Cloud Solutions Best Practices: 2013 Benchmark Study

Results and Analysis from the Cloud Accounting Institute

Table of Contents
Study Background and Highlights...........................................................................................3 Cloud Adoption Status: Past, Present, and Future.....................................................................4 Types of Solutions .....................................................................................................5 Comparison to Saugatuck 2012 Survey .......................................................................6 Expected Benefits of Cloud Solutions......................................................................................7 Expressed Concerns about Cloud Solutions..............................................................................8 Integrating Cloud Solutions...................................................................................................10 Management............................................................................................................10 Maintenance............................................................................................................10 Benefits..................................................................................................................11 Current System Satisfaction Levels........................................................................................12 Expectations for Cloud Solutions...........................................................................................13

Appendix: About the Study..................................................................................................................14 Survey Questions......................................................................................................14 Demographics/Classifications....................................................................................17 About Cloud Accounting Institute..........................................................................................18 About Armanino..................................................................................................................18

2 | Cloud Solutions Best Practices: 2013 Benchmark Study | Cloud Accounting Institute

Background
In Q1 2013, the Cloud Accounting Institute (CAI) conducted a national survey of financial and accounting professionals concerning their current and intended future use of cloud solutions, commonly known as Software as a Service (SaaS) applications delivered through a public cloud. The survey is the basis for this benchmark study of cloud technology practices, outlooks, and trends based on the following topics: Cloud adoption status Key expected benefits of cloud solutions Key concerns about cloud solutions Expectations of cloud solutions Integration In addition, this report benchmarks some findings against the Cloud Accounting Best Practices 2012 Benchmark Study to identify emerging trends and established practices. To view a complete list of survey questions and survey respondent demographics, refer to the appendix.

Study Highlights
The rate of growth in cloud adoptions continues to accelerate, increasing over 43% in the last year to nearly 75%; the number of respondents indicating that they do not intend to use SaaS applications (18%) remains consistent with the 2012 study The most widely deployed solution areas currently are Accounting/Financial Management and front-end applications such as CRM and Web Portal Development Tools; both were selected by 52% of respondents Among those with plans to acquire SaaS solutions, 74% pointed to Accounting/ Financial Management and 50% indicated Budgeting/Forecasting Corporate Performance Management Solutions New this year are questions concerning integration challenges and how they are managed; responses indicate a substantial comfort level with using native cloud integration methods in house Comparative ratings of current versus SaaS functionality indicate that respondents believe that SaaS can deliver better ROI and increased efficiency; the demand for more efficient business processes is a major theme in this years survey

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Cloud Adoption Status: Past, Present, and Future

As in the previous 2012 study, respondents were asked to indicate whether they currently utilize cloud financial solutions, and if they intend to use them in the future. Below is a comparison of the 2012 and 2013 findings on the current and expected usage of cloud accounting.

2012
Do you currently use any cloud solutions, technologies, or Software as a Service (SaaS)?
Yes 52% No 48%

2013
Yes 75% No 25%

2012
Do you intend to use Cloud or Software as a Service for accounting solutions in the future?
Yes 83% No 17%

2013
Yes 82% No 18%

Findings on Cloud Adoption:

The number of respondents currently using cloud solutions has increased in the past year from 52% in 2012 to 75% The expected future usage of cloud accounting is similar across 2012 and 2013. This years survey found that 82% intend to use cloud or SaaS for accounting solutions in the future (compared to 83% in 2012)

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Cloud Accounting Insight:

Cloud use increased a dramatic 43% from 2012 to 2013. At the same time, the percentage of respondents who intend to use cloud-based SaaS accounting solutions in the future remained the same for both years82%. So while the rate of adoption is growing rapidly, the percentage of non-adopters seems fixed and is likely to remain so; on-premise and cloud solutions will continue to co-exist, but the on-premise model has lost its dominance, even in the novelty-resistant accounting field. Those who answered yes to the previous questions were asked what solutions they currently use or intend to use.

