SAP Customer Success Story

Professional Services

OneVision SOLUTIONS

SAP Business ByDesign Lowers

Overhead, Raises Transparency
Quick facts

We dont have an IT department, and

we dont want to have an IT depart
ment. With SAP Business ByDesign,
we can keep overhead down and
continue to grow without worrying
about software updates, databases,
or servers.
Brent Walters, CFO, OneVision Solutions

Company
Name: OneVision Solutions
Location: Dallas
Industry: Professional services
Products and services: Videoconferencing
solutions and services
Revenue: US$30 million
Employees: 45
Web site: www.onevisionsolutions.com
Challenges and Opportunities
Focus on core business competency,
not on IT or the back office
Keep overhead low
Get real-time information for forwardlooking vision
Objectives
Install software as a service to replace
manual processes
Support rapid growth
SAP Solutions and Services
SAP Business ByDesign solution
Implementation Highlights
Used phased approach to roll out
functionality
Encompassed 3 different businesses
and as many different business models
in the rollout

Why SAP
Appeal of on-demand software
Committed involvement in its business
Benefits
Increased efficiency today and improved
view of the future via real-time information
Reduced the time and effort required to
input data
Increased transaction volumes without a
corresponding increase in administrative
overhead
Improved the quality of invoices and
purchase orders
Saved $12,000 annually through reduction
in printing
Gained scalability for global expansion
Existing Environment
Small business financial accounting
software
Microsoft Excel

OneVision Solutions is in the right place at the right time by design.

The company recognized early on the value of videoconferencing
and is benefiting from a growing acceptance of its cost-effective
solutions. OneVision turned to the SAP Business ByDesign solu
tion for a similar reason to help it manage growth cost-effectively.
Software as a service was very
appealing to OneVision for the simple
reason that we wanted to focus on our
core competency, which is to sell video
conferencing solutions and service our
customer base, says Brent Walters,
chief financial officer of OneVision.
We dont have an IT department, and
we dont want to have an IT department.
With SAP Business ByDesign, we can
keep overhead down and continue to
grow without worrying about software
updates, databases, or servers.
Thats the kind of practical approach that
characterizes small to midsize enter
prises. Says Walters, The bottom line
is very important to us; we look for any
cost reduction we can find. We try to
minimize back-office staff. The nice thing
about SAP Business ByDesign is that
were able to use the software as our
back office and minimize the number of
people in accounting and finance.
But SAP Business ByDesign is more
than a force for cost reduction. Like most
fast-growing companies, OneVision
was struggling to keep track of details.
Now its found the business pulse and
is going to keep its finger on it. When

I came on board, the company was

using a small-business financial account
ing package, Walters says. But with
exponential growth, we outgrew the
solution. We needed software that
would allow us to dig deeper. We didnt
have the visibility we needed into infor
mation like profit by product, segment,
or region. We needed something that
would function as a crystal ball, so we
could view these numbers and antici
pate the future.
Now OneVision has a much clearer view.
SAP Business ByDesign provides us
with real-time information, says Ned
Riley, cofounder of OneVision. This
enables us to be much more efficient
in what were doing today and points
us more clearly toward the future.

Rapid Growth Overwhelms

Manual Processes
OneVision implements and sells
advanced videoconferencing solutions
and services. It builds visual networks
from the inside out, including infrastruc
ture and building blocks. Its clients come
from the commercial marketplace as
well as education; healthcare; and state,
local, and federal government agencies.

Rapid growth was overwhelming the

companys manual processes. We
were using folders ranging in bulk from
two to three pieces of paper to a twoinch-thick stack, says Walters. Wed
move a folder from one persons desk to
the next persons desk; it would change
hands seven or eight times before a
transaction was complete. This was
a good opportunity for information to
get lost. Tom Opsahl, cofounder of
OneVision, admits, As our growth
exploded, we realized that our infra
structure, systems, and procedures
were those of a mom-and-pop shop.
Not anymore. SAP Business ByDesign
has enabled us to drastically reduce the
time we spend inputting data, Opsahl
says. We dont use Microsoft Excel
spreadsheets anymore; SAP software
took care of that. As transaction vol
umes increased dramatically, we havent
similarly increased back-office staff.
Our people have become more efficient,
and we have better procedures in place
to reduce mistakes. We pride ourselves
on invoices and purchase orders being
correct. SAP Business ByDesign
enables us to do this.
The SAP software also helps
OneVision be profitably green. We
store invoices, purchase orders, sales
orders, and journal entries online,
Walters says. Theres no reason to
keep hard copies and files. We invoice
customers via PDFs. Were probably
saving $12,000 a year by not purchas
ing print supplies.

