The COVID19 effect on Solution Providers
Since COVID19 started affecting business in the UK, solution providers have been on a rollercoaster ride. The initial reaction to the lockdown caused a surge of interest in cloud solution technology to enable teams to work remotely, generally from home. This started the ball rolling, with businesses looking at finance process solutions in particular, as a fix to the now disparate work situation within the finance back office. Teams who previously dealt with paper invoices, printed pdfs, chased approvals with wet signatures, passing documents from department to department, needed a solution and fast!
But, as the months progressed and the pandemic continued affecting so many businesses in detrimental ways the focus was drawn to cost savings rather than process improvements, and only the most pragmatic, and financially secure businesses could continue with their planned projects. Many others called a halt to procurement and hunkered down to weather the storm.
In a report from TechTarget the reaction from tech firms has been varied but centres on 4 pillars of actions. The dangers associated with the activities outlined in IT services, such as reduced functionality, reduced pricing and increase of outsourcing are multiple. The implementation of a new solution requires consistency and support from start to finish, along with a dedicated, knowledgeable implementation and support team to ensure a smooth rollout of automation.
The customer could be left open to a situation where they have purchased a solution that is implemented quickly, and its basic functions work but the automation that they really need is not available. Ultimately the quick fix automation that they were promised could turn into more work for the team.
What Does This Mean for Finance Solutions?
There are still plenty of solution providers that are providing comprehensive automation for P2P and AP processes. The business transformation models have been refined over the years, and along with more frequent use of cloud hosting this is no longer a lengthy process, and does not require a large amount of input from the IT team.
If you want to implement a finance solution, and have the peace of mind that the provider will continue to work in partnership with you, not just for the next couple of years but the foreseeable future, constantly helping you iterate your automation processes, then look no further than Documation. We have been providing solutions and giving support to our customers, or partners as we like to think of them, for nearly 30 years. Our Enable platform hosts solutions to automate Accounts Payable, Purchasing, Expense management, Remittance delivery and more, all built and supported by our dedicated team.
Get in touch and find out how we can help you automate your finance processes and have you and your team enjoying the benefits of automation in a matter of weeks with no compromise on functionality.