What cloud solutions, technologies, or software do you use? What cloud solutions, technologies, or software do you use?
71% 58%

Accounting/Financial Management Front-end Applications ERP

(CRM, Web Portal Development Tools)

32% 16% 13%

Business Intelligence Consolidation Budgeting/Forecasting/Corporate Performance Management HR Storage

10% 7% 7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

What cloud solutions, technologies, or software do you intend to use? What cloud solutions, technologies, or software do you intend to use?
74% 50%

Accounting/Financial Management
Budgeting/Forecasting/Corporate Performance Mgmt.

Front-end Applications ERP Business Intelligence

Consolidation

42% 41% 32%

19%

3% Other

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

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Findings on Type of Solution:

Front-end applications such as Front-end Applications (58%) and Accounting/Financial Management (71%) are the most-used solutions Accounting/Financial Management (74%) and Budgeting/Forecasting/Corporate Performance Management (50%) solutions are top solutions that respondents intend to use in the future Just under a third of respondents answered the question about current cloud deployments; nearly eighty percent of respondents shared their plans for the future.

Cloud Accounting Insight:

For our sample of small to midsize businesses (SMBs), Accounting and Financial Management represent the most widely used types of cloud application. Also, Accounting/Financial Management topped the list of intended future cloud-based purchases (71%), followed by Budgeting/Forecasting/Corporate Performance Management (51%); once businesses can align CRM with accounting and performance tracking along an infinitely flexible cloud backbone, business agility will increase at a phenomenal rate. Illustrating both the similarity and differences between SMB and enterprise adoptions, Gartner found CRM to be the leading cloud application among the large enterprises they surveyed, with cloud CRM generally being integrated with legacy on-premise systems.1

Comparison to Saugatuck 2012 Survey on Cloud Adoption:

Last year, the Cloud Accounting Institute benchmarked against the Saugatuck Technologys 2012 Global Cloud Business Software Survey to compare cloud adoption rates.2 Saugatuck projected that demand for SaaS Finance/Accounting solutions would grow at the rate of 12% in 2012 and 15% in 2013. Our 2013 survey results clearly indicate that the market grew faster than expected.

SaaS Business Software Purchase Plans

Collaboration / Communications / Social CRM / Salesforce Automation Customer Service / Support Human Resources / Talent Management eCommerce / Collaborative Commerce Procurement / Sourcing / Spend Management Software Development / Test Business Intelligence / Advanced Analytics Budgeting / Reporting / Planning Governance, Risk and Compliance ERP / Manufacturing / Supply Chain Finance / Accounting 0% Already in Use (by YE2011)
24% 27% 20% 22% 12% 16% 17% 13% 12% 8% 8% 12% 12% 12% 12% 10% 12% 13% 14% 15% 17% 13% 15% 12% 13% 16% 14% 15% 19% 16% 16% 16% 14% 14% 13% 10% 19% 19% 20% 17% 16% 16% 16% 18% 14% 17% 18% 12% 16% 15% 16% 14% 13% 13% 14% 15% 15% 16% 12% 13%

20% 2012

40% 2013

60% 2014

80%

100%

2015 or beyond

The current Saugatuck Strategic Planning Position states: Through 2016, 75% or more of NEW enterprise IT spend will be cloud-based or Hybrid.3 6 | Cloud Solutions Best Practices: 2013 Benchmark Study | Cloud Accounting Institute

Expected Benefits of Implementing Cloud Solutions

Respondents were questioned as to what benefits they expected from adopting a cloud financial solution. Top expected benefits from respondents are shown in the chart below.

What do you expect are the business benefits from adopting What are the business benefits of Cloud Solutions? Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions?
Simplify software management Reduce capital and/or operating cost Speed Implementation Leverage SaaS provider's technology Improve service levels Enable focus on core competencies

67% 65% 47% 41% 36% 36% 34% 33%

Improve internal/external collaboration Access next-generation application functionality

25% 19% 7%

Convert fixed IT costs to variable costs

Reduce risk

Increase Revenue

3% Other

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Findings on Expected Benefits:

The top three expected benefits from adopting Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions are simplifying software management (67%), reducing capital and/or operating costs (65%), and speedy implementation (47%) Compare to 2012: simplifying software management (75%), reducing capital and/or operating costs (64%), and improving internal and external collaboration (52%); speedy implementation was rated as the sixth benefit Increasing revenue was selected least frequently in both 2012 and 2013

