Data management provider InTechnology needed to implement an integrated finance system quickly - following the sale of its distribution business - and PS Financials stepped up to the mark, to ensure a new system was in place within 6 weeks.
A leader in the provision of data management, hosting and network services to UK businesses, InTechnology provides public and private sector clients with secure management of vital business information. InTechnology Managed Services manage over 2 petabytes of data across a comprehensive range of IT infrastructure services, including Managed Data Recovery, Network and Data Centres. The company is AIM listed and has an annual turnover of approximately £50m. Clients include Superdrug, commercial property company King Sturge, online financial information provider Moneysupermarket, Acas, the Heritage Lottery Fund, Department of Trade and Industry and the London Business School .
When InTechnology's distribution division was sold on 29 December 2006 , the company's existing finance software application was sold with the business. This left the remaining part of business, the Managed Services division, without its own finance system. As the distribution division was the longest standing part of the business, many of the finance systems being used were heavily tailored around that side of the business.
Choosing a new system had to be a swift process for Gary Donoghue, InTechnology's MIS Director.
"The reality of the situation was that there was a short lead time - until the business was sold we couldn't do a lot of looking at replacement systems. It was only when the sale of the business became very close we could make a decision."
Seamless replacement of existing financial software and ease of integration crucial for a business with several different systems
As InTechnology embarked on a selection process for the replacement finance system, Gary knew it would be crucial to be able to import data from the existing accounting software, as this would no longer be available as a back-up once the distribution division was sold. PS Financials was short listed because of its functionality and ease of integration.
"If we were to put in a brand new system from a different software supplier, we needed the legacy data to be imported and available in the new system, and with PS Financials we were able to automatically import three years of legacy transaction level data," recalls Gary .
The big changes brought by the reorganisation of the company also meant that additional software systems were being installed - and these would also need to integrate with the new financial software solution.
"I also had a lot of plans to integrate our other key systems, for example, we had a new CRM system - Microsoft CRM - and a new ERP system had been built," notes Gary . "Both of these systems were in place but we still needed to do a lot of integration work, so we needed a financial software provider we could work with who would allow us to undertake our own integration - there had to be an open architecture in place."
PS Financials not only offered the flexibility needed for all the new and disparate systems to work together, but provided a supportive and adaptable working arrangement which allowed InTechnology to undertake their own IT development work alongside that of the PS Financials implementation team.
Stock handling capability was essential
Another concern was that InTechnology would need a new stock system as this was also being sold on.
"One of our main priorities was that as the stock system was being sold with the distribution division, so we needed a stock system and finance system that would integrate together. A lot of finance systems we looked at didn't offer a stock system option."
Gary had looked at implementing a version of the stock system InTechnology had previously been using, but wasn't convinced it was the best solution for the newly restructured business going forward:
"With our existing system the stock element was becoming a problem, we didn't feel comfortable that we were getting the solution we were looking for within our price range."
PS Financials offered an ideal solution as its stock system, PS Spend Control, integrates seamlessly and forms an essential part of the financial management system, allowing users to control spending, streamline purchasing and gain a genuine insight into their cost base.
Swift installation tests PS Financials reliability and adaptability
Implementation was incredibly quick, with the whole process from placing the order to implementation taking just 6 weeks and the new system in place for 30 December 2006 - the day after the old system had been sold with the company. This meant there was no time for parallel running, and the accuracy and reliability of the new PS Financials system was absolutely crucial at this stage. At the same time, InTechnology used the opportunity to restructure their customer accounts to correlate better with the recently installed CRM system.
PS Spend Control handles InTechnology's specialist requirements with ease.
PS Financials' integrated PS Spend Control (powered by Proactis) was implemented at the same time as the main financial management system. Implementing Spend Control has provided InTechnology with huge benefits in terms of asset and cost management, which is crucial as much of their stock is loaned on contract rather than sold to clients.
Gary observes that "we are unusual in that we retain ownership of the components our customers use - equipment is typically leased to them but belongs to InTechnology. It's important for us to understand what cost is allocated to a contract. With PS Financials, every piece of hardware ordered is allocated to a contract or to a department within the business - this means that at any stage, we can see the cost of the equipment which has been allocated to an individual contract."
As the system continues to be fully utilised, InTechnology's staff are working with PS Financials' consultants to tailor reports, in Microsoft Reporting Services, to fit exactly with their business needs. There are now 15 finance users, with 100 additional users of the PS Spend Control system.
Although the system is still new, implementing PS Financials has provided InTechnology with a solid platform on which to build as it moves forward with its new organisational structure.
"As a result of implementing PS Financials and our new CRM system we have deep integrity of data, our customer data is completely controlled and driven from the CRM process," comments Gary .
Future plans for PS Financials include further integration with InTechnology's contract management and billing system, with development work for this being done in-house.
Support from PS Financials team key to the rapid success of the project
Looking back at the process, Gary Donoghue considers it a major achievement to have made such key changes to InTechnology's financial management over such a short space of time, particularly as the timescale was imposed rather than chosen.
"Having to work quickly wasn't the best way to change accounting software, but having been forced to, we actually managed it - which is testimony to the product's functionality and the PS Financials team. We have found the PS Financials team very reactive, supportive and keen to work with us and to understand our requirements to better use their software."
| 
