The world of finance is going through a major transformation. Business corporations are becoming more dependent on the strategic and financial proficiency of their CFOs and other financial leaders. Due to this finance companies are becoming even more pre-eminent.

The impact investments create, appears to be growing by the day as it is becoming universal throughout the corporate world.

Therefore, people in top financing roles such as CFOs are facing new responsibilities and challenges. They have to manage the past, present and future of a company.

From vindicating emerging technology risks to managing universally expanded business, they have to do it all.

Trends CFOs should focus on

There are 4 trends CFOs should know and focus on for empowering finance:

• Using the influence of emerging finance technology to facilitate operational competence and cost cutting.
• Galvanising clever business decisions by converting data into valuable insights
• Collaborating with other lines of business to encourage innovation and develop a progressive financial environment
• Sustaining a stable financial organisation amidst changing business situations

New tools like Microsoft Dynamics AX

To help them grow in this new era of technology, CFOs are using the power of emerging technology. For instance, Microsoft is helping CFOs transform their business organisations by increasing the speed of doing business.

In this new age of finance, financial leaders are using tools like Microsoft Dynamics AX. With this tool, they get real-time access to market and organisational data and improved evaluation.

This tool also provides a single cohesive view of the entire financial organisation and that in turn, helps people in strong financial positions manage risks better. It helps CFOs manage the business with greater proficiency and swiftness.

Changing CFO roles with changing financial trends

The financial world is evolving. And with that, so is the role of a Chief Financial Officer. Financial leaders are transforming from being just a CFO to a Technology CFO. With a new generation of workforce, the emergence of big data, globalisation, etc. financial leaders have access to more information and opportunities than ever before.

Since its inception, the role of a CFO has been progressing. From business strategy to operations, from operations to risk management, and from risk management to an IT leader. A modern CFO skills and competencies are limitless. The primary reason for this is that corporations rely a lot on the strategic and financial expertise of their senior-most financial leader.

Therefore, a CFO should be well-aware of the changes occurring in his responsibilities.

Finance Trends 2017: Big Data and Cloud Deployment

The biggest emerging technology of today is Big Data. With the huge amount of data being used in organisations, CFOs need to know how to launch data projects.

They must efficiently evaluate market trends, distinguish target customer demographics and make smart decisions for their firm that maintains financial stability.

Financial corporations need to start exploring and deploying cloud storage solutions. With the emergence of transportable devices and flexible work hours and locations, clumpy online servers will soon be replaced by fast cloud storage solutions. CFOs should be well familiar with this technology.

This will give employees at a remote location a steadfast way to connect with the data they require.

SAP’s HANA is the centre of emerging technologies in the world today. It is the core of cloud, analytics, and big data. This will give the financial services of a company a new edge.

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With the advent of technology, the role of a CFO has grown vastly more than just being a keeper of money. While understanding the company’s finance and accounting is important, it is also essential for the ambitious CFO to have a firm hold over emerging technologies to offer insightful business suggestions and take strategic decisions.

Smarten Up

Success is all about seizing an opportunity when it comes knocking. Being a Technology CFO, having a clear and concise grasp of the modern CFO skills and competencies can work wonders for your career. Be the finance executive who takes the lead in the transformation and sets CFO trends in 2017.

There are various techs in the market right now, and new ones keep getting added to the list. The four biggest fintech trends in the market to keep an eye on are:

• Big Data Platforms: Enormous amounts of data are generated because of Information Technology being a part of almost everything. If the underlying pattern and trend are used to understand the opportunities, it could result in decreased costs and potential revenues.
• In-memory Computing: This improves data processing time. Used in Finance Technology, it can report and process in real time. This can be a breakthrough in how financial planning and forecasting is carried out.
• Data Visualization:Visualisation is making data graphic. When companies tap into data from various sources and bring it together at one place to be easily accessed by operations, sales, and finance, then it has the power to drive change and improve results.
• Mobile Everything:CFO’s have the greatest technological power in the form of their smartphones. People are on the go these days and having access to data will help achieve agility in business and economic competitiveness. Focus on everything mobile like laptops, tablets, etc. can give that special edge.

