Latest news with #VansonBourne
Associated Press
05-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Finance Systems Slammed by Professional Services Firms for Wasting Time and Money
44 hours per week wasted on financial discrepancies and two days per week on year-end financials LONDON, June 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Unit4, a leader in enterprise cloud applications for people-centric organizations, has unveiled part two of its international research study, 'The Back Office in 2025.' Conducted by Vanson Bourne, it highlights major difficulties for professional services firms in managing key financial systems, such as cash flow management, year-end financials and project financials. 100% of senior finance and IT decision makers experience discrepancies in year-end financials, with the majority (77%) saying they occur often. Significant resources are being wasted in investigating errors, consolidating financial information and on manual processes. Data consolidation, back-office integration and automation are seen as key to improving performance. Year-end discrepancies affecting morale There is a clear human cost to financial errors, as 61% say year-end reporting negatively impacts the wellbeing of the finance team, while a further 73% say reducing workload at year-end would help prevent burnout. The top three challenges related to discrepancies are: 'At a time when productivity and efficiency are bywords for every Professional Services firm, these findings reveal concerning shortcomings for organizations that want to be more competitive,' said Bryce Wolf, Strategic Growth Director, Unit4. 'The firms that drive greater consolidation of financial information will be closer to gaining a single source of truth about their business performance. Combined with greater automation to aid faster decision-making, this will be critical to survival and growth in the years ahead.' Project financials are draining resources Project financials, as well as year-end reporting, are adding to the burden. When dealing with year-end preparations, senior finance decision makers are spending two full working days per week consolidating year-end financials, while respondents say they are wasting 25 hours a week investigating project financials and 19 hours per week on correcting or updating issues. The top three challenges for improving project financials are: Slow and risky manual processes are to blame A possible cause for discrepancies and wasted time could be that 84% of finance teams are spending too much time on manual processes that should be automated. In cash flow management the top three processes affected by this are payment reconciliation, approving workflows and data consolidation and integration. It is no surprise, then, that 88% say cashflow management is difficult, blaming inadequate financial reporting tools, complex approval processes and high operating costs. In turn, this is leading to increased processing times, operational costs and risk of errors. Globally respondents see real value in automating financial processes, saying the top three benefits will be: Today, though, only 46% of cash flow management processes are automated. Among the subsectors within Professional Services, Management consulting (49%) comes out top in wanting to increase automation, followed by IT and tech (48%) and Media and publishing (46%). Similarly, 92% of respondents agree that automating processes would speed up consolidation of year-end financials. Generally, there is agreement that consolidating data, greater integration of back-office systems and automating processes should be prioritized to overcome the challenges outlined in the research. Embracing AI and automating manual workflows can provide a single source of truth for financial data - something that is lacking for 73%. Globally, respondents also say that finance systems could be improved with: Respondents believe that adopting these recommendations will help to improve the accuracy of financial decision making, reduce workloads and ultimately free up teams to focus on strategic growth. Further Reading Read the eBook for more detailed information on the Professional Services research. Vanson Bourne Methodology The research covered the US, UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Nordics and DACH regions and took responses from a range sectors, including IT and technology, architecture and engineering, media and publishing and management consultancy. It was conducted between 11th February and 10th March 2025, and the findings were based on a total of 600 senior finance and IT respondents. About Unit4 Unit4's next-generation enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions power many of the world's mid-market organizations, bringing together the capabilities of Financials, Procurement, Project Management, HR, and FP&A to share real-time information, and deliver greater insights to help organizations become more effective. By combining our mid-market expertise with a relentless focus on people, we've built flexible solutions to meet customers' unique and changing needs. Unit4 serves more than 5,100 customers globally across a number of sectors including professional services, nonprofit and public sector, with customers including Southampton City Council, Metro Vancouver, Buro Happold, Devoteam, Save the Children International, Global Green Growth Institute and Oxfam America. For further information visit For more information, please visit follow us on, Facebook: Unit4 Business Software, Instagram: @unit4global or visit our YouTube: Unit4 and LinkedIn page Media Contact: Lisa Stassoulli Global Communications Manager, Unit4 Mobile: +44(0)7870 916827 [email protected] View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Unit4
