• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Webinar Library
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Professional Services Automation and Project Management Software Are Quite Different

Professional Services Automation and Project Management Software Are Quite Different

March 15, 2013
SupplyChainBrain

The professional services software market is categorized into two main categories, professional services automation (PSA) and project management (PM).  These type of software include different feature sets but have overlapping functionality, full ERP suites and best-of-breed (BOB) point solutions, and therein lies the confusion.  Adding complexity to the selection process:  the market is further distinguished by full ERP suites that offer a few components of professional services, and point solutions that encompass the full lifecycle for PSA.

Several ERP vendors have modules within their software to address professional services and some are specifically targeted to service-based organizations.  While ERP entails auxiliary and supporting functionality, most are not specifically written for service-based businesses or do not support the delivery of professional services organizations well.  ERP-specific vendors who address professional services in particular, such as UNIT 4 and Deltek, have bridged the gap of supporting professional services automation, billing and delivery of the professional services into one software that greatly streamlines and maximizes PSA delivery.

The remaining portion of the professional services market is the BOB point solutions that encompass either portions of PSA or the entire lifecycle from prospect engagement to post-project synopsis.  These software solutions may include CRM, project lifecycle management, billing and collaboration.  An emerging trend is to add these functionalities to project management features and rebrand the solution as PSA software.  These solutions often pose problems for organizations as there is no clear delineation of functions, and aligning those technologies to specific organizational business objectives becomes difficult.  The introduction of cloud and SaaS solutions provides more options to companies especially within the SMB space.  Many vendors in SaaS PSA and PM are either point solutions with portions of PM or PSA functionality. Then there are vendors that offer the entire lifecycle of PSA. While most of these systems can be deployed as a standalone they are also capable of integrations that support other enterprise software functionality.

PSA and PM software differ in several functional areas and features that separate these markets. PSA software tends to have resourcing and scheduling, retailed billing with expense and budget management, demand planning, workflow creation, deeper collaboration both internally and externally and a sophisticated level of automation.   Organizations rarely can differentiate if these functionalities belong to PSA or project management tools.  PSA software contains the additional functions listed to traditional project management software to create a more defined and separate software market in order to automate service-based businesses and all of the operational components to properly guard against loss of revenue.  PSA software provides a deeper tool set to accommodate outsourcing and other areas where companies may lose revenue for not tracking time and labour associated with projects.

                                      The Outlook

Organizations need to settle upon a strategy when selecting software for service-based businesses.  Areas that require closer investigation are whether to select a services-based ERP specifically, an ERP with service-based components or a BOB point solution.  The next area of focus is whether to pursue a PSA or PM software as there are many areas of overlapping functionality. Be cognizant of enterprise categories that are added to PM software solutions; these can further complicate a decision.


Keywords: supply chain management IT, supply chain solutions, supply chain systems, professional services software, project management software

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

ERP & Enterprise Systems Technology Consumer Packaged Goods
KEYWORDS consumer packaged goods ERP & Enterprise Systems professional services software project management software supply chain management IT supply chain solutions supply chain systems Technology
  • Related Articles

    Turning Distribution Companies into Professional Software Buyers

    Many Aerospace, Defense Firms Dissatisfied with Project Operations Software, Study Says

    NetSuite Offers Services Automation Tool for U.K., Europe

SupplyChainBrain

Truck Freight Volumes Continued Decline in Fourth Quarter — U.S. Bank

More from this author

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter!

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • DOCUMENTS BEARING THE INSIGNIA OF US CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION LIE ON A TABLE

    New CBP Regs Call for Greater Diligence by Brokers in Reporting Security Breaches

    Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
  • A WORKER IN A WAREHOUSE, SUPERIMPOSED WITH GRAPHICS SHOWING SUPPLY NETWORK

    Enabling Intelligent Visibility With Supply Chain Analytics

    Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
  • The blank stare of a child's eye who is standing behind what appears to be a wooden frame

    The Alarming Continued Rise of Modern Slavery in Supply Chains: How Procurement Can Help Reverse the Trend

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • A GROUP OF WORKERS RANGED IN AN OFFICE, OF DIVERSE RACE, GENDER, AGE AND PHYSICAL ABILITY

    Podcast | The Supply Chain Workforce of the Future Is Already Here

    HR & Labor Management
  • A YELLOW AND BLACK TRAFFIC SIGN THAT READS "VOLATILITY AHEAD"

    Four Strategies for Addressing Supply Chain Disruption

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM

Digital Edition

Scb nov 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • New Revenue for Cloud-Based TMS that Embeds Orderful’s Modern EDI Platform

  • Convenience Store Client Maximizes Profit and Improves Customer Service

  • A Digitally Native Footwear Brand Finds Rapid Fulfillment

  • Expanding Apparel Brand Scales Seamlessly with E-Commerce Technology

  • How a Global LSP Scaled its Security Program and Won More Business

Visit Our Sponsors

Orderful Yang Ming Alithya
Barcoding Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics
CoEnterprise Data Capture Deposco
E2open GAINSystems Generix
Geodis GEP GreyOrange
Here Honeywell Intelligrated IFM
Infor Inmar Keelvar
Kinaxis Korber Lean Solutions Group 2H
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
LogistiVIEW Lucas Systems MCA Connect
MPO Nvidia Old Dominion
OpenText ORTEC Overhaul
Parsyl PMMI QIMA
Redwood Logistics Ryder E-commerce by Whiplash Saddle Creek Logistics
Schneider Dedicated Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD
Shipwell Tecsys TGW Systems
Thomson Reuters Tive Trailer Bridge
Vecna Robotics Verity
Verusen
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2023 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing