Three Keys To Choosing a TMS and Other Treasury Tech
# Treasury Management System (TMS)
# Technology
# Sponsored Content
Kyriba’s Thomas Gavaghan says internal alignment, system connectivity and implementation transparency are critical.
Selecting software, systems and tech solutions for treasury ranks up there in importance with hiring the right people. The stakes are high and the challenges formidable for leaders committed to lowering costs, increasing efficiency and optimizing processes, in part by leveraging emerging technologies like AI. Choosing a treasury management system (TMS) is often a critical step for finance leaders laying the groundwork for future success. But how to pick which one?
In a video clip you can watch by hitting the play button below, Kyriba SVP of Product Solutions & Strategy Thomas Gavaghanoffers three important questions to ask (or considerations to weigh) when vetting TMS vendors as well as fintechs offering tools designed to help treasury deliver more value for the enterprise.
In short: work with your counterparts to align on your needs; prioritize data and connectivity; insist on and provide transparency with your vendor about implementation time, needs and cost.
Informed perspective. Mr. Gavaghan’s perspective on financial technology is informed by 11 years at Kyriba—a SaaS-based “liquidity performance platform” and TMS vendor known best for its cash management functionality. The company says its tools and real-time data help more than 3,000 customers project cash and liquidity, quantify exposures, and protect balance sheets, income statements and cash flows.
Mr. Gavaghan’s latest role includes “shepherding in the adoption of AI”—a topic generating many questions from Kyriba customers and other treasury practitioners seeking to leverage automation while maintaining security and compliance standards.
Until recently, his focus was global presales. “We manage a team of solution engineers and value engineers and RFP administration and technical sales that is helping in the function of bringing the technology to value within our space,” he explained in a recent interview for a forthcoming episode of NeuGroup’s Strategic Finance Lab podcast sponsored by Kyriba.
“Whether it’s answering an RFP, doing workshops, meeting with the CFO, positioning our product, it gives you a really good vantage point in terms of the market that we serve,” he added.
In the podcast, Mr. Gavaghan explains that in 2015 Kyriba decided to build “the necessary components that we required to go up market and compete” with organizations like ION’s Reval and FIS Quantum to serve corporates with more complex needs, including advanced hedging and risk management.
Capabilities and data. In the podcast, Mr. Gavaghan reduces to two points the key considerations companies must evaluate when choosing among technologies in the space:
The functional capabilities of a solution to, for example, manage liquidity and risk.
The technological layer of data that enables the system to deliver value and how fast it can be upgraded to accommodate more data. “The technology layer has become a greater focus over the last 10-15 years,” he says.
Pushing boundaries. Not surprisingly, Mr. Gavaghan said SaaS-based solutions like Kyriba’s offer some advantages over solutions that are installed on a corporate’s premises, namely the time and money spent on upgrades aimed at increasing capabilities, speed and security.
“What we’re seeing in the market is the pushing of the boundaries of how much data can these technologies consume and how much data can they process,” he says. “And that is something we have sunk a significant amount of investment in over the past few years.”
