Whats in a PSC/PSA?
Don’t let the turn of phrase or marketing confuse you, The Professional Services Cloud (PSC) or Professional Services Automation (PSA) tool is a software solution designed to assist professional services organisations, such as consulting firms, in managing their projects, resources, and finances effectively. Although focused in support of consulting, a PSC/PSA when properly configured can offer benefit to all kinds of businesses in a wide range of verticals.
PSC/PSA typically incorporates features like project management, time tracking, resource allocation, expense management, invoicing, and reporting to streamline the operations of service-based businesses – but some of this may better reside within a purpose-built App rather than be embedded within the core of these products.
What Possible Achievements could there be?
Use of the PSC/PSA Enables efficient project planning, monitoring, and tracking, ensuring timely delivery and client satisfaction. Concurrently, it facilitates resource management, ensuring the right people are assigned to the right projects based on their skills and availability.
Automation (or rather augmentation) of time and expense tracking, leading to accurate billing and reduced revenue leakage is at the heart of most PSC/PSA applications.
Although many will profess to Enhance financial management by providing insights into project profitability and enabling effective budgeting and forecasting, this is dependant upon your specific configuration and use case. dForce can decipher and dispel myths about the efficiency gains and recommend class-leading strategic apps for your growing business
Operating at Scale?
No Problem – or so it seems. As a growing business, or well established long-standing enterprise, your choice of the right PSC/ PSA is critical. ‘No System or Platform is Elastic’. Even class-leading PSC/PSA tools offer support for tens of thousands of users, but this implies data at volume, with thousands of operations to be processed and data tables to be updated. You PSA / PSC Selection is crucial for your success.
Initially, selection of the PSC/PSA might seem logical, but there are obvious bottlenecks, constraints and considerations to take into account – dForce can help provide guidance here and set your business up for success with just a few key poignant details and understanding your key pain points.
Placement within your business?
A PSC/PSA tool usually sits in the middle office of a professional services firm. It acts as a bridge between the front office (client-facing activities, such as sales and marketing) and the back office (administrative functions like finance and accounting). It facilitates seamless coordination between the client-facing activities and the administrative processes, ensuring that client engagements are profitable and well-managed.
Should I choose a Vertical SaaS over a Suite Product – whats the difference?
A Vertical SaaS (pure-play) PSC/PSA tool focuses solely on professional services automation. It specialises in catering exclusively to the needs of service-based businesses, offering comprehensive features and functionalities tailored specifically to their requirements
On the other hand, a Suite product often includes a broader range of functionalities beyond PSC/PSA Capabilities. It may incorporate modules for customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), or other business management aspects, making it a more comprehensive solution for various business needs. It is not uncommon to get caught between Vertical SaaS and Suite Products. While a pure-play PSA tool provides in-depth and specific functionalities tailored to the needs of service-based organisations, a suite product offers a more integrated approach by combining multiple business functions into a single software suite. dForce can help you revise and distill your requirements to facilitate selection of the right tool for the right job (including dependencies on integration and use of middleware strategies.
Summary
G2 Crowd Magic Quadrant provides useful insight into the world of PSC/PSA tools. We’ve not yet addressed key differences between PSC and PPM tools, but talk to us for more details.
Understanding the above distinctions will help you make informed choices. Choose the most suitable software solution based on industry-specific functionalities needed. Consider your broader business management requirements.
dForce accelerates you and your business towards success, offering complimentary services to complete your strategic application implementation.