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Cloud Accounting Insight:

Speed of implementation rose from sixth to third place on the list of expected benefits. Just as SaaS solutions make enterprise-grade solutions like CRM affordable for SMBs, so does the shorter time it takes to deploy cloud applications. Compared to on-premise systems, the SaaS model reduces implementation costs and decreases time to value; thus speed of implementation combines aspects of the top two expected benefitssimpler software management and overall cost reductionbut, by itself, it is less important as a driver of the adoption decision. Other expected benefits that did not rank high but were compelling include better remote access, user-friendly and easy access dashboards facilitate reporting, and improved visibility into reporting metrics.

Concerns of Implementing Cloud Solutions

Respondents rated their concerns about adopting a cloud financial solution. Rankings are shown in the chart below.
What are your top concerns about cloud computing? What are your top concerns about cloud computing?

Security concerns Integration challenges with other applications Total cost concerns Application performance

59% 51%

41% 26%
We can't find the specific functionality we need Difficulty and risk of migration or installation

21% 21% 12% 11% 8%

Complicated pricing models We're locked in financially with our current vendor

Other

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

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Findings on Concerns:
The top four responses (security concerns, integration challenges with other applications, total cost concerns, and application performance) all relate to what the SaaS vendor provides, while the bottom four relate to challenges the purchaser must manage internally Several other responses indicated concerns with trusting their data to a vendor whose long-term financial viability is not guaranteed Security, the second-highest concern (44%) in 2012, became the top concern for respondents in 2013 (59%) A pplication performance moved out of the top three concerns this year. Respondents are becoming more comfortable with the performance of cloud computing applications For some, their top concern was missing out on SaaS because of financial lock-in with their current vendor. This is the smallest group of responses for both 2012 and 2013. It partially explains the number (18%) that indicated that they dont intend to use SaaS in the future

Cloud Accounting Insight:

Leading cloud finance vendors are compliant with the top standards. That standard is the AICPAs SSAE 16 (formerly SAS 70) and its Service Organization Control reports.4 It is the marker that the software publisher has strong protections and metrics for privacy, uptime, security, availability, processing integrity, and confidentiality. Achieving the standard requires vendors to spend millions of dollars on their data centers and on security technologies. Few SMBs can afford to do the same. Cloud solutions allow customers to take advantage of the best security for a low cost. SAS 70 was originally designed as a report from auditor to auditor on the vendors internal controls, not as a report to the marketplace. The new SSAE 16 standard requires more detailed documentation of the vendors internal controls, sworn to by management, and thereby gives purchasers more grounds for trust and confidence in their cloud computing solutions. It also aligns reporting standards with globally accepted accounting principles. SSAE 16 certification is important to customers planning to expand internationally.

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Integrating Cloud Solutions

This year, the Cloud Accounting Institute Benchmark Study added three new questions to address integration challengesa consistent, top-ranking concern for respondents.
do you currently manage integration of cloud software solutions? How do you How currently manage integration of cloud software solutions?

We manage in-house with Application Programming Interface (API) plug-ins We outsource integration to a third-party specialist We ask our cloud vendor to manage integration with new solutions Other

36%

34% 33%

16%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

Findings on Integration Management:

Responses are spread almost evenly across all categories. The top response: 36% manage in-house with Application Programming Interface (API) plug-ins 34% outsource integration to a third party and 33% ask their cloud vendor to manage integration with new solutions

Cloud Accounting Insight:

APIs are what enable you to connect applications at the transactional or service-call level to perform specific functions such as storage, data access and computation. Cloud applications are essentially combinations of APIs and web services. Cloud publishers realized from the start that they had to enable customers to interface the cloud application with their websites or other applications, and they have become very good at writing open APIs. The top response in this categoryusing API plug-ins in-housesignals that users are comfortable with the integration method native to cloud environments. The other two optionsoutsourcing to a third-party integrator or using vendor servicesare more characteristic of users integrating with a hosted application or building a hybrid public/private cloud. These two options are more costly, even if published, open, and downloadable APIs are available for both systems. If they are not, writing the interfaces will involve custom programming and greater expense.