Effective Innovation is Prudent and Practical

In my opinion, a CFO needs to push his Chief Integration Officer (CIO) to find the most efficient way to fit new technologies to enhance or replace the existing system. He also needs to partner with the CIO in exploring new trends.

One of the biggest trendsetters affecting the financial domain is SAP. This technology is currently positioning as the ‘digital core’ of modern business. SAP CFO, Arlen Shenkman states that “the role of a CFO today is not just to know about the current technology that their business relies on, but to also be attuned to how their competitors are dealing with the new offerings.”

Digitisation is speeding up, and this is how SAP is keeping up

• S/4 HANA Finance

Also known as SAP Simple Finance, this is an ERP financial software that runs on SAP HANA in-memory computing platform. It is instant and real time for better decisions.

• FIORI

A collection of apps in FIN area, it helps yo improve the user experience. It aids in making the finance tool easily understandable because SAP understands.

• ABAP, CDS and Solution Manager

Hierarchies help business analyse their data. This add-on feature helps segregate vast amounts of data in tables and column to analyse them better.

• SAP and CLOUD

Imagine finance for the digital age. The use of cloud technology shifts a big chunk of the company’s fixed costs to variable costs providing better control over operational costs.

Over time, technology is changing the way businesses are run. There is a fast growing demand for investment in the most suitable tech. You as a CFO need to be ready for this ‘Technolution’!

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The only thing that is permanent is change itself. One needs to keep evolving and reinventing oneself to stay abreast of the modern trends and stay competitive in today’s market. CFOs are no exception to the rule either.

Technology is altering the way financial operations take place. Below is a list of modern technologies that will boost modern CFO skills & competencies and make a positive impact on business decisions and processes that all CFOs must be aware of.

When it comes to technological advancements, SAP is never far behind. Below is a touchdown on the latest technological advancements in SAP and other major players around the world.

Types of technologies

• The ones that enable innovations
• Disruptive innovations

The first category consists of finance technologies that are already changing and impacting financial operations around the world. These innovations improve the way business is being done. Mobility, in-memory computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) belong to this category. Such innovations help finance organisations achieve lower ownership cost and improved performance from the systems.

Disruptive technologies are the ones that involve changing the traditional business processes from the inside-out. These technologies have the capability to alter business processes drastically in the years to come. Some of these technologies are social media, crowdsourcing, big data and cognitive and predictive analytics.

Advantages of Enabling Technologies

1. The SaaS model: This can help CFOs with cost reduction and an increased overall efficiency. It enables CFOs to migrate a part of the IT cost from capital expenditure to operational expenses.
2. Mobility: When mobility is leveraged properly, it can extend the financial capabilities to a greater extent in the organisation. Through mobility, business finance can boost the business’s need for remote enablement and provide crisp analytics for the decision support system.
3. Visualisation: This is also a powerful technique that provides finance with the ability to uncover hidden insights and enhance finance’s communication and partnership abilities with business. The biggest USP of visualisation is the language in which the data is presented. The language is easily comprehended and consumed by business.

Advantages of Disruptive and Emerging Technologies

1. Crowdsourcing and Social Media- Social media are put down for being a platform for casting outrage and misdirected anger. However, they have many positive aspects as well. Crowdsourcing and social media can bring external and internal perspectives from “wisdom of the crowds” to the traditional finance capabilities and processes. Content can be collected and analysed from networking platforms and collaboration, information-sharing can be facilitated by finance, increase collaboration in analysis and reporting and give an “outside view” of the organisation’s outcomes to the business partners.
2. Predictive analytics: using this technique, finance can use historical data correlations and trends and employ them for modelling of the various potential outcomes along with varying risks. It helps finance to predict results by making models of the probable outcomes considering real-time variables and inputs.
3. Cognitive analytics: This is quite similar to the predictive analytics technique. It incorporates technologies such as natural language processing and in-machine learning to improve hypotheses identification.
4. Big data: This technology is already bringing about transformative changes and major improvement in the supply chain, customer interactions and operations in different organisations.