SAP Business ByDesign provides us with real-time information. This

enables us to be much more efficient in what were doing today and
points us more clearly toward the future.

Ned Riley, Cofounder, OneVision Solutions

On-Demand Software Lowers

Up-Front and Ongoing Costs
OneVision evaluated a number of alter
natives before choosing SAP Business
ByDesign. The appeal of on-demand
services is the low up-front investment
and, probably more important, the fact
that you dont need the staff an in-house
system requires, Opsahl says. With
an on-premises system, you have
servers and databases and IT people
managing them. The on-demand model

us as a distinctive, individual entity and

worked with us to determine the needs
of our business today and in the future.

Phased Approach Matches

Business Needs
Balancing those needs of today and
tomorrow, OneVision is taking a stepby-step approach to deploying the soft
ware. The company is currently using
the sales order and order fulfillment
side of SAP Business ByDesign. The

With an on-premises system, you have servers and databases and IT people
managing them. The on-demand model of SAP Business ByDesign takes away
those issues. That was a huge benefit.
Tom Opsahl, Cofounder, OneVision Solutions

of SAP Business ByDesign takes away

those issues. That was a huge benefit.
Wed rather invest our money in people
who can take care of our customers.
We like to focus the expertise on driving
the success of our clients and our
business.
OneVision liked the fact that SAP
demonstrated the same level of interest
in its business that OneVision shows its
own customers. Were not box pushers,
were solution providers, says Riley.
SAP did not bring us a one-size-fits-all
application. SAP sales and development
people took a collaborative approach.
SAP personnel came in and looked at

wonderful thing about SAP Business

ByDesign is that the sales order is now
integrated with the purchase order,
which provides actual transaction gross
profit per transaction, Walters says.
Were also using the procure-to-pay
process purchase order, vendor
invoicing, goods and services receipts,
and vendor payment. Were next
looking at warranty, maintenance, and
technical services functionality within
the software.
The company likes being able to acti
vate parts of the software as needed.
The great thing about SAP Business
ByDesign is that we own it all. We just

flip the switch and turn things on as

we need them, Riley says. SAP
Business ByDesign gives us a tremen
dous amount of flexibility and can grow
over time to reflect the needs of our
company, our market, and our clients.
SAP Business ByDesign is also easy
to replicate.
Ready replication was crucial to
OneVision because the company has
more than one business. SAP
Business ByDesign lets us support
multiple businesses and business
models, Walters says. OneVision
Solutions is built around a drop-ship
model with service. We also have
Direct Packet Research Inc., which is
more of a true inventory model. We
have a consulting arm called Duality,
which is strictly service. Were using
the software to support these different
operations and consolidate them into
one financial statement.
SAP Business ByDesign supports
OneVisions global expansion as well.
The companys client base spans the
continental United States, Alaska, and
Hawaii as well as Europe, the AsiaPacific region, and the Middle East.
Says Opsahl, As we get more global,
we have to become more localized to
cater to specific needs. SAP Business
ByDesign can adapt to local and
national requirements in areas like
sales tax, VAT, and currency. This will
be very important to us in the future.

www.sap.com /contactsap

Software Delivers a Clear View

into Business Operations
OneVisions expanding client base puts
a premium on transparency exactly
what SAP Business ByDesign delivers.
SAP Business ByDesign has definitely
improved our visibility into operations,
says Walters. Our goal is to reach
$100 million by 2014. I personally feel
that were on the track, given our busi
ness model and the on-demand busi
ness solution from SAP. SAP Business
ByDesign has given us the clarity that
we need to develop our business to
where we want to be.
That includes changing the way it does
business when needed. SAP Business
ByDesign allows a lot of flexibility in how
we approach our business, Walters
says. The way we do business today
is not the same way well be doing
business next year. For us to continue
down the growth path we want, our
business model, reporting requirements,
and management structure will have to
change. With SAP Business ByDesign,
we can quickly change these structures
as needed.

OneVision can make those changes

confidently because it can simulate
them beforehand. Says Walters, We
can do what-if scenarios to see the
impact the change is going to have on
our financials. Were able to slice and
dice information from the detail level all
the way up to a summary or dashboard
viewpoint. The software enables us to
test what we want going forward and
see what makes the best sense for the
company. SAP Business ByDesign
gives us a clear view of where the busi
ness is going and a lot more flexibility to
carve out our niche within the industry.

50 101 370 (10/08)

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