Techday NZ
04-06-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Barracuda launches unified AI platform amid security tool sprawl
Barracuda has released findings from a research study showing that a majority of organisations are struggling to manage an excess of security tools, with many finding that these tools are not integrated effectively. The survey, conducted by research firm Vanson Bourne, found that 65% of IT and security professionals face challenges due to running too many security tools. Additionally, 53% reported that their tools were unable to be integrated, leading to fragmented security environments that are both difficult to manage and secure. The responses came from 2,000 senior security decision-makers globally and highlight broader concerns over the operational and financial repercussions of security tool sprawl. According to the research, 80% of respondents indicated that a lack of integration between tools increased the time needed to manage their organisation's security, and 81% said this resulted in higher overall costs. The impact on security operations was also significant, with 77% of those surveyed saying detection of threats was hindered by fragmented systems, and 78% noted difficulties in mitigating threats. Only 32% of respondents expressed full confidence in the proper configuration of their security tools, suggesting that many organisations may be vulnerable to breaches due to misconfiguration. The research also explored the role of managed service providers (MSPs) in reducing the complexity caused by multiple security tools, as well as identifying sectors that are most affected by this issue. Barracuda has responded to these findings by launching the BarracudaONE AI-powered cybersecurity platform, which aims to provide integrated threat protection and cyber resilience across its portfolio of products. The platform is intended for both MSPs and end users and centralises various security functions to simplify management and reduce the administrative burden. Neal Bradbury, Chief Product Officer at Barracuda, commented on the findings: "This research serves as a stark wake-up call for organisations still relying on disconnected, siloed security tools. Managing a patchwork of solutions drives up costs and complexity while creating blind spots that attackers are quick to exploit. Security teams simply cannot afford to waste time switching between systems while critical threats go undetected." "The path forward is clear: consolidation and integration are essential for cyber resilience. That is exactly why we built BarracudaONE – to improve security operations, reduce risk and enable teams to secure their environments faster and more effectively. We are cutting through the complexity, closing critical gaps and empowering organisations with the confidence and control they need to stay ahead of evolving threats." The BarracudaONE platform unifies Barracuda's security solutions into a single interface, offering layered threat protection that is managed from a central dashboard. This consolidation is designed to reduce operational complexity, bolster visibility, and strengthen overall cyber resilience. The platform incorporates advanced artificial intelligence that provides detailed threat detection and response, as well as automated intelligence capabilities. Barracuda says its AI has been refined over numerous real-world deployments and now powers robust reporting features to help security teams and partners assess the effectiveness of their threat defences, ROI, and operational impact. These insights are intended to help organisations validate their security postures and make informed decisions. William Mann, Chief Information Security Officer at the Borough of West Chester, Pennsylvania, described his experience with the platform: "BarracudaONE is a shields-up force multiplier that helps us safeguard critical municipal services – including our police dispatcher center, police and fire departments, as well as wastewater, finance and other essential operations. The ability to manage multiple security modules through a single, centralised dashboard is transformational." "Barracuda Email Protection's incident response capabilities are mission-critical, and with BarracudaONE, they're more accessible, faster and easier to manage. The streamlined experience of having fewer clicks and faster insights enables us to prioritise threats and respond with the speed and precision our first responders, government teams and community depend on." Adam Butler, Principal Cyber Solutions Architect at ARO, also commented: "BarracudaONE brings all our Barracuda solutions into a unified, powerful platform – delivering centralised visibility, real-time alerts and actionable reporting. It represents a major step forward for our customers, and an even greater advantage for us as an MSP overseeing thousands of customer environments. With BarracudaONE, we can pinpoint security gaps faster, prioritise alerts with greater accuracy and generate high-value reports in seconds." BarracudaONE is now available at no additional cost to MSPs, channel partners, and customers already using certain Barracuda products, including Email Protection, Cloud-to-Cloud Backup, and Data Inspector. The platform provides a centralised interface for management of both solutions and licences. Barracuda's managed extended detection and response (XDR) service, which offers 24/7 expert monitoring backed by Barracuda's security operations centre, is also offered to complement the platform and further enhance security postures for MSPs, partners and end users.
