We’re sure creating content and storing important information on cloud-based apps became essential for you much before the pandemic, but ever since last year, having on the go access to the cloud has taken on a completely new sense of import and urgency. If that is the case for one individual, imagine what kind of change it would have meant for entire businesses.

Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic tightened its grip over our reality last year, companies across the world realized that they had neither the visibility nor the flexibility to adapt to remote working conditions and online consumers, even if they already had an online presence. The race to hybrid cloud migration became truly intense, real fast and businesses that could not adapt in time found themselves suddenly on the sidelines.

Need for Digital Finance Transformation

“The CFOs and CEOs I talk with say that digital finance transformation is no longer just a vision, but for many it’s a necessity to survive, especially during this time,” said Rondy Ng, Oracle senior vice president of Applications Development, during the recent Oracle HCM Virtual Summit, “Uniting HR and Finance: Navigate with Confidence”. “They have to support remote workers and want to make sure they are no longer shuffling papers and spreadsheets to close the books. And they need visibility into the business right now—not a few weeks later.”

Business leaders want to predict the right actions to take in terms of resources and budget and they’re using artificial intelligence and machine learning to plan more accurately. Now, if their HCM and ERP systems don’t have the latest info, any forecasts/predictions they make using machine learning will only be as good as the data from months ago.

Data Fluidity

Oracle has realized that there is a dire urgency for data to be fluid. That’s why Oracle’s ERP and HCM product development teams are incorporating machine learning into the functions that customers use day in and day out.

Not only do cloud-based Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Human Capital Management (HCM) tools offer instant access to the latest innovations, which are usually released quarterly, but also let their steadily growing consumer base manage these essential business processes on a single, integrated platform – a critical edge over many competitors.

This provides a central source of data and metadata for things like enterprise structures, legal entities, cost centers, and organizations—none of which are static. For example, when any changes are made that effect things like approvals or organizational hierarchies in both systems, an integrated platform helps maintain a harmonious view among ERP and HCM. Where companies have a huge workforce, changes are bound to happen all the time—and how those changes affect the ERP and HCM systems is not a trifling matter at all.

Therefore, it came out as no surprise when companies that had deployed both Oracle Cloud ERP and Oracle Cloud HCM, reported the not-so-trivial benefits they’ve been tracking.

Success stories

The Oracle HCM Virtual Summit highlighted results for a few of those companies: A multinational security services company has reduced back-office costs by almost 40 percent.

Another telecommunications firm in Europe reported that it has reduced time spent closing the books by 50 percent.

A large retail chain with more than 450,000 employees across 6,000 stores has automated numerous business processes across ERP and HCM. Another large omnichannel retailer with more than 1,000 brick-and-mortar stores is using machine learning and access to data in real time to improve decision making.

A Las Vegas integrated resort company was able to close the books remotely with 50 percent fewer finance staff.

To conclude

It is evident now than ever before, enterprises of any size are looking for a customer-first focus, a proven and pioneering leader equally in the ERP and HCM space. They want the best capabilities and finest user experience.

If reading this has piqued your intrigue, you can share your viewpoints in the comments section or share it over an email with me: [email protected]

Read also my Linkedin Article – Oracle Cloud Predictions for 2021 & Top 5 Trends 

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