As GetApp.com, an independent software review site, observed in a recent article, professional services management has become a complex discipline(opens in new tab). Professional services organizations (PSOs) must be able to organize a host of deadlines, client meetings, project budgets, and staff scheduling issues on a daily basis. Then, as PSOs expand, they also face the challenge of managing geographically distributed consultants and contractors, often working together on multiple projects.
Eventually, to effectively maximize resources and profitability, and keep clients and customers happy, growing companies will need the help of professional services resource management applications, writes Rakesh Sharma, software reviewer for GetApp.com(opens in new tab). Sharma defines professional services automation(opens in new tab) (PSA) software and highlights NetSuite’s OpenAir Professional Services Automation solution as an example of a comprehensive PSA suite and the kind of capabilities to look for in such an offering.
A good PSA suite should have project management features—such as dashboards, task dependencies lists, and Gantt charts—as well as resource management features to keep track of employee and consultant hours, skill sets, and schedules.
In a follow-up piece, GetApp.com rated NetSuite’s OpenAir(opens in new tab) Professional Services Automation software on factors such as usability, features and ease of deployment. It awarded OpenAir PSA an overall 9 out of 10, with perfect scores (5/5) in ease of use, value and feature.
NetSuite's OpenAir PSA also includes project accounting capabilities and real-time reporting and dashboard alerts, so it's easier to track expenditures and budgets, individual project profitability data, workflow and deadlines.
-Ed Marshall, SVP and GM of Services at NetSuite