Who maintains cloud software integration for your organization? Who maintains cloud software integration for your organization?
We ask our cloud vendor to manage integration with new solutions
We manage in house with Application Programming Interface (API) plug-ins

35%

31% 31%

We outsource integration to a third-party specialist Other

11%
We manage in house, without APIs

4%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

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Findings on Maintaining Cloud Software Integration:

Again, responses are spread almost evenly across the three categories. The top response: 35% ask their cloud vendor to maintain application integrations during upgrades Outsourcing to a third party is the least-used method (31%) Several other responses indicated that they manage the upgrade in house, but without API plug-ins

Cloud Accounting Insight:

Many cloud vendors partner with other developers in their space and mutually maintain their APIs. They coordinate new releases between themselves, so their mutual customer never has to be concerned with whether upgrades will integrate. Even when a customer configures and integrates cloud applications independently using vendor-supplied API plug-ins, customizations dont break during upgrades. Two-thirds of the survey respondents fit in one of these two categories. Maintaining the integration between a cloud application and on-premises software during an upgrade cycle can be more problematic because open APIs are less common with legacy software. In addition, if the user has customized the legacy software at one release level, there is no guarantee that the modification will continue to work with the next release of the same software, much less that the new release will continue to work with the cloud application. This keeps third-party integrators in business, but it is costly for the customer.

What are the of of tighter between cloud solutions? What aretop the benefits top benefits tighter integration integration between cloud solutions?

A "single version of the truth" for improved management decision-making Reduce duplicate data entry Real-time reporting

70%

63% 63%

4%

Other

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

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Findings on Benefits of Tight Integration between Cloud Solutions:

The top benefit (65%) of tighter integration between cloud solutions is a single version of the truth for improved management decision-making The majority (over 50%) found each response to be a top benefit

Cloud Accounting Insight:

Much of the immediate ROI from cloud solutions derives from the labor savings, productivity increases, and improved data accuracy that comes from integrating applications to reduce or eliminate duplicate data entry. Having a single version of the truth for decision making takes a business to a higher level altogether, and real-time reporting (via queries, consolidations, or dashboards) is what makes it happen. Increasingly, businesses of all sizes depend on virtual teams working in dispersed locations. Integrated operations with a single version of the truth have an efficiency advantage.

Satisfaction Levels: Current Financial System

Respondents gave their feedback on their satisfaction with their current financial systems. We asked them how efficient their current system was on a number of factors. Results are shown below.

How efficient and effective is your current system at...

Providing financial information to decision makers Adapting to changing business or process requirements Recording transactions according to GAAP Maintaining an effective internal control structure and process
19% 26% 40% 12% 24% 28% 28% 21% 53% 20% 47% 44% 41% 38% 38% 41% 25% 24% 37% 37% 38% 31% 22% 19% 17% 21% 29% 24% 13% 11% 16% 14% 12% 10% 10% 10% 11% 7%
2% 2%

6%
2% 2%

Publishing complete and relevant information to stakeholders 4% Optimizing business processes 5% Reducing process inefficiencies 4% Improving ROI 4% Reducing fraudulent transactions Managing performance in the context of business risk 1 (Terrible) 2 (Poor)
10%

3 (Average)

4 (Good)

5 (Excellent)

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Findings on Current Financial System Satisfaction:

For purposes of comparison, this question set was modeled on one from Saugatuck Technologys 2008 survey The largest group of respondents in every category rated their current system as Average The largest concentration of Terrible and Poor responses clusters around optimizing business processes (33% combined) and reducing process inefficiencies (32% combined). In 2012, these two factors also received the lowest ratings but drew fewer responses (25% and 27% respectively); the 2013 ratings indicate mounting dissatisfaction in this area

Cloud Accounting Insight:

The fact that the greatest points of dissatisfaction relate to business process efficiency reinforces the impression conveyed by the main expected benefits (see page 7). The top drivers of SaaS upgrade decisions among SMB respondents are practical, tangible, and pay off in the near term.

Great Expectations: SaaS Solutions

After asking about current financial system satisfaction, we asked respondents to give us feedback on how efficient and effective they expected a SaaS/cloud solution to be, using the same criteria.

