Project Business Automation (PBA) the Software Category
Project Business Automation (PBA) is a category of enterprise software that integrates and automates core project business processes within a single, unified system for project-driven organizations.
The History and Evolution of Project Business Automation
Moving from fragmented silos to a single source of truth.
Fragmentation Era
Historically, project-driven companies have used disparate tools for decades: spreadsheets for tracking, budgeting and costing, a generic ERP for accounting, and 3rd-party tools for scheduling.
Visibility & Control Gap
This paradigm creates operational and data silos, leading to lack of visibility and control over the core business (projects).
The Rise of PBA
Project Business Automation has emerged to bridge the gap between the execution level (the project) and the financial level (the business).
The Business Case: Why Project Business Automation
Companies in most all non-project based of industries have an ERP that manages their entire core business: Manufacturing, Retail, Logistics, Distribution, etc. These comprehensive systems that allow them to see and control processes across their entire product or service lifecycle.
Project-based companies do not have that single business management system, especially in the tier-1 ERP market. This makes their processes inefficient and the ability to optimize business performance difficult.
Project-driven business is uniquely problematic to manage in a transactional business system that was not designed for it.
PBA acts as the system that brings these two worlds together.
Who coined the term PBA?
The term Project Business Automation was first used by Adeaca in 2019 for solution Adeaca Project Business Automation. The leaders of Adeaca had created the most comprehensive and capable project solution for the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform, and existing software categories (PPM, PSA, etc.) did not adequately describe what they had built.
Adeaca was focused on bringing projects inside the company’s main business system (the ERP) and unifying the execution layer of projects with the core financial and operational system. The term itself marries the concepts of project management with the business side and streamlining and managing the entirety of a project-driven business in one system.
Hence: Project Business Automation
Adeaca PBA has now evolved into PlanAutomate, PBA for Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Core Pillars of PBA
Project Business Automation (PBA) requires the seamless integration of four areas of project-driven business.
Project Financials
Estimating, budgeting, costing, forecasting, and actuals in one system that connects directly to the companies core financials. This provides real-time visibility into project costs, cash flow, revenue recognition, and earned value management.
Project Operations
Project scheduling, resource management, procurement, and production are seamlessly connected with the financial side of the project to enable the real-time coordination and visibility across the project.
Project Governance
A standardized system for approval processes, change control, and period-close management to ensure data integrity.
Project Insight
Real-time consolidation of data and reporting in one system that delivers actionable intelligence automated monitoring.
Business Benefits of PBA
Single Source of Truth
No more debating on which spreadsheet is correct. Everyone has access to actionable real-time intelligence for their role.
Risk Mitigation
Early warning systems are built in real-time monitoring of schedules and financials.
Increased Margins
Visibiliy precise control mean you can optimize your processes and resources, aligning efforts across the organization.
Scalability
Standardized processes allow the business to grow without adding administrative layers.
AI-Ready
Standardized and structured data provide AI with a solid foundation for analysis and optimization of your projects.
PlanAutomate: PBA for Dynamics 365
While Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance is a world-class platform, project-driven companies require a specific layer of capabilities that cater to their needs.
PlanAutomate provides the PBA standard for the Microsoft ecosystem.
PlanAutomate transforms D365 Finance into a complete business system for project-centric companies. It is the one system that is truly capable of handling all project business processes in a single system.
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