When speaking with business leaders evaluating EPM solutionsour team loves to share how straightforward a technology implementation can be. After decades of partnering with CFOs around the world, here are the questions we see the most:

 

1. What is the projected timeline?

With the shift to Cloud EPM, EPMI has seen implementation timelines ranging from 8 to 24 weeks. For most customers with standard requirements, we see project success at around 12-16 weeks.

 

2. What is the estimated cost for customers of our size?

Given confidentiality agreements around our rates and project scoping processes, we cannot share actual cost estimates in writing without an MNDA. However, at around a 12-week timeline, Google has information on average consulting rates for specific resource categories.

 

3. What is the client’s involvement during the implementation process?

EPMI recommends at least 1 or 2 resources per business process for around 12 hours per week. This time commitment is typically higher during the requirements phase at the onset of the project and ramps back up during user testing and training.

 

4. Are there maintenance costs?

There are no annual software maintenance costs for Oracle Cloud EPM, however, a number of our customers elect to have active managed services agreements with our consulting resources for ad-hoc requests during the busiest times of the year.

 

5. What does training look like after an implementation?

As a standard deliverable in any implementation project, EPMI provides an administrative guide that details your environment soup to nuts. Additionally, your team will have access to a library of customized Zoom training recordings specific to your project. Broadly speaking, all of Oracle’s technical documentation is public-facing, and Cloud Customer Connect is a peer-to-peer resource for the customer community. We always like to say: “with Oracle, you can just google it.”

 

6. Are there user access roles?

Sensitive or confidential information is always top of mind during an EPM implementation. Configuring user access roles by title or seniority level is a standard deliverable during an engagement with EPMI.

 

7. Is it easy to use for a non-technical business user?

Yes! We see EPM users ranging from highly skilled technical developers to sales reps who input revenue data once per year. The shift to Cloud technologies has prioritized the experience for the average user, and EPMI strives to build highly accessible but functional applications.

 

8. Can we integrate with any source system?

Yes! We have integrated with almost any source system under the sun. Ranging from ERP systems to HR tools and CRMs, the Oracle EPM platform can support data loads from any application that can output a CSV or flat file.

 

9. Is there a read-only/dashboarding license?

With Oracle Cloud EPM, you can configure report exports and automated emails so anyone can access the PDF version of your desired report. There are some nuances in determining actual user accounts, and we are happy to provide guidance along the way.

 

10. How soon can we start?

We are just as excited as you are! Due to resource demand, we typically request anywhere from 2-4 weeks from executed Statement of Work to project kick-off.