Red Apricot: Innovating Implementations Transforming Performance
Tharik Mohamed and Kranthi Kumar, Chief Knowledge & Customer Experience Officer and Chief Innovation OfficerTo address these business challenges, a future-proof Enterprise Performance Management process and System spanning across the functions of finance, operations, people and strategy is a necessity. In simple terms, these include budgeting, planning, forecasting, operational efficiency, strategy formulation, predictive forecasts, management consolidation and reporting processes.
There have been radical innovations on the EPM technology front to provide solutions for emerging performance management needs of organisations, with SAP’s Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) and SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) leading the way.
However, even with all the EPM technology innovations in place, delivering an EPM initiative, which is Business Driven rather than IT-led, is extraordinarily challenging and risky, so much so that, it is often difficult to find happy and successful customers.
This is primarily because the conventional implementation process finds it difficult to address real business needs, follows a time-consuming manual approach and utterly dependent on resources. It’s, in fact, right, that there has been a dearth of EPM domain experts even in today’s world.
ROI is always questionable, and heads roll, when the capability of an EPM technology is not harnessed fully during a project execution due to poor implementation.
The Genesis of Red Apricot
A 50-YEAR-OLD COMPANY CAN INNOVATE AS WELL AS TWO GUYS/GALS IN A GARAGE
These insightful words of Guy Kawasaki are true, with many living examples across the world, Red Apricot is one of the best examples of his thought process.
With close to two decades of combined experience in the EPM domain, Kranthi Kumar, Chief Innovation Officer and Tharik Mohamed, Chief Knowledge and Customer Experience Officer evaluated the common causes of many unsuccessful EPM projects. They realised the primary reasons for failure are, the manual approach of EPM project executions and capabilities/quality of resources deployed in the project.
Their motto was to offer organisations a risk-free EPM Implementation approach using technology innovations and thereby ensuring success for all EPM projects. Digitisation and Automation were identified as the core themes for technology innovation and connecting them would bring disruptive changes to the conventional EPM implementation process.
New technologies to support the core themes were explored to achieve the objectives and address all current pain points. Machine Learning and Robotics Process Automation technologies were identified to be the right combination for the required innovation. “We leveraged on Machine Learning based algorithms that can learn from data without relying on rules-based programming and connected that to Robotics Process Automation and developed JustPerform to help in executing EPM projects across technologies,” recalls Kranthi.
A Red Apricot innovation lab was setup in Singapore, after months of extensive research, ground up product development and prototyping, JustPerform the first digitised and automated cloud-based platform for EPM implementations was successfully introduced into the market.
The primary objective of JustPerform was to ensure digitalisation and automation to EPM Implementation processes and bring value to organisations in their journey for a future-proof EPM process & system, according to Kranthi, JustPerform perfectly matched these objectives.
Flag Bearers of Disruption
Unlike other EPM implementation vendors who still follow a resource-driven, waterfall methodology, Red Apricot offers, JustPerform the new digitised and automated platform in an agile environment to carry out SAP Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) implementations
“At Red Apricot, we strongly believe in the great combination of process & technology resulting in a good EPM system. Moreover, that’s how one can reap the full potential of an EPM investment,” remarks Tharik
With JustPerform, Red Apricot provides business users with an experience of a digitised EPM process definition process and along with its machine learning algorithms, automatically build great EPM processes in SAP BPC at a fraction of time and resources.
Process Digitization
An essential component of any EPM Implementation, JustPerform has advanced digitisation capabilities for business users to create their EPM processes using the visual modelling functionality. “Moreover, we also get their process documents generated digitally through the platform making it truly a remarkable experience,” remarks Kranthi. JustPerform EPM App Store with over 100+ Apps covering all facets of customers’ EPM needs provides business content, guidance and insights to select and define quality and relevant EPM process.
Also, being a cloud-based platform, organisations use this process definition functionality to define organisational alignment across a large number of users involved in the EPM process and set the right expectations for the defined EPM process and system.
It helps in relooking at latest EPM processes and making it relevant for the business to manage the current dynamics rather than a lift and shift of the current EPM processes on to the technology. According to Tharik, this has been one of the biggest attractions of JustPerform with CFO/CEO understanding the value it brings to their organisations.
Red Apricot simplifies sap BPC executions through automation and encourages innovations to increase business efficiency
A Red Apricot innovation lab was setup in Singapore, after months of extensive research, ground up product development and prototyping, JustPerform the first digitised and automated cloud-based platform for EPM implementations was successfully introduced into the market.
The primary objective of JustPerform was to ensure digitalisation and automation to EPM Implementation processes and bring value to organisations in their journey for a future-proof EPM process & system, according to Kranthi, JustPerform perfectly matched these objectives.
Flag Bearers of Disruption
Unlike other EPM implementation vendors who still follow a resource-driven, waterfall methodology, Red Apricot offers, JustPerform the new digitised and automated platform in an agile environment to carry out SAP Business Planning and Consolidation (BPC) implementations
“At Red Apricot, we strongly believe in the great combination of process & technology resulting in a good EPM system. Moreover, that’s how one can reap the full potential of an EPM investment,” remarks Tharik
With JustPerform, Red Apricot provides business users with an experience of a digitised EPM process definition process and along with its machine learning algorithms, automatically build great EPM processes in SAP BPC at a fraction of time and resources.
Process Digitization
An essential component of any EPM Implementation, JustPerform has advanced digitisation capabilities for business users to create their EPM processes using the visual modelling functionality. “Moreover, we also get their process documents generated digitally through the platform making it truly a remarkable experience,” remarks Kranthi. JustPerform EPM App Store with over 100+ Apps covering all facets of customers’ EPM needs provides business content, guidance and insights to select and define quality and relevant EPM process.
