The excitement of the in-person Google Cloud Next event might be winding down, but the buzz around AI, personalization and customer experience is just getting started. Unpack the announcements and what was showcased for OpenTextTM Experience Cloud with these four game-changers ahead for marketing:
1. Intelligent and data-driven experiences
What if you could tap into data, intelligence, and AI to deliver highly personalized and better-performing experiences? Here’s what that looks like with OpenText Experience Cloud and Google Cloud:
AI for generative and predictive experiences: OpenText announced, demo’ed and presented on OpenText Experience Aviator at GoogleNext.OpenText Experience Cloud integrates with Google Vertex, bringing capabilities including GenAI, ImageAI and predictiveAI to name a few. Generative AI capabilities can speed time to market for communications, ensure compliance and improve existing content for greater simplicity, understanding and empathy with customers.
Personalized and orchestrated journeys: Think of the last time you had a truly outstanding customer experience. What made it so memorable? It likely was purpose-built just for you – and unfolded seamlessly as if the provider knew exactly what you needed before you even had to ask. The best experiences are deeply personalized. OpenText Experience CDP and Core Experience Insights integrate actions and analyze experiences with Google Data (Google BigQuery and Google Analytics 4), allowing marketers to create personalized customer journeys, next best offer and a variety of other experiences utilizing powerful big data solutions.
Powerful analytics: Audience, behavior and content analytics provide insights into better-performing experiences. GA4 and BigQuery integrate with a broad range of Google Marketing Platform capabilities, including SEO, Ads and many more.
2. High-octane operations
Gain scale, performance, and ease of operations with the unified OpenText Experience Cloud running on Google Cloud:
Faster time to market: New instances can be deployed or retired. Managed Services keeps you current with the latest version.
Scalability and flexibility: Cloud computing gives your business more flexibility. Quickly scale resources and storage up to meet business demands without having to invest in physical infrastructure.
Advanced security: Cloud computing can strengthen your security posture with the depth and breadth of security features, automatic maintenance, and centralized management.
Data loss prevention: Gain backup and disaster recovery features. Storing data in the cloud rather than locally can help prevent data loss in the event of an emergency, like a hardware malfunction, malicious threat or even simple user error.
3. Developer-friendly and business user composability
It’s easy to extend and develop experiences with OpenText APIs (content source frameworks) and out-of-the-box connectors. Component-based composability makes it easier to develop, manage and deploy experiences. OpenText Experience Cloud brings together developers and business users by integrating developer tools with low-code dynamic experiences in a hybrid, headless creation and deployment environment.
4. Better together: innovate with trusted partners
Modernize and evolve your customer experience initiatives with confidence. Google and OpenText have a long and successful history of joint customer offerings and solutions:
Co-innovation: joint development initiatives and investments for OpenText integrations with Google Cloud: BigQuery, GA4 and a new Vertex AI integration, as well as a new integration with Google Workspace
Preferred Hyperscaler: OpenText’s Experience Cloud runs on Google Cloud. The default SaaS offering for the Experience Cloud is the Google Cloud.
Joint solution offering in Google Marketplace: OpenText Experience Cloud solutions are available in the Google Marketplace. Customers can use their Google credits and for the Google sales team (Google Sellers can get quote recognition).
Commitment to customer success: OpenText has a deep bench of skills, services and support programs managed by over 24,000 information management professionals, over 1,000 customer service experts and 24×7 global support. OpenText has also created and certified on Google Cloud Kubernetes reference architectures.
The growth our company has experienced in moving to cloud wouldn’t be possible without the benefit of being part of this exclusive group that is helping to shape OpenText’s strategy and direction.
Todd Soisson, IT VP of business experience, Tokio Marine North America Services
The power of collaboration
Customer engagement programs hold the key to transforming how organizations connect with their audiences. These immersive programs are more than just meetings; they are dynamic platforms for innovation, networking, and knowledge-sharing. At OpenText, we firmly believe in the importance of an effective customer dialog to help shape our strategy.
To that end, we invite you to become a pivotal part of our journey where your voice shapes the future. We believe that collaboration drives innovation, and your insight is the compass guiding our path forward.
Join us, and let’s create something extraordinary together. Be at the forefront of transformative discussions, influence product development, and network with like-minded professionals. To help you better understand the benefits, here are 5 reasons to get involved with OpenText Customer Engagement Programs.
Explore the world of collaborative innovation, where your voice matters and your feedback shapes our future.
Discover innovative technologies and tools for boosting your business. Stay ahead of the curve with insights into the latest innovations.
Connect with peers, professionals, and potential collaborators. Join hundreds of like-minded professionals to build valuable relationships that can open doors for you and your organization.
Gain direct access to OpenText product experts and leadership.
Stay for the full conference to experience our packed agenda meant to help you find the foundational tools and platforms you need to scale your business.
Focus on what matters to you
We are running a range of meetings to support the broad array of products being highlighted at OpenText World. Here’s a quick snapshot of the agenda of Customer Engagement meetings already planned.
At OpenText World, we’re not just attendees; we’re a community of innovators, and your seat at the table is waiting.
“I was honored when asked to join OpenText’s Customer Advisory Board. There’s great value in hearing how other customers are using the same products and it’s encouraging to know our voices matter in future releases. I’ve learned a lot and get new insights from my peers,” said Todd Soisson, IT VP of Business Experience with Tokio Marine North America Services. “The growth our company has experienced in moving to cloud wouldn’t be possible without the benefit of being part of this exclusive group that is helping to shape OpenText’s strategy and direction.“
Where do you start? Next steps
Sign up to join our exclusive programs and our next in-person sessions at OpenText World in Las Vegas starting on October 10. As a member of our engagement programs, you benefit from exclusive offers to join OpenText World in Las Vegas – ask us about them. Or register to attend OpenText World and note your interest in joining our Customer Engagement Programs while at the event.
What’s the fastest growing department in your organization today? In many cases it’s Customer Success, with good reason. Understanding and managing the outcomes of customers is vital to the health of any organization, including OpenText. So OpenText proudly announces our L.O.V.E.TM by OpenText model focused on our outcome-driven customer engagement framework. L.O.V.E. by OpenText actively supports you as you navigate your OpenText journey. We’ve curated resources designed to ensure your success and help you meet your business goals, with the right services at the right time to drive your outcomes.
What is L.O.V.E.?
L.O.V.E. goes far beyond ensuring successful deployments. We focus on the entire customer journey—Land, Operate, Value, and Expand—to ensure seamless engagement, onboarding, adoption, and planning for future growth and optimization of OpenText solutions. It stands on four clear principles:
Land together: We start your OpenText journey with something not many other vendors do—we take the time to listen and learn so we understand everything it is you’re trying to achieve. By doing this, Customer Success enables a smooth transition from sales to post-sales activities for a seamless onboarding experience. Our approach provides positive, proactive guidance that can deliver a faster time to value for true business transformation. We work hard to earn respect and deliver return on investment. And we don’t just focus on the short term. We take your medium- and long-term goals into consideration as well.
Operate: Here we focus on best-in-class implementations and continual successful operations through our Technical Success and Success Management Services. Our OpenText Customer Success Portal (login required) connects customers with free resources, access to communities, best practices for success planning, forums, software, articles, technical documentation, and more. We don’t leave you alone for this important step. Our experts are available 24×7 around the world, and we deliver new product innovation every 90 days to ensure you’re not just competitive, but you lead the pack.
Value: After Operate, we bring value by partnering with our customers to optimize OpenText solutions to meet your business needs. Our goal is to provide the Product and Success resources you need to support your journey with OpenText. Here we help you drive and realize value with a regular cadence of insights to build your digital future and create innovation for your business.
Expand: Strong, proactive customer engagement begins with the first “moment of truth” and extends throughout the entire journey. We help you adapt by providing the right tools and assets to ensure customer health, reflection, and achievement for a successful partnership so you continue to get every ounce of value from your investment.
It starts with our people
At the core of our purpose is Customer Success—a relentless dedication to turning commitments into tangible outcomes, reaffirmed through our daily actions. That means we hire customer-centric, active listeners, who are passionate about both understanding what our customers want and helping them achieve their goals. Every OpenText employee acts as if they are an owner of the business, and we aren’t afraid to push and challenge each other to be our best and achieve the most we can for our customers. It’s how we all succeed together.
Join us at OpenText World
Did you hear the news? OpenText™ World will be back in Las Vegas October 11-12! Whether this will be your first time or you’re a repeat attendee, this is one event you won’t want to miss.
Our theme this year is “The future of AI.” What will it mean for your organization and the way you work? How can it help you automate processes, manage and protect information, and collaborate efficiently? Check out all of our planned sessions, then register today to secure the best, limited-time pricing. Learn more about our OpenText Customer Success Services and be part of our L.O.V.E. journey.
Meet Mav, a trusted partner for your AI journey. Mav is an AI-generated moose, inspired by the Canadian Mountie who protects citizens against crimes and attacks. He stands tall but is quick to help you leverage AI across your enterprise safely. He’s an expert in cybersecurity to bring Large Language Models (LLMs) to your private data sets and to help you reimagine how you can transform work. This moose knows how to chart a trusted and secure course to get you to where you need to be.
You: What kinds of things can AI help my organization with?
Mav: There are so many…AI can help you create new types of customer engagement, build smarter products, improve internal operations, make better decisions…
You: With data in different places and sources, can AI help me protect my organization from cyberthreats and vulnerabilities?
Mav: Definitely. AI can help you continuously protect data, applications and identities. You can keep users safe and productive, stay ahead of malware, and catch threats in real time with AI-driven cybersecurity.
Improving enterprise cybersecurity is one of the most anticipated benefits that AI promises to deliver. According to Forrester’s Data And Analytics Survey, 2022, 22% of survey respondents at healthcare, financial services and government organizations said they are already using or plan to use AI technologies to mitigate security risks. The technology is increasingly playing a crucial role in helping customers deal swiftly with threats, and the benefits are clear.
Detect and respond to threats faster
The advent of AI-driven cybersecurity comes at a crucial time, as threat detection grows more challenging every day. Geo-political borders add complexity to cybersecurity, with data traversing through different jurisdictions that have varying regulations and standards for data protection. Cyberthreats, however, are not confined to geographical borders; they are widespread and ubiquitous. AI can play an instrumental role in navigating this intricate landscape by analyzing patterns across diverse and global data flows, providing real-time threat detection that transcends boundaries.
