With increasing globalization, companies need to take a whole world view, operating in an ever increasing number of countries they struggle to find suppliers that can service their needs. In some cases, such as in global payroll, it is not just a matter of the capability of existing suppliers. Systems and processes that worked in a small number of countries are often found not to scale globally and a whole new approach is needed. In payroll, SaaS has provided the platform that is enabling a revolution in the way payroll is managed and the strategic contribution it can make. Let’s extrapolate a little about the future of payroll management, and the role of the payroll manager. Continue reading →

There seems to be an ever increasing take up of Software as a Service (SaaS) applications by enterprises in recent years. Cloud-based software, delivered to users by means of the internet, has many advantages. Its adoption and use frees IT staff from day-to-day application management and support and enables them to focus on adding strategic business value, modelling the use of IT to the benefit of the company and its competitive advantage. In addition, enterprises are attracted by the lack of a need for capital outlay for software or the servers, machine rooms and so on required to host it. Continue reading →

There has been a revolution in most areas of business management brought out by the increasing automation of key tasks and the outsourcing of the more menial and labor intensive administrative functions. Professionals across the board have shifted focus from task management to value-based contributions. The shift has coincided with the automation of their functions. For example, the early automation of accounting functions, immediate access to data and the development of financial modelling software enabled this change to take place through the 1980s and 1990s to the role of the Finance Director and Chief Financial Officer. Continue reading →

The term “Big Data”, unheard of three or four years ago, is now ubiquitous. Indeed, in typical IT industry fashion, it is now considered passé and is often superseded within the data integration fraternity by discussion of smart data, long data, deep data and even ‘the paradox of information’!

However, Big Data initiatives remain nascent and really do promise a revolution in capability that is already having a profound effect on every aspect of our lives, the way we are governed and of the way businesses are managed.

Big Data initiatives are demanding holistic enterprise management, ensuring that inter-dependencies between functions are considered, that incoherence and inconsistencies in organizational structures are addressed, that processes are standardized, centralized and automated and that there are no islands, no hiding places and no stones left unturned. Payroll has for long been an orphan in multi-national organizations, often ignored, cast between the estranged foster parents of HR and Finance, belonging to neither and left unguided, payroll has often been managed by as many different and inconsistent approaches as there are countries in which a multinational operates. With the emergence of Big Data initiatives, payroll is growing up, automation hand in hand with centralization and a strategically focused executive enables payroll to gain its voice and rapidly increase its contribution. Continue reading →

Many organizations have consolidated their business functions into shared service centers, with more companies considering such a move each year. For businesses in which functions have evolved consistent processes and rules, this makes great sense. There are many examples of companies successfully building shared service centers to field customer inquiries, provide IT help desks and even manage certain financial functions where there is little or no geographical uniqueness with which to contend. Then there are HR and payroll. By its very nature, HR and payroll are inherently unique to the local legislation and customary rules of the country and its separate and distinct local legislatures – even within a country, there can be significant local variances of regulations based on regions, provinces, states, departments, etc. So, does it make sense to try and build shared service centers for this function? Continue reading →

In keeping with all enterprise software, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are undergoing something of a revolution. The move is to the Cloud and SaaS solutions, and away from traditional on-premise solutions. It is a trend of which the largest enterprise software companies are acutely aware and significant investment is being made in this new world order. Examples include SAP’s acquisition of Success Factors, Oracle purchasing Taleo and both companies’ well publicized SaaS strategies, of which these acquisitions play just a minor part.

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Fact: Being enthusiastic about cloud technology is hard. It’s constantly changing, forever trying to justify its existence and never, ever “finished.” We all love to loathe technology, and none so much today as the ubiquitous “cloud.” It’s now harder than ever to leave your desk without being somehow connected to your work and your colleagues, whether it be through email or instant messaging. It’s difficult to shake that nagging feeling that it just won’t leave you alone when you really need to switch off. However, for all its nuisances and misapplications, we are capable of achieving great things when we embrace the best that it has to offer. With the right technologies by our side, we can begin to bring people together in new and unexpected ways, bridging the gaps between language, geography and culture in ways that are more accessible and more seamless than ever before. Continue reading →