Implementation and atychiphobia: helping SMEs overcome fear

There comes a time in every organization’s journey when old systems and workflows must be modernized or replaced. In recent years, we’ve seen this play out with the widespread adoption of cloud systems.

For some, the willingness to adopt new tech comes naturally. Innovative startups, or businesses in fast-growth sectors such as SaaS, may have been cloud-first from the get-go. Launched with the help of entry-level cloud solutions, and now on the lookout for something more advanced, that can address more complex needs and serve larger, cross-functional teams.

For others, however, the prospect of modernizing systems is prompted by necessity rather than choice. This is something we see a lot with smaller, mid-market organizations. When we look at mid-market finance functions, specifically, this becomes even more common.

It’s estimated that there are around 100,000 mid-market organizations in the UK still reliant on legacy, on-premises finance systems. Many of these systems are now nearing end-of-support deadlines. Or have simply become too cumbersome for finance teams to keep using; unable to integrate with other cloud-based systems within the organization. Acting as mere ‘data repositories’, with time-consuming Excel sheets and data consolidation needed on both ends to make the month-end reports stack up.

So, why have mid-market finance directors been slower to embrace change? In most cases, it’s not denial or naivety. Ultimately, Finance directors know their systems are out of date and causing inefficiencies. But they are often paralyzed and unable to effect change.

We recently surveyed 1,000 mid-market finance decision-makers in the UK about this. While seven days to prepare and submit month-end accounts is widely accepted to be the best practice, our research found that the majority (55%) of businesses still cannot achieve this goal, and many say this is down to manual data entry and outdated finance systems.

Atychiphobia: fear of failure

In many cases, it’s because the term "implementation" itself evokes great fear, and mid-market finance directors often feel this the most. For finance directors used to plug-and-play entry-level solutions, there may be a lack of experience with implementation and a fear of the unknown.

For those used to ‘on-premises’ systems, implementing a new solution has long been perceived as an overwhelming challenge, traditionally linked to sky-high costs, disrupted operations, and a grueling process that stretches over months, if not years. A fear that is often grounded in experience for established finance directors, who will remember implementations from a decade ago that could have derailed the business with the amount of distraction it caused. Additionally, when we consider the history of ERP implementation, at the hands of Big Tech incumbents, this fear is understandable.

Imagine the same car arriving at a mechanic’s shop, time after time, in 10,000 parts. The first nine months are spent building the same rolling chassis before the mechanic can even think about customizing it to the customer’s needs. This is essentially what has happened to businesses in the past with ERP implementation. Only for these so-called ‘state-of-the-art’ systems to break or require ongoing repairs and patchwork once they were up and running.

Jonny Billington, UK sales lead at implementation consultancy Xplor Solutions, told me that understanding is needed when guiding customers through this process today.

“Some customers won’t be familiar with the implementation process, and there can be anxiety linked to it as a result, so there’s an education piece that’s really needed there,” he said.

“Then there will be others who perhaps have had bad experiences implementing systems in the past. Projects that took a lot of time, that overran, that were very challenging for them and their team. This not only reflects badly on the vendor and reseller but can often reflect badly on them as the finance director leading on this project.”

Taking the stress out of implementation

Tech resellers and implementation partners can play an important role in alleviating these concerns and making system upgrades an enjoyable, stress-free experience for SMEs. But the key to doing so lies in understanding where implementation hesitancy originates from.

Our research identified some of the biggest fear factors:

1. Cost and disruption: when asked about the top barriers to upgrading finance systems, 23% of mid-market Finance directors said they felt it was too expensive to change, and 32% said Right to Use (RTU) licenses would make it too costly.
2. Resistance to change: more than a quarter (26%) said a lack of digital skills to use a new system was a key barrier, and 24% feared distraction from core day-to-day responsibilities.
3. High stakes for leaders: how a new system will reflect on finance directors plays a major role in implementation hesitancy. 42% said they feared losing their historical data and would therefore have to run two systems in parallel to access it. 20% simply weren’t convinced that the pain of change would be worth the potential backlash and disruption.

Dispelling myths

In most cases, these concerns can be easily overcome with a safe pair of hands. Resellers and implementation partners today are uniquely positioned to redefine the implementation process, leading with a clear set of processes, a well-planned project, and reassurance that – with solutions that are purpose-built for the mid-market – many of these fears are nothing more than urban myths.

In the case of costly RTU licenses, we now have cloud solutions with open application programming interfaces (APIs), that allow for the easy migration of historical data from other systems into read-only data archives.

The use of project management tools, shared by finance directors and the implementation partner, gives all parties full visibility of how a project is progressing against key deadlines. Providing ease of mind when all is going to plan, or highlighting what blockages need to be addressed, in real time.

Challenges with the adoption of new systems can be remedied with effective training and post-implementation support, tailored to suit the skills and knowledge levels of each customer’s finance team.

As Billington puts it: “For mid-market finance teams, budgets, time and workload are a challenge, and there are a lot of important deadlines and dates on top of this that they must consider for month-end reports and audits. It’s important to recommend solutions that are purpose-built for SMEs, that can often be implemented in as little as 15–20 days.

“Highlighting this efficiency from the offset is key to reducing anxiety and demonstrating that modern solutions have evolved, and can, in fact, be flexible, scalable, and pain-free.”

He continued: “For resellers, support doesn’t end with implementation, either. The adjustment period post-implementation should never be overlooked. Finance directors (and their teams) need reassurance, patience, and training to adjust to a new system.”

“Partners that stay involved in the months following implementation, offering training and troubleshooting issues, can deliver immense value and ensure the system upgrade is perceived as positive by everyone on the finance team. Again, alleviating stress and providing reassurance that the right move was made.”

Final words

For finance directors, a failed implementation isn’t typically viewed as a minor mistake. It can be feared as a career-defining failure. And it’s this fear of failure that’s keeping mid-market organizations anchored to their outdated, inefficient systems that likely no longer align with their growth requirements. For sectors such as education, nonprofit, and hospitality, where resources are already stretched thin, this fear can feel almost paralyzing.

One of the biggest motivators for change is a clear and compelling vision of how the new system will improve operations long-term. Tech partners can play an important role, not only in articulating the benefits of transitioning to a modern system. But also, in challenging negative perceptions of tech implementation – born out of past failures or a fear of the unknown.

The word “implementation” doesn’t have to be synonymous with stress and high stakes. By empathizing with customer concerns and framing change as incremental rather than disruptive, partners can help make the process feel less intimidating.