Also complicating the threat landscape is the ever-evolving human element. Behind every attack, ultimately, is a human, and humans have the ability to be incredibly creative. Whether it’s external bad actors attempting to infiltrate your network, internal bad actors who are already doing damage, or well-meaning users who accidentally expose a weakness, the human element grows more challenging to defend against.
While conventional security measures can adequately detect known threats, such as existing malware, the creativity and sophistication of human actors necessitate AI. For example, with AI you can more readily catch those who misuse permissions to harm the system from within or detect anomalous behavior that could signal an impending threat.
AI also significantly improves the ability to respond rapidly. There’s nothing that AI can do that a smart, scaled human can’t do; however AI solutions can operate continuously, without the limitations that human operators face, such as the need for sleep or breaks. AI can work to automate processes and run detection around the clock to find threats quickly and respond.
Simplify security
AI’s role in simplifying security is akin to automating what a human threat hunter does. The process of identifying threats is hypothesis-driven, involving finding a pattern of a potential threat and then looking for other similar instances. AI can automate this process, integrating data from various sources, synthesizing it, and engaging in a dialogue with experts to identify potential threats. By providing context, AI helps to streamline security measures, allowing users to act confidently.
“With complexity, the odds are always in favor of the attacker,” explains Stephan Jou, leader of security analytics at OpenText Cybersecurity. “AI adds the context to simplify security; it gives you insight to focus. It provides that context for simplifying actions that can be taken with a high level of confidence.”
AI-driven cybersecurity also offers organizations the breadth and scope of capabilities to see a complete perspective of an attack. This birds-eye view is critical for mitigation actions. For example, knowledge gleaned analyzing a suspicious packet sent to a consumer user’s laptop in Brazil immediately protects a mission-critical large enterprise server in Ireland, all because the content can be categorized instantly and accurately as it is received. AI speeds up the human intelligence to make those smarter decisions.
AI + information management
To better protect, detect and rebound from attacks, AI-driven cybersecurity should be comprehensive, highly integrated, automated and embedded in everything from code to core to cloud. The next generation of innovation will be driven by AI and built on information management. OpenText is committed to helping customers solve complex problems faster and simpler by using AI and LLMs integrated into our information management software.
See AI innovation in action
Join us for OpenText World 2023 in Las Vegas October 11 – 12, where you’ll gain actionable insights and strategies to help you navigate the cognitive era with confidence. Don’t miss our featured keynote speakers, including the president of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, Carol Rollie Flynn. Well-known for her engaging presentations about the intersection of AI and cybersecurity, she will offer OpenText World attendees a glimpse into how AI can bolster cybersecurity efforts and strategies to stay ahead of evolving threats.
Also at OpenText World, we’ll showcase Cybersecurity Aviator that uses AI to detect and manage security threats. OpenText World attendees will have an opportunity to hear more details about this new capability and also see a demo of it during the OpenText Cybersecurity Keynote and on the show floor.
Register for OpenText World today and take off on your AI journey with OpenText as your trusted partner.
ERP modernization is a hot topic as many organizations look to move from the monolithic ERP systems of the past to new and flexible cloud-based composable ERP solutions. However, the process of implementing new ERP programs is far from straightforward. Some estimates put the failure rate of implementing new ERP as high as 75%. Gartner has also predicted that 30% of companies introducing composable ERP will still fail to meet their objectives.
ERP modernization has placed the challenges of integration front and center. Selecting the right integration partner can help remove the risk from your ERP modernization program.
Business agility and resilience are the new focus for ERP capabilities. Organizations now require discrete cloud-based ERP apps that supply best-of-breed solutions for specific business functions. Often referred to as composability, it breaks down ERP functionality into more focused chunks. ERP vendors have responded by delivering next-generation solutions – such as SAP• S4/HANA or OracleTM NetSuite. These vendors essentially allow organizations to choose the ERP functionality and capabilities they need.
Organizations look to complementary systems, such as CRM, supply chain and accounting systems, to round out their enterprise application portfolio. Increasingly, they have a mixture of on-premises and cloud ERP solutions from different vendors depending on their business requirements.
ERP integration is top priority
Using a collection of independently designed cloud applications instead of a single, modular ERP suite provides flexibility. However, it also makes integration between the different applications and business processes critical. That is before companies take into account new digital data formats from IoT and mobile systems.
Integrating data from multiple sources in their ERP environments has become a top priority for IT and business leaders.
Recent research suggests that 91% of organizations see modernizing their ERP integration capabilities as core to their ERP modernization program. Replacing disparate legacy integration tools with a single modern integration platform reduces business risk, lowers total cost of ownership, and minimizes business disruption. In fact, almost 80% of SAP customers state managing business disruption is a key requirement of their ERP migration.
A central integration platform will help drive successful ERP modernization programs. However, many organizations also look for integration partners to bring the skills and expertise to overcome their ERP integration challenges.
The right integration partner can help:
Build agility and resilience
The drive to create agile and resilient business models requires organizations to continually expand their ERP capabilities. That also includes the complementary enterprise systems around the ERP core. As digital transformation accelerates, the average large organization can have more than 1,000 applications and systems. Today, enterprises must connect to and leverage new forms of data from their ERP and multiple other systems and applications more frequently than ever.