Business Wire
07-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Thoughtworks State of Digital and AI Readiness Report Reveals Only 17% of Organizations are True Leaders
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Thoughtworks, a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation, today released findings from its 'The State of Digital and AI Readiness' global report that reveals a stark contrast between perceived and actual levels of digital and AI maturity among organizations worldwide. The research, based on insights from 1,000 senior leaders, highlights that while many organizations believe they are ahead, only a small fraction - 17% - are truly leading the market in digital and AI readiness. The report introduces the Digital and AI Readiness Index, which categorizes organizations into four groups - Leaders (17%), Strong Performers (54%), Emerging Players (26%) and Late Adopters (3%) - based on their adoption levels across five critical pillars: digital products, platforms and services; enterprise modernization; managing (and modernizing) technology; data modernization and scaling AI (from pilot to production). Key findings from the report include: Importance of strategic alignment: The prevalence of a fully developed and optimized technology ecosystem strategy is higher among Leaders (61%) than Late Adopters (19%). This highlights the critical role of a cohesive, aligned business-technology strategy in driving digital and AI success. The Imperative for continuous improvement: An overwhelming 93% of organizations acknowledge the need for some level of improvement in their technology ecosystem. Interestingly, 77% of Leaders recognize the need for a complete overhaul or significant improvement, demonstrating their commitment to continuous optimization. Technology leadership drives ROI: A positive ROI on their technology ecosystem over the last 18 months was reported by 53% of Leaders, a distinction that sets them apart as the only group seeing gains. Rachel Laycock, chief technology officer, Thoughtworks, said, 'A key challenge highlighted by this report is the prevalence of siloed approaches to AI, data and modernization. We've seen firsthand that this fragmentation hinders progress and prevents organizations from realizing the full potential of their technology investments. At Thoughtworks, we advocate for a holistic, cross-functional strategy that aligns these initiatives with overarching business goals, fostering the collaboration and communication necessary to drive extraordinary impact for our clients.' Vanson Bourne's Senior Research Manager, Lauren Budd said, 'Our research shows that even the most advanced organizations recognize they're never 'done' - true digital and AI readiness is sustained through continuous improvement and a strategy that evolves with the business. What sets these organizations apart is their ability to stay focused, aligned and proactive in turning ambition into measurable outcomes.' 'The State of Digital and AI Readiness' global report is available for download here. Methodology Thoughtworks commissioned independent market research agency Vanson Bourne to conduct this research. The global study surveyed 1,000 senior IT decision makers in September and October 2024. Organizations were based in five markets, including Australia (175), Germany (175), Singapore (175), UK (175) and US (300). They had a global annual revenue of at least $500 million and represented the public and private sectors. All interviews were conducted using a rigorous multi-level screening process to ensure that only suitable candidates were given the opportunity to participate. Supporting resources: About Thoughtworks Thoughtworks is a global technology consultancy that integrates design, engineering and AI to drive digital innovation. We are over 10,000 Thoughtworkers strong across 48 offices in 19 countries. For 30 years, we've delivered extraordinary impact together with our clients by helping them solve complex business problems with technology as the differentiator.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Supply Chain Leaders Embrace AI, but Struggle to Bridge Technology Implementation Gap
Fresh data revealing executive sentiment from Logility, an AI-driven supply chain management solution provider, revealed that while 63 percent of industry leaders claim their operations are 'fully optimized' with the latest tech, 'foundational performance metrics tell a different story,' researchers said in their report. The research showed that forecast accuracy averages about 48 percent while on-time-in-full (OTIF) sits at 52 percent, and gross margin at 18 percent. More from Sourcing Journal OpenAI Leans Into Shopping With ChatGPT Upgrades Amazon-Backed Glacier Grabs $16M Series A for AI-Assisted Recycling Robots Chain Reaction: UniUni's Scott Wang on Building Smarter Supply Chains with AI and Automation With generative AI, 97 percent of those polled said they are using some form of it, but only 33 percent noted that are applying it to supply chain-specific use cases . The underpinning theme of the report, titled, 'Supply Chain Horizons 2025 Market Report: Navigating the Digital Transformation and GenAI Journey in Supply Chain,' was that as supply chain leaders highly favor technologies such as generative AI, their companies are having a hard time with implementation. The data was culled from 500 supply chain executives across the U.S., U.K., DACH, Australia and India. Those polled represent companies that have a minimum of $500 million in annual revenue. Vanson Bourne provided support on the research. Allan Dow, president of Logility, said the 'past no longer has to define the future. However, leaders must close the gap between vision and execution, especially when it comes to unlocking GenAI's transformative potential.' Other notable takeaways from the 39-page report include that 71 percent of organizations polled saying they have fully funded transformation initiatives. Even so, 57 percent of respondents cited data quality as a barrier to AI adoption while 35 percent said they struggle to build a business case for AI technology investment. Meanwhile, the research showed that legacy technology systems 'remain a drag on performance' with 52 percent of those polled saying 'on-premise platforms hinder progress, and only 38 percent plan to migrate to the cloud within a year.' When asked about generative AI use and priorities, focus areas include transportation/logistics (39 percent), risk management (34 percent) and inventory optimization (31 percent). 'Yet only 18 percent are using GenAI for order fulfillment and 20 percent for scenario planning,' the report's authors said. 'The report emphasizes the urgency for leaders to modernize outdated processes, accelerate cloud adoption and prioritize GenAI experimentation,' the authors of the report said. 'It cautions that reliance on legacy systems and manual tools like Excel (still used by 55 percent of respondents) continues to hinder progress.' 'Trying to execute new supply chain technologies in old ways is a recipe for failure,' Dow said. 'The window for creating competitive advantage is still open — but not for long. With the right tools, a little courage, and a lot of heart, supply chain leaders who embrace GenAI and rethink their processes will be able to define the future—not just react to it.' Sign in to access your portfolio
Techday NZ
25-04-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Professional firms face long M&A integrations due to old systems
A new international research study conducted by Vanson Bourne for Unit4 examines the challenges faced by Professional Services firms during mergers and acquisitions, highlighting the impact of outdated finance systems on integration efforts. The first part of the study, entitled "The Back Office in 2025," canvassed senior IT and finance decision makers in the Professional Services sector. According to the findings, although 58% of respondents' organisations have pursued acquisitions in the last five years, 86% expressed frustration that the process of merging businesses has taken longer than anticipated. Growth through mergers and acquisitions (M&A) has become increasingly critical for Professional Services firms as they look for sustainable business models amid ongoing economic uncertainty. The research showed that 81% of organisations surveyed have either been acquired or have acquired another company within the past five years. However, the report notes that M&A activity often does not deliver the expected value, with one in five firms reporting that integration took over a year. The average integration period among all respondents was eight months. Commenting on the findings, Bryce Wolf, Director of Strategic Growth at Unit4, said: "Every professional services firm is laser-focused on growth and extracting value wherever possible, which means M&A is a strategic weapon in building more robust business models. Unfortunately, IT and finance systems are hindering their ability to assimilate acquisitions quickly to realise value. It is essential that Professional Services firms address this limitation by modernising their core back-office systems to remain competitive into the future." Respondents outlined a range of business concerns they encountered during the integration process. The top three issues identified were inconsistencies with financial data, complications associated with personnel changes and redundancies, and misalignment among key stakeholders. The survey also highlighted several technical challenges playing a role in slowing the post-merger integration process. Among these, difficulties in efficiently allocating IT talent and resources ranked highly, alongside incompatible finance systems and a lack of standardised back-office processes. According to those surveyed, these obstacles combined to generate multiple negative impacts for their firms. The most prominent of these consequences included increased cybersecurity risk, potential damage to the firm's brand reputation, slower decision-making, and increased employee turnover. The research findings emphasised that improving core back-office systems could prove valuable, particularly when undergoing M&A. Professionals taking part in the study indicated that demonstrating real-time financial insights, adopting automated processes, and ensuring scalability would not only benefit internal operations but could also make a firm a more attractive proposition for potential buyers. Respondents identified clear priorities for streamlining future M&A activity, naming a focus on clear and transparent communication as a key factor. Other areas of emphasis included the deployment of scalable and flexible cloud-based IT and business solutions, as well as adoption of streamlined financial tools and systems. To progress towards smoother integration, the report points to several key priorities beyond technology upgrades. These include thorough consolidation of financial data to enable more precise reporting, integration of back-office systems as a route to cost and time savings, and further process automation to speed up year-end financial consolidation activities.
