Great software in one platform
Updated October 15, 2020
Great software in one platform
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Vena Solutions
We like that Vena is a one-platform solution with the features we need--account reconciliation, consolidation, cash management, FP&A Planning, and others.
- Competitive pricing
- Wide adoption
- Professional support
- Unable to try before you buy
- We expect a positive and quick ROI
Vena Solutions stands behind their software and we been happy with their support availability, timeliness, and ability to resolve any issues. Although most issues, so far, have been user training and adoption, I believe we may need further support with data transformation and possibly technical errors, but we haven't needed to contact support about those issues yet.
Our FP&A, executive, and accounting teams haven't had the expertise to extract data from Oracle, so these requests were historically made to our IT Department. The Vena Solutions software opens up our data to the end-user to both see in real-time and manipulate reports to extract the information needed. This reduces the latency to get the information and the load on IT to support the reporting requests. With this information, we expect to make better decisions in a more timely manner.
Lower price than Onestream with seemingly same features. We hope Vena is capable in all areas as Onestream was represented to be.
Vena Feature Ratings
Vena Solutions Attributes
Do you think Vena delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Vena's feature set?
Yes
Did Vena live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Vena go as expected?
I wasn't involved with the implementation phase
Would you buy Vena again?
Yes
Using Vena Solutions
100 - We are a global company with approximately 70 accountants, 10 Tax users, and about 20 FP&A users. Our subject matter experts and administrators for Vena are within our Corporate Accounting department. The other users of Vena reports work outside of the system and are provide reports by the users noted above.
4 - We have one IT user and 3 Corporate Accounting personnel tasked with administering Vena. In addition to accounting skills, we expect administrators to demonstrate a familiarity in the other IT systems (like Oracle R12, Data Warehouse, etc) to assist in managing the needed input and output areas of Vena. We are working to improve our knowledge of Vena and find that having multiple administrators allows us to assign duties according to each person's capabilities and availability.
- FP&A Budget and Reforecast process requires frequent iterations of scenarios
- Account Reconciliation to provide assurance during the close process
- Task Management to guide users through the period close
- Report modifications are simple and can be customized to each user
- MetaData in consolidation can now be changed, as needed, to meet business needs
- Easy access to reports allows for better question/answer discussions in meetings
- additional modules, which may include Power BI
- Expand usage to sourcing finance users
- Possibly consider module to assist in Financial Report drafting
Evaluating Vena Solutions and Competitors
Yes - Oracle Hyperion Financial Management and Oracle Financial Data Quality Management. Version 11.1.2.1
- Price
- Product Features
- Vendor Reputation
There are many software options that handle consolidation, account reconciliation, task management, and FP&A Tools. We have a global operation with many users around the world. Although we have historically been Oracle customers, we have had to look at other options due to Oracle's escalating price. We had to match our complex Chart of Accounts and system requirements against Vena to ensure it could meet our needs today (and potentially changing needs in the future). Further, the price had to be a big enough savings to offset the cost of leaving Oracle and our experience, support agreements, etc. Also, we needed to believe that Vena will be around for many years in the future because it will have our data and ability to run reports. Overall, it met the requirements after a lengthy due-diligence effort.
OneStream and Vena are close competitors and we felt that either option would have met our needs. The advantage with Vena was that it came with its own hosting, where OneStream separated the hosting into its own pricing (or on-site option). I think we should have spent more time to better distinguish other advantages / disadvantages between the two softwares. Also, there are continually new entrants to this industry, so perhaps it would have been better to evaluate later than we did. Overall, we are pleased with our decision, but we do wish we had improved the process.
Vena Solutions Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
During our implementation, we had numerous complex data transformation requirements that involved some technical assistance and programming (scripting). This didn't appear to phase Vena and we received exceptional support during this process. Yes, it was difficult and required our constant involvement in design and testing, but it was able to be done in a timely manner. We appreciate when a company can deliver on the needs of customers.
Using Vena Solutions
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Task Management
- Account Reconciliation review and sign-off
- Dashboard Reporting look and feel
- Data Transformation / Exception Management
- MetaData changes of account organization in the consolidation
- Navigation between functions / windows