The primary difference between “Spend Radar” and previous Spend Classification/Reporting tools is that the entire application has been developed with a “data-driven architecture”.  How is this important to our customers, channel partners, and you?  Because a data-driven architecture creates an entirely new capability for Spend Analysis and Spend Management for companies who could not previously afford to do so, or have only done it to the “10,000 foot level”.  A data-driven approach not only makes detailed Spend Analysis more affordable with an even bigger payoff, it also adds new capabilities not previously available.  So what is a data-driven architecture, and why is it a much better way to drive Spend Analysis?

In an over-simplified explanation, a data-driven architecture impacts and greatly facilitates 4 primary areas of Spend Analysis.

1. Collecting data.  Data-driven is just that, you can collect virtually ANY Spend related data you desire, and tie it all together.  AP, PO, Pcard, Expenses, Invoices, Petty cash, freight bills, etc. and more.  And collecting Spend data, which has typically been a large effort, is now easy.  Literally it can take a few hours.  No more file formatting, just provide a header row.  You can integrate more data, which drives more analysis, which gains more visibility into what is going on in the company and therefore expanded visibility into what opportunities exist for savings.
2. The business-specific database.  Before, databases evolved over years of sophistication with relational data.  The problem was; every company is different, has different data, there is business-specific custom data, the data has different relationships, and the data must be integrated to the company’s overall business model.  So a “set” database, even with “optional fields” was cumbersome.  Data-driven means the database can be dynamically created specifically for the business based on their unique data and needs.  This then provides more advanced data relationships and business intelligence regarding Spend.
3. The Reporting and Measuring.  Previously, number (2) above and reporting were tied together.  You needed a “set” database that could consistently drive back-end reporting.  So a dynamically driven database that was business-specific to a company was hard to deliver, and still maintain the back-end reporting.  Now there are “in-memory” reporting tools that have much more capability than previously available.  Now the entire dataset can be completely loaded so you can view and analyze millions of transactions all at one time.  The reporting can remain consistent across customers because it is data-driven – tagged to the variable business-specific databases created in (2) above.  This greatly increases the measuring and monitoring that can be done with dashboards, reporting, and performance management.  If you have the data collected in (1) above, and related in (2) above, you can see it, measure it, and manage it.
4. The cost.  A data-driven architecture is quite the break-through in Spend Analysis.  Not only are the above capabilities simplified and expanded in capabilities, the cost to do so is lessened.  No more outsourcing of data to foreign lands, but a tool that has evolved over 12 years and across over a hundred projects to solve the many problems and needs for a wide variety of customers, that can now be tailored for your business.  This was not easy for software companies in the past!

Think about it what a data-driven approach can provide – All your Spend data, your business-specific Spend database, and your specific reporting and dashboards – specifically tailored for your business structure and Spend Analysis needs.  Once you see the new capabilities associated with a data-driven Spend Analysis approach, the skepticism and fears melt away.  A data-driven tool can truly help your company gain Spend visibility and savings much more rapidly, easier, and at less cost than ever before.