Simple point-to-point integrations will not work with many internal applications and external partners needing to connect and share data. The result of poor integration can translate directly into costly system downtime.
63% of companies reported ERP connectivity losses due to integration issues. The percentage jumped to 76% for organizations that did not use a centralized integration platform.
Integration providers, such as OpenText that deliver services from a centralized integration platform can ease ERP challenges with any-to-any integration capabilities that allow organizations to create a modern and agile digital infrastructure. OpenText also provides self-service tools enabling business users to handle simple integration tasks directly.
Avoid program and budget overruns
Modernizing your ERP is always a major endeavour, and like every enterprise change program it is at risk from program creep and budget overrun. In addition to the high cost, ERP projects are often complex to manage, require collaboration across various stakeholders and take several years to complete. In 2022 roughly 1 in 3 organizations could not complete the ERP project within the estimated project timeline, while 7% experienced significant overruns.
A strategic focus on integration is essential from the start. Start with understanding and planning for the required levels and types of integration. Build in time for proper testing and implementation to ensure that integrations don’t adversely affect operations when the new ERP capabilities go live. An integration partner should have experience in ERP modernization within your specific industry and be highly skilled in cloud migration and hybrid ERP environments.
Improve internal and external data flows
Many ERP modernization programs involve migrating to the cloud. One of the key benefits of this transition is to move from the highly customized ERP environments of the past. This type of modernization often transfers features and logic from within the existing ERP system to smaller ERP apps or alternative enterprise applications.
Your ERP capabilities must now communicate seamlessly with CRM, HR, warehousing, supply chain, and SCM systems, to name only a few. In addition, many new digital sources, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and other edge data, add to the deluge of information that needs to populate your ERP capabilities.
The supply chain is pivotal to sustained business success in many industries. This fuels the need for secure and effective information sharing and collaboration across buyers, suppliers, logistics providers and other parties. This entire ecosystem relies heavily on automated data exchange between the organization’s ERP and external partner systems.
44% of the transactional data in modern ERPs comes from external sources.
A modern, centralized, cloud-based integration platform can support this level of internal and external connectivity while delivering a scalable platform as your business grows. While some integration providers come from a system integration background, others, like OpenText, have developed their platform based on connectivity and information sharing across global internal and external user communities.
Untangle integration spaghetti
Integration also plays a crucial role in transitioning to modern ERP systems. According to Gartner, 40 % of ERP implementations underachieve specifically due to underinvestment in integration. Companies develop a patchwork of = tools and platforms to deal with specific systems and challenges. Organizations with a mix of integration solutions suffer from inefficiencies and poor performance. They are also unable to embrace newer integration technologies, such as APIs, quickly and consistently.
Companies using a centralized integration platform tend to experience fewer connectivity issues. Yet only 33% are already using a centralized platform. Most integration partners offer a Cloud-based unified integration platform with a host of pre-built integration templates and best practices to speed implementation and improve the quality and security of your ERP integrations.
Overcome the skills deficit
For many organizations, a shortage of integration skills is one of the biggest challenges during ERP modernization. According to IDG, 86% of organizations have experienced delays with ERP integration and the main reason for these delays is the lack of integration expertise.
Securing the right integration skills is crucial for successful ERP migrations, particularly since ERP projects already suffer from a lack of skilled staff across the board. Working with an integration partner is an ideal way to plug that skills gap and ensure a successful ERP modernization program.
Select the right integration partner
Enterprises must build a future-proof integration strategy to meet current needs while allowing scalability as their requirements evolve. This calls for careful selection of integration partners and solution providers and extensive coordination across the enterprise. Your partner will help you take stock of your existing integration solutions and devise a roadmap that helps develop the required capabilities while navigating the transition of your ERP modernization program.
Additionally, you gain access to a centralized integration infrastructure with a host of related solutions. For example, OpenText™ Business Network helps companies connect any integration endpoints, whether internal applications or external trading partner systems, and intelligently and flexibly orchestrate data flows between them.
This is particularly helpful for organizations looking at migrating to a new ERP system while managing numerous integrated trading partners. Many of these trading partners have fragmented integration environments that can add additional risk to the ERP modernization program if not managed correctly.
Whether it’s time, money or people, midsized enterprises (MSEs) are feeling the squeeze, with ongoing economic fluctuations and talk of a pending recession. Point in case: a recent Gartner® report shows that 75 percent or more of MSE CIOs will experience shrinking budgets in absolute economic terms this year.[1]
The common approach: do more with less. Yet, this sends a message to employees that productivity expectations are on the rise while supporting resources (personnel and technology) will shrink. Not exactly a motivating mantra.
Instead of emphasizing output and the need to produce more, more, more, it’s important to look at current workplace solutions and whether they are helping, or hurting, business operations.
Where can efficiencies be gained?
Where can we remove bottlenecks?
What manual processes are slowing us down?
By leaning on technology to enable talent to work smarter (not harder), MSEs can be better prepared for a potential recession and the challenges that come with it. By creating an improved employee experience that leads to new productivity gains, organizations may successfully do more with less.
Here are four questions to get you started.
1. Is our technology future-proof?
Look around to assess how the workplace solutions you have in place today are being used and how well they can adapt to an uncertain future. During times of economic uncertainty and recession, it’s critical to be able to pivot and adapt using technology solutions that are quicker and simpler to deploy, configure, manage and use—helping to reduce the cost to the business and improve employee productivity.
For organizations with on-prem or hybrid environments, future-proofing can mean migrating some or all of your applications to the cloud or shifting to a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering, starting with employee productivity and collaboration tools. A survey from 451 Research shows that 73 percent of IT professionals either somewhat (46%) or completely (27%) agree that SaaS is the preferred deployment model for new applications.[2]
Modernizing applications to boost staying power is a critical part of digital transformation, but the reality is that not every organization is ready to make a radical or rapid transition to the cloud. By taking a hybrid approach and using cloud-based applications to address specific use cases, there are huge benefits to be gained. In the case of cloud content management, the focus is not just on moving content to the cloud but being able to integrate and surface the right content within the context of key business processes—making content more usable and accessible and processes more efficient.
2. Where can we reduce digital friction?
At most organizations, content remains scattered across multiple systems, with 47 percent of digital workers struggling to find information or data needed to effectively perform their jobs.[3] Therefore, it’s important to reduce areas of digital friction, identifying where employees use unnecessary time, effort and resources to get their work done and maximizing investments in existing tools that are delivering desired productivity results.
With technology largely or fully replacing in-office interaction for many workers, MSEs need to consider how workplace applications impact the digital employee experience. When done right, fully supporting remote and hybrid work, secure collaboration tools can boost an employee’s desire to stay loyal to a company.
Meet teams where they are already working, delivering needed information, in context, to the applications employees rely on most. By leveraging complementary content management solutions that easily integrate with Microsoft® 365, SAP®, Salesforce®, Google Workspace and other key business applications, MSEs can reduce digital friction and improve the employee experience by eliminating the need to switch between applications. In addition to expanding the use of existing everyday apps, organizations can better utilize existing information by connecting content to workflows for new information insights.
3. How can we improve sales and service?
Maintaining optimal sales and service operations is critical when facing an economic recession. Yet many teams still struggle with disconnected processes, an increasing volume of mismanaged inbound information and incomplete information flows, hurting sales opportunities and customer experiences. Salesforce found that 72 percent of a sales rep’s time is spent on non-selling administrative tasks, with 8 percent spent on manual entry of customer and sales information.[4]
By consolidating on a single cloud content management system connected directly to Salesforce, MSEs can securely manage Salesforce content in the cloud to not only alleviate IT burden, but also transform sales and service processes.
With the automated capture, classification and upload of documents from various sources, information is routed to the right people and processes, providing a 360-degree customer view to shorten resolution times, reduce manual workloads and improve how Salesforce is used.
4. Where can we lean on AI?
AI has the power to bring speed, efficiency and digital transformation to MSE sales, R&D, finance, engineering, and marketing operations while allowing employees to be more strategic and valued. The right AI tools, when leveraged effectively, can spur growth and innovation—music to a company’s ears if a recession looms.
AI can transform content management for MSEs and dramatically improve how employees interact with content. By embedding AI solutions into content platforms, organizations create better experiences for content users, such as using conversational search to quickly find related content, leveraging personalized recommendations for related content and more quickly creating new business documents based on information across data sources, such as Salesforce and SAP. The end result: MSEs work smarter armed with smarter information.
[1] Gartner® 2023 CIO and Technology Executive Agenda, a Midsize Enterprise Perspective, January 9, 2023
GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
[2] 451 Research, IT Turns Its Attention to Employee Productivity and its Preference Towards SaaS, 2021
[3] Gartner ® Press Release, Gartner Survey Reveals 47% of Digital Workers Struggle to Find the Information Needed to Effectively Perform Their Jobs, May 10, 2023
[4] Salesforce®, State of Sales Report, Fifth Edition, December 2022
It is no secret that the advantages of accounts payable (AP) automation are widely acknowledged. In short, the concept is a compelling proposition. It allows organizations to eliminate the laborious and time-intensive tasks linked to the payables process. Just removing these manual responsibilities from the equation is a proposal anyone would jump at. Who wouldn’t want to streamline and enhance their financial processes?
While the promises of automation are significant, the journey is not without challenges. These challenges are the hurdles that businesses often face when trying to optimize their accounts payable processes. By outlining these challenges and understanding how automation solutions, like those offered by OpenText, can help, you can identify the best path forward for you and your organization.
Common challenges in accounts payables process optimization
Manual Data Entry and Errors: Traditional paper-based accounts payable processes involve significant manual data entry, which increases the risk of errors and discrepancies. Mistakes in entering invoice information, such as incorrect amounts or vendor details, can lead to payment delays, strained vendor relationships, and even financial losses.
Invoice Processing Delays: Manual approval processes and paper-based workflows can lead to delays in invoice processing. This can result in missed early payment discounts and strained relationships with suppliers who may experience payment delays.
High Processing Costs: Manual accounts payable processes are labor-intensive, requiring dedicated personnel for data entry, invoice matching, and approval routing. These costs can add up quickly and reduce the efficiency of the accounts payable department.
