Global Advisors See Growth, Opportunity with EPM Platforms

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In the seemingly endless sea of technology companies building platforms to service customers in a wide variety of use cases, enterprise financial planning platform OneStream might not be as commonly known a name as others. Its recent IPO, which pushed shares above the expected range and raised $490 million, changed that at the end of July, sparking interest in OneStream itself and bringing attention to corporate performance management (CPM) and enterprise performance management (EPM) tools more broadly.

OneStream says it has “250 go-to-market implementation and development partners in their ecosystem who sell to and utilize the platform, and 1,400 customers.” One of those partners, Black Diamond Advisory, was created nearly five years ago specifically to bring the OneStream platform to clients across the U.S. and worldwide.

“Our founding team of leaders has a lot of experience in the EPM space, and a lot of insight into what the other solutions were always lacking. We saw OneStream when it was just starting, and even then we knew they would disrupt traditional offerings,” said Randy Werder, chief executive officer at Black Diamond Advisory. “Then we said, well if the vendor is going to do things differently, what could a consultancy do differently with them?”

Platform vendor offers unified solution to complex problem

Werder said the OneStream platform is an appealing tool because it breaks the traditional mold of financial planning, which required a different “point solution” for each business objective and quickly led to a company needing multiple technology solutions which were all siloed, running off of different data sources, and complicated to maintain.

“Everyone who has worked with EPM knows the struggles of trying to stitch together point solutions and then deal with complicated integrations and keeping up with all of the tech. OneStream’s platform has all of those separate functions within one system, so we don’t have the complications we used to,” said Werder.

“Our platform enables the office of the CFO, and also professionals in operational roles, to access the data and reporting capabilities they need,” said Stephanie Cramp, SVP of Global Alliances at OneStream. “What was previously siloed into different endpoints and on different tools can now all be accessed in one place, and everyone who needs it accesses the same view of clean, organized data.”

Machine learning and AI deliver automated efficiency

The cloud-based platform is now embedded with machine-learning AI analytic tools designed to aggregate data from a variety of business departments, ranging from finance to operations and IT staff. OneStream began the development of the AI capabilities in 2017. Sensible ML, its first AI-enabled offering, launched in 2022; other applied AI features were made available this year. The platform can automate processes such as account reconciliation, human resources management, factory operations planning, deal closing, and more.

“We didn’t just jump on the AI bandwagon this year,” said Cramp. “We’ve been deliberate over the last several years to develop AI and ML into the platform in ways that are helpful, and the AI capabilities of our platform are purpose-built with our customers in mind.”

To Werder, the ability to bring together multiple business use cases and solve complex business problems with one platform is an appealing sales play and an efficiency builder for the consultants and clients alike.

“Every year OneStream has grown, and added new functionality, but they have never lost sight of their mission to provide customer service and ultimately fuel success for their partners and their customers. That really helps us, as the advisory partner, grow with them.”

Financial planning matches IT trends across the channel

While OneStream and Black Diamond Advisory are focused largely on financial and operational planning, the story they have charted the last several years aligns closely with much of the managed services demand across IT needs.

The deployment of cloud solutions has skyrocketed; companies are using more applications than they were five years ago, and now some businesses are realizing they need to rethink their tech stack but not necessarily reduce their cloud spend. As with everything from cybersecurity to successful AI implementation, trusted advisers can be the connector between the competing interests and varied tech needs within an organization.

“Our partner relationships are incredibly important to us and to the success of the businesses who utilize our platform,” said Cramp. “Our partners are typically the first people a business looking to implement new technology are going to, because our partners have developed trusted relationships with their customers and can guide those customers.”

Werder often sees that certain departments, like operations staff or sometimes financial officers, can feel as though technology is being forced on to them rather than given to them to increase their efficiency. Black Diamond Advisory focuses on the objectives, goals, and pain points of executives first and then offers up the technology as a potential solution.

“We are really engaging with customers who need to thoughtfully and carefully consider change management and what that means for their business,” said Werder. “IT, finance and operations are typically different departments with different goals. Asking everyone what they are trying to solve for, then layering in tech that addresses those issues, that’s where we best help clients succeed.”

Long-term success encourages look to the future

Werder said he thinks the advisory ecosystem will continue to see consolidation efforts as consultancy firms, like many MSPs, utilize M&A, investment funding, and collaboration to gain specialty expertise within verticals to better support clients.

OneStream’s recent IPO and commitment to further growth are echoed around the channel as platforms continue to explode in popularity and maturity. Consolidation through M&A and other avenues will also likely dominate news headlines for months, and years, to come. Service providers and other companies that serve end users in an advisory capacity can lead enterprises of all sizes through ongoing digital transformation by owning and supporting change management practices.

Read more about how MSPs and trusted advisors are helping their clients, including with AI adoption.