VISTAVU SOLUTIONS EXPANSION MOMENTUM CONTINUES
Atlanta Technology Veteran Lesley Dubin Joins VistaVu Management Team
CALGARY, ALBERTA CANADA (December 9, 2009) - VistaVu Solutions Inc,, a leading provider of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solutions for field service companies, announced today that Atlanta technology veteran Lesley Dubin has joined its management team. This continues the growth momentum for VistaVu Solutions, and aligns directly with a core value of providing the oil and gas service sector with the best customer service and expertise possible.
Dubin will direct marketing and branding initiatives and oversee all existing customers as Director of Customer Accounts. This will enable VistaVu Solutions to provide broader technology sales expertise to valued customers while strengthening VistaVu’s marketing, business development, branding and public relations.
Dubin brings 18 years of experience in the technology industry, primarily in the ERP software market in Small and Medium size enterprises (SME). Dubin spent the last year representing Bridge-Quest Inc. LLC. Prior to joining Bridge-Quest, she served as director of membership development for TechAmerica for five years and district sales manager for Microsoft for three years. She joined Microsoft after it acquired Navision where she served five years as channel manager.
“We are excited about our expanded expertise with bringing Lesley on board to the VistaVu team,” said Jory Lamb, VistaVu Solutions’ founder and chief executive officer. “It will help our continued success and growth providing world class oilfield-services solutions, powered by SAP Business One, globally to the construction, energy service and rentals industries.”
“Given its sterling reputation and extensive technical capabilities, it goes without saying how extremely pleased I am to join the VistaVu Solutions team and open its fourth office in Atlanta behind Calgary (HQ), Denver, and Houston,” said Dubin.
Dubin attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga., and is a graduate of Southern Polytechnic University in Marietta, Ga., and the Georgia Institute of Technology College of Management in Atlanta, Ga.
She is active with many civic and community associations including the Association of Junior Leagues International, where she was honored with the 2008 Spirit of Service Award, and FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), where she was honored to be one of 20 judges over the annual global robotics competitions. She also served on the executive committee of the Swedish American Chambers of Commerce Entrepreneurial Days, a major trade conference between EU and the United States.
VistaVu Solutions LLC is a top SAP Business One channel partner in North America.
With over 50 clients in the United States and in Canada, the company’s mission-critical software solution FieldVu runs the day-to-day operations of leading field services companies, supported by an award winning team.
For more information, please contact Sarah Wischhof, VistaVu Solutions, 402-606-4452.
Well Servicing Magazine. March/ April 2009 Issue
Deadly Sin: Lack of Financial Controls
By Jory Lamb
After many years of working with oil and gas service companies, I’ve come to believe that it’s not what you make in this business that matters, but what you keep. That rings true when oil is at $140 per barrel and also when it’s at $40 per barrel.
When we took over a client from another partner, they invited us to evaluate the use of their software system. When looking through the system, I noticed that they used all the parts and components of the software except one — internal financial controls.
I asked the company’s owner why they weren’t using all the features of their system such as approvals on purchase orders, implementing alerts for cost overruns, budgeting, authorizations to segment duties and job costing. His answer? They did not want their employees to feel like they didn’t trust them. And they didn’t want to make the process too cumbersome.
Indeed, they achieved their goal. The process for spending was not too cumbersome, and as such the dollars came in one door and ran out the other while everyone enjoyed the nice warm feeling of being trusted by their employer. There was just one problem. In 2007, on $15 million of revenue, this company generated just $50,000 in profit.
Why is lack of financial controls a Deadly Sin?
Without controls in place, you keep less of your earnings, which results in lower profits and eventually less cash. In today’s market, with credit drying up and cash being king, retained earnings are the only reliable basis upon which to grow a company. The degree of a company’s profitability will directly impact its ability toinvest in newer equipment, improve working conditions and compensate employees competitively.
Click here for the whole story in PDF
The Western Canadian Pipeline Article
The Power of ERP
The Western Canadian Pipeline
November 2008
When Erin Shackleton came onboard as Corporate Controller at the Datalog Technology. It was obvious to all involved that the limited reporting capabilities of the software systems in the place throughout their 17 global locations would soon become detrimental to the companies’ future growth.
With previous experience gleaned from other positions on the benefits of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). A software tool that allows businesses to house all of their business processes from Accounting to human Resources in one data base, she set about looking for a system that would work for Datalog.
“I first went on line to see if I could find some local distributors that dealt in ERP software,” says Shackleton. Ruling out the previous ERP systems that she ad use, because she didn’t think they would right fit for what was needed at Datalog.
“It’s extremely important when looking for an ERP system that you find the right partner that can work to meet your needs.”
Those partners, for Shackleton and Datalog, turned out to be with CRCS Inc. (now known as VistaVu Solutions). A partner that works in conjunction with SAP’s Business One software, Shackleton says that after some very long and intense consultation sessions, the use of a trail version of the software to play around with, and eventually some company specific customization that needed to take place, she ended up choosing the Business One as the right solution for her company.
When asked what It meant to both her and her company to be on the ERP path Shackleton explained, “We were elated to be done with the previous software we had been using.” Software programs that consisted of a mish mash of AccPac, Quickbooks, and even excel, located in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and several Latin American countries and all the different currencies they possess.
An excitement that rippled throughout the company when it was discovered that the new software would not only be able to work with all of the different currencies they dealt with, something explained Shackleton, that only a handful of software companies can do, but also would be able to meet all of their process and reporting standards necessary to deal with such issues as vendor payables, customer invoices and payroll.
