About Centage

Dresner Advisory Services released their 2018 Small and Mid-Sized Enterprise (SME) Planning Market Study last week, examining the enterprise planning processes and needs of these organizations, and how they differ from larger enterprises. The study also evaluates planning software used by SMEs, with the report recognizing Centage’s Maestro Suite as a leader in the Experience and Credibility categories.

The study reports a significant increase in adoption of planning software in the SME space. In 2017, Dresner found that only 24 percent of small and mid-sized enterprises were leveraging planning software. The 2018 survey, on the other hand, found that number had jumped to 60 percent, with 68 percent of mid-sized organizations already having adopted the technology.

But adoption has far outpaced the projections from Dresner’s 2017 survey. This means that SMEs are choosing and implementing planning software outside of their normal planning cadence. Compelling offers and value propositions from vendors in the space, like Centage, combined with short-term needs, seem to be swaying enterprises to move beyond spreadsheets.

Understanding the position and adoption of planning software for SMEs is important, as the needs of these organizations can differ from larger enterprises. The report identifies certain areas, like strategic planning and rolling forecasts to be of similar importance between small, medium and large organizations.

Other areas, like cash-flow forecasting, proved more important to smaller enterprises. SMEs should evaluate planning software to ensure it is fully featured as well as easy to manage and deploy, while small organizations should take additional care to find solutions that are well suited to their needs, involving key business leaders as appropriate.

Deployment options differed between organization size, as well. In particular, small organizations rate cloud hosted solutions over other solutions, while larger organizations lean toward fully featured solutions that are part of a complete suite of software. The difference in preference was notable even between small and mid-sized companies – 24 percent of small organizations view SaaS applications as critical, with only 12 percent of mid-sized and large organizations considering cloud-based delivery as important. When evaluating planning software, enterprises of all sizes should define their optimal delivery model prior to evaluating vendors.

The report also provides vendor rankings based on real-world usage by customers. Vendors were divided into quadrants in the areas of both customer experience and credibility. Those located in the upper-right quadrant of the results were deemed industry leaders.

Centage ranked in the leader’s quadrant for both criteria. With features identified as important to both mid-sized organizations and small enterprises, Centage outranked heavy hitters like SAP and Microsoft in both categories. Centage’s commitment to customer service was reflected in the ratings, putting them ahead of all other solutions. In credibility, Centage and the Maestro Suite scored the highest in combined value and customer confidence.

Planning and forecasting are as important to smaller and mid-sized organizations as they are to large enterprises. It’s clear, however, that the needs of these companies differ from their larger counterparts, making a one-size-fits-all solution difficult to find. There are clear winners in the space, though, for those SMEs looking for the right tool that provides excellent value and service.

Click here to view the full report.

Small to mid-market organizations rely on Centage Corporation’s Maestro Suite, which includes Budget Maestro™ to help them keep track of and manage their cash flow. Budget Maestro improves the efficiency and effectiveness of business budgeting and planning, financial forecasting, financial consolidation, and reporting processes. For more information, take a tour of Budget Maestro, contact Centage, or call 800-366-5111 now.

For the better part of this year, Centage has been led by our interim CEO, Ken Marshall. One of Ken’s charges was to find a permanent replacement, someone who would bring a deep desire to understand the problems of our customers while grasping the importance of the myriad of technical innovations that become part of the business world every day.

Centage is pleased to announce that our own CRO and executive vice president, John Murdock, has been promoted into the role of chief executive officer. Assuming the role from Mr. Marshall, Mr. Murdock will bring his desire to create the best experience for Centage customers to the whole of the organization through collaboration, transparency and adoption of the newest technologies.

John understands that Centage is more than just a software company. It’s a company that helps our customers plan and grow their businesses, and to do that customers need the right technology at their fingertips and the Centage team aligned around their success. He’s spent countless hours talking to users, CFOs and finance teams to truly understand their needs. These discussions have defined how he looks to move Centage forward in the coming years – through a customer-centric approach that adopts the latest technologies.

To achieve this goal, John plans on breaking down silos and encouraging collaboration across the organization. By blurring the lines between departments and giving everyone a holistic view of the company, Centage aims for a culture of transparency that permeates into the overall company mission of providing the best customer experience along with the most effective budgeting and planning product.

Part of creating that breakthrough product that addresses the pain points of finance teams is adopting the accelerating wave of technology innovation in the space. John sees embracing that wave as the key to making a difference for our customers. “The pace of change is phenomenal,” he explains. “Any company that seeks to be relevant and add value to their customers must lean in and innovate. It’s the only way companies like Centage can have an impact that’s bigger than selling software.”

Mr. Marshall, who will stay on as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, notes that Centage is being put into great hands. “This feels like a very natural step to appoint John to the role of CEO. He’s been instrumental in the company’s strategy, growth, and execution success over the past few years. He is highly respected by our employees, board, and brings a customer-centric approach to his leadership style. John has been a ‘boots on the ground’ leader engaging with hundreds of CFOs and finance teams over the years to discuss budgeting, forecasting, analytics, and how, Centage can transform and simplify their businesses. He is the perfect choice to help lead Centage to the next level of technology innovation and focus on its customers,” explained Ken Marshall.

Small to mid-market organizations rely on Centage Corporation’s Maestro Suite, which includes Budget Maestro™ to help them keep track of and manage their cash flow. Budget Maestro improves the efficiency and effectiveness of business budgeting and planning, financial forecasting, financial consolidation and reporting processes. For more information, take a tour of Budget Maestro, contact Centage, or call 800-366-5111 now.