In this episode of the Office of the CFO podcast, John Siefert, CEO of Dynamic Communities and Acceleration Economy, is joined by SignUp Software CEO Olof Hedin to discuss big market trends and how those trends impact the office of the CFO. Hedin also shares insights on the latest with SignUp Software and its automation system, ExFlow.
Highlights
Driving Adoption (02:40)
At its recent financial earnings call, Microsoft reported dramatic results from its last quarter regarding Dynamics 365 (D365), Business Central (BC), and Finance and Operations (F&O), with 27% growth quarter over quarter. Some core factors are driving this pace of customer adoption in the mid-market and the enterprise. Hedin names three:
- The number of old platforms that need to be migrated: To access the newest and best features, organizations must be in the cloud — otherwise, they’ll be missing out on copilot, for instance.
- Companies need to save money and be more efficient. Automation enables companies to do more with less.
- Security is vital in finance, especially for fraud detection and prevention.
Hedin reports that SignUp Software had similar growth rates to Microsoft, so it has been able to maintain the same pace.
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Industry Innovation (05:03)
Some vertical industries are quicker with their approach to modernization and digital transformations, especially in managing regulatory compliance and implementing other cybersecurity initiatives. Hedin describes the pace of innovation and modernization among various industries.
All industries have invoices. However, the industries accelerating their pace of modernization and implementing advanced solutions are the ones that have the most to gain and with high volumes, notes Hedin. He lists retail and government as two of the top industries here.
Partners contribute greatly to this pace. “It’s the solution architects and the business process designers that advise the customer on what they can do,” he says. When partners see the capabilities that come with modern offerings, they begin to suggest those offerings.
Investing in Modernization and Automation (08:43)
The office of the CFO should be keeping an eye out for key aspects and outcomes from their investments to modernize and automate. Efficiency and flexibility are two beneficial elements. “It comes back to process efficiency to have that low cost; you have to control compliance on those processes,” Hedin says.
Modern technologies, such as automation and AI, come with a lot of fear and uncertainty as well as assumptions that they will take the jobs of humans. For those involved with the day-to-day operations of a business, that’s not necessarily true. Investing in modernization can enhance business processes and enable humans to be redeployed to do other tasks.
The 4 Cs (11:25)
Hedin describes four Cs that can come with modern technologies and are essential when working with customers and partners, which SignUp Software puts into practice with its ExFlow offering:
- Cost
- Compliance
- Control
- Copilots
SignUp Software is “heavily entrenched” in its research and development (R&D) department, Hedin says. Customers can improve their return on investment (ROI) by embracing modern technologies, deploying their employees to higher-level tasks, and benefitting from the four Cs. Another factor that Hedin mentions is the standard for CO2 emissions for companies with more than 250 people. SignUp Software offers a product for CO2 management to help companies manage data and have greater control in working toward becoming net neutral.
