(Professional Services Automation) An information system designed to organize, track and manage all opportunities, work, resources, costs, revenues and invoices to improve the productivity and efficiency of the workforce. It is primarily targeted toward professional service organizations (PSOs), such as IT consulting firms and accounting firms, or professional service divisions (PSDs) within a company that bill for services performed by their employees.
From Start to Finish
An integrated system supports all phases of the project from first contact to collecting cash and posting revenue. The initial data may be derived from a CRM system when the project is ready to be assessed, or it can be managed entirely within the PSA system. PSA systems help convert the sizing and scoping of a project (the presales effort) into implementation timetables.
Key Functions
PSA systems provide resource management and information sharing and reserve and assign personnel based on skills, availability, career goals and travel preferences. A key element is Web-based data entry so that consultants can record their time and expenses on the job for efficient billing and project and customer management. For companies that sell products, the system may integrate inventory and billing.
As an example of integrated systems, the following functions are supported in Lawson Software's PSA suite. See CRM.
Contact Management
Opportunity Management
Client Management
Contract Management
Project/Engagement Management
Knowledge Management
Resource Management
Resource Assignments and Scheduling
Time and Expense Reporting
Project Accounting
Billing and Revenue Management
From Start to Finish
An integrated system supports all phases of the project from first contact to collecting cash and posting revenue. The initial data may be derived from a CRM system when the project is ready to be assessed, or it can be managed entirely within the PSA system. PSA systems help convert the sizing and scoping of a project (the presales effort) into implementation timetables.
Key Functions
PSA systems provide resource management and information sharing and reserve and assign personnel based on skills, availability, career goals and travel preferences. A key element is Web-based data entry so that consultants can record their time and expenses on the job for efficient billing and project and customer management. For companies that sell products, the system may integrate inventory and billing.
As an example of integrated systems, the following functions are supported in Lawson Software's PSA suite. See CRM.
Contact Management
Opportunity Management
Client Management
Contract Management
Project/Engagement Management
Knowledge Management
Resource Management
Resource Assignments and Scheduling
Time and Expense Reporting
Project Accounting
Billing and Revenue Management
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- Shouldn’t services firms have their own ERP?
- I caught up this week with Morris Panner, CEO of OpenAir now part of NetSuite. One aspect of our wide-ranging conversation concerned the continuing evolution of businesses, the economy, etc. towards a greater services orientation. Drawing on that, we discussed how services firms need their own version of ERP. ...
- Blog posts 2009-09-25
- Interview with Microsoft’s Seth Patton
- More from the Project Conference Seth Patton is the senior marketing director for Microsoft Project. I got thirty minutes alone with Seth at the Microsoft Project Conference 2009 show this afternoon. We discussed several topics impacting the PSA professional services automation and PPM...
- Blog posts 2009-09-16
- More on Microsoft Project 2010
- The Completeness of the PPM Solution Grows (More from the Project Conference 2009 in Phoenix) As the demonstrations of Project 2010 continue, I noted the following: 1) Microsoft has added a lot of functionality in its Resource Management and Time Entry...
- Blog posts 2009-09-16
- Microsoft’s Project 2010
- The conference announcements so far... I just watched Microsoft executives demonstrate the upcoming Project 2010 product here in Phoenix at the Project Conference 2009. Here are my first blush comments/observations: 1) The product has matured significantly as a PPM solution....
- Blog posts 2009-09-16
- Interesting things I've been briefed on lately...
- NetSuite, CA, iTrade Network, Meridian Project Systems, UC4, Project Open,.... NetSuite has some new financial consolidation/planning functionality in their SaaS solution. It permits global firms to handle currency conversion. Adaptive Planning’s software is at the core of this solution. This technology does not currently use...
- Blog posts 2009-09-15
- Imagine that! More innovation in PPM
- When Ideation Meets Project Management Innovation in the PSA/PPM space was missing for much of this decade. Professional Services Automation software and Project Portfolio Management software had fallen into a WYSIWYG what you see is what you get status for a while. That’s...
- Blog posts 2009-09-08
- Wedding Bells: NetSuite + OpenAir + QuickArrow
- When PSA and SaaS Got BIG! Today, NetSuite announced it is buying QuickArrow, an Austin, Texas based PSA professional services automation vendor. This $20 million deal will put QuickArrow with OpenAir, another PSA solution that NetSuite acquired a little over a year ago. Click here for the...
