FinancialForce.com on Monday launched FinancialForce SRP, a complete Services Resource Planning (SRP) solution built entirely on Force.com. The solution, which combines Salesforce CRM, professional services automation (PSA), and accounting, is supposed to help services companies sell, deliver and bill projects collaboratively while leveraging the scalability, flexibility, and TCO advantages of the world's leading cloud platform.

According to Todd Bursey, General Manager, PSA at FinancialForce.com, "Professional services organizations need to focus their attention and resources on selling and delivering services, not wrestling with technical integration or administrative burdens." He believes that with this solution "FinancialForce.com is making it possible for these companies to leverage the full power of the Force.com platform to optimize their businesses."

Professional services firms have traditionally been underserved by the various point solutions available on the market. Lacking effective end-to-end solutions, services organizations are left to address different parts of the project lifecycle through separate, siloed applications: CRM to manage sales, PSA to manage people and project portfolios, and accounting products for billing, accounts receivable and project accounting.

The impact of a siloed approach on utilization and profitability was exposed in a recent study by Services Performance Research titled: The 2011 Professional Services Maturity Benchmark. The authors surveyed 214 professional services organizations and analyzed firms against a maturity model which included metrics to measure the value of systems integration and real-time visibility. In the study, companies with integrated CRM and PSA systems reported higher bid/win ratios, higher project margins, higher utilization and higher revenue per billable consultant.