Lack of Visibility: Traditional accounts payable processes may lack transparency, making it difficult for financial teams to track the status of invoices, approvals, and payments. This lack of visibility can hinder effective decision-making and vendor collaboration.
Invoice Matching Complexities: Verifying that invoices match corresponding purchase orders and delivery receipts can be challenging. Manual matching processes are prone to errors and can result in discrepancies that need to be resolved before payment.
Data Security and Fraud Risk: Manually managing sensitive financial information increases the risk of data breaches and fraudulent activities, such as invoice fraud or unauthorized access to financial records.
Regulatory Compliance: Staying compliant with tax regulations, financial reporting standards, and changing accounting rules can be demanding. Failure to comply can lead to financial penalties and reputational damage.
Vendor Relations: Delayed payments or disputes arising from invoice errors can strain vendor relationships and potentially affect the availability of goods and services.
Lack of Integration: Many organizations use multiple software systems that do not communicate seamlessly. This can result in data silos, duplicated efforts, and a lack of centralized information.
Manual Approval Workflows: Routing invoices for approvals through manual processes can be time-consuming and prone to bottlenecks. Delays in approvals can slow down the entire accounts payable cycle.
Overcoming these challenges has proven to be an incredibly difficult task. However, organizations must remember that they do not have to do it alone. Leaning on a trusted industry partner can speed up automation tasks, improve time to value, and unlock the strategic benefits of automation.
Now, what didn’t they tell you?
AP Automation unlocks strategic insights
While speed remains one of the most popular advantages of accounts payable automation, exploring the other strategic insights it offers is essential. Modern accounts payable automation solutions leverage advanced technologies to extract valuable data from invoices, purchase orders, and other financial documents. This data goes beyond transactional details, offering deeper insights into spending patterns, vendor relationships, and even forecasting.
With automated accounts payable systems, businesses can generate detailed reports and analytics that shed light on cash flow trends, identify cost-saving opportunities, and evaluate supplier performance. With this information, internal teams can make informed decisions that align with long-term strategic goals, transforming the accounts payable department from a transactional function into a strategic partner.
AP Automation enhances vendor relationships
Accounts payable automation not only streamlines internal processes it also enhances collaboration with vendors. Vendors experience quicker invoice processing times and fewer payment delays with electronic invoicing and automated approval workflows. This fosters stronger vendor relationships, as timely payments can improve supplier satisfaction and encourage discounts for early payments.
Automation also introduces self-service portals where vendors can track the status of their invoices in real time. This level of transparency reduces communication gaps and minimizes disputes, leading to smoother interactions between the organization and its suppliers.
AP Automation mitigates risk
Mitigating financial risks and ensuring compliance with regulatory standards are critical concerns for businesses of all sizes. Advanced automation systems, built from advanced technologies, are designed to detect potential fraud, duplicate payments, and unusual spending patterns. By flagging anomalies early on, these systems prevent fraudulent activities from escalating, protecting the organization’s financial health.
Compliance with tax regulations and financial reporting standards becomes more manageable with automated systems that maintain accurate records and generate audit trails. This ensures that the organization remains in good standing and avoids costly penalties.
AP Automation standardizes processes
Accounts payable automation inherently involves process standardization. When manual tasks are automated, inconsistencies caused by human error are greatly reduced. This leads to increased accuracy in invoice processing, resulting in fewer payment errors.
The standardization introduced by accounts payable automation also sets the stage for continuous improvement. Now well equipped with data-driven insights, they can implement targeted improvements to enhance overall operational efficiency and drive cost savings.
AP Automation empowers employees
We have all heard that automation threatens job security. Even outside of banking and financial services, this is a growing concern for the workforce as technologies like artificial intelligence continue to rise in popularity. However, in this sense, accounts payable automation looks to flip the narrative. Employees are now empowered to focus on more strategic tasks by automating routine, time consuming, manual tasks. By removing mundane jobs, employees can redirect their time and energy toward high-value projects that require critical thinking, problem-solving and relationship management.
Finance teams can now engage in strategic vendor negotiations, financial analysis, and decision-making that contribute to the organization’s growth. This shift from transactional work to strategic responsibilities boosts employee morale and propels the organization forward.
AP Automation does not always translate to long implementation timelines and high costs
Implementation usually involves data migration, software setup, workflow configuration, testing, training, and deployment. The exact process may vary based on the chosen solution, the partner chosen, and the complexity of your organization’s needs.
The cost of an accounts payable automation solution can vary widely based on the chosen solution, the complexity of implementation, and the features required. Typically, you should expect to account for costs associated with set-up costs, ongoing maintenance fees, etc. While these costs could add up, it is important to note companies can offset them through the benefits and cost savings achieved through automation. This includes the savings produced through reduced errors, improved process efficiency, early payment discounts, and more.
When it comes to unlocking the full potential of accounts payable automation, OpenText is a technological leader. Leveraging cutting-edge technologies, OpenText’s accounts payable automation solutions is revolutionizing traditional processes.
By seamlessly integrating with existing ERP systems, OpenText delivers end-to-end automation for invoice processing, approvals, and payments. With intelligent data capture, invoice matching and near real-time analytics, OpenText empowers businesses to gain unparalleled insights into their financial operations.
