FinancialForce.com and Vital Analysis Announce Availability of the 2012 Cloud Professional Services Automation (PSA) Evaluation Guide

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Jul 24, 2012) - FinancialForce.com, the cloud applications company, today announced the availability of the 2012 Cloud PSA Evaluation Guide, authored by Brian Sommer, ZDNet blogger and IT research analyst from Vital Analysis. The Cloud PSA Evaluation Guide serves as a tool to help companies manage the process of selecting a cloud PSA solution.

Many professional services organizations still rely on spreadsheets, custom applications and legacy Enterprise Resources (ERP) systems to manage project-based work despite a host of shortfalls that exist. The need for robust PSA solutions has spread beyond traditional consulting firms to product-oriented companies that have recently created or expanded professional service divisions as a means of increasing revenue and improving customer service. Unfortunately, these new service groups struggle with systems that were never designed for service organizations. This 2012 Cloud PSA Evaluation Guide was designed to meet the needs of this new underserved market and traditional consulting organizations alike.

Modern PSA solutions have made great advancements using cloud, social media and mobile technologies to help maximize service outcomes and profitability. This guide contains an evaluation framework designed for this next generation of systems and highlights how software evaluation processes need to change to reflect the impact of these new technologies.

The 2012 Cloud PSA Evaluation Guide provides a multi-step process to help organizations make an informed PSA system selection including tips on:

• how to determine when it is time to replace your existing system
• how to define and structure the PSA vendor short list
• how to manage vendors and negotiate service level agreements
• how new technologies such as cloud, social and mobile computing can make a significant impact on your services practices

"Service organizations may be the last groups to get automated solutions, but they're getting some of the newest and most innovative solutions in the software industry," said Brian Sommer, founder, Vital Analysis. "Most PSA products were designed to run on the Internet with cloud technology. Some of the newest are utilizing powerful platforms that have a rich ecosystem of complementary products that directly integrate with the PSA. The newest solutions support cloud-based collaboration, mobile technology and social media. Buying PSA software today is very different compared to the older on-premise or patchwork solutions people previously bought. It is because of these significant changes in the software industry and the way new PSA software should be bought that this guide was created."

"The professional services space is changing at a rapid pace and companies need to stay current with the latest technology to stay competitive," said Tom Brennan, Vice President of Product Marketing at FinancialForce.com "Brian's insights and advice as to how to navigate the PSA market are insightful and straightforward -- the guide is a must-read for companies considering a PSA solution."

The eval guide is available for download here.

About FinancialForce.com
FinancialForce.com is the cloud applications company. We focus 100% on building business applications for Force.com, the world's leading cloud computing platform from salesforce.com. Our applications include Accounting, Billing, Professional Services Automation (PSA) and Services Resource Planning (SRP). We serve fast-growing organizations and dynamic enterprises, helping them to align Finance, Sales and Service in a way that enables profitable growth. We are backed by two of the biggest and best players in the business, UNIT4 and salesforce.com. To learn more please follow us on Twitter @FinancialForce, visit out Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/FinancialForce or visit www.FinancialForce.com