Many Workday Customers use Application Management Services (AMS) to ensure their systems run smoothly. You may be heavily reliant on it for day-to-day system admin tasks or use it as an insurance policy for more infrequent capability or capacity issues.
But AMS is rarely a service measured by the value it adds to your organisation.
If we only judge a service by the fact that nothing’s gone wrong, it’s easy to tell ourselves that our AMS is fine and we’re happy with the service we get.
Yet, many are unaware of the hidden costs associated with traditional AMS models. In this blog, we’ll delve into these hidden costs and share an AMS cost calculator to help you uncover your organisation’s hidden expenses.
About Preos
At Preos, we help our clients get the most out of Workday. We ensure your organisation is using the platform to its full potential and getting the best possible return on your investment.
We address any inherited issues, increase user adoption, offer Workday support and introduce processes to ensure Workday meets – and continues to meet – the needs of your business in the long term.
learn moreWhy we’ve created the Workday AMS Hidden Costs Calculator
We believe that support services should truly be supportive. Third-party support teams should care about your system as much as you do. But many of our ex-AMS clients tell us that their AMS partner didn’t help them advance their Workday system.
Instead, they found themselves paying for efforts that didn’t move them forward.
The reality of traditional Workday AMS
Application Management Services (AMS) are used, to some extent, by most Workday customers. Typically, if nothing goes wrong, we’re content and assume our AMS is doing fine.
However, changing the question from “Has anything gone wrong?” to “What’s getting better?” fundamentally shifts how we evaluate AMS.
Once you have an expectation that your AMS provider could be making your system better you will find many existing Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are counterproductive. Resolution time SLAs drive fix faster behaviour rather than root cause resolution. Some clients still pay on a per ticket basis which blatantly discourages AMS providers from finding proactive solutions and focusing on case avoidance.
One major issue we hear from former AMS clients is the lack of proactive engagement from their supplier. If you don’t ask or don’t have the knowledge or terminology to ask for something specific, you won’t get it. Many clients openly admit that while their AMS providers didn’t upskill their team, or identify root causes, or make recommendations to prevent recurring issues it was most likely because they had never asked their provider to do so.
Consider, whether everything you spend on AMS translates into tangible improvements in your system? Does your AMS team have the expertise to genuinely upskill your team?
Over half the AMS hours you’re paying for may be non-value-add or administrative. This means the actual hourly cost of your AMS could be more than double what you think.
Consider time spent gathering information. It includes seeking approvals, turning reported problems into tasks, hiding personal data in screenshots, reviewing tickets or answering queries from your provider many times, troubleshooting before opening a ticket, and testing for recurring issues. All these activities contribute to hidden costs.
Using the AMS Cost Calculator
To help you uncover these hidden costs, we’ve created an AMS cost calculator. This tool allows you to input your current AMS expenses and discover where your budget is going. By identifying non-value-add activities, you can make informed decisions about your AMS strategy.
By using our calculator, you can gain clarity on your AMS expenses and take steps to optimise your investment.
Reviewing your approach to AMS
Traditional AMS models often come with hidden costs that aren’t immediately apparent. By asking the right questions and using tools like our AMS cost calculator, you can uncover these hidden expenses and make strategic changes to your AMS approach.
Workday Enhancement Services (WES) by Preos, offers a different support model for Workday customers, focusing on maximising the value you get from Workday.
Through regular calls, WES cuts the admin and back-and-forth of traditional AMS. Not only do the hours used decrease, but the elapsed time also shortens, enhancing the business perception of your service.
Driven by the need to help you realize the full benefits of your Workday investment. It upskills your team and acts as your ‘critical friend,’ asking tough questions about backlog items, release options, and proper testing practices. We help you put in the hard work now to prevent future problems.
With WES, every hour used adds value and you never lose paid hours. We review usage monthly and repurpose any unused time for additional optimisation work, ensuring you maximise the value of your service.
Get in touch to learn more.