“We were just excited that we were moving to a point where everyone was going to be using the same system.”
A system that Shackleton estimates as something that saved her more than 20 hours a month of her time. Time previously spent compiling data and entering it on 17 different spreadsheets. With so much extra time available Shackleton says that she could then turn her focus on following market trends, currency fluctuation, and to looking at what the company needed to do to grow and where they needed to go. Forecasting that eventually led to the refocusing of the companies’ operations from dealing primarily in mud logging, expanding their services to include logging while tripping and wireline services.
But while the company's focus may have changed dramatically, thanks to the Shackleton's foresight when choosing an ERP strategy, their software didn't have to.
“As part of the training we were provided at the onset, we were taught how to customize the program ourselves, which allowed us to adapt it and change the procedures in the software as we changed our business environment.”
While Shackleton’s enthusiasm for a software system may seem overly zealous, Shackleton explains, “I had use four different ERP software systems before this and had complaints every time. But not with SAP business One, our end users were very receptive to the new system.”
But best of all say Shackleton, ‘You can make it to what you want it to do.”
Click here for the whole story in PDF
The Western Canadian Pipeline Article
Integration the key to recession proofing your company
The Western Canadian Pipeline
November 2008
Individual business processes generally exist separately in isolation from one another. Accounting, Human Resources, Inventory Control and Business Development are all department that can simultaneously exist under one roof, without ever sharing the same processes or software systems simply because of the diverse nature of each of the their mandates.
Enter in Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP). The latest buzz-word in the business world, ERP involves the integration of all the above business processes and more, in order to allow every department of a business the ability to store, retrieve and compile the information it needs to run effectively, using one software system.
SAP, a leader in providing ERP solutions to companies in more than 140 distinct industries, of which oil and gas is one, has recently taken ERP to new levels by making it more accessible to small and mid-sized operations, with a software solution known as Business One.
“This is a great core product that is very broad-based and has a big degree of functionality”, says Conrad Mandala, Vice President of SAP’s North American division. “With it, we have been able to overlap the template used with some of our larger customer solutions and adapt it for the use of small to mid-sized companies”
“Opening up for them,” says Mandala, “A Whole new business solution.”
So what exactly is it that ERP solves? For one thing, says Mandala, it reduces the number of software programs a company need at any one time which in turn saves on costs.
“Most small to mid-sized companies do not have large IT departments,” says Mandala. “Which makes the whole issue of purchasing multiple software programs, maintaining, updating them, as well as the training required to do so, very cumbersome.”
“With Business One,” continues Mandala, All of those processes can be integrated into one software package, with unique checks and entrance points, so that data can be complied, reports generated, and a real-time look at the status of the company can be realized.”
A solution says Mandala, which in turn helps business to streamline their operations and accelerate their businesses growth worldwide. An important factor in today’s economic climate, where markets, projections and currencies are constantly experiencing changes.
Customized to meet the needs of your operation, no matter what countries those operations extend to. SAP’s Business One, has created partnerships with industry specific knowledge based companies, (over 200 to date). In order to help integrate your business. One such partner that specializes in the Oil and Gas Industry is VistaVu Solutions (formerly CRCS Inc.), whose highly specialized knowledge of the industry makes them capable of customizing the program to meet individual company needs rather than the company changing its processes to fit the software.
While Mandala admits that such highly comprehensive, customized integration does come at a cost, it’s a cost that can vary depending on the implementation, which he illustrates by comparing the idea of software implementation with that of a home renovation project.
“If you are doing a home renovation the fastest most expensive way to get it done is to blow the entire house up and rebuild it.”
“Or,” he continues, “You can take a more systematic approach and blow out the back wall, without necessarily going into the structure of the home. So too, are there a number of ways to make the integration of your software system more accessible.”
Streamling your business processes can both save you money and make you money, but the one core thing it does is save you time. Time spent on multiple data entries, time spent trying to compile the data you need, and time spent managing supplier and customer data. Time that can be better spent focused on forecasting and managing the needs of your business and the ever-changing market.
“As the economy slows down, it is more important than ever for a business to streamline their processes,” say Mandala.
“This software,” he continues. “ Allows those who use it to be proactive, rather than reactive, to the industry and the marketplace.”
Click here for the whole story in PDF
New Technology Magazine Article
Canadian Software Providers Look to Extend Their Reach South of the Border
By Paul Wells
New Technology Magazine, July/August 2008 - The Canadian oilpatch is well known for its expertise, innovation and ingenuity worldwide. From the massive engineering and technical wonder that is the oilsands to the development of various drilling and fracturing techniques that have helped revolutionize the industry, Canada's place as a technological leader is firmly established.
And that includes software development that specifically targets the needs of the energy sector. Having gained a foothold in the Canadian market and looking to grow their business, many software providers are increasingly looking to expand their horizons, seeking to expose their respective products to relatively untapped markets. And expansion into the United States is proving to be the perfect fit for many.
Calgary-based software providers VistaVu Solutions, WellPoint Systems Inc. and Energy Navigator Inc. are among those making a recent charge south. For Jory Lamb, president and chief executive officer of VistaVu, the company's recent expansion into the U. S. market was a "natural evolution."
"There's a lot of overlap in our customer base, in their best practices and in the product that we developed specifically for oilfield energy services companies and oilfield product manufacturers," Lamb says. "We've had some very good success and continue to have success here in Canada and we wanted to continue growing our company and the U. S. was the next logical step for us
To read the complete story in PDF click here.
|
