1. Xoomworks Whitepaper
Moving to a Procurement Cloud –
The 5 differences to consider.
Moving to a
Procurement Cloud
Article and copy within remains intellectual property of the author and Xoomworks. Content © 2015 Xoomworks Ltd.
Xoomworks Procurement Email: procurement@xoomworks.com Visit: www.xoomworks.com/procurement
PAGE ONE
Introduction
Cloud technology is now widespread not only in the consumer but also in the corporate world. From a consumer standpoint, this includes simple synchronisation
tools such as iCloud, dropbox and Google Drive. The way people are storing their files is changing, to productivity suites such as Microsoft Office 365, migrating long
standingdesktopapplicationstothecloud.Individualsarebecomingmoreandmoreexpectantoftheirtechnologytosupporttheminthishyper-connectedworld.
But what does the cloud actually mean for organisations? What are the key differences between the cloud and the more traditional on-premise corporate systems?
This white paper explores, from an IT and business perspective, what companies need to think about when looking to implement cloud procurement technology,
rather than on-premise and what the ultimate impact on the business will be.
Withtheriseofconsumercloudproducts,peopleinbusinessnow
wantauserexperiencethatissimilartotheonetheyhavewiththeir
mobilephone. Withmobiletechnology,usersexpecttobeableto
gostraightontotheirrelevantappstore,downloadanewpieceof
software,whetherit’saproductivitytool,mobilesynchronisation
product or anything else and go. Cost is low, training is zero, and
in a matter of minutes, users are up and running and using their
new tool straight away. It’s all about innovative solutions, and
havingtheseinnovationseasilyavailableandwrappedupinanice
user experience. This shift in emphasis is starting to be mirrored
by Corporate IT.
Previously,departmentswereheavilyreliantupontheirITdepartment,
who would be responsible for considering alternative software
options in the market, their costs, and how any implemented
solution would integrate with incumbent systems. Today, every
LineofBusinesswithinanorganisationhasmoreinfluenceandit’s
easierforthemtogetholdofITsolutionsthemselves.Departments
want to be able to move quicker, innovate more, and provide a
better end user experience. If IT won’t help – or won’t help fast
enough - the business will ultimately go outside and find their
own solutions. In this way, each area of the business could end
up choosing and purchasing their own systems and cutting out
IT almost entirely. There is a danger that the whole organisation
ends up using disparate systems, which are more difficult (if not
impossible) to manage, making it even harder for IT to be on the
front foot.
The rise of the cloud
The 5 differences to consider

2. Xoomworks Whitepaper
Moving to a Procurement Cloud –
The 5 differences to consider.
1) First - and foremost - cloud solutions
are already built
This is perhaps the biggest difference between on-
premisesolutionsandtheCloud.The“house”isalready
built.Youcanchoosethefurniture,theinternallayout
andthelocation,youdon’tgettodrawtheblueprints.In
contrasttostartingfromnothingandhavingtobuildan
entiresystemfromscratch,thesolutionalreadyexists.
Previously, a project may have started with an empty
sheet of paper. Consultants would be armed with
postitnotesandwouldlockthemselvesaway,literally
mappingoutentireprocessesfromscratch.Now,you’re
starting with a complete solution and then asking
the question of how it can be best utilised to meet
the specific business’s requirements, bearing in mind
thatIthasbeenbuiltfollowingmodernbestpractice.
The question that needs to be asked is “This is what
thesystemdoes,whycan’twedoitlikethis?”–andthis
challengeneedstobeattheforefrontoftheproject’s
mind all the way through. If it can be maintained,
this mentality pays significant dividends in the time
it takes to deploy the system and the ongoing cost,
maintenance and upgrade of features.
Coupa, for example, has taken this pre-built solution
idea to the next level. On day one, the solution is
loaded with different deals from different suppliers
across common items such as stationery and car hire.
Suppliers provide discounts based on potential take
up, and clients therefore can turn on the system and
immediately have a number of more commoditised
categories ready for purchase (taking advantage of
economiesofscale).Ifbusinessescanacceptthatdeals
forcommoditiessuchasstationeryandcar-hirearenot
goingtoprovidecompetitiveadvantage,thentimeis
freed up to focus on areas that can.