While adapting to these technologies may seem like an uphill task for business professionals who are set in their ways. It is certainly the need of the hour. One important thing that technology CFOs should bear in mind is that perfect results are not achieved on the first day itself but by continuously trying out new approaches that eventually lead to improved processes and business performance.

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With the expansion of internet services and the boost in E-commerce, digital marketing is the way to go for increasing your revenue streams. More and more consumers are turning to online sites or mobile apps for product information and purchasing.

In the age of start-ups, online marketing and brand promotion can be a cost-effective way for launching new businesses and firms. The accessibility and consumer-friendly quality of your website can go a long way in establishing your presence and gaining a wide range of customers. So, now the question arises; Websites or Mobile Apps: which is the right way to go?

The suitability of either option depends on the nature of your business and various other considerations like budget, the type of products and services offered, the type of notifications and promotion required and finally the extent of the customer base that you want to reach out to.

Deciding Factors

Budget: Mobile apps cost more to build, usually a budget of more than 10 thousand US Dollars, while a simple website can be designed for a much smaller amount.

Requirements: If you need location-based or navigational elements then apps are the better option. Additionally, if you need to deliver quick or real-time information, updates and notifications, then again, apps are the way to go.

Ability to function across a wide a range of devices: Hybrid apps can be developed for a wide range of devices using iOS, Android and Windows.

Competition: If getting a mobile app will make your business stand out concerning competition, then again apps are the way to go. The best option in this scenario would be to get both a website and an app to expand your reach.

Advantages of Apps

• With the constant expansion of the internet and smartphone usage, apps represent a convenient platform for users to search and compare products and services.
• In the case of apps, geofencing can be used for marketing based on the location of your customers.
• Apps make it easy to send out notifications of the latest products and offers.
• Apps can be used to send customised invitations and offers to expand your customer base.

Advantages of Websites

• A website can help you reach out to a wide consumer base, especially if you are a newly launched business.
• A website can be an important step in the process of brand-building, potential clients or customers have to be impressed by the content on your website. The website needs to contain all the information about your company and why you are a better choice than your competitors.
• An interactive forum on your website can go a long way in building loyal customers. Customers will feel gratified if their requests and complaints are dealt with in a swift and courteous manner.
• Not all internet users have a smartphone, but most of them will have a computer or access to one nearby. A website will enable you to reach out to a large number of people.

The Best of Both Worlds

In the end, getting both a website and an app will be of great help in establishing and expanding your business. You will be able to combine the features and advantages of both these platforms and reap the benefits. In other words, you will be able to eat your cake and have it too.

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When technology has been progressing in leaps and bounds, the above-posed question in the title is bound to surface for most digital marketing agencies. And it does take more than an insight to determine the validity and extent of such concerns.

Being on Top of the Game:

One thing cannot be denied, the presence of digital marketing agencies in the virtual world have been increasing on a continuous basis, making the existing competition between them tougher.

Thus, to make a mark concerning ingenious web solutions like a responsive website or a user-friendly app, for example, web designing and development companies are going to great lengths to have their clients make the most out of the digital world.

The Question of Choosing Wisely:

Yes, it is always about choosing the best possible platform for the client for a web designing and development agency. The platform which can be from an extremely appealing mobile app to that of a very informative website happens to trigger some decisive factors. These can be;

• The expected budget. Mobile apps tend to be built at a much higher cost than the very basic and simplest form of available websites.
• Aiming for the target audience. Websites have a definitive edge over most apps by being available to a greater number of users.
• Users or clients that have the requirement of knowing the location of their end user customers along with the provision of navigation can aim for app development.
• Apps are also suitable for the real-time deliverance of information.
• Compatibility is another requirement that should also be of consideration. Mobile apps are nowadays readily made for application platforms like Androids.

Money is Not a Constraint:

What if we have a situation where the client is willing to spend a good amount of money for effective digital presence? It is there that follows the feasibility of both app and website development.

A client can very well vouch to develop an informative website with the right content as well as delightful mobile apps suited to every available platform of handheld devices. With the existence of such a ground, a company can be largely successful by being accessible to all.

