Achieving economies with the cloud eco-system

We are often heard quoting the advantages of the cloud eco-system and how the whole idea of being on the cloud is a quicksell. Being on the cloud should eliminate geographical borders and bring work capabilities closer. But how much location agnosticism can the cloud achieve?

A case study of location agnosticism with the cloud

Let's call our company Digits Pte.Ltd. Its regional headquarters are in Singapore and subsidiaries are across the Asia Pacific region. The company had a hard time coordinating the compliance- and accounting-related issues in its various locations.

Singapore being a tech savvy nation, everything from incorporation to annual returns filing and tax can be managed on the cloud. ACRA’s Bizfile and IRAS’s MY Tax Portalare prime examples of how cloud efficiencies can be maximised.

The management and control for Digits is located in the UK and it is geographically impossible to have an eye on the day-to-day affairs of its Asia subsidiaries. Enter the cloud!

1.    A central accounting software

One of the first things that helped Digits automate processes was to have a centralised accounting function. Digits appointed a Singapore-based accounting firm to manage the books of five locations from its local office. As the entire work was managed using cloud technology, there was no reason for a face-to-face interaction or locational intervention for completing bookkeeping.

2.    Document sharing and maintenance

Technology replaced the need for maintaining stacks of papers that was not serving any purpose. It was indeed gathering dust in one of Digits’s low-cost back office. With the advent of the cloud eco-system, the entire documentation was shifted to digital media.

The legal position in Singapore by IRAS and ACRA regarding digital documents are supportive of a paperless environment. This was studied for other locations and wherever a “less paper” approach was accepted, documents were digitised with no room to spare.

The efficiencies do not stop there. Document sharing became a breeze after Digits adopted secure cloud-based document sharing techniques. A team of accountants and lawyers were no longer required to visit the locations to collect documents and carry them off.

3.    Client interaction and resource planning

We spoke about accounting and compliance at large and how cloud helped Digits integrate these functions into one central location – Singapore. How about a CRM or resource planning at large? Cloud-based CRM systems cater to a variety of needs an organisation may have.

Being on the cloud facilitates the higher management to have ground control on how client and resource management happens on a day-to-day basis.

Digit’s group CEO could easily log into the cloud CRM and have up-to-date information on locational resource allocation and disbursement for a period of time. This helped them in planning ahead for corporate events which needed significant resource allocation as well as client engagement.

The entire planning phase of a programme happens where the management is located. This eliminated a complete process of “travel and meet with the team” on location for the CEO who was domiciled in the UK.

4.    Human resource management / Payroll

Automating HR functions was another winner for Digits. Similar to having a consolidated accounting solution, having a payroll and leave management solution across locations was critical. There are many cloud-based payroll systems, based out of Singapore that have global capabilities.  

It is certainly the digital age, we live in a world where a person’s e-persona is much more real than his physical sense. How many times do we get introduced to people on social media and end up making meaningful connections.

Companies around the world are embracing cloud-enabled operational efficiencies. If you haven’t already joined the bandwagon, high time you did so.