasing rapidly, Excel is being pushed beyond its capacity, and those inevitable spreadsheet errors become a growing business risk

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B

USINESS PROFESSIONALS have long had a love/hate relationship with Excel. It’s accessible, simple to use and familiar. At the same time, those familiar with the experience of ‘spreadsheet overload’ will know that, when things get out of hand, untangling the mess can be a nightmare. Today, though, there is a new generation of Excel based ERP systems which promise to bridge the gap between ERP and Excel.

Popular but Risky Microsoft’s Spreadsheet program is ubiquitous.

A survey of professionals showed that 73% use spreadsheets for more than half of their FP&A analytical work10. Only 37% use specialist FP&A software although 10% say they have plans to introduce it. However, feelings about Excel’s value are mixed. Only 38% of users say Excel is suitable for large amounts of data and only 22% said it was effective for that task. The biggest problems involve the time taken to check for errors, the need to manually update changes and to manually collate non-system data.

Robert Kugel, Research Director at Ventana Research, said that they may be easy to use, but: “there is a very large ongoing cost to using spreadsheets because when they’re used by, say, a half a dozen people a half a dozen times, they begin to require an awful lot of maintenance.”

Meanwhile, a report from Marketwatch said 88%11 of spreadsheets used by businesses contained errors in 1% or more of cells, which means a company spreadsheet containing thousands of crucial data is likely to cause dozens of uncorrected errors which can, in turn, lead to huge costs to a business.

With the amount of data businesses gather and analyse increasing rapidly, Excel is being pushed beyond its capacity, and those inevitable spreadsheet errors become a growing business risk.

Problems increase because of the way businesses are using their ERP systems. In

order to create reports, users will often be exporting data into Excel spreadsheets, cutting, pasting and formatting data into a presentable form. However, there is a problem. Each stage creates an inherent risks of data error as well as duplication. It’s not uncommon for companies to have several versions of the same report showing various versions of the truth. Even when data is collected from the same source, collecting it at different times can create problems. For example, an executive may ask for a report which is delivered the next day. If he then asks a follow up question which requires a fresh export of data, the information contained within the report could be different. The company now has two different versions of the same report.

Finding a Solution A solution lies in making the spreadsheet the front end. With automated links between the spreadsheet and ERP information, changes can be updated in real time ensuring the spread sheet always remains accurate. It can make a system less cumbersome, time consuming and risky.

The British Library is one organisation to have recently adopted Excel based reporting. They have been using an Oracle E-Business Suite since the 1990s. The finance department depends on Oracle Business Intelligence Discoverer to make downloads from the Oracle EBS General Ledger to Microsoft Excel.

The problem was that, although this system had worked for a number of years, the Library felt it could make improvements. Steward Starr, Management Accounts Assistant for the Library, explains.

“While this solution worked, it was relatively inflexible and time consuming,” he says. “When the finance department was restructured, we took the opportunity to search for the right reporting tool that would work with Oracle EBS.” The main thing the finance department needed was flexibility and they found it in the GL Wand

SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION REAL-TIME ERP DATA SOLUTIONS

tool from Excel4apps. It is not only more flexible, but has also proved to be faster – reports which might previously have taken hours or days can now be compiled within five minutes.

“Excel-based reporting allows us to operate as we need, rather than being forced to fit into a specific reporting structure.”

Need for Speed Such speed brings a host of benefits to the business. First, it accelerates the reporting process ensuring executives can obtain the information they want when they need it; secondly, it reduces the administrative burden on support staff, freeing them up for other tasks and, according to Starr, it can also increase the accuracy of reporting. Because it’s so fast they have more time to check and monitor the reports to ensure the data is present and correct.

“In the end, I would say GL Wand probably saves us around a day and a half at each month end,” Starr noted.

Aside from being fast and efficient, GL Wand proved useful because of its easy installation.

“The original implementation took place during our year-end, which was quite tricky,” Starr explained. “Fortunately, it is an easy tool to implement, so the challenge was relatively minor.

Also, it took our people time when they initially began crafting reports, but they quickly got used to it and grasped its simplicity.”

For all its problems, Excel remains a favourite with businesses of all sizes. It’s simple, robust and familiar. With new business intelligence systems being incorporated into the latest Microsoft updates, it seems set to maintain its relevance for the future. The question is: how can businesses retain those benefits while minimising the undoubted downside? As the British Library shows, Excel based reporting systems can do exactly that. They are ideal for smaller organisations in that they offer a fast, effective, simple and affordable reporting option, but they also drive value for much larger organisations with increased data requirements. They are a best of both worlds solution – something which can harness the power of the latest generation of ERP data solutions in a fast and accessible format.

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SPECIAL REPORT: NEXT GENERATION REAL-TIME ERP DATA SOLUTIONS

References: Which Five Companies will Profit from the Internet of Things?

1

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2095133-which-5-companies-will-profit-from-the-internet-of-things 2

Wearable Tech Market: http://www.forbes.com/sites/paullamkin/2016/02/17/wearable-tech-market-to-be-worth-34-billion-by-2020/#5a6a12bb3fe3

3

By 2016 The Impact of the Cloud and Emergence of Postmodern ERP will Relegate High Customised ERP to legacy status:

http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2658415 4

What’s new for Business Analytics: https://blogs.office.com/2015/08/27/whats-new-for-business-analytics-in-excel-2016/

5

27 Excel Experts Predict the Future of Excel and BI:

http://www.investintech.com/resources/blog/archives/5718-experts-predict-the-future-of-excel-in-business-intelligence.html 6

Excel is the Most Dangerous Piece of Software on the Planet:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/02/13/microsofts-excel-might-be-the-most-dangerous-software-on-the-planet/#75c4c59072ae 7

Excel Partly to Blame for Trading Loss: http://www.businessinsider.com/excel-partly-to-blame-for-trading-loss-2013-2?IR=T

8

ERP Market 2014 to 2020:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-erp-software-market-is-expected-to-reach--4169-billion-by-2020-498133891.html 9

The Sooner Finance ERP Moves to the Cloud the Better: http://ww2.cfo.com/erp/2016/02/sooner-finance-erp-moves-cloud-better/

10

Majority still use Spreadsheet: http://www.cfoinnovation.com/story/8507/finance-planning-and-analysis-majority-still-use-spreadsheets

11

Marketwatch – 88% of Spreadsheets have errors: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/88-of-spreadsheets-have-errors-2013-04-17

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