Time recording: From in-house solution to standard software
When the company was founded in 2006, the KORN CONSULT GROUP decided to develop its own software solution for recording project times. “This solution was already browser-based and operated in the cloud”, remembers Christian Korn, Partner and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at KORN CONSULT GROUP. The main reason for the cloud operating model was the company's international approach from the outset — the first foreign office was opened in Romania just one year after founding.
However, as a result of rapid company growth and rapid expansion of foreign branches, in-house development soon reached its limits.
“Continuous modernization and development, e.g. adding apps for mobile use, became increasingly difficult and ultimately impossible with our own capacities. ”
Christian Korn
Partner and Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Christian Korn explains: In addition, the project volume rose steadily. “Today, the KORN CONSULT GROUP handles up to 100 different international projects per month with 100 to 150 project employees. It would simply no longer have been possible to represent this project volume using our own software solution. ”
KORN CONSULT GROUP — “Love at second sight”
And that is why one of the first instructions given to Mr. Korn when he joined the company in 2014 was: “We need something new when it comes to time recording. ” On the basis of Internet research, several products then made it into the short selection process at KORN CONSULT GROUP, including the ZEP solution — time recording for projects, which has been available on the market since 2000.
However, in the “first selection round”, the KORN CONSULT GROUP decided against using ZEP. “We found that ZEP did not meet all of our time recording requirements”, Christian Korn explains the decision at that time. In the period that followed and with the testing of other solutions, however, it turned out that the KORN CONSULT GROUP had “probably set the bar a bit too high” when it came to its requirements for a time recording solution. Christian Korn confirms: “At some point, we realized that we were looking for something like the 'egg-laying woolly milk sow, 'but that was not available on the market. In a second step, we therefore focused on the 'basics', i.e. the basic functions and features that we believe the solution should offer. ”
With this new approach and requirement profile, ZEP was back in the running. “The solution scored particularly well with its focus on project-oriented companies and its truly intuitive use.”, confirms Christian Korn. “Working with ZEP is possible without much training or comprehensive instruction. This is particularly important for us as an internationally active and fast-growing consulting firm, because every employee — regardless of their location — is immediately able to work with ZEP. ”
In addition, provantis IT Solutions was very cooperative right from the start.
“In the end, when it came to the product, we had the feeling that we couldn't really go wrong — and the supplier had the impression that they were right for us. ”
Christian Korn
Partner and Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Time recording, billing and project controlling on a central platform
In addition to pure time recording, the KORN CONSULT GROUP now also uses the billing module to account for project times worked. “The Microsoft Excel/Word billing method originally used in the early years soon proved to be outdated. In addition, we were able to integrate time recording and billing into a platform with ZEP”, explains Christian Korn. The Departments, Locations, Branches module, which allows the company structure to be mapped in ZEP also contributes to integration. The individual clients of the KORN CONSULT GROUP, for whom their own, isolated instances of the software were set up in the previous solution, are managed as “departments” in ZEP, meaning that all data is available on a central platform.
ZEP's mobile apps, which are available for all common mobile operating systems (Android, iOS), are also used. The offer module is currently in the test phase at the Mexican branch of the KORN CONSULT GROUP. “The aim is to ultimately represent the entire life cycle of a project from quotation preparation to billing via ZEP”, Christian Korn explains the further strategy and procedure.
Integration into operational processes: Comprehensive customizing
In addition to using the existing standard ZEP modules as extensively as possible, the KORN CONSULT GROUP aims to incorporate its own operating processes in the solution through extensive customizing. For this reason, customer-specific adjustments have already been carried out together with the ZEP manufacturer.
Christian Korn gives a few examples: “Our international business naturally requires that different country-specific specifications, e.g. kilometers or miles, can also be specified in ZEP. In addition, a uniform record of activity has been implemented in ZEP for all our consultants. Budget planning by day is now also possible.”
The latest customizing project aims to be able to call up a status dashboard in ZEP that clearly displays all aspects of the project — budget/billing/personnel deployment — and their current status — green, yellow and red — on a single screen and draws on the data available in ZEP.
Cloud computing yes, but...
When deciding on the operating model — ZEP can be used both in cloud and in-house operations — there were initial discussions. Christian Korn sees himself as a “cloud driver,” and management has also considered an in-house operation.
In the end, the excessive effort that would have been required for available and secure in-house operation was the decisive factor for the decision to use ZEP in the cloud computing model.
For the KORN CONSULT GROUP, however, the premise of “data center in Germany” was more important than the pure operating model. Christan Korn explains: “This requirement is important both to meet the requirements of our own ISO 27001 certification and to meet the compliance and data protection requirements of our clients. ”
As a “cloud service made in Germany”, ZEP is operated in a certified (ISO 27001, basic IT protection) high-performance data center on a fully redundant, highly available server cluster in Germany. The Internet connection to the ZEP servers is 1000 Mbit/s via redundant fiber optic lines. The user agreement concluded between ZEP customers and provantis naturally also includes the contract for order processing required since the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force.
Concluding conclusion by Christian Korn on the use of ZEP at KORN CONSULT GROUP:
“The intuitive operation and flexible use via mobile apps clearly speak for the use of ZEP in an international consulting firm such as KORN CONSULT GROUP. The numerous additional modules, which go far beyond actual time recording, make it possible to expand ZEP into an integrated platform for project controlling — from quotation to billing. Customizing is possible at any time thanks to the high level of flexibility and willingness of the provider, but it is also necessary for a company of our size and orientation. It is interesting to see that our requests for changes are incorporated into the overall platform as part of updates and thus also benefit other ZEP users. Conversely, we also benefit from suggestions from other ZEP users. ”
Christian Korn
Partner and Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