Inevitably,removingtheabilitytocustomiseislikelyto
meansomelevelofcompromise.Agreatsolution,built
tobestpractice,mightmeet90%ofyourrequirements,
andwithCloudsolutions,younowhavetomaketougher
calls; do you really need that last 10%? You might be
abletoconfigureit,butifyoucan’tyou’lleitherneedto
convincethesoftwarevendorthatthechangeisvalid
for other customers and therefore build it into their
product roadmap (not an immediate process), build
abespokeadd-on,oracceptthattweakingprocesses
and policies to meet that final 10% is the best way to
avoidlongertermissues. Generally,organisationsopt
for the latter and after the initial intake of breath, the
decision is often forgotten in weeks.
Thistendstoimpactdifferentprocurementsolutionsto
differentdegrees–sourcingandcontractmanagement
have relatively simple functionality (in comparison to
a P2P solution) and their success is more dependent
on the templates and configuration deployed. On-
premise P2P solutions, on the other hand, have often
been blessed with great, customisable workflow and
form-buildingtoolsthathavemeantbusinesseshave
used them to do many non-procurement related
activities. So there are two elements that need focus
- more due diligence up front to understand what
is a reasonable fit and what isn’t, and an acceptance
thatasinglecloudsolutionmaynotdoeverythingthe
previous system did (requiring either another cloud
bolt-on,orabespokedevelopment). Asapositive,this
is an opportunity to understand what is available in
themarketortolooktobuildsomethingverybespoke
that provides a better solution than the customised
system previously used.
Xoomworks own changing trend toward the Cloud...
A case study of Cloud IT Transformation for Procurement
From a personal company perspective, Xoomworks didn’t implement Cloud Procurement projects until 2011. Up to that point they had carried out 62 on-premise
implementation projects. Since then, Xoomworks has carried out almost the same number of cloud implementations in one third of the time. This represented
a paradigm shift for the way in which Xoomworks conducted its business, requiring a change in both methodology and mind set to align with the new cloud
solutions.
Since experiencing it first hand, Xoomworks has actively promoted this growing trend towards the cloud.
The shift to the cloud could initially be seen as a negative for Xoomworks. The projects are shorter, utilising a smaller team size and delivering less revenue. But in
reality, by removing a lot of the time consuming coding and customisation, Xoomworks are now able to spend more time focused on ensuring the client realises the
full business benefits of their new solution.
But in order for organisations to reap the benefits of an agile cloud procurement implementation, they need to recognise that a different approach is required. The
following sections describe these five key differences that successful businesses get right, and the unsuccessful fail to embrace.
Article and copy within remains intellectual property of the author and Xoomworks. Content © 2015 Xoomworks Ltd.
Xoomworks Procurement Email: procurement@xoomworks.com Visit: www.xoomworks.com/procurement
PAGE TWO
The 5 key differences for cloud projects
The bottom line is that IT needs to change. One of the ways it can achieve this is by actively trying to support other departments, putting in place cloud technologies
that are quicker to implement and need significantly less support on the back end. As a result, this then frees time for the IT department to spend looking at what’s
going on in the market, understanding where the businesses problems are, who needs support and ultimately become more proactive. It’s a total transformation of
IT in the business, from a tactical, support driven environment to one of long-term strategy, innovation and much more influence.
The need for IT Transformation

3. Xoomworks Whitepaper
Moving to a Procurement Cloud –
The 5 differences to consider.
Article and copy within remains intellectual property of the author and Xoomworks. Content © 2015 Xoomworks Ltd.
Xoomworks Procurement Email: procurement@xoomworks.com Visit: www.xoomworks.com/procurement
PAGE THREE
2) Teams need to be different...
Project teams for Cloud solution implementations
are very different. Previously, there would be a mass
of people coming in from a consultancy, spending a
yearortwobuildingthesystemforyou.Now,evenona
largeproject,teamsizesarelessthanhalfofwhatthey
used to be. For example, Xoomworks average Cloud
procurement project has a team of 3-4 people, and
the project itself takes half the length it did before. As
a result, Cloud represents a quarter in terms of typical
man-hourcosts.Thesesmallerteamsaremorenimble
with better differentiated roles, with a single point of
contactforspecificareasoftheproject.However,they
do need to work closer with the business. The best
projects are those where the client has a similar size
project team too. They get involved in the design of
thesolution,butnowalsointhebuild;oftentheclient
can help build the system themselves, providing the
bestcovertchangemanagementavailable.Beforeyou
knowit,thebusinessknowshowtousethesystemand
isbuildingchangesinitthemselves.Thisprovidesareal
sense of internal ownership in the project.
