Top 8 Considerations when choosing an EPM Solution
Cloud Provider (or on premise): Is the solution available on major cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, and does your IT department have a preference for one of these providers over the others? Additionally, do you need to carefully consider data sovereignty issues and the specific location of the data centre, or do you lean towards an on premise solution?
Multi-Dimensionality / Sparsity handling: Can the solution effectively scale to accommodate growing data needs, and is it designed to handle data queries and operations quickly and efficiently?
Integration Capabilities / Options: It is crucial to understand how you will transfer data into the EPM solution and whether the platform provides its own ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) capabilities, or if you will need to source a separate tool to accomplish that task.
Writing and Maintaining Business Rules: How straightforward will it be to create the necessary models within the system, and how manageable will it be to maintain those models over time as business needs and requirements evolve?
Licensing Options and Costs: Each solution will present different pricing structures, so it is essential to thoroughly understand the total cost for multiple years, as well as how costs will vary depending on different user types and access levels.
Resource Availability (BPs and Accountants): Ideally, there will be multiple options available to consider for Business Partners' engagement, and it is always advantageous if your Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) staff members already have experience with the solution, enhancing their efficiency.
E-Learning & Community Availability: Review the e-learning materials provided with the solution, and ascertain whether these resources are offered for free as part of the license or if they incur additional charges. If there is a robust and active community supporting the solution, it will be considerably easier to find helpful resources and guidance.
Lifecycle Management & Governance: What specific capabilities does the solution offer for managing deployments from the Development environment to the Production environment, ensuring a smooth transition and adherence to governance standards?