Also, being a cloud-based platform, organisations use this process definition functionality to define organisational alignment across a large number of users involved in the EPM process and set the right expectations for the defined EPM process and system.
It helps in relooking at latest EPM processes and making it relevant for the business to manage the current dynamics rather than a lift and shift of the current EPM processes on to the technology. According to Tharik, this has been one of the biggest attractions of JustPerform with CFO/CEO understanding the value it brings to their organisations.
Process Automation
Integrated with built-in algorithms based on Machine Learning, JustPerform reads the EPM process defined by business users and automatically builds all models, configurations and business rules required for SAP BPC systems. “Upon Autobuild completion, we are ready with the Minimum Lovable Process (MLP) in SAP BPC in real quick time,” states Kranthi. He also mentions that this auto build functionally is supported for all variants of SAP BPC and helps to maintain a better SAP BPC system throughout its lifespan.
“Our JustPerform platform is time-tested, proven, and has a great success rate amongst customers, enabling us to deliver consistent results, reduce resource constraints and provide a better EPM project experience and value,” elucidates Tharik.
The Customer Experience
It’s a simple, enriching customer journey with the JustPerform approach for SAP BPC executions mentions Tharik, it assures the power of digitisation and automation to make EPM journey memorable. Using Just Perform’s ‘process Definition Module’ business users can define their EPM process, over 100+ EPM Apps are available for immediate guidance. Process Leads can leverage User Insights Module to align EPM processes and generate a digitised report that helps in streamlining processes across the organisation. Inbuild Modeling capabilities of JustPerform, allows customers to quickly design and build the EPM process and seamlessly deploy them in SAP BPC system. JustPerform’s Sustain Module helps in maintaining SAP BPC systems with flexibility to make changes to business processes as and when required, Sustain Module also contains an in-built e-learning functionality for ongoing training needs. To provide a memorable experience, Red Apricot’s “Customer Success Owner” is assigned to each customer and helps them to follow the right path concerning the EPM process and systems to realise success.
Steering Forward the Wheels of Digitization & Automation
The finance function is going through a massive transformation embracing digital and automation technologies never like before and enhancing value to the business. Research into the finance function has also established that almost 70 percent of the finance function can be automated with the technologies available today.
Red Apricot considers this as the core focus areas of growth and has invested heavily into the next-gen technologies to support the finance function with digitisation and automation.
As digitisation and automation becomes the buzzword, “We are persistently exploring new ways of leveraging technology in the finance domain to automate all relevant operations and offering agile operating models to provide meaningful insights that could boost their finance performances,” says Kranthi.
The future of the EPM rests on the speed and agility that helps business to set up the EPM process in real time, and Red Apricot is undoubtedly flying high in leading this revolution. “Regarding our customer reach, we have a presence in ASEAN Countries, North America and India, we would be operationalising our partner models for JustPerform to reach out to the geographies like Europe, Australia and the Middle East in 2019,” concludes Tharik.
Integrated with built-in algorithms based on Machine Learning, JustPerform reads the EPM process defined by business users and automatically builds all models, configurations and business rules required for SAP BPC systems. “Upon Autobuild completion, we are ready with the Minimum Lovable Process (MLP) in SAP BPC in real quick time,” states Kranthi. He also mentions that this auto build functionally is supported for all variants of SAP BPC and helps to maintain a better SAP BPC system throughout its lifespan.
“Our JustPerform platform is time-tested, proven, and has a great success rate amongst customers, enabling us to deliver consistent results, reduce resource constraints and provide a better EPM project experience and value,” elucidates Tharik.
The Customer Experience
It’s a simple, enriching customer journey with the JustPerform approach for SAP BPC executions mentions Tharik, it assures the power of digitisation and automation to make EPM journey memorable. Using Just Perform’s ‘process Definition Module’ business users can define their EPM process, over 100+ EPM Apps are available for immediate guidance. Process Leads can leverage User Insights Module to align EPM processes and generate a digitised report that helps in streamlining processes across the organisation. Inbuild Modeling capabilities of JustPerform, allows customers to quickly design and build the EPM process and seamlessly deploy them in SAP BPC system. JustPerform’s Sustain Module helps in maintaining SAP BPC systems with flexibility to make changes to business processes as and when required, Sustain Module also contains an in-built e-learning functionality for ongoing training needs. To provide a memorable experience, Red Apricot’s “Customer Success Owner” is assigned to each customer and helps them to follow the right path concerning the EPM process and systems to realise success.
Steering Forward the Wheels of Digitization & Automation
The finance function is going through a massive transformation embracing digital and automation technologies never like before and enhancing value to the business. Research into the finance function has also established that almost 70 percent of the finance function can be automated with the technologies available today.
Red Apricot considers this as the core focus areas of growth and has invested heavily into the next-gen technologies to support the finance function with digitisation and automation.
As digitisation and automation becomes the buzzword, “We are persistently exploring new ways of leveraging technology in the finance domain to automate all relevant operations and offering agile operating models to provide meaningful insights that could boost their finance performances,” says Kranthi.
The future of the EPM rests on the speed and agility that helps business to set up the EPM process in real time, and Red Apricot is undoubtedly flying high in leading this revolution. “Regarding our customer reach, we have a presence in ASEAN Countries, North America and India, we would be operationalising our partner models for JustPerform to reach out to the geographies like Europe, Australia and the Middle East in 2019,” concludes Tharik.
November 20, 2018
