| | AUGUST 20178CIOReviewThe Challenge: Leveraging Existing TechnologiesBy Alvina Antar, CIO, ZuoraThe New Quote-to-Cash Architecture A key learning that I've gathered over the years is to use products for what they are primarily built for and not extend their capabilities to areas outside of the product's core competency. For instance, when you want mountaineering shoes, you won't settle for sneakers. They might still offer some protection for your feet but definitely not the kind you need high up on a mountaintop!Similarly with technology, just because you have invested heavily in a stable end-to-end architecture, doesn't mean you have an ecosystem that supports all your business' strategic needs. As your company pivots and transforms, so should you. You need to know when to let go of your comfortable surroundings and realize the capability gaps that prevent you from supporting your business' growth. When your current quote to cash architecture isn't able to support your go-to-market strategy, it's time to supplement your investments.When a new business model emerges in which traditional payper-product (or service) moves towards subscription-based recurring revenue models, it's time for change. This shift isn't designed or supported by your ERP systems. You will need to determine how to adapt your systems to monetize ongoing customer relationships rather than simply selling one-time products. With most ERP systems, the transaction ends with the sale. There's no relationship beyond the sale. Legacy ERP systems don't really understand how subscriptions work and the long-term relationship between customers and subscribers inherent to the model. They aren't able to manage complex use-cases like cross-sells, up-sells, timed promotions and constant price adjustments. The hard reality In My Opionion
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