Scaling your services business? Forrester data shows PSA is key for midmarket
This article is written by Michelle Rodriguez, Product Marketing Specialist with Certinia. Her goal is to help services organizations run with more efficiency and certainty; and educate on why the right cloud solutions are so critical to making that happen. Read her blog on what Forrester has to say about what PSA can do for the midmarket.
Recently Certinia shared some initial thoughts on a new study Certinia commissioned from Forrester Consulting concerning customer-centricity and lifecycle visibility. While insightful, perhaps the focus leaned toward larger enterprises. This time, the focus is directly on a smaller group but just as savvy– the fast-moving, resourceful services teams leading growth within midmarket companies.
Forrester’s study wasn’t solely focused on large corporations. They surveyed 623 decision-makers, and importantly, over 60% represented companies with fewer than 5,000 employees. For midmarket leaders, note that nearly a quarter (22%) work at businesses employing 100 to 999 people; the very stage where scaling introduces distinct challenges. The data here is highly relevant to your operational reality. Note: The study didn’t include firms under 100 employees, where manual methods often remain practical.
Navigating the Growth Trajectory? Feeling the Pressure Points?
If your company operates in the 100-1,000 employee range, this scenario might resonate. The spreadsheets and manual processes that served you well initially often start to buckle under the weight of scale. Project complexity increases, effective resource management becomes a significant challenge, and tracking profitability accurately can feel elusive. The Forrester study highlights precisely these issues. Referencing Figure 1 (page 5 in the study), decision-makers clearly identify Professional Services Automation (PSA) technology as critical for achieving growth objectives, optimizing resource management, managing complexity, and improving profit margins. If these align with your priorities, the research strongly suggests a PSA solution is the foundational step.
Does This Operational Setup Seem Familiar?
Consider Figure 2 (page 6). Are you running services delivery using a collection of disparate systems? Perhaps accounting software (maybe one starting with ‘Q’?), a separate project management tool, alongside numerous spreadsheets, whiteboards, and email threads? It’s a common situation, but these tools weren’t designed to manage the complete services lifecycle, from estimation through to billing and renewal.
Now, review Figure 4 (page 8). For those working within services teams, these top challenges likely sound familiar: insufficient visibility into estimates versus actuals, difficulties collaborating effectively across teams, managing conflicting data from multiple sources, and lacking shared definitions for key metrics. Does this reflect your experience?
A Clearer Path Forward Through PSA
What’s the recommended approach? Fortunately, the research provides clear direction and highlights tangible benefits. Forrester’s findings (page 19) show organizations leveraging dedicated PSA solutions report significant improvements, including enhanced client value delivery, increased operational efficiency, and stronger revenue performance.
Their recommendations define the path forward: adopt a PSA solution that connects the entire customer lifecycle. The optimal strategy involves unifying PSA on a single platform with your CRM system, which becomes increasingly important as you grow since relying on manual processes and disconnected tools introduces operational risk. Achieving scale requires a level of operational rigor – the kind often scrutinized during funding rounds or IPO preparations – built on reliable systems and data. Establishing this foundation before complexity escalates is crucial. Pages 20 and 21 offer practical guidance.
The key takeaway: this research provides valuable, data-backed insights for services organizations aiming to scale efficiently while maintaining a strong focus on customer value.
What are your thoughts? Does this resonate with your experiences?
Download the Forrester Consulting paper here.
