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Xylem's Transition to OneStream for Unified Financial Management
Technology Category
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Utilities
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Quality Assurance
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Having been spun out of ITT in 2011, and as the result of several acquisitions, Xylem was using several Oracle Hyperion EPM applications to support their financial close, reporting and planning processes. This included three Oracle Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) applications, three Hyperion Planning applications, and instances of both Oracle Hyperion FDM and FDMEE. Each of these systems contained different levels of detail required to support corporate vs. line of business reporting and planning requirements. With over 500 users across divisions and locations, it was a very fragmented and complex process to load, adjust, and report data with multiple applications and offline Excel® models in the mix. The Xylem team initially considered upgrading and re-designing their on-premise Hyperion applications, but the effort and expected price tag of over $1M caused them to consider alternative solutions. Finit Solutions then introduced Xylem to OneStream. After several demos, many positive reference calls, and a visit to OneStream’s Splash user conference – the team was convinced that OneStream’s unified CPM platform and MarketPlace solutions could meet their current and future needs. An ROI analysis projecting a lower cost of ownership for OneStream vs. the Hyperion suite also firmed up their decision to make the leap to OneStream.
About The Customer
Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology company committed to developing innovative technology solutions to the world’s water challenges. The Company’s products and services move, treat, analyze, monitor and return water to the environment in public utility, industrial, residential and commercial building services settings. Xylem also provides a leading portfolio of smart metering, network technologies and advanced infrastructure analytics solutions for water, electric and gas utilities. Xylem has over 17,000 employees, had 2018 revenue of $5.2 billion, and does business in more than 150 countries.
The Solution
The initial phase of the OneStream implementation was focused on replacing all the Hyperion applications spanning financial consolidation, reporting, budgeting and planning for the entire organization – all in a 9-month timeframe and while undergoing an implementation of Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS). Working with Finit, the Xylem team leveraged OneStream’s Extensible Dimensionality® to support all their requirements in a single application – with a flexible model that supports local cost center reporting as well as global functional reporting requirements. OneStream’s Extensible Dimensionality was heavily used to collect detailed data and provide management visibility into financial and operating results by product, branch, project and cost center. The required details are reported at the entity level, but not consolidated to Global Xylem. Xylem leveraged the power of OneStream to move from a 2D view of cash flow to a 3D view that allows for visibility into more granular detail. OneStream also supports the collection of supplemental data required for quarterly and annual SEC filings, as well as the detailed sales information required for each of Xylem’s end-markets and account detail needed for quarterly/annual reporting.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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