Time recording and project management with Next Level Integration: Automated processes instead of manual data collection thanks to ZEP
Continuous company growth: Manual time recording is reaching its limits
“For five or more employees, time recording with Microsoft Excel requires a disproportionate amount of effort; in addition, the overview of the project work carried out is very time-consuming.”, explains Dr. Stefan Klose, managing director of NLI. The software expert knows from his own experience what he is talking about. As early as 2011 — two years after its founding — the NLI team had grown to almost 20 employees. The continuously growing volume of projects, which consists of software implementation projects and support projects following implementation, showed the limits of time recording via Excel.
As part of a comprehensive evaluation of solutions available on the market, in which more than fifteen software solutions — including corresponding offerings from market giants such as SAP and Microsoft — were tested for their use by NLI, the company finally opted for the ZEP solution from provantis IT Solutions, which was discovered through an Internet search.
ZEP stands for time recording for projects. The web-based solution has been on the market since 2000 and offers project-oriented companies a complete solution for time recording and reporting, travel expenses, project management and controlling, and invoicing.
“In addition to our specialist applications and Office 365, ZEP is the most important system for our employees. ”
Dr. Stefan Klose
ceo
This comprehensive range of functions was ultimately also one of the main reasons for NLI's decision to use ZEP. Dr. Klose explains: “As part of our evaluation process, it turned out that ZEP's range of functions best met our requirements. ” As part of the implementation of ZEP, not only was the previous manual time recording via MS Excel replaced, but also the previous manual invoicing process. In addition, travel expense accounting and vacation management are carried out via the system. The ticket system for support requests has also been converted to the corresponding function in ZEP. Despite the associated implementation and conversion work, Dr. Klose estimates the total implementation effort at less than five man-days.
User-friendly work even with complex projects
Another decision criterion for using ZEP at NLI was ease of use. “The usability of the solution is really great, the user interface is extremely intuitive. All project information is presented in an optimal way for the user, even when presenting complex views of ongoing projects,” Dr. Klose confirms.
User acceptance is closely linked to ease of use and usability. And this in turn is a central requirement for the efficient and therefore successful use of a software solution in a company. Dr. Klose explains: “As a line manager and consultant, I have had insight into numerous companies in the past. Time recording is generally not well received by employees. With ZEP, this is fundamentally different. The system was accepted immediately, as all employees recognized the benefits that the solution offered for their daily work right from the start. In particular, the ability to work in an integrated way across the various areas of use of time recording, travel expenses, vacation, ticket processing and invoicing is well received by the team. “Integration with other solutions is also possible via appropriate interfaces. Dr. Klose: “In the area of ticket systems, we have linked ZEP with our JIRA development planning system. ” In addition, NLI implements the bonus scheme for its employees via ZEP. Project controlling is also carried out using the solution.
Cloud Computing: Flexibility AND Data Protection/Data Security
One question that NLI also dealt with very intensively was the choice of ZEP's mode of operation: on-premise or in the Provantis cloud. “In general, we could also have run ZEP in-house on our own IT infrastructure, as provantis also offers this option”, explains Dr. Klose. “In the end, however, we opted for the cloud version for reasons of flexibility and price/performance ratio. ” The topic of data protection and data security, which was repeatedly discussed in connection with cloud computing, was also an important aspect for NLI that needed to be clarified. Dr. Klose confirms: “Data protection and data security play a central role in our projects. For this reason, we have intensively reviewed contracts and operating models in advance. In the end, however, it was possible to give the “green light” for cloud operation without restrictions. ”
So far, NLI has not regretted this decision. ZEP is characterized by excellent performance, speed and availability. Employees are able to access the system and the projects managed there and record the corresponding data regardless of location and time — in the office, on site with the customer or on the go. Since the system was introduced in 2011, the number of users has grown from initially under 20 to now more than 60. Thanks to the scalability of the system, this growth could easily be reflected in the application.
And so it is no wonder that Dr. Klose concludes the previous use of the protocol: “In addition to our specialist applications and Office 365, ZEP is the most important system for our employees. ”
