COVID continues to dominate, with the impact on businesses highlighted by numerous research reports published this week. There was a flurry of results this week with Workday and Salesforce turning in solid performances. With Dean Forbes starting his role as CEO of Forterro on 1st March, Enterprise Times published an interview that includes a message to his new employees. There was also an insight into SuiteProjects, the newly renamed PSA solution from NetSuite. Finally, a podcast that explores the benefits for manufacturers in the Salesforce/Slack acquisition.
Pick of the week – Cleo Annual Survey
Cleo published its annual survey results in a report entitled ‘2021 State of Ecosystem and Application Integration Report’. The results identified that organisations suffer from a lack of integration and this has had a huge impact on revenues and profitability.
- 74% of companies lost more revenue due to integration issues in 2020 than in 2019.
- 88% admit they lost orders, and more than half said they lost more orders in 2020 than in the previous year. 25% admit they don’t know how many orders they are losing.
To address this challenge, companies are starting to digitise operations. 66% will increase digital business capabilities in 2021. These improvements include eCommerce and a digital supply chain. This comprehensive report offers some interesting detail that is well laid out graphically for easy consumption.
Tushar Patel, CMO of Cleo, commented: “Digitalization of business and cloud integration initiatives are not new to B2B organizations, but in 2020, the pandemic shined a light on how important these initiatives are to revenue growth – and for some, survival. Organizations have gained a new perspective on how important modern integration platforms are to dynamically respond to market conditions, whether those are new revenue opportunities or supply chain disruptions. This shift in mindset and urgency accelerated the adoption of ecosystem integration. We expect this trend will continue for years to come.”
Acquisition
Kaseya announced the acquisition of RocketCyber, bringing its managed security operations center (SOC) into its service portfolio. Fred Voccola, CEO, Kaseya, commented: “The addition of RocketCyber makes Kaseya IT Complete the only integrated platform in the market to deliver managed SOC, automated internal threat detection, credential monitoring, anti-phishing and more for a truly comprehensive, end-to-end cybersecurity suite that tackles all of today’s modern-day threats. With this acquisition, we’ve doubled down on our security investments to provide our customers with access to experts who can continuously monitor their IT environments without the cost and complexity of disparate tools.”
Plex has acquired long-time technology and solution partner, Kors Engineering. Kors offers Mach2, a software solution that connects plant floor machines to the Plex Smart Manufacturing Platform. Terms were not disclosed.
Phenom has acquired Talentcube, an experience-driven video technology company based in Munich, Germany. Terms were not disclosed.
Visma has acquired Brincr, a specialist in online wholesale software in the Netherlands.
Appointments
Ascentis has appointed Robert Anthony as VP of Client Operations. Anthony joins from SOVOS, where he was Practice Lead for Global Support and led the Americas Client Operations team.
Fenergo has appointed Gary Brookes, Head of Sales in Asia. Brookes joined from Datasite, where he was CRO, Asia Pacific & Japan.
Following its investment of $13 million, Scratchpad has added David Sacks from Craft Ventures and Steve Loughlin of Accel to its board.
simPRO has named David Peters Cloud Services Manager. He will lead the cloud service team to focus on the constant improvement of the cloud infrastructure simPRO products run on.
Business
Anaplan announced Q4 and full-year results. Q4 revenues were up 25.5% year over year to $122.4 million. Full-year revenues were up 29% year over year to $447.8 million. Anaplan announced a strategic relationship with AWS and will expand the availability of its business planning solutions to new regions.
Arcoro has a new integration partnership with LaborChart, whose leading workforce management and planning software is built for construction. LaborChart is now available as an extension to Arcoro’s ExakTime Time and Attendance software.
In the last 12 months, Calabrio has increased sales by 30% and added more than 150 new customers, more than 50 of whom were UK-based according to a business update.
Cyara is now part of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Public Sector Partner Program, as well as the AWS ISV Accelerate Program, a co-sell program for AWS Partners who provide software solutions that run on or integrate with AWS.
Delphix has partnered with Cisco firm Appdynamics. It will create an integrated solution combining the Delphix programmable data infrastructure platform with the application performance monitoring insights from AppDynamics.