The Rising cost of Mobile Apps:

You might be wondering as a reader of this piece as to why mobile based apps tend to be much costlier than the good old websites? The answer mostly lies in the fancy features of the app which can be understood going by its intended use.

No to Websites:

It is this standpoint that most business organisations should be observing if they are to have a complex representation of data such as financial reports. It would be a nightmare if, in place of a dedicated mobile app, a website is accessed through mobile devices for viewing such data.

Easy Updating Procedure:

When it comes to informative websites, they are much more suitable to be updated on a timely basis than apps. This is the same reason why hybrid apps exist that are web based as websites undergo frequent updating procedure.

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If you are an entrepreneur looking to make a mark in your chosen domain, making your presence felt in the digital world is the sine qua non for success.  This essential condition leads to an inevitable dilemma – What should you Build- An App or A Website?

Mobile websites are websites which are designed to be accessed via smartphones and are hence adaptable to smaller screens and the touch screen interface. Apps are downloaded and installed on your mobile device rather than being accessed through the browser. The App may access data using the Internet or may download the content so that it may be used offline.

Mobile websites and apps look deceptively similar, and it’s difficult to predict the outcome of this war of technologies. However, you must answer these following questions to understand which side of the war you must ally with.

Do You Want To Widen Your Audience?

If you want to expand your user base, then a mobile website will be of better help to you than a mobile application. This is because a mobile website is accessible to anyone with a mobile browser across a range of devices such as iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc. as well as search engines and can be easily shared amongst users. Apps, on the other hand, have to be downloaded and installed from the device specific app portals such as Apple’s iStore, Android Market or Blackberry App World so that they are compatible with the user’s operating system. This can act as a significant barrier to the initial engagement of the user and the subsequent conversion.

How Interactive Is Your Idea?

If your idea or product is such that the user has to use it more than five times a day, then it’s a good idea to develop a mobile application versus a mobile website. This is apparent for products like games, email, social media, notes, reminders and so on- they are utilised via an app because they provide a user experience through interactivity and personalisation. Also, via the app, they are faster and easier to access.

Do You Need To Use The Native Features Of The Phone?

While responsive mobile web browsers are becoming savvier when accessing the mobile specific features such as the SMS, GPS and so on, an app is a step ahead in making use of your smartphone’s camera, sensors and most importantly, processing power.

Does Your User Need Your Product Offline?

Mobile websites cannot be accessed without the internet as they source their data on a real time basis and while apps have the ability to store the user data locally on the mobile phone.  Forests, Caves, Basements, and Trains, etc. are places where one very often does not have access to the internet -which points towards the need to have complementary location-dependent apps such as Google Maps which allows one to download the map and use it with navigation offline! If your solution is such, that the users may require to use it under offline conditions, a mobile app is what you should be looking at.

How Complex Is Your Product?

If your product involves complicated calculations and reports, a dedicated app is a prudent choice to make.  The scrolling, editing, reviewing, calculations and recalculations will be nightmarish using the mobile websites and easier using the optimised user interface of a native app.

How Often Will You Be Updating Your Product?

A mobile website affords more flexibility in updating content when compared to a mobile application.  If the mobile website has to be edited or upgraded, the changes can be easily incorporated and published. In the case of a mobile application, the process is much more tedious since the updates have to be pushed to the users who have to download and install them. Besides, different versions of the apps on different platforms have to be upgraded separately.

What Is Your Budget?

With a veritable app rush, many entrepreneurs and businesses rush into developing an app. An app may seem to be the snazziest new way to connect to your users, but you should invest in one only after calculating your returns realistically because the development cost of an app is sizable and such expense is pointless if you can achieve your target using a mobile website. Also, multiple versions of the application have to be developed for compatibility with multiple platforms if the application has to be present on the App Stores of all the devices.

Development of a mobile website is considerably more efficient in terms of time and money when compared to the development of an application. Moreover, after the initial investment and launch, support and maintenance are much more expensive and time consuming for a mobile application when compared to a mobile website.

The app versus website dilemma will intensify as organisations seek to establish a mobile presence in a more and more smartphone friendly audience.  In this dynamic scenario, it is simply a question of tradeoffs, and at the end of the day, it is about choosing what is right for your business.

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