In addition, because it’s much quicker, it can be more
agile(nottobeconfusedwithAGILEdevelopment). Once
somekeydecisionsaremadeupfront,configurationis
moreiterativeandresultscanbeseenbythebusiness
in phases. This allows you to go straight back to the
project’sleadershipteam,identifywhat’sworkingand
developthesolutionforotherareasofthebusinessaswell.
3) Things happen faster and more
frequently...
When considering procurement, people often talk
abouttheAmazonexperience.Manypeoplesaythey
want their purchase experience to be more like the
online retailer. The reason it hasn’t been as simple to
providethisinamulti-facetedprocurementsituation
is because of the way on-premise solutions work
within software companies. Previously, the solution
would be sold into the customer and it would then
be heavily customised. The next time the originating
softwarecompanywantedtoroll-outanupgrade,they
would need to take extreme care that what they built
was compatible with the large variety of customised
solutions their customers had now deployed.
In the old world of on-premise, this effort becomes
expensive and time consuming with, on average an
upgradeperformedevery2-3years.Conversely,Amazon
isabletoupgradeorchangesomethingaboutitsuser
experienceevery5minutes.Inthebackground,Amazon
hasautomatedmonitoringsoftwarerunningthatcan
pickuptheimpactofanychangeontheuserexperience.
Those that have a positive impact are kept, those that
don’t are removed. From an end-user perspective
you wouldn’t know, but it’s constantly improving
the service and as a result, Amazon continues to be a
slick experience. The reason they are able to do this is
because they have one site, and that’s all.
Cloud solutions can help clients reach the Amazon
experience.Whereaspreviouslytherewerethousands
of different clients with implementations around the
world, software as a service, allows you to go back to
multi-tenanted single code line – i.e. one application.
Andbecauseit’soneapplicationwithnocustomisation,
newreleasescanbedonemoreeasilyandmultipletimes
ayear.It’smuchmoreresponsivetowhatpeoplewant
andallowssoftwarecompaniestobemoreproactive
intermsofwhattheybelievepeoplewillwantmoving
forward.Thisprovidesahugeimpactonusabilityofthe
systemforthecustomerandamassiveimplicationon
theeffortrequiredmanagingthesoftwareafterwards.
As a result you have to become slicker at managing
new releases and testing. With 3 or 4 major release a
year, you need to understand how new functionality
canbenefityourbusinessandmakesurethatitdoesn’t
conflictwithanycurrentconfiguration,processorpolicy.
Whilethereisnowherenearasmuchtestingrequired
followinganupgradeaspreviouslyencountered,you
stillneedtohavethepeopleinplacetorunthroughit.
4) IT support changes, dramatically
Withatypicalon-premisesolution,afterimplementation
you’dhavehadanITdepartmentthatwouldhavebeen
carrying out a number of activities and running the
system.Forexamplethiscouldincludedatabasesizing,
network capacity, system performance, daily checks.
Now,almosttheentireresponsibilityisremovedfrom
theorganisation,asit’sallcarriedoutintheCloud.The
onlythingneededistoensurethattheintegrationsyou
have to other systems are working properly.
Equally, incident management should also reduce
as there are less customisations meaning less areas
to go wrong, and a better user experience meaning
reducedcallsintoyourhelpdesk. Issuesnowaremore
likely to be data or configuration related, and often
these can be resolved by first or second line support.
These changes have a significant impact on how IT
and helpdesks are structured, and should free-up an
enormous amount of time.
Finally,changerequestsaregreatlyreducedfollowing
theshiftinmentalityaroundthesolution;thebusiness
need to understand that Cloud solutions don’t offer
the option for big bespoke changes to the system,
and as a result there should not be as much IT effort
requiredforthis.Allofthesechangesshouldcutdown
IT application management costs by circa 50%.
