Research
SPI Research conducts research in a variety of areas that impact professional services performance. Many of our research initiatives also provide insight and guidance for product-driven organizations that desire to improve organizational performance of their white-collar employees.
Service Performance Pillars
SPI Research continues to conduct groundbreaking research into improving operational efficiency and effectiveness in services-driven organizations. To Click here to lean more about this effort can help your organization. You can also download the Service Performance Pillar questionnaire, complete it (usually in less than one-hour) and send it back to SPI Research for a comparison of your organization to those already benchmarked.
Workforce Productivity
Changes in the economic dynamics of the Professional Services sector mandate improvements across talent and client (acquisition and retention), service delivery, and financial management. Fortunately, information technology has become a key enabler of those organizational improvements. Competitive pressures keep increasing Tools to enable a more productive workforce
Business Software Solutions
Globally there are hundreds of Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) that provide software applications to the services sector. Over the past 3-4 years there have been a number of acquisitions’ in this space as large ISVs have seen the benefits of supplying integrated solutions to meet the demands of the services sector, as well as to meet the demands of services organizations within product based enterprises.
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP or Financials)
Figuring prominently in professional services organizations (PSOs) ability to optimize operational effectiveness is the increased integration of information systems that comes through implementation of Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) systems and processes.
ERP solutions bring a range and depth of benefits to PSOs, some of which include: streamlined opportunity management, increased project and service delivery, enhanced collaboration, and improved financial management and governance. The secret sauce here is the integration itself. ERP’s ability to manage all core business processes and do it from one standardized application makes it less expensive to implement and support over the long-term, than several non-integrated, disparate applications — and much more effective in the bargain.
There are many ERP solution providers for the Professional Services sector. While each differentiates itself in its own way, what they all offer is integration, visibility, and transparency into the operational processes of the organization. With this integration comes the ability to see and manage disparate functions with specificity and the PSO enterprise as a unified economic organism.
Professional Services Automation (PSA)
SPI Research defines Professional Services Automation as an integrated suite of applications used to increase operational visibility and improve process efficiency in professional services organizations. Perhaps the key differentiator for this market is the integration of people, process and capital. Professional Services Automation provides organizations with a solution to efficiently plan, sell, execute and charge for work. PSA gives team members the tools to collaborate and collect knowledge that can be further used to optimize business processes. The net effect of PSA is a more productive and profitable business, as well as improved levels of predictably and client satisfaction.
Client Relationship Management (CRM)
Client Relationship Management (CRM) supports the management of clients and is designed to improve sales and marketing effectiveness. CRM automates lead, contact and campaign management, sales pipeline forecasting and territory management. Many CRM applications also provide powerful call center functionality for call handling; trouble ticketing and problem resolution. CRM allows PSOs to track clients through the engagement lifecycle, and to specifically target customer segments and offers by understanding details of the relationship.
Human Capital Management (HCM)
Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions are responsible for the management and tracking of human resources from recruitment through termination. HCM benefits the PSO by maintaining a database of skills, benefits and pay rate information that is used for resource scheduling, recruiting and performance management. Effective HCM solutions provide rich applications that allow consultants to manage their own skills and skill development (training) and bid on the projects of greatest interest for them. Studies consistently show that effective HCM applications which facilitate career management result in improved employee satisfaction and retention.
Business Intelligence (BI)
Business Intelligence (BI) helps PSOs manage the assembly and use of information to improve decision-making — leading to improved profitability, management control and faster growth. The BI market is relatively new compared to other core IBSs, however, it is gaining rapid acceptance in the marketplace. In 2007 the largest independent BI providers — Cognos, Business Objects and Hyperion were acquired by IBM, SAP and Oracle respectively, signaling a new era of strong business intelligence and analytics as part of most major financial applications. As PS organizations mature, BI becomes a more critical tool to provide real-time visibility to all facets of the operation — allowing executives to spot trends and take corrective action early.
Independent Software Vendors
SPI Research now tracks independent software vendors (ISVs) that develop comprehensive and departmental solutions for the Professional Services Sector. These applications are divided into five categories listed in the table below, along with links to leading vendors.
| Enterprise Resource Planning (Financials) | Professional Services Automation (PSA) | Client Relationship Management (CRM) |
Human Capital
Management (HCM) |
Business
Intelligence (BI) |