As the TMS vendor market contracts due to consolidation, current market players are adapting to the new market environment by extending the functionalities of corporate ERPs and increasing their product base, according to Enrico Camerinelli, analyst at consultancy Aite Group. Camerinelli notes in a new report—out next week, TMS For Corporations: An Update, that these advances will allow corporate treasurers to access and execute both basic functions—like cash management, debt and funding, and risk management—and more advanced functions for strategic decision-making—like advanced predictive analytics.
In recent years, CFOs and corporate treasurers have increasingly demanded more complex, adaptable treasury management systems (TMS) than those of yesteryear. TMS vendors are adapting to the need for more than operational efficiency-boosting functions, according to the report. Since the 2008 economic crisis, the corporate treasurer has become both a finance manager and strategic decision-maker. TMS have adapted and added new functions in response, Camerinelli says. Intuit, already a large player in the small-cap treasury workstation management market, is gearing up in the TMS market. Smaller players are also becoming increasingly central to the market: Reval has a SaaS-based product that bridges the gap between traditional treasury functions and the more integrated dual functions of treasury and risk, notes Camerinelli. Advanced functionalities are already widely available or on the product roadmap for more than 70% of TMS vendors.
And as the TMS market consolidates and shrinks, vendors are specializing based on customer base, the report finds. SunGard AvantGard offers three advanced TMS products—Quantum (Enterprise Edition), Integrity (Corporate Edition), and Treasury XE (SaaS)—and Wallstreet Systems, similarly, has products aimed at both high- and low-end treasury management operations. Different levels of TMS allow corporate treasurers to choose which systems work best for their goals and company interests.
Accessibility is key to the TMS market transformation, says Camerinelli. SaaS-based services are popular as choosing only needed functions and using cloud computing both reduce IT support costs.
Camerinelli notes that as TMS vendors look to emerging markets for new clients, they are also providing low-cost software for SMEs capable of addressing dynamic, volatile economic situations—highlighting two of the key growth areas for vendors.
-Grace Yuan