Receipt Bank has rebranded to Dext. The new brand combines Dext Prepare (formerly Receipt Bank) and Dext Precision (formerly Xavier). The brand name combines Dexterity and Next Generation.
MidPort Scandanavia has deepened its relationship with Infor and will help expand the Infor presence in the Nordics.
Intuit reported its Q2 results after adjusting its guidance last week with the deferred tax return deadline hitting revenue in the short term. Total revenue was down 7% to $1.6 billion, but QuickBooks Online Accounting revenue 22 percent in the quarter.
Pandle revealed that it now has 50,000 users across 167 countries for its bookkeeping solution, which has processed 12,044,553 transactions and had £4,760,540,068 worth of sales pass through its books.
Salesforce announced strong Q4 and full-year results and increased its full-year 2022 guidance from $25.65 Billion to $25.75 Billion. Fourth-quarter revenue was $5.82 Billion, up 20% Year-Over-Year, 19% in Constant Currency. FY21 Revenue of $21.25 Billion, up 24% Year-Over-Year, 24% in Constant Currency.
ThoughtSpot has opened a new data centre in Frankfurt for its search and AI-driven analytics engine to address the data sovereignty issue for German companies. The company also announced it had achieved Soc 2 Type II attestation.
Tipalti grew its revenue by 84% year over year in its fourth-quarter 2020. It now has 400 employees and plans to almost double that in 2021 it revealed. Helping with that continued growth are recent appointments of Doug Inamine as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) and Amisha Gandhi as Senior Vice President of Marketing.
Trintech has partnered with XACCT Accounting AS, a leading BPO provider in Norway, to help mid-sized organizations streamline the financial close process by automating key processes and ensuring better internal controls.
UKG published Q1 results (ending December 31st), with total revenue growing to $776 million. Aron Ain, UKG chairman, and CEO commented: “I’m beyond energized by the start of what will be our first full fiscal year as UKG. This is the third consecutive quarter of proof that we are better together. The strength and depth of our unique product portfolio and dedication to customer success continue to drive strong financial performance and, more importantly, are helping organizations everywhere quickly adapt to challenging market conditions and take care of their people.”
Upland reported its Q4 and full-year 2020 financial results. Total Q4 revenue was $78.2 million, up 18% from $66.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2019. Total 2020 revenue was $291.8 million, up 31% from $222.6 million in 2019.
Customer
Non-profit organization, The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (JCCSF), moved to Accounting Seed during the pandemic’s height. It achieved a 60% improvement in the efficiency of its accounting processes and is poised to reach 80% in 2021.
US firm Northern Natural Gas has agreed to a new multi-year extension with Asite to support its Engineering Project Management Initiative.
Cibus Nordic has selected CCH Tagetik expert solutions by Wolters Kluwer to meet its current and future financial consolidation, regulatory, and reporting needs. The solution will help it prepare for its launch on the Stockholm Nasdaq.
Genius ERP published a case study that looked at the deployment of their software at Motrec, the electric-powered industrial vehicle manufacturer. Implemented a couple of years ago, Motrec has improved inventory management, purchasing, and its engineering processes.
TouchstoneEnergy will deploy Infor SunSystems at ResponsAbility Renewable Energy Holding (rAREH), an Africa-focused renewable energies company.
Skipton Building Society has selected NICE cloud-based Workforce Management (WFM) and Employee Engagement Manager (EEM) offerings as a bundled solution to deploy in its contact centers.
Northwell Health is using Oracle Analytics Cloud, Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse, and Oracle Cloud HCM to streamline data management, improve HR processes, and accelerate insights to optimize patient care.
INDITEX Hellas has invested in SoftOne’s certified e-invoicing and myDATA management cloud services.
Melwood Inc, a DC-based non-profit, has selected the Unanet project-based ERP to manage its projects and run operations. The announcement was accompanied by a blog that explained why the company selected Unanet.
Product
ADP has launched “Roll by ADP,” a new mobile app that will allow small businesses to run their payroll from anywhere. Quick to set up and easy to use, it handles most payroll requirements and also deals with Payroll compliance issues. Only available in the US, introductory pricing for Roll™ is $17/month + $5 per employee.
Computer Guidance Corporation announced the latest release of eCMS version 4.2 ERP.
