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Lesley Moore, Director of Field Services, Workday
Implementing new HR and financial systems in the public sector can be challenging.
Traditionally, these types of programs have been fraught with challenges, including extensive customization, long testing phases, low reliability, and difficulty applying software updates. This not only meant that the public sector was not getting enough benefit from its most precious resources, human and financial resources, but also acted as an impediment to change. There was a discussion about why we would take on the risks of a new system if there was little reward.
This attitude is understandably here to stay, but thankfully technology is evolving. Now, his cloud-based SaaS (Software as a Service) human resources and finance system is replacing older on-premises and legacy systems. These systems offer powerful features that are easy to deploy, instead of cumbersome interfaces and time-consuming testing.
However, intuition is only part of the picture. Reliability, safety, security, and cost of ownership must also be considered. Again, SaaS solutions can bring new benefits. If you want to empower your finance and HR teams with better technology, challenge perceptions of the potential of these systems, and deliver a more productive future for public sector organizations, It's worth investigating whether that has changed.
Every cloud is unique
The days of on-premises systems are increasingly coming to an end. Like the private sector, the public sector has recognized that the benefits of cloud computing cannot be ignored, from reduced maintenance costs to the latest innovative software.
However, not all cloud-based options are created equal. After decades of using on-premises solutions, it can be tempting to simply lift and migrate those legacy platforms to the cloud. In some cases, this is on behalf of the company providing the platform rather than the customer. There is a misconception that this approach minimizes business impact and commercial risks such as costs and testing phases. In fact, this couldn't be further from the truth. When upgrading systems, this approach has many of the disadvantages of more fundamental upgrades, provides few benefits, exposes the organization to continued inefficiencies, low return on investment, and perpetuates vendor lock-in.
Cloud-native enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems like Workday are the other side of the coin, offering benefits that go beyond simply changing your computing infrastructure. These solutions offer an “adopt, not adapt” approach. This means that functionality is pre-built and can be configured rather than customized to meet the needs of individual departments. While traditional cloud systems can require months' worth of coding and testing to adapt new features to a particular organization, cloud-native systems can deliver the same results in less than a day, often can be achieved in just a few minutes).
Similarly, cloud-native systems automatically provide security and feature updates and simplify access to new features. With these solutions, customers no longer have to pay a fee to act as a team testing their supplier's software. Instead, you get the product you want from day one. For this reason, it's important for buyers considering cloud transformation to evaluate the market and not simply choose a cloud port of a legacy system that inherits inefficiencies that should be left behind.
Enjoy the benefits of your SaaS implementation
Perhaps more important than the logistical benefits such as streamlined maintenance, reduced integration, and faster testing times are the results that SaaS implementations can deliver to end users in finance and human resources departments.
One of the biggest benefits for these teams is the ability to perform advanced analytics on growing datasets. Historically, the public sector has often struggled to derive value from data. Much of it is locked into legacy systems, and IT teams struggle to respond to ad-hoc requests to use it. Cloud-native systems can keep that data secure and eliminate data imbalances, while built-in analytics provide real-time, actionable insights based on a single source of truth. We provide Whether used for financial forecasting, identifying skills gaps, or annual audits, these capabilities deliver tangible benefits in terms of HR and financial productivity.
Platforms like Workday Prism Analytics that can combine external data with core HR and finance data allow IT teams to work self-service without the need for coding or additional software licenses, while still managing security. can. This is a win-win. IT teams can focus on priorities like security, and policy and operations leaders can easily assess and share valuable insights.
Cloud-native platforms not only make your data work, but they also integrate more easily with other third-party systems without the need to build additional layers of complex software. Connections with external applications and resources are easy to create and can evolve over time. This also helps in raising the standards of HR and financial productivity. These teams can easily find and act on the information they need, whenever they need it, making them more autonomous, data-driven, and proactive. With SaaS, HR and finance teams, and the organizations they support, have the autonomy to adjust their systems to changing needs and become self-sufficient without having to turn to a system integrator for each new request. Become self-sufficient. However, this doesn't mean you can't get help when you need it. Cloud-native providers such as Workday and their partners can provide ongoing support and guidance to help organizations maximize return on investment and operate with confidence.
A ray of hope: The future of AI
With the era of AI in full swing, cloud-native SaaS systems also offer future-proof solutions for the public sector. These platforms allow you to deploy new AI capabilities as they become available, with minimal disruption to your team. Workday allows organizations that are still evaluating where AI capabilities fit within their workflows to opt-in to these services when they're ready. As public sector organizations respond to the changing world of work, Workday uses AI and ML to improve human capabilities and enhance human decision-making, improving the employee experience across HR and finance. Let me do it. Do not replace.
In addition to limited AI capabilities, the shortcomings of legacy systems and cloud-washed descendants, such as slow and costly implementations, long update periods, and limited functionality, are no longer present. Can't be ignored.
For leaders looking to upgrade their HR and financial systems, the process no longer has to be painful. There is an opportunity to break the cycle of low return on investment due to risky programs, high costs and outdated technology, and instead embrace a future of work that is more productive, simpler and cost-effective for the public sector and its employees. there is.
