Home - Benefits - Typical Business Challenges

Typical Business Challenges

Fragmented Applications

Key business processes supported by a series of fragmented semi-manual resource management and project planning systems
Spreadsheets and project plans scattered across their business infrastructure
Disjointed systems that lacked visibility over how the division could manage resources and projects in real-time
Executives and managers unable to spot key operational redundancies
Inability to reduce risk exposure and making faster 'information rich' judgments on how to change and realise strategic outcomes

Inability to communicate performance goals downstream through layers of management
Inability to push down and pull up personalised performance metrics
Slow hand-coded reports that are expensive to produce and limited in the information they provided management
Spreadsheet-based systems that make the day-to-day management of reporting process excessively manual and paper based
Result in poor data quality and the lack of revision control
Excessive transfers of paper further impacts the business causing crucial slippage on key projects resulting in lost opportunities to recharge clients

Diffused operational processes cause latency within the executive decision making stream
Managers are hindered by their inability to extract accurate, relevant real-time information about resource availability, project costs and milestones deliverables
Managers are unable to roll-up in real time reports for senior executives in a single end-to-end view of the operation
Latency between information collection and presentation make the executive decision-making stream more reactive than proactive
Executives unable to obtain the right information at the right time to understand effectively the present position of the business in order to ward off unwelcome surprises and seize on potential opportunities before the competition

A fragmented planning methodology and an inability systematically to examine and fine-tune multiple project scenarios and assumptions leading to regular unforeseen roadblocks
Lack of project transparency meaning that project and portfolio managers were unable to forecast and accurately plan new projects and assign resources with the right skills
Executives unable to drill down effectively and examine key project milestones and understand their up-to date status

Resource management process performed manually using an Excel spreadsheet
Inability to maintain these spreadsheets at a detailed level
Resource systems not integrated with planning infrastructure
Disparate data points and their inaccuracy results in a lack of ability to predict, manage and report on resource availability, project cost and staff effort
Inaccurate staff allocation information makes new work difficult to plan

Unable to reconcile operational spend with strategic goals. Unable to align key departments with the business units they serve
Operational overspend and missed deadlines, lack of visibility into the strategy, plans, performance, and costs
Managers not unable to see day-to-day operations of their projects and resources but also unable to develop an holistic view of progress and performance. The result: no real-time link between strategic goals and operations
Poor operational accountability impacting strategic decision-making