Professional Services Automation - News and Articles

See http://www.180systems.com/blog/labels/PSA.php for more recent articles.

Evaluating and Selecting a Complete PSA Solution for Billable Services Organizations

Whitepaper from QuickArrow - "Billable Services Organizations can benefit greatly from the use of a Professional Services Automation (PSA) solution. Choosing the correct PSA application is one of the most important decisions a services organization can make; as such, it can also be a daunting challenge. Many factors should be taken into account when comparing PSA solutions - some related to technology and others based on functionality. The goal is to select a solution that is compatible with your business goals and is easy to use." Click here for the article.

180 View - Although this article is written by one of the PSA vendors, you will find useful information that is written without the typical marketing spin.

2006 PSA (Professional Services Automation) Survey

May 2006 from CAmagazine written by Michael Burns - Check out our survey that includes Abak, Adagio, BalaBoss, BST, Business First, CaseWare, Corecon, Envision, Epicor, Exact Globe. Jovaco, Maconomy, Microsoft Dynamics, NetSuite, OpenAir, OroTimesheet, Project InVision, Projector, ResQ, QuickArrow, Sage, SunSystems, Tenrox, and TPS by clicking here.

Deltek Systems Acquires Wind2 Software

October 4, 2005 from The Washington Post - "Both Deltek and Wind2 are examples of PSA (Professional Services Automations) systems. "Most of Deltek's 8,000 customers, including Bechtel Corp. and CACI International Inc., are federal contactors or engineering, architecture or construction firms, but Parker hopes to expand the client list to include consulting and information technology companies. Wind2 has 3,000 customers, most of them small and medium-size engineering, architecture and contracting firms. The addition of Wind2's 85 employees brings Deltek's headcount to about 800...Last year, Deltek generated $123 million in revenue, and the new chief executive said he expects that figure to grow by 20 percent for 2005." We expect to hear more from Deltek in the future. For the article, click here.

Professional Services Automation

April 2005 from CAmagazine - "This year we have the results from 24 PSA vendors that include Abak, BalaBoss, BST, CaseWare, Clarity, Epicor, MAS 500, Microsoft Business Solutions - Axapta, Great Plains, Navision, Solomon, OpenAir, QuickArrow, SunSystems, TPS and Wind2. As you may recall from last year's survey, there is a huge difference in the needs of companies providing professional services compared to companies that distribute or manufacture products. The popular vendors of accounting and ERP systems for businesses have traditionally neglected the needs of professional service organizations - accounting firms, consulting firms, engineers, architects… PSA is not just used by professional service based organizations. Any organization that manages projects and tracks time could benefit from PSA such as internal IT or an R&D department."

How do you know when your business processes are not optimized? One way is to look at your Key Performance Indicators (KPI's). One thing in common across all professional service based organizations is that they are all interested in similar KPI's. Unfortunately, it's not easy to obtain KPI's from the industry so that you can compare your performance to industry averages. We have provided some of the results of Wind2 Software's recently published 2004 annual survey of key ratios and statistics based on a survey completed by 190 consulting firms. You can see the article and results of the vendor survey prepared by Michael Burns by clicking here.

ChangePoint (leading PSA vendor) is Sold

April 29 from The Globe and Mail "Compuware Corp. says it is paying $100-million to acquire Changepoint...All 190 workers.. will join Compuware's payroll. The transaction is expected to close by Saturday, company officials said Wednesday (April 29)." PSA (Professional Services Automation) is to professional service based organizations what ERP is to distributors and manufacturers. It is not surprising to see consolidation with vendors facing stiff competition from huge companies like Microsoft. For more about PSA, click here. For the article on the ChangePoint sale, click here.

1st annual survey of PSA (Professional Services Automation) Systems

PSA products run the gamut from simple to sophisticated. At one end are timesheet systems, which provide timesheets, expense reporting and project management. Next you’ll find time-billing systems that include billing, and sometimes purchasing, allowing for accumulation of external costs for products and services. When targeted to accountants or lawyers, these systems are usually referred to as practice management systems. At the other end of the spectrum are integrated solutions that are meant to meet all the system needs of professional service organizations – timesheet, time billing, customer relationship management (CRM), opportunity management, resource management and knowledge management. For the article and a survey of 25 PSA products, click here.

