Emerging technologies, innovative business models and changing customer expectations mean that businesses need to begin implementing strategies today to help them prepare for the future.

And central to this shift is the cloud, as businesses look to these technologies to go beyond getting cheaper, faster and more flexible services to ones that help them get products to market more quickly, gain actionable insights from their data and break down operational siloes.

The bottom line? Cloud can help businesses across the board drive improved performance and return on investment.

To find out how South African businesses are using the cloud to harness these benefits, AWCape recently conducted research in collaboration with Sage and TechCentral.

Read here to find the initial findings from the survey before we dive deep into the trends and pain points faced in cloud by the financial sector.

The survey delved into the number of ways that the cloud can help organisations today with their financial operations, the problems the cloud can address, as well as the potential issues that are preventing certain entities from achieving value from their cloud investments.

Measuring the benefits

Investments are all expected to produce some benefit, be it income or profit, streamlining of operations or time savings.

When asked, “Which criteria drive your financial tech investments?”, more than three-quarters (76%) of respondents said “data security”. Ease of use and ease of maintenance/agility came next with 56% each. Price and convenience were a factor for half of the respondents, and “mobile access” and “depth of functionality” for 44% and 39%, respectively.

Lower down the list came “AI / automation” with 37%, “configurability” with 31%, and post-implementation support and training with 26%.

Organisations move to the cloud for many reasons, but right at the heart is a desire to do things more effectively

A modern look and feel were only a motivation for 20% of respondents, and even fewer (18%) cited predictive analytics, the ability to extend to other modules (17%), chat, voice and self-service capabilities (11%), and social features (8%).

Organisations move to the cloud for many reasons, but right at the heart is a desire, in some way or other, to do things more effectively. To achieve that goal, the benefits need to be defined, and performance measured not only before but also after implementation.

However, this is often easier said than done, and measuring the true value can be hard, as it is difficult to quantify, particularly when the cloud is enabling something completely new.

Who makes the decisions?

Another question, around who the key decision maker is when it comes to approving finance technology investments, revealed that for most respondents it’s the company MD.

Another 32% said it was up to the chief financial officer, 6% said the financial manager and 18% said “other”. This means finance leaders need to have a good understanding of technology, as well as the business side of the organisation.

The hybrid world of working

The survey also delved into the Covid-19 pandemic. There is no doubt that the crisis flipped the way companies work and operate. The growing number of team members working from home using virtual conferencing and collaboration services soared. This put backend support services under pressure and increased traffic on networks that connect users to these services. Only those with robust and ubiquitous cloud architecture were able to carry on business as normal, with little interruption.

When asked how cloud technology enabled the finance department to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic, nearly half of respondents (48%) said it enabled remote working, another 24% saying it enabled real-time, data-based decision making, and 10% claimed it fostered connections and collaboration with employees.

There’s no denying that South African businesses recognise that cloud technology is the way forward

When the question “What is your company’s posture when it comes to cloud services and infrastructure?” was asked, nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) said they are already using cloud, and another 21% said they plan to do so within the next year or two. Only 12% said they were unsure.

With these figures, there’s no denying that South African businesses recognise that cloud technology is the way forward if they hope to succeed in the future, and those who don’t embark on a cloud journey risk being left behind.

If you would like to find out more on how to improve your organisation’s finance cloud operations and drive improved customer outcomes, visit www.awcape.co.za.

About AWCape
AWCape is a leading Sage business partner and a Sage Intacct certified implementation specialist partner. AWCape provides professional systems integration services by ensuring the effective deployment of Sage Intacct, Sage 300cloud and Sage 300 People HR & Payroll, primarily through cloud-based solutions. The company is well known for its outstanding consulting resources and industry-leading cloud solutions, resulting in an impressive list of blue-chip customers.

AWCape has a proud history of success – its founder, Henri Hattingh, opened his first Sage Accpac business, Applico, in 1986, which later became part of Q Data — Africa’s largest software and services group in the 1990s. The Applico brand, which recently took over Sage training facilities in Cape Town, has since been added as an empowerment subsidiary to the group with B-BBEE level-2 and 125% procurement recognition.

For more about AWCape, visit www.awcape.co.za, or connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.