How efficient and effective do you expect a SaaS/cloud solution to be at

Providing financial information to decision makers Adapting to changing business or process requirements Recording transactions according to GAAP Maintaining an effective internal control structure and process Publishing complete and relevant information to stakeholders Optimizing business processes Reducing process inefficiencies Reducing fraudulent transactions Managing performance in the context of business risk 1 (Terrible) 2 (Poor)
2% 2%

12% 15% 25% 23% 20% 17% 24% 28% 35% 39%

50% 52% 40% 47% 42% 46% 41% 32% 37% 36%

38% 31% 35% 29% 38% 34% 32% 35% 25% 22%

Improving ROI 5%
2% 3%

3 (Average)

2%

2%

4 (Good)

5 (Excellent)

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Findings on Current Financial System Satisfaction:

The largest group of respondents in every category rated their expected SaaS solution as Good on all criteria except two: publishing complete and relevant information to stakeholders was rated Excellent and managing performance in the context of business risk was rated Average SaaS was rated as Excellent (38%) and Good (50%) at providing financial information to decision makers for a combined total of 88% of the responses The next highest combined satisfaction rating is for adapting to changing business or process requirements, which got a Good rating from 52% of respondents and an Excellent rating from 30%, for a combined total of 83%. Last year, the comparable total was 79% Respondents were more than twice as likely to give an Excellent rating to SaaS than to their current system

Cloud Accounting Insight:

Across the board, respondents expect SaaS solutions to perform more efficiently and effectively than their current system; the difference is pronounced when you look at optimizing business processes and reducing process inefficiencies. A third of the respondents rated these factors as Terrible and Poor when describing their satisfaction with current systems; by contrast, only 3.3% of respondents applied either rating to their expectations for SaaS solutions. An emphasis on increasing business process efficiency is a mark of the current economic climate, where the recession is fading away and cautious optimism is returning. Preparing for increased demand or market expansion by eliminating wasted money, time, and labor makes great sense now.

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Appendix
About the Study
The Cloud Accounting Institute conducted the second annual benchmark study in Q1 2013. For purposes of comparison, the question set was modeled after the Saugatuck Technologies study, with some modifications. The survey was distributed to professionals in the finance and accounting industries through multiple lists and associations, including the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), the University of Missouri Columbia School of Accounting, and several CFO lists. List of questions asked with answer choices below: 1. What is your job title? a. CEO b. CFO c. VP of Finance d. Controller e. Other 2. Do you currently use any cloud solutions, technologies, or Software as a Service (SaaS)? a. Yes b. No 3. If yes, what solutions? a. Accounting/Financial Management b. Budgeting/Forecasting/Corporate Performance Management c. Consolidation d. ERP e. Business Intelligence f. Front-end Applications such as CRM and Web Portal Development Tools g. Other 4. Do you intend to use Cloud or Software as a Service for accounting solutions in the future? a. Yes b. No 5. If yes, what solutions? a. Accounting/Financial Management b. Budgeting/Forecasting/Corporate Performance Management c. Consolidation d. ERP e. Business Intelligence f. Front-end Applications such as CRM and Web Portal Development Tools g. Other

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6. What do you expect are the business benefits from adopting Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions? a. Reduce capital and/or operating cost b. Simplify software management c. Improve service levels d. Speed implementation e. Enable focus on core competencies f. Convert fixed IT costs to variable costs g. Reduce risk h. Increase revenue i. Improve internal and external collaboration j. Access next-generation application functionality not available in current software k. Leverage SaaS providers leading-edge technology l. Other 7. What are your top concerns about cloud computing? a. Security concerns b. Integration challenges with other applications c. Total cost concerns (i.e., total cost of ownership) d. We cant find the specific functionality we need e. Difficulty and risk of migration or installation f. Application performance g. Complicated pricing models h. Were locked in financially with our current vendor i. Other 8. How efficient and effective is your current system at a. Providing financial information to decision makers b. Adapting to changing business or process requirements c. Recording transactions according to GAAP d. Maintaining an effective internal control structure and process e. Publishing complete and relevant information to stakeholders f. Optimizing business processes g. Reducing process inefficiencies h. Improving ROI i. Reducing fraudulent transactions j. Managing performance in the context of business risk 9. How efficient and effective do you expect a SaaS/cloud solution to be at a. Providing financial information to decision makers b. Adapting to changing business or process requirements c. Recording transactions according to GAAP d. Maintaining an effective internal control structure and process e. Publishing complete and relevant information to stakeholders f. Optimizing business processes g. Reducing process inefficiencies h. Improving ROI i. Reducing fraudulent transactions j. Managing performance in the context of business risk 16 | Cloud Solutions Best Practices: 2013 Benchmark Study | Cloud Accounting Institute

