The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) is to replace its SAP ERP system with UNIT4 Agresso Finance and Procurement hosted in the cloud. The solution will help the authority to reduce administration, cut costs, improve operational visibility and equip employees with the cutting edge technology they need to rapidly adjust to sector change.
SQA, a non-departmental government body, provides schools, colleges, training organisations and employers with services to develop and deliver qualifications and assessments. It has a pivotal role in developing skilled workforces in Scotland, the UK and around the world.
UNIT4 Agresso Finance and Procurement will be used to optimise SQA’s financial activities. For the first phase it will underpin the financial activities of 700 core employees; in subsequent phases the Software as a Service element is key, the commercial terms will accurately reflect the demand generated by an extra 17,000 SQA employees who work during peaks in the academic calendar carrying out activities such as course development, exam invigilation and marking.
“Given our current model UNIT4 Agresso will provide a service that will deliver better value and greater flexibility and control for the SQA, from both a business and technology perspective,” said Stuart Davidson, Director of Business Systems at SQA.
“We will only pay for the software we use. Additionally Agresso’s mobile capability and friendly user interface will improve employee engagement and give our temporary and core staff convenient access to their finances at a time and place that is convenient to them.
“We must continually strive to deliver better value for money,” said Davidson. “There are increasing demands on finance and other areas of the business to understand and manage costs. The analytics capabilities of UNIT4 Agresso will give us new levels of visibility on the performance of our business and ensure we have the correct information on which to base decisions.”
The flexibility of the solution was also deemed important to the Authority, allowing the finance team to configure it themselves thereby significantly reducing the IT development costs associated with the SAP system.
“We are delighted to be working with the SQA,” said Helen Sutton, Sales and Marketing Director for UNIT4 Business Software in the UK and Ireland. “The service model that it provides is perfectly suited to reap the benefits of the rich business functionality and leading mobile, analytic and cloud technology provided by UNIT4 Agresso.”
For the future the authority plans to leverage even greater business benefits from the technology by implementing and integrating UNIT4 Agresso human resources and payroll into the platform.
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