OpenText fosters stronger vendor relationships by delivering visibility into invoice statuses and payment schedules. The incorporation of advanced fraud detection capabilities with proactive error alerting and reporting also shields businesses from financial risks, strengthening compliance efforts.
Accounts payable automation has evolved beyond transactional acceleration and its influence now extends far past speed and efficiency. It has entered the realm of strategic decision-making, heightened collaboration, risk mitigation, compliance assurance, and process optimization.
Organizations embracing accounts payable automation and leaning on solutions like OpenText’s Integrated Payables and Receivables solutions find themselves strategically positioned to reap operational benefits and to unlock the potential for sustainable growth and innovation.
Digital fax remains an integral part of mission-critical communications. Meet the team inventing the future of fax – we recently caught up with Josee Martin, Senior Product Manager, to talk about the future of secure information exchange and document delivery.
Why is fax so critical?
The main strength is security – it’s why people and organizations keep faxing. It was the first way to communicate faster. Now it’s focused where security is paramount: healthcare, financial services, banking, and insurance. The future of faxing is product integrations. It answers a need for a secure way to send documents. Organizations are often using APIs and webservices today, so users might not even know they’re sending their documents via a fax solution.
How did your career begin? What was your journey to product management and to OpenText?
I came to OpenTextTM with the XMedius acquisition two years before the pandemic. Prior to that, I worked for a large telecommunications organization based in India for 17 years. The position caught my interest; they were a strong team of leaders and managers, and they were looking for someone less technical who would drive the market requirements forward. I came in with a fresh perspective.
I really enjoy driving requirements from a business standpoint and an engineering standpoint. Professionally, I felt like a late bloomer with fax being surrounded by so many senior people. But the team helped me get up to speed quickly since they were so knowledgeable.
What do you like about working in product management?
I’m lucky to have a very strong engineering team. I enjoy driving the requirements, the roadmap, and the backlog – everything related to product lifecycle. So I’m the owner of my product – OpenTextTM XM Fax – which also means owning it from end-to-end, so being involved for support related matters or finance for instance. I also participate into customer-facing calls from time to time. I try to address any friction in the process as an opportunity for improvement. I keep my eyes open and see if there are any other integrations to pursue related to document management, OCR or workflow. It’s important to think about the entire lifecycle, trim what’s not relevant and make sure what I do works from A-Z while looking to the future.
What do you think lies ahead for fax?
It’s funny seeing how people react to fax but it’s still relevant. It’s fun to prove there’s still room for fax and to bring forward interesting use cases. It’s a very mature product that has a lot of use cases around workflow integration. Users want to stay in their UI in existing systems and securely send documents: it is the universal goal we want to achieve with our integrations. The future of fax is moving from on-premises to cloud. It’s about educating customers they don’t have to get out of fax, just shift to a modern, integrated and scalable solution.
Across the market segments we serve at OpenText, it’s always a delight to receive acknowledgement from some of the top firms in the industry analyst community. Recently, Gartner, Forrester, and IDC have placed us in several leadership positions for key enterprise software categories.
Industry analyst firm rankings provide independent assessments of the value and business advantage OpenText delivers to customers. In developing these rankings, analyst firms look at solution capabilities, vision, innovation roadmap, testimonials and market presence. The leader positions currently held across our various business units demonstrate that organizations continue to rely on modern information management solutions from OpenText to deliver business value today and into the future.
The 2023 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Application Security Testing
Named a Leader
For the 10th consecutive year, Gartner named OpenText a leader in the application security testing Magic Quadrant. Get the full report to discover why.
The Forrester Wave™: Data Security Platforms, Q1 2023
Named a Leader
OpenText Voltage Data Security Platform, part of the OpenText Cybersecurity business, received the highest scores possible in 15 criteria including data discovery, data classification, tokenization, encryption, data masking or redaction, data access controls, privacy use cases, and data and information governance use cases. The Voltage platform was also given the highest scores possible in the product vision and execution roadmap criteria within the strategy category. Download the report to learn more.
Content Services
The Forrester Wave™: Content Platforms, Q1 2023
Named a Leader
OpenText Extended ECM received the highest possible scores in the criteria of market approach, integrations and interoperability, lifecycle management, search, document management, collaborative workspaces, digital process automation, eSignature, and supporting product and services in this report. “Organizations seeking a richly featured content platform with solid integrations for essential productivity and enterprise applications from a vendor that can meet them where they are in their cloud journey should consider OpenText,” reads the report. Download the report to learn more.
IT Operations Management
The Forrester Wave™: Hybrid Cloud Management, Q4 2022
Named a Leader
OpenText Hybrid Cloud Management X (HCMX) received the highest possible scores in the criteria of product vision, execution roadmap, market approach, and partner ecosystem in this report. Download the report to learn more.
Analytics & AI
The Forrester Wave™: Document-Oriented Text Analytics Platforms, Q2 2022
Named a Leader
OpenText IDOL received the highest possible scores in the criteria of scanning, OCR and mobile capture, non-text sources-images, data enrichment and labeling, support for relevant use cases, subdocument text analytics, document-level text analytics, document types and forms, and global capabilities. IDOL was also given the highest scores possible in the product vision, planned enhancements, and supporting products and services criteria within the strategy category.