10. How do you currently manage integration of cloud software solutions? a. We manage in-house with Application Programming Interface (API) plug-ins b. We outsource integration to a third-party specialist c. We ask our cloud vendor to manage integration with new solutions d. Other 11. Who maintains cloud software integration for your organization to ensure it will upgrade? a. We manage in-house with Application Programming Interface (API) plug-ins b. We outsource integration to a third-party specialist c. We ask our cloud vendor to manage integration with new solutions d. Other 12. What are the top benefits of tighter integration between cloud solutions? a. Reduce duplicate data entry b. Real-time reporting c. A single version of the truth for improved management decision-making d. Other 13. How many employees does your company have? a. 1 10 b. 11 25 c. 26 100 d. 100 500 e. More than 500 14. What is your current accounting and financial management system? a. QuickBooks b. Microsoft Dynamics GP (Great Plains) c. Intacct 15. How many are active users of your accounting and financial management applications? a. 1 5 b. 6 10 c. 11 30 d. More than 30 16. Do you have users in remote locations? a. Yes b. No

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Demographics
In Q1 2013, the Cloud Accounting Institute conducted a national, online survey of finance
and accounting professionals

The survey drew 119 self-selected respondents who replied anonymously, compared to 63 for
the 2012 Benchmark Study

Most respondents are CFOs (23%) or Controllers (25%) Survey respondents represent a full range of company sizes: 26 100 employees (36%),
100 500 employees (21%), and more than 500 employees (16%)

Almost half of respondents (49%) represent companies with five or fewer active users of financial apps The majority of respondents (70%) support users in remote locations The majority of respondents (58%) are currently using QuickBooks and their accounting and
financial management system, followed by Microsoft Dynamics GP (26%), and Intacct (16%)

What is your job title?

Controller (25%) CFO (23%) Other (18%) CEO/President (14%) VP/Director of Finance (11%) VP/Other (6%) IT/CIO (3%)

How many employees does your company have? Company Size

1-10 (15%) 11-25 (12%) 26-100 (36%) 100-500 (21%) More than 500 (16 %)

Job Title

Number of Active Users

How many are active users of your accounting and financial management applications?
1-5 (49%) 6-10 (17%) 11-30 (17%) More than 30 (17%)

What is your current accounting & financial management system? Accounting & Financial Management System
Quickbooks (27%) Microsoft Dynamics GP (11%) Intacct (7%) SAP (7%) Microsoft Dynamics SL (5%) Other Microsoft (5%) Other (38%)

1 2 3 4

http://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2013/02/19/gartner-predicts-infrastructure-services-will-accelerate-cloud-computing-growth/ Saugatuck Technologies, Saugatucks 2012 Global Cloud Business Survey: Data Report, Special Abridged Version (7.1), March 21, 2012 http://saugatucktechnology.com/blog/entry/1168ra-2013-year-of-transition.html http://www.ssae16.org/what-is-ssae-16/why-a-new-standard.html

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About Cloud Accounting Institute

The Cloud Accounting Institute (CAI) provides information resources and promotes best practices for SaaS selection, migration, integration, and use. CAI publishes the Cloud Accounting blog, case studies, white papers, and sponsored research.

Lindy Antonelli,

Chairman & Executive Director Cloud Accounting Institute

1700 Park Street Ste 111, Naperville, IL 60563 P: 630.868.5000 E: questions@CloudAccountingInstitute.org

www.CloudAccountingInstitute.org

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