Since IT is now spending less time on deep, technical
support,theycaninsteadworkcloserwiththebusiness
to understand other problems and to take a more
proactiveandinnovativeapproachtosolvingthem. This
couldrangefrombettermobileandtabletsupportof
procurementsystems,tolargerbespokedevelopment
ofuserportalstoprovideabetter,singlepointofentry
foruserstotheITsystemsthattheyneedtodotheirjob.
Italldependsontheproblems,butputsimply,thereis
more time to think about the problems and whether
they can be solved with technology. This allows IT to
become more innovative.
ForXoomworks,ourshifttotheCloudallowsustospend
moretimeworkingwithcustomerstounderstandtheir
businesscase,howwecanmeasurethatwe’remaking
the right decisions in the project and also, once live,
that these are realised. We always have the business
case as a focus to analyse and understand.
5)Don’tforgetalotof thingsdon’tchange.
There aren’t a lot of differences aside from those
we’vealreadydiscussed.Don’texpectalotofchange
to miraculously happen. A lot remains the same; you
still need solid project management, you still need
to understand risks and issues, you still need a plan,
you still need training (although this is much more
straightforward) you still need to test, you still have
integration to do, you still need content, you still
need to get the data right, to get suppliers on-board
and bought into the change. Just because the Cloud
representsahugearrayofadditionalbusinessbenefits,
doesn’tmeanyoucanaffordtotakeyoureyeoftheball
on all of these fundamental requirements.
Ifanything,youmayhavetohavemorefocusonchange
management;previouslyifsomethingneededchanging
in the solution, you would flex and customise. Now,
youmaymeetmoreconflictasthatoptionisremoved,
andasaresultmorechangemanagementisrequired.
Overallthough,allthisaddsuptoasignificantreduction
of cost and effort.

4. Xoomworks Whitepaper
Moving to a Procurement Cloud –
The 5 differences to consider.
FOUR
About Xoomworks
Xoomworks is a niche consultancy and outsourcing company that specialises in
Procurement and Business Intelligence. Staff are based in UK and Europe and
consist of technical, business and behavioural consultants, and senior procurement
staff. Our Complete Procurement proposition addresses both the mechanics and
behaviours of Procurement that drive the greatest value for organisations.
Xoomworks Procurement?
Call us now on +44 20 7400 6120 or send an email to procurement@xoomworks.
com www.xoomworks.com/procurement
Article and copy within remains intellectual property of the author and Xoomworks. Content © 2015 Xoomworks Ltd.
Xoomworks Procurement Email: procurement@xoomworks.com Visit: www.xoomworks.com/procurement
PAGE FOUR
Conclusion
Changing your individual and business mentality is key when considering a move to the Cloud. You have
to take the time to understand what the solution you are implementing does and its starting point. And
you have to work with the business at every step of the way. Ultimately it should free up more of your
time from tactical firefighting, to focus more on building your relationships with your customers.
The five differences we’ve discussed cover the pre and during areas of the implementation. Post
implementation, you’ll find that you’re doing less coding and being more innovative. There will be more
time for performance management and continuous improvement, without closing off your customer
success metrics. Going live is just the beginning of the process. Moving forward you still have to drive
everything through, continue to load new content, measure at all times and stay focused on what’s
happening within the business; keep the relationship tight and keep getting and actioning feedback.
There are now more organisations using a wider variety of technology than ever before for different
processes and lines of business. The trend is moving away from a single vendor fitting all, much like using
different technology from different providers on apps on your phone. In a business model, having to
update and use different systems across your corporate environment can be tricky. The challenge is how
to pull this together into a single user experience; how to reflect the home screen of your phone into the
intranet of your organisation, a desktop that guides the user and links it all into a single user experience.
The portal/appsworld for your business.
**To be sure, the bar for how IT adds value to the organization is being raised.
The growing influence of lines of business should serve as a wake-up call for IT: The ability to move
at speed, to foster innovation, to enable new end-user experiences, and positively impact business
outcomes in a measurable way will be instrumental.
If IT does not step up to these challenges, these lines of businesses are likely to invest independently in
the cloud-enabled innovations they demand, creating still more complexity while failing to achieve the
efficiency and consistency that underpin IT’s charter.
**Taken from a global Cisco/Intel Study of 4,226 IT Leaders across 18 Industries and Nine Key
Economies (2013)**