How to embrace your IT migration
It’s hard enough to manage your business finances without adding more complexity by using outdated IT systems. How do you know it’s the right time to upgrade your software?
This article will cover all the information you need when considering a financial IT migration. From pros and cons to upgrading your system to managing changes, this article covers it all.
- The status quo in financial IT systems
- When is it time to change?
- Why migrate to new finance IT systems?
- What are the pros and cons of using legacy IT systems?
- How to manage the changes that come with IT migration
- Final Thoughts
Financial IT systems: Challenge the status quo
If you’ve used an IT system for managing your business finances, it can be difficult to make a change. You have to balance the risks and benefits of upgrading with all of the work involved. You could be holding your business and yourself back by using a system you have outgrown.
Modern finance IT systems have become more intelligent and powerful with the introduction of AI and machine-learning. Even if you were happy with your system a few short years ago, it may be missing features and functions that would make your work and your co-workers’ lives easier. It is not as easy as just flipping a few switches to perform an IT migration. It takes time and effort to clean up and migrate the data, integrate other tools and retrain your employees. In order to remain productive and competitive, businesses must evaluate the benefits and ROI of a new platform.
What are the signs that it is time to change?
How do you decide if it’s the right time to migrate to a new IT system for finance? You can watch out for certain signs if you feel that your finance software is holding back your business. How to know if your IT is ready for a migration.
You are slowed down by your finance system
You will be frustrated by the user experience when you are faced with frequent outages or slow processing speeds. You also find yourself performing the same basic functions over and over.
The cost of maintenance and support is high
Spending more and more on maintaining your old tech. Frequent repairs suggest that it is a financial burden.
Near-misses in security and compliance have happened to you
Your business may have already experienced a cyber-attack or data breach due to your system’s inability keep up with the current regulatory requirements and cybersecurity threats.
Your system is not compatible with other systems
Your legacy finance system has been difficult to integrate with other applications. This makes it impossible for you to access the data that you need, and creates data black holes. You may have seen your teams relying on outdated data storage methods such as spreadsheets, resulting in hours or days of additional work to convert that data into useful reports.
Changes are not possible to meet the business needs
If your finance system is rigid, you won’t be able to scale up or adapt to new business requirements, such as facilitating remote working, creating a dashboard or report, or altering the way that you handle expenses.
Why should you migrate to a new IT finance system?
There are many reasons to upgrade to new financial software. The colossal change that we have experienced over the past few years is at the heart of many of these reasons. The technology has changed. Data has changed the way we make decisions. The customer’s behaviour and expectations has also changed. Businesses need to be able to keep up with the changes. They require software that is scalable, secure, and offers cost-effectiveness.
Here are a few of the reasons modern finance software can help you achieve better results and higher ROI, as well as why it’s the perfect time to migrate your finance IT.
Technology advancement
Cloud computing, AI, machine learning and Robotic Process automation (RPA) bring huge benefits to finance software systems. They help you make smarter, faster decisions, automate tedious tasks and benefit from a more flexible, scalable and cost-effective IT infrastructure.
Security and compliance improved
Modern finance systems are equipped with advanced cybersecurity features such as multi-factor authentication and encryption. They also include real-time threats or outliers detection. These features protect your business against increasingly sophisticated and common cyber attacks.
Future proof systems also help you stay up to date with the ever-changing data and privacy laws with features like automated compliance monitoring, reporting and more.
Cost efficiency
Modern finance IT solutions are cloud-native, and they operate on a Software as a Service model (SaaS), which reduces maintenance costs and initial investment. Automation and smarter workflows can also free up resources and time for routine tasks. This allows you to focus on creating value.
Scalability and flexibility
Cloud-based finance systems can easily be scaled up to meet the needs of changing markets and business growth. This makes them more flexible, and allows for easier integration with other business management software like ERP or CRM.
This will give your finance leaders an accurate picture of the company and help to improve operations across the board.
Better user experience
The newer systems have user-friendly features and interfaces that are easier to understand for you, your team and your colleagues. Some solutions include IT migration, training support and educational materials.
You can use many of these apps on your mobile device to get things done wherever you are.
Data-driven decision-making
Adapting a modern finance systems offer advanced analytics and real time reporting, allowing you to gain deeper insights and make better strategic decisions. This allows you to make more accurate forecasts and smarter long-term planning, as well as adapting more quickly.
Competitive Advantage
With newer IT systems for finance, businesses have access to more tools that allow them to innovate and react more quickly to changes in the market. Modern technology helps businesses to meet the modern expectations of customers for quick service, transparency and personalisation.
Business continuity and disaster recovery
You may have experienced the importance of business dependability first-hand in the past few years. Modern finance systems provide enhanced disaster recovery plans and business continuity planning, reducing the risk of disruption and downtime.
Cloud-based solutions offer regular, automated data backups that will protect you against data loss.
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What are the pros and cons of using legacy IT systems?
Are you still on the fence regarding a migration to a new IT finance system? We’ll look at the pros and cons of using your legacy software.
The pros of using a legacy IT finance system
Familiarity, stability and familiarity
You will only need to provide minimal training for your employees. While your legacy financial system may not be the most cutting-edge technology, it is probably reliable and stable.
Cost considerations
Continue to use the legacy system to avoid costs associated with migrating to a different system. These include purchasing licenses, implementation assistance, and training.
Customisations
It is possible that your legacy system has been modified over the years in order to meet the evolving financial needs and workflows for your business. This may include deeply integrated processes which may or may be impossible to duplicate without disrupting your operations.
Compliance with regulatory requirements
If you have been using your legacy system for some time, it’s likely that you already have compliance processes and reporting systems in place. These mechanisms have helped to reduce your risk of non-compliance.
With a legacy IT finance system, you already know your limitations and have probably put in place mitigations. Is it the most cost-effective and efficient way to move forward into a world that is constantly changing?
Cons of using a legacy IT systems
Costs that are not necessary
The use of outdated financial IT can lead to a lot unnecessary expenditure. It can be expensive to hire a specialist who knows how to maintain and support older hardware or software. Inadequate security measures or unpatched vulnerabilities in legacy systems can lead to costly data breaches and noncompliance penalties. Inefficiencies in operations can lead to bottlenecks that reduce productivity and ROI. Data silos can be caused by a lack of integration or slow integration into more modern applications. This may require manual data handling, expensive workarounds, and/or costly workarounds.
These costs can quickly add up and easily outweigh any savings that you may have achieved by not upgrading your system.
Risks to security and compliance
It is common for tech providers to reduce or discontinue support of outdated systems. This makes it difficult to obtain necessary patches, updates, or support if things don’t work as they should. The older systems will struggle to adapt to the new laws and regulations, which increases the risk of your business not being able to meet compliance requirements. When your software isn’t supported fully, you are vulnerable to cyberattacks, data breaches, and other malicious attacks.
Integration Issues
To get a full picture of your company and its finances, interoperability is essential. Legacy finance systems are often incompatible with newer applications and technology, resulting in data silos which can be difficult to consolidate. The data is not flowing properly, and you cannot access advanced analytics or real-time reports.
Innovation and Competitiveness
Most legacy systems lack the latest features, such as AI, machine-learning, and advanced analytics. These can all provide valuable business insights and efficiency. You are at a disadvantage and risk being left behind by competitors who use these technologies to make quicker, more informed decision.
IT migration brings about a lot of change.
The change is the biggest challenge when migrating from an old financial IT system to a new one. Change is the only constant in business today. However, it can be challenging to manage. Interruptions in day-today operations can impact productivity and service delivery. This leads to frustration both internally and externally. The migration process often involves financial investments and resource allocation, which can cause the focus to be diverted from other areas.
Some employees who are used to an old system may hesitate to migrate due to uncertainty over the features of the new platform or fear about learning new skills. People get used to a certain method or tool, even if it isn’t efficient. Change is a risk, and it can be a failure. There are technical problems, data loss or failed implementations that could occur. This creates a natural apprehension around migration projects.
There are still many ways to manage change successfully. Preparing your organization for the transition in advance can help make it easier.
Here are some things you can to do ensure that your IT finance migration is smooth:
Engage early: Involve key stakeholders as well as anyone who will be using the system during the early stages. Gather feedback on their concerns and needs. This allows them to be involved in the decision-making, creates a sense ownership and reduces resistance once the system is live.
Plan everything: Create a detailed financial IT Migration plan, which includes timelines, resource allocating, risk management strategies, and contingency planning to help you manage any challenges more effectively. You will have more support for the migration if you mitigate the negative effects of it before they happen.
Maintain constant, open and transparent communication throughout the IT migration. Inform users about the reasons behind the change, what benefits they will enjoy and how the changes will affect their role to reduce their anxiety. It is important to share regular updates about the project’s status so that there are no unpleasant surprises.
You’ll need to provide thorough training to employees and offer ongoing support in order to adapt them to the new financial system. Training that is tailored to the individual needs of users and based on their skill level can reduce anxiety and build confidence.
Slow and steady is the key. Modern finance IT systems are complex and wide-ranging, so it makes sense to introduce a new system gradually, focusing first on less important modules or introducing it to smaller sections of your organisation. This pilot (or phased) migration approach allows you to troubleshoot issues and make adjustments prior to full-scale implementation.
Final Thoughts
It’s a fact that legacy finance IT systems, no matter how good they were in the past are not suitable for modern businesses. The technology is always evolving and creating new opportunities. You will be further behind if you continue to cling on to the status-quo.
Upgrade your system to Sage Intacct, a feature-rich, modern solution, which can help you reduce time by automating and make better decisions faster with advanced analytics. This also frees up staff to make strategic decisions, and gives them more time for their personal lives. Migrating to a different system might seem like an overwhelming task, but those who do it will reap the benefits not only now but also in the future. This is where X3 Consulting can step in and make the migration process even simpler as your trusted Sage migration partner.
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