Freshbooks revealed recent product updates on a roundup of its own. It includes the ability to Track Vendor Bills with the Accounts Payable Aging Report; clients can pay all outstanding invoices in a single transaction and a new project profitability summary report.
IRIS Software Group (IRIS) launched IRIS Ed:gen, the next generation, fully integrated, cloud-based online school management system.
MHR launched a new AI-based HR and payroll security solution to combat cyber threats. iTrent Shield will use behavioural analysis and take action if anomalous behaviour is detected.
Microsoft announced three new industry cloud offerings: Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services, Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing, and Microsoft Cloud for Nonprofit. It also announced the first update to Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, and the public preview timing for Microsoft Cloud for Retail,
Monday.com improves integrations to Jira and Adobe Creative Cloud and enables the creation of items on another board using recipes.
Pega unveiled new features for Pega Mobile. They include a more modern UX, native app authoring features for developers, the ability to customise branding on the app, and extended offline capabilities.
Pipeliner unleashed CRM Cloud v3.9.0 with a new performance tab, customizable dashboards, and a new ability to send personalised emails.
Pulseway launched version 2 of its Automation Workflows. It now supports copy and paste, making it even faster to create process automation.
Qualtrics released Qualtrics DEI, part of Qualtrics EmployeeXM. It will help organizations uncover critical insights about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within their organizations. It is also partnering with Korn Ferry to extend the power of the Qualtrics DEI solution.
Poplar Co. Ltd has switched to Rimini Street support for its SAP BusinessObjects and SAP Sybase IQ Database Software.
Research
Research by Automation Anywhere reveals that 50% of Indian businesses will deploy intelligent automation by 2024. The IDC study supported by a survey of 1,600 customers found that RPA is top of mind for technology investment
- 57% of organizations are investing in RPA and intelligent automation to build resilience post-COVID
- 21% are investing in analytics/big data
- 7% in machine learning
- 15% in other emerging technologies.
56% of organisations plan to deploy digital workers and software bots to work with employees. Why? Because 47% of employees believe that RPA increases business efficiencies.
The “2021 State of Business Execution Benchmark Report” by Celonis identifies the causes of broken processes across Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivables and other areas. The key reasons are:
- Rigid systems and technologies (AP 41%, AR 42%)
- Broken or inefficient processes (AP 39%, AR 40%)
- Organizational silos (AP 37%, AR 40%)
According to the report’s analysis, automating these processes could free up as much as $567 million in working capital and $105 million in cost savings for an average company.
Experian published its annual Global Data Management report. It found that data quality has increased in importance over the year.
- 84% have seen more demand for data insights in their organisations due to Covid-19
- 72% say that the rapid push to digital transformation is making their businesses more reliant on data.
Needing more accurate data and having it are different, there is a gap still with:
- 32% believe their data is inaccurate
- 55% of business leaders lack trust in data assets
- 51% say improving data quality is a ‘significant priority.’
There is still a major skills gap to solve the issue, though:
- 62% say a lack of basic data literacy skills impacts the value they get from their investment in data and technology
- 55% believe they lack the skills/resources to leverage data assets fully.
SAP and Oxford economics published research that identifies the issues with managing spend in enterprises. Key findings include:
- 49% still manually analyze data to inform decision-making
- 38% of executives surveyed said most or all of their procurement processes are still manual
- The 10% of executives who have made greater investments in digital procurement transformation are realizing greater benefits
- While 49% of execs refresh supplier risk mitigation plans, only 32% believe that it is highly effective.
Research by SDWorx looked at the appetite for outsourcing in 11 countries. In the UK, 34.4% intend to go it alone post the pandemic. Most will manage learning, wellbeing, work-life balance, and performance management in-house. Where outsourcing is considered, it is because of the need to lighten admin workloads. Results in other countries varied: Belgium (22.1%), Netherlands (35.4%), France (37%), Germany (25.7%), Austria (25%), Switzerland (26%), Italy (45.3%), Spain (42.9%), Poland (48.9%) and Ireland (46.0%).
TechnologyOne published the 2020 Australia and New Zealand Higher Education Student Survey. It found that two in every three would consider switching University for a better technological experience. They may also consider switching to micro-credential learning rather than a full academic degree. In 2019 only 17% said they would consider switching.