- Blog posts 2009-07-22
- Limits urged on genetic testing
- Limits urged on genetic testingPreexisting conditions.Nothing will be used to help the consumer. It is used against the consumer to maximize profits. Wait till some genome company gets to broker your data. This is the future goldmine. It is more profitable to collect premiums and then bump them off thru...
- Discussion threads 2009-07-07
- Adding agility to Compuware's Changepoint
- Compuware made a number of announcements re: Changepoint yesterday. Changepoint is the company’s project portfolio management solution. Changepoint is primarily targeted to mid-to-large IT organizations. Briefly, the company outlined a number of product directions for the near-term as well as showcased its Accelerator for agile development projects. ...
- Blog posts 2009-06-16
- News to know: Bing, Twitter, Kindle, E3, Red Hat, Istanbul
- Here are today’s notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily. For continuous updates see BNET’s around-the-Web tech coverage. Larry Dignan: Bing is live: Nice first impression; Will Bing boost Cashback? Bing's real return: A catalyst to a...
- Blog posts 2009-06-02
- Severa â€" PSA/PPM discussion with Zaki Usman
- The battle for low-cost, SaaS-based PSA/PPM is heating up Severa, a PSA/PPM (professional services automation/project portfolio management) vendor, has recently launched their newest product line: Severa 3. This is a Web 2.0, SaaS software as a service solution targeted for many professional services firms. The...
- Blog posts 2009-06-01
- News to know: Oracle-Sun, IBM, Apple ads, Windows 7
- Here are today’s notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily. For continuous updates see BNET’s around-the-Web tech coverage. Complete coverage of Oracle-Sun news: Larry Dignan: Oracle buys Sun; Now owns Java; Becomes a hardware player ...
- Blog posts 2009-04-21
- QuickArrow taking PSA to the small business market
- A solution tailored for its users I spoke recently with QuickArrow’s CEO Kevin Bury and learned a fair bit about their firm’s newest product line: QuickArrow Small Business Edition. The company actually took the time to study this market segment in detail before...
- Blog posts 2009-04-20
- JobOrder 2009 (Mac)
- Designed to maximize business productivity, JobOrder is comprehensive and robust software that automates the flow of information throughout your entire business �¢â�¬â�� from the moment a prospective client calls for a proposal until the final invoice is sent. JobOrder business process software streamlines repetitive administrative tasks, continuously refining your company�¢â�¬â�¢s...
- Software downloads 2009-04-06
- Compuware’s New Application Portfolio Management Accelerator
- Tying PPM and APM Together Compuware recently briefed me on their new ChangePoint Application Portfolio Management APM product. Here’s my quick review. The Business Problem CIOs and the IT departments they are responsible for often spend very little of their budget...
- Blog posts 2009-04-02
- PSA: Subscribe to The ToyBox via RSS, e-mail or mobile
- If you dig the gadget news and reviews from this blog -- maybe it's Gadget Gal's daily deals that whet your appetite -- you can get them in four other ways besides visiting The ToyBox blog homepage: If you're a newshound, subscribe to our RSS feed. ...
- Blog posts 2009-03-31
- News to know: IBM, Open Cloud Manifesto, Web 2.0 Expo, Conficker, Microsoft ad
- Here are today’s notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily. For continuous updates see BNET’s around-the-Web tech coverage. Larry Dignan: IBM revamps server lineup based on Intel's Nehalem Larry Dignan: Can you have an Open Cloud Manifesto...
- Blog posts 2009-03-30
- Weekend PSA; subscribe to the Smartphones & Cell Phones blog
- My ZDNet Mobile Gadgeteer blog has thousands of RSS subscribers and I noticed that this still rather young Smartphones & Cell Phones blog has just a few of you subscribed to the feed. Thus, as a weekend public service announcement I wanted to make you aware that you can subscribe...
- Blog posts 2009-03-28
- News to know: Firefox, Palm, AT&T, Sprint, Facebook friends
- Here are today’s notable headlines. You can get News To Know via email alert and RSS daily. For continuous updates see BNET’s around-the-Web tech coverage. Paula Rooney: Firefox 3.1 beta 3 "done," Firefox 3.5 beta 4 due April 14 Sam Diaz: Palm to SEC:...
- Blog posts 2009-03-11
- PSA: Print your resume for free at FedEx Office, tomorrow only
- PSA: Print your resume for free at FedEx Office, tomorrow onlyResume-quality paper?Don't waste time with fancy paper -- companies just want something that will scan well.
- Discussion threads 2009-03-10
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