Software selection approach

Certainty thanks to Finext's experience.

You're looking for new financial software. Where should you begin your search? How can you make sure you find the latest developments in the market? How can you be sure to compare all the specifications of the software solutions to be chosen? Can you be confident that you didn't forget to include crucial elements during the selection?
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All questions that many people within organizations wrestle with, once the idea of looking for a (new) EPM solution is born. Selecting new software can have far-reaching consequences for people, processes and other systems in an organization. Therefore, it is crucial that the selection process is thorough and reliable.

Over the past 25 years Finext has successfully helped more than 200 Dutch organizations with the selection and implementation of their EPM solutions. So we know the ins and outs and can relieve you or guide you in the selection of new EPM software. All in a structured and well-founded manner. That gives you peace of mind and the confidence that it will be done thoroughly. With Finext you get certainty.

Always up to date in a market that is constantly changing.

The solution you choose today may be ready for change a year from now. Today's (cloud-based) solutions come with new developments and releases almost monthly. As a result, developments are rapid and the differences between solutions change regularly.

As a result, selecting a solution for Consolidating & Reporting or Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting has become a complex and time-consuming task for many organizations.

Keeping up with developments in the market is daily business for us. We know the differences and have short lines of communication with the software developers. This enables us to separate the wheat from the chaff and to interpret the information provided by the various parties. Thanks to Finext, you are always up-to-date.

In our experience, our thorough selection approach more than recovers the investment in it: the information retrieved can be reused in the implementation, licensing costs of the software are often significantly lower due to our knowledge of the market with its opportunities and pitfalls, and the documentation of the various steps can be used in the business case and support within the organization.

Finext Selection Scenario: a proven 5-stage approach.

Selecting a new software solution is not an everyday task for many organizations. It is also a process that requires involvement from various disciplines within your organization. Think of the end users or IT, but also Purchasing and the decision makers. In addition to the internal organization, external suppliers also require a structured approach to achieve the best (procurement) result. The Finext Selection Scenario is our structured approach based on 25 years of best practices in selecting EPM solutions adapted to your unique situation. With Finext you get structure and overview.

Our proven approach consists of 5 phases:

1. Vision

In this step we create awareness about the latest developments in the software market, possibly supported by high-level demos of the various solutions for a first 'look & feel'. Important themes that are also discussed are the vision and possibilities of 'integrated EPM platform' versus 'point solutions', 'development tool' versus 'application', but also the vision of 'management by own organization' or 'external'.

2. Requirements 

During the Requirements step, we work together to define the scope of the intended solution. We don't start with a blank sheet but use the overview of requirements we have built up over the past 25 years. With the help of interviews and an (online) questionnaire, we gain insight into the priorities of stakeholders and we can immediately move on to the content. This creates space for really useful discussions and we can skip the no-brainers. Occasionally the reporting processes are so complex that it makes sense to first visualize them graphically. For this we use visualization solutions such as 'Engage Modeler'. This way, we quickly get the complexity to the surface and can look for the smart improvement. 

3. Scan

During this step, we score the known solutions from the market based on the requirements and the weighting given by the stakeholders. This objective method leads us to a fitting shortlist of EPM solutions that forms the basis for the next phase.

4. Proof

Based on the shortlist and prioritized requirements, we prepare a number of demo scripts. This allows us to have several "use cases" worked out, highlighting the differences between the solutions. It is our role to guide this process, ask critical questions and ensure that the cooperation between the customer and software vendor runs smoothly. 

5. Select 

Besides being able to experience the software for yourself during demos, it is equally important to talk to other customers in the market and how they arrived at their choices. In this phase, we call on our network, show you a number of practical examples and (if desired) organize discussions with other customers.