Case Study on a Timberline implementation at Canem published in the July 2003 edition of the Bottom Line entitled "Ahead of the Curve"

Canem is one of the major electrical contractors in Western Canada with branch offices located in Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer. In 1999, Canem reluctantly began the search to replace their existing non-Y2K compliant systems. A related company steered them to Timberline Software Corporation, developers of software for construction and real estate. Canem spent about $50,000 for Timberline and about $40,000 to implement the system not including the customizations. Canem copies the Timberline database (Pervasive SQL) to Microsoft SQL Server every night and then uses Crystal Analyzer to generate cubes that can be accessed over the internet to allow management to slice and dice across multiple dimensions. For a reprint of the article, click here.

Case Study on a Sema4 implementation at pellow + associates architects published in the May 2003 edition of the Bottom Line - "The 80/20 Rule"

pellow provides services in architecture, interiors, urban design, building sciences, contract and project management. pellow has acquired a license from Sema4 for 3 simultaneous users of the entire system and a license for 30 timesheet users. Sema4 is one of a number of professional service automation products supported by Deltek Systems. Although Sema4 does not meet all of pellow's professional services needs, it does a good job on the basics. So for 20% of the effort/cost, pellow is getting 80% of their needs met by Sema4. For the a reprint of the article, click here.

Case Study on a BST Software implementation at Conestoga-Rovers & Associates published in the April 2003 edition of the Bottom Line

Conestoga-Rovers & Associates (CRA) is a family of companies providing comprehensive engineering, environmental consulting, construction, and information technology (IT) services. CRA’s group of companies used 7 different accounting systems. Information was re-keyed, and extra time was spent reconciling the various systems. CRA’s head office was using a custom system that was limited to two companies and two currencies. So CRA started to look at alternatives. After performing their due diligence, BST Enterprise was selected by CRA in June 2000 to replace all the existing systems. CRA is pleased with its decision to implement BST Enterprise. Although the system was expensive, it has already paid for itself. For the a reprint of the article, click here.

2002

Case Study on Wind2 implementation at Turner Fleischer Architects Inc. published in the mid November 2002 edition of the Bottom Line

Turner Fleischer Architects Inc. (TFAI) selected Wind2 14 years ago. The initial objectives for TFAI were fairly simple – to record time and expenses against a project. ACCPAC was used for general ledger, accounts payable and accounts receivable. In the early days, staff recorded their time on paper and office staff keyed it into the system. Later, staff entered their time into Excel spreadsheets, and it was manually re-entered into Wind2. TFAI and Wind2 have a come a long way since then. Today staff key their time and notes directly into Wind2. Wind2 is also used to for invoicing, budgeting, project management, purchasing, general ledger, financial reporting, accounts receivable and accounts payable. For a reprint of the article, click here.

Case Study on TimeControl implementation at MDS Sciex published in the December 2002 edition of the Bottom Line

MDS Sciex is Canada's leading manufacturer of analytical instrumentation. A few years ago, MDS Sciex selected TimeControl to automate timesheets. TimeControl provides an electronic timesheet and expense reporting system designed to serve both Finance and Project Management. TimeControl differentiators include support of multiple databases including Oracle, a matrix approval process, links to multiple project management systems and audit trail of any changes to a timesheet. For a reprint of the article, click here.

Abak Case Study published in the November 2002 edition of the Bottom Line

AGTI Consulting Services is an information technology consulting firm headquartered in Montreal and serving the Canadian market from offices located in Montreal, Quebec City, Calgary and Victoria. AGTI's rapid growth required them to replace their existing time and billing system. In Abak (http://www.abaksoftware.com), AGTI found an affordable solution that met their requirements. Abak was developed by a Canadian developer in Montreal, and now has about 300 clients from a variety of industries including accounting firms, engineers, architects, and consulting firms. For a reprint of the article, click here.

