Case Studies Biola Loves Vena for Flexibility and Excel

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	Biola Loves Vena for Flexibility and Excel

Biola Loves Vena for Flexibility and Excel

Technology Category	Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries	Education
Services	System Integration Training
Challenge	Biola University faced significant challenges with their budgeting process, which was performed in Excel workbooks. The process was unwieldy and difficult to manage and control, leading to manual spreadsheet and data collection issues that slowed down the budgeting and planning process. Version control issues resulted in inaccurate numbers, sometimes identified only after the budget was submitted. These challenges necessitated a more efficient and reliable solution to streamline their financial operations. Read More
About Customer	Biola University is a private university founded in 1908, located in the United States. It serves approximately 6,200 students and operates within the higher education industry. The university generates revenues of $208 million and utilizes existing software solutions such as Ellucian Banner and Cognos BI. The finance department at Biola University is responsible for various processes including budgeting, planning, forecasting, and salary planning, involving around 240 users. The university sought to improve its financial management processes to ensure data integrity, enhance collaboration, and streamline operations. Read More
Solution	To address these challenges, Biola University implemented Vena, a solution that provided workflow and version control, enabling controlled template sharing across hundreds of academic, administrative, and finance users. The use of a single version of the truth through an OLAP database resolved data integrity and version control issues. Pre-populated templates significantly saved time during budget data entry, review, and approval processes. The Excel interface of Vena led to quick adoption with minimal end-user training. Initially chosen for budgeting, Vena has since been rolled out to salary planning, long and short-term forecasting, with other applications in the works. Read More Log in to view content
Contents

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Predictive Analytics

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)

Applicable Industries

Education

Services

System Integration

Training

Challenge

Biola University faced significant challenges with their budgeting process, which was performed in Excel workbooks. The process was unwieldy and difficult to manage and control, leading to manual spreadsheet and data collection issues that slowed down the budgeting and planning process. Version control issues resulted in inaccurate numbers, sometimes identified only after the budget was submitted. These challenges necessitated a more efficient and reliable solution to streamline their financial operations.

About Customer

Biola University is a private university founded in 1908, located in the United States. It serves approximately 6,200 students and operates within the higher education industry. The university generates revenues of $208 million and utilizes existing software solutions such as Ellucian Banner and Cognos BI. The finance department at Biola University is responsible for various processes including budgeting, planning, forecasting, and salary planning, involving around 240 users. The university sought to improve its financial management processes to ensure data integrity, enhance collaboration, and streamline operations.

Solution

To address these challenges, Biola University implemented Vena, a solution that provided workflow and version control, enabling controlled template sharing across hundreds of academic, administrative, and finance users. The use of a single version of the truth through an OLAP database resolved data integrity and version control issues. Pre-populated templates significantly saved time during budget data entry, review, and approval processes. The Excel interface of Vena led to quick adoption with minimal end-user training. Initially chosen for budgeting, Vena has since been rolled out to salary planning, long and short-term forecasting, with other applications in the works.

Impact #1	The finance department broke even 2½ years after implementing Vena.
Impact #2	The Excel interface led to quick adoption of Vena with minimal end-user training.
Impact #3	Vena was initially chosen for budgeting but has since been rolled out to salary planning, long and short-term forecasting, with other applications in the works.

Impact #1

The finance department broke even 2½ years after implementing Vena.

Impact #2

The Excel interface led to quick adoption of Vena with minimal end-user training.

Impact #3

Vena was initially chosen for budgeting but has since been rolled out to salary planning, long and short-term forecasting, with other applications in the works.

Benefit #1	Biola University serves approximately 6,200 students.
Benefit #2	The university generates revenues of $208 million.
Benefit #3	The finance department involves around 240 users.

Benefit #1

Biola University serves approximately 6,200 students.

Benefit #2

The university generates revenues of $208 million.

Benefit #3

The finance department involves around 240 users.

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Overview

Biola Loves Vena for Flexibility and Excel

Operational Impact

Quantitative Benefit