The 6 Key Considerations when Migrating from HFM to FCCS

FCCS migration is all the rage at the moment, and you have probably heard that it is very easy to migrate any of your HFM applications to the cloud. 

In most cases this is true, but occasionally some applications can prove more difficult to move than others.

What does FCCS offer over HFM?

Regardless of what application you are running, let’s first consider the general benefits of FCCS over HFM to see if it’s something you should be considering:

• Pre built functionality and out box of content FCCS has taken the best of HFM consolidation features and capabilities to incorporate them in a whole new product.

• Holistic approach to Record to Report process that includes heavy emphasis on collaborative reporting.
• Powered by EPM Cloud platform FCCS was developed for SaaS and has a process driven navigation.

That’s a lot of potential benefits,  so we understand and support the desire to move to the Cloud Application, however there are also some potential drawbacks that one should take into account before taking the plunge.

5 Key Points to Consider Before Switching to FCCS

Application design is key, and using the documentation is a great first step for making sure you get the design right when moving to FCCS from HFM. But how does one know exactly what to look out for, and how to avoid unnecessary hurdles before the migration?

Before leaping headfirst into a migration, considering the following points could save you from wasting significant time and money:

1. Know your company’s expectations

What is your company trying to achieve by moving from a stable and working on premise environment to cloud?

What are the processes and the measures to be used along the migration, leading to a successful result?

If your current processes are different, is it worth moving to a new one?

1. Have a clear process

Do not only focus on consolidations, but the entire process, such as the Data Load method as well as consolidation performance which can differ considerably with FCCS.

Understand all aspects of the dimensions in order to design or redesign your existing application to fit the FCCS requirements.

When moving from HFM or any other consolidation application, things would be done differently in FCCS, so set that expectation correctly and do not just take an existing process and put a new tool around it, hoping to resolve all your business issues.

1. Consolidation Considerations

Some aspects of consolidation are worth thinking about, such as:

• What tasks do you do during close periods and who does them?
• Where does the data come from and how often is it loaded during a close process?
• Who consumes the data and what are the the expected Reports to be generated?

These are some of the aspects of data that needs to be considered before designing your application for the cloud.

1. Application Design

Design your application based on the requirements and understanding of the current/desired process. Think about all aspects of the application’s existing features, compare them with the FCCS offering and see which exist and which are lacking.

If features are lacking, can you find a workaround, using customization or redesigning your application to fit the new requirements?

This is a major point, as if the application design does not fit FCCS, you might need to review your whole migration plan and see what other EPM product are out there which might meet your business needs better.

You do not want to start the migration and in the middle of the process, realise that you have the wrong application for the wrong product. This is time and money wasted, which could have been better used to meet your go live date.

As a general consideration, think about the aspects of your application design that could impact performance, as this is still one aspect of FCCS that has not yet reach HFM level and where possible avoid creating unnecessary dimensions which could affect performance.

1. Reporting requirements

Reports are generally the primary objective of an application, so it is very important to ensure that the application/dimension design can meet all of your reporting needs.

FCCS now has far more then just financial reports, including intercompany, journals, close monitoring and supplemental data collection. Be sure to investigate its full potential, there may be new possibilities for your business.

Understanding the reports formats and dimensions involved will help the design of the application. For instance, are you using custom dimensions or standard out of the box ones such as accounts and entities…etc?

Are you ready?

The above are very general points to consider before venturing in an FCCS migration. If interested in a more detailed diagnostic of your migration and whether or not you are ready for a move, do contact Tactic Key Consulting in order to go together, through all the aspects of migration and remove any doubts that might prevent your successful migration from HFM to FCCS.