Professional Services Automation (PSA) article published in the November 2002 edition of CAmagazine

The popular vendors of accounting systems for businesses have traditionally neglected the needs of professional service organizations – accounting firms, consulting firms, engineers, architects.... Happily for new vendors with new solutions, this oversight has left the door wide open for them. At one end of the range of solutions for professional service organizations are timesheet systems; these provide timesheets, expense reporting and project management. Next, there are time-billing systems that include billing, and sometimes purchasing, allowing for accumulation of external costs for products and services so that project managers can compare actual costs of time and materials to budget. And there is Professional Service Automation (PSA) -- an integrated solution to meet all the system needs of professional service organizations. For the article on CAmagazine's web site, click here.

David Maister's Web Seminar on Managing a Group of Professionals

On October 16, David Maister presented the findings of his new book (First Among Equals) in a one hour web seminar hosted by Changepoint Corporation. David is a leading authority on management of professional service firms. David believes that a professional service firm's competitive advantage is the energy, drive, excitement and enthusiasm of its staff. However, managers are not hired, trained or rewarded with this in mind. Performance reviews are a waste of time as staff defend themselves rather than learn how to improve their performance.

A good manager is not necessarily someone with a high IQ who can argue his case very logically. The interpersonal skills are more important. A good manager is trusted by the staff because staff trust the motives of the manager. A good manager is accountable and sets a high standard. If you're interested in more, click here for David's website or click here to access the recorded web seminar from Changepoint.

OpenAir Case Study published in the Mid September 2002 edition of the Bottom Line

The case study was on Devlin, a leading interface design and development firms in North America, which implemented OpenAir. OpenAir is a Professional Services Automation system, which includes project estimating, resource management, timesheets, expense reporting, project management, contact management, invoicing, and purchase orders. Devlin required a web-based solution so that staff could use the system anywhere or anytime whether they were on a MAC or PC. Devlin chose the ASP (Application Services Provider) option, which means that you don’t buy the software, you rent it; and the program and data are maintained on the ASP’s equipment. For a reprint of the article, click here.

Changepoint Case Study published in the October 2002 edition of the Bottom Line

The case study was on SAS Canada, a leading developer of business intelligence systems, which implemented Changepoint. Changepoint is a Professional Services Automation system, which includes customer relationship management (CRM), engagement management, billing, knowledge management, project management, time and expense reporting, and resource management. SAS wanted to create “one point of truth” and replace all the disparate systems with one system for engagement and project management For a reprint of the article, click here.

The September 18, 2002 Microsoft announcement to attain global leadership in business applications for the mid market

Microsoft’s key technology today is .NET, and it has been said that Bill Gates has bet the company on .NET. Microsoft Business Solutions is one important vehicle for Microsoft in making .NET a reality. Microsoft Business Solutions includes the businesses of the former Great Plains (includes eEnterprise, Dynamics and Solomon), Microsoft bCentral, and Navision (includes Navision Attain and Axapta). MBS’ strategy includes enhancing and protecting the investment in current business applications, creating new solutions and building the next generation of business solutions to be developed using .NET. New solutions include a Retail Management System and Professional Services Automation. For more from Microsoft, click here. We have written an article on Microsoft Business Solutions that will be published in mid October in The Bottom Line.

What's the business case for Professional Service Automation (PSA)?

By now, you have probably heard about PSA. It is a hot buzzword for automating business processes for any organization that provides professional services. These organizations track their time, manage projects and usually bill their clients for services. They often want to track opportunities, schedule resources, and provide knowledge of best practice to their employees. PSA should have a compelling business case. Just by calculating the productivity of employees, there is a tendency for employees to improve their numbers. A small improvement in productivity could easily lead to significant improvement to the bottom line. Other savings include reduction in time to generate invoices, improved cash flow by generating invoices more quickly, improved scheduling of resources, and better estimating on future projects.

Want to read a good book on PSA?

For a good book on PSA, click here.