Application Delivery Management
The Forrester Wave™: Continuous Automation Testing Platforms, Q4 2022
Named a Leader
The OpenText UFT Family, ALM Octane and LoadRunner Family received the highest possible scores in the criteria of test authoring and automation, API test design and automation, testing journey, test management, and test maintenance and self-healing. The solutions were also given the highest scores possible in the product vision, execution roadmap, supporting products and services, and partner ecosystem criteria within the strategy category. Download the report to learn more.
OpenText Exstream was named a leader in the IDC MarketScape with noted strengths for its customer experience strategy, deep enterprise integrations, and cloud transition capabilities. Learn more.
Portfolio
IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Unified Endpoint Management Software for Small and Midsize Businesses 2022 Vendor Assessment
Named a Leader
OpenText ZENworks was named a leader in the IDC MarketScape for UEM SMB and named a Major Player in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Unified Endpoint Management Software 2022 Vendor Assessment, IDC MarketScape Worldwide Unified Endpoint Management for Ruggedized/IoT Device Deployments Software 2022 Vendor Assessment, and IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Unified Endpoint Management for Apple Devices 2022 Vendor Assessment, all published in May of 2022.
OpenText Business Network was named a leader in the most recent IDC MarketScape and we look forward to the next iteration of the IDC MarketScape later this year. Download the current report to learn more.
Join us at OpenText World 2023 in Las Vegas October 11 – 12 to learn more about these and other OpenText products, hear from visionary speakers and network with peers.
At OpenText™ World 2023 in Las Vegas, we’re focusing in on DevOps and will explore how to transform digital testing experiences, scale quality for the future, and take advantage of next-generation AI throughout the entire application delivery process.
Here’s a snapshot of what you can expect:
Your DevOps flight plan
In modern software delivery, speed is essential to remain competitive. Join the DevOps track to learn how to leverage the power of Application Delivery, AI, Value Stream Management (VSM), and more to achieve faster time-to-market, enhance customer experiences, and gain a competitive edge. We’ll explore AI technologies that enable intelligent automation, predictive analytics, and efficient resource allocation, optimizing the development and deployment cycles. Dive into DevOps practices for seamless collaboration between development and operations teams to streamline workflows and automate processes. Get the lowdown on VSM and how it provides end-to-end visibility, identifies bottlenecks, and eliminates waste. Foster collaboration across teams with performance engineering solutions that support shift-left and shift-right testing and application resiliency. Create action plans to connect business strategy to Agile delivery. Join us to kickstart your journey to better results.
Be sure to catch these Aviator sessions:
DOPS00 Opentext.ai and the Developer: Apply AI to Accelerate DevOps and Quality with OpenText Developer Cloud and OpenText Aviator
Application delivery continues its rapid evolution, including the need for a speedier pace of delivery. When such speed is sustained without sacrificing quality, new revenue streams emerge, customer experience improves, and competitive standing grows. In short, accelerated delivery generates transformative business value. Having recently completed the purchase of Micro Focus, OpenText’s corporate mission has expanded. We help enterprise professionals better manage an increasingly hybrid and complex digital fabric with a new generation of tools. This keynote session will share our vision of accelerated application delivery. You’ll discover how our solutions can help your business achieve high-quality applications at scale from strategy to production. Search for and add it to your agenda here.
DOPS02 Unlocking DevOps Potential: AI-Powered Test Automation and Beyond
Explore the dynamic fusion of AI and DevOps in this session. As digital transformations surge, testing and quality assurance play pivotal roles. To thrive within rapid development cycles, elevate value, and minimize waste, cutting-edge AI, machine learning, and analytics are essential. Join us to discover how to align AI with DevOps value streams, craft potent AI-infused tests, and harness analytics to optimize velocity, risk, cost, and quality. Embark on an interactive journey to empower your DevOps evolution. Search for and add it to your agenda here.
Connect with OpenText and customer experts
Get your questions answered. We will be hosting several interactive and engaging sessions designed to help you get the information you need in the format you prefer:
Learn how to apply the latest information management and AI trends from industry thought leaders, luminary guest speakers, and OpenText experts and start to work smarter right away.
Set up a one-to-one meeting to dive into your unique use case or join one of the scheduled meet ups with other customers and OpenText designers, developers, marketers, and leaders. Discuss how to get more out of your investments and increase your information advantage.
Meet with peers in your vertical to exchange successful strategies. Industry roundtables are specialized and interactive discussions in which industry experts present challenges, trends, and innovations in the sector, and customer and industry analyst speakers will add their insights as well.
Sign up for some hands-on labs: (choose one or all three) the Developer Lab, the Product Lab and the Innovation Lab, giving you the opportunity to check out the latest OpenText innovations—including OpenText Aviator solutions.
Join our dynamic Customer Advisory Boards (CABs) to discuss business strategies and customer experiences, drive innovations that meet your unique needs in our Product Advisory Councils (PACs), and connect to learn about best practices and use cases in our User Groups.
And take advantage of being surrounded by people who go through the same challenges you do, and network, network, network!
Join us at OpenText World 2023
Explore the future of AI in DevOps at the ultimate information management conference. Join us October 11-12 at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas and connect with today’s leading experts.
Register now to save your spot at OpenText World 2023!
