As we use more technology, cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They’re using new tools and resources that make it easier to commit cybercrimes, and the enterprise users are especially vulnerable. From ransomware to phishing to data breaches—to name just a few—the threats are literally lurking around every corner.
Knowing this, Saviynt has made a name for itself by providing cloud-based identity governance solutions and access management (IGAM) solutions to a wide range of enterprise customers.
Based in El Segundo, Calif., the company developed a platform that provides a single view of all identities across the enterprise, enabling organizations to automate access requests, manage user privileges and enforce security policies.
Saviynt also offers a suite of risk management features that help organizations identify and mitigate security risks. Its solutions continuously monitor access while enforcing a “least privilege” model to ensure that only authorized users can access specific data, applications and resources they need to be able to perform their work.
Managing Access, Thwarting Cybercriminals
Since 2013, Saviynt has been working with a global customer base that includes many Fortune 500 companies. With around 1,000 employees and eight global subsidiaries, Saviynt has been growing steadily since inception.
Company growth has been especially quick over the last 3-4 years.
In 2021, Saviynt had four full-time accountants who managed the multimillion-dollar corporation using QuickBooks and manual processes. “We have eight subsidiaries, so we were clicking into eight different QuickBooks instances and then using completely manual processes to report our financials,” said Matthews. “Every single vendor bill that we processed was manually typed into a system. The workflow approval was handled via email, and then it took more manual steps to make payments from our bank accounts.”
Addressing Core Challenges
Saviynt sells services on a subscription basis, so it was also grappling with revenue recognition challenges — namely ASC 606 compliance. “We manage long-term customer contracts and needed to give consideration to various revenue streams and revenue allocations,” Matthews said. The growing company was using Excel spreadsheets for its revenue projections, an approach Matthews knew would have to be replaced once Saviynt began taking on investors.
“As a high-growth company, we knew that if we didn’t have our ducks in a row before going out and getting financing that we’d be taking value off the table,” she said. “We were at a point where we needed to get on a system where we’d have repeatable processes that give us the same numbers every time we ‘push the button,’ so to speak.”
Picking the Right ERP
Matthews, who had already handled four prior NetSuite implementations, was asked to manage Saviynt’s ERP implementation. Initially, the company considered Sage Intacct, but wasn’t sure if the ERP met its current or future needs, which included finding a Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provider to assist with accounting.
“We paused that effort as I interviewed about nine other companies and found ScaleNorth,” said Matthews. “Our team was underwater at that point, so when we started talking to ScaleNorth both about NetSuite and BPO, we knew we’d found an all-encompassing solution that could handle both.”
Both a BPO provider and a NetSuite implementation partner, ScaleNorth handled Saviynt’s aggressive ERP timeline. The company wanted to implement NetSuite along with ScaleNorth’s outsourced accounting resources. The dual approach worked out well.
“I’ve never had a better experience with the implementation process of any type of software,” said Matthews. “Under normal circumstances, the additional changes we requested would have extended the project by two to six months, but ScaleNorth got us live on Day 1, within three and a half months total.”
Adding up the Benefits
Once its new ERP was in place, Saviynt gained immediate access to department-level financial management that was previously scattered across spreadsheets and QuickBooks. Where closing the books took 20-25 days using that approach, the company has reduced that time down to 8-10 days.
“With NetSuite, the reporting was out-of-the-box and easy. It was a massive change because we’ve never been able to give the management team financial results so quickly.” – Courtney Matthews, VP for Accounting, Tax and Treasury, Saviynt
Saviynt also uses NetSuite to track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and easily manage its monthly recurring revenue and annual recurring revenue reporting. “Using NetSuite’s renewal module, we now know who our customers are and when they’re renewing,” Matthews said.
The company also has a centralized database for both revenue recognition and foreign currency revaluation on both a subsidiary and consolidated basis. It’s been able to improve efficiency without having to add accounting headcount.
“For any company that doesn’t want to necessarily increase headcount as it grows, that scalability is really important,” said Matthews.
There’s More to Come
Matthews is now working with ScaleNorth on Standalone Selling Price (SSP) analysis and wants to learn more about NetSuite’s price lists and tables. At some point in the future, she’d like to add the ERP’s payment module, but is currently using a third-party vendor payment processing application that’s fully integrated with NetSuite.
Saviynt also works with ScaleNorth as its outsourced accounting team on a BPO level and has access to the company’s entry-level staff, accounting managers and other professionals.
“With ScaleNorth, we have anywhere from eight to 10 resources at any given time helping us, and we work with them as if they were our full-time staff — it’s been incredible,” said Matthews. “As a NetSuite Partner, ScaleNorth has provided huge benefits to our company and our team. We feel very lucky to have found them. It’s taken a massive weight off in terms of our hiring.”