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As All Levels of Government Look for Ways to Save Money and Increase Transparency, Periscope Holdings’ E-Procurement Solution Named in Top Five

Austin, TX, September 20, 2011 — Periscope Holdings, Inc. has been ranked among Top Five Vendors in Gartner’s “E-Procurement Market and Vendor Landscape” report.  The report evaluated 32 e-procurement solution vendors in 11 different rating categories.  Periscope, an e-procurement vendor specializing in the public sector, received top rankings in five categories.

In the context of a national conversation about government spending and the reality of declining tax revenues, the benefits of taxpayer savings and budget transparency through e-procurement have become critical to local, state and federal government. According to Gartner, “Today, organizations that don’t use e-procurement solutions are asking why not, as opposed to asking why they should enable this capability.” 

Periscope Holdings’ successful deployments around the country are proving that procurement transformation is the best way to generate savings by establishing efficient business processes, increasing vendor competition through strategic sourcing, and creating true government transparency in real-time.  

“Government officials are putting procurement transformation on the top of their to-do list,” said Brian Utley, President and CEO of Periscope Holdings, Inc. “Once organizations start shopping around, they find Periscope to be the best match for their public sector needs because of our vast capabilities, our project management experience, our proven results and because we do what it takes to make our customers happy.”

Gartner ranked Periscope’s BuySpeed E-Procurement & Sourcing Solution among the top five vendors in the following five categories:

• Time to Value
• E-Requisition Support
• Control
• Implementation Services
• Customer Satisfaction

Periscope also received a full “Harvey Ball” score in ScopeBreadth.  A full Harvey Ball means the vendor consistently exceeds expectations for the element.  Gartner refers to Scope Breadth as, “The degree to which customers have been successful leveraging their e-procurement solutions to support multiple types of spending.”

“We believe the categories in which Periscope received top rankings are the categories that matter most in public procurement,” Utley said.  “The public sector is unique; you don’t report to shareholders, you report to taxpayers and in many ways, that means the stakes are higher.  That’s why we continue to enhance our products and services, making it easier for our clients to obtain needed goods at a lower cost, saving taxpayer dollars nationwide.”

In the report recommendations, Gartner states, “Do not limit solution evaluations to e-procurement functionality.  Consider ease of use, the customer satisfaction rate of the vendor and the availability of a complete suite as key factors in an assessment.”

“Gartner is the leading industry research company and it’s meaningful for Periscope to be evaluated as a top five vendor in these five categories.   We believe it confirms the strength and potential behind our product and services and it underscores our promise to our public sector customers – if you use BuySpeed E-Procurement and Sourcing, you’ll get immediate results,” Utley said.

Supporting Resources

Analyst Report – E-Procurement Market and Vendor Landscape (ID Number: G00214794)

Gartner reports are available at www.gartner.com (http://www.gartner.com).

ABOUT PERISCOPE HOLDINGS, INC.

Periscope Holdings, Inc. (www.periscopeholdings.com) is a privately held technology company headquartered in Austin, Texas.  Periscope works with public entities to achieve best practices in procurement through its comprehensive software solution BuySpeed and consulting services.   

Periscope eradicates waste in procurement delivering time- and money-saving results for more than 100,000 users in the United States and Canada.  BuySpeed customers include the states of Arizona and New Jersey; the cities of Fort Lauderdale, Baltimore, New Orleans and Tucson; the counties of Harris and Knox as well as Virginia Beach Public Schools, Alaska Department of Transportation and the Chicago Housing Authority. 

Periscope also holds the exclusive license to maintain, enhance and market the NIGP Commodity/Services Code on behalf of the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (www.nigp.org).

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Procurement Modernization – you need it, now make it happen.

The need for procurement reform is on the rise as out-dated, paper-heavy procurement processes continue to leave money on the table.  Old school systems are being replaced with integrated, efficient and automated functionality.  While procurement modernization drives significant bottom line savings, some public entities struggle to initiate reform.  The biggest obstacle to modernization is often acquiring approval from political leadership.

Periscope Holdings has found that politics and procurement can work hand-in-hand to achieve success. 

The following are proven steps to gain political approval:

• Establish a project leader who maintains ethical principles and demonstrates enthusiasm and persistence to spearhead project approval
• Research policy initiatives and goals that politicians are working towards.  Communicate how procurement modernization directly fits into their vision and how it will help efficiently achieve their goals.  Policy initiatives could include: e-verify; small, minority and woman owned business; veteran preferences; set-aside programs and local preference laws
• Create a strong business case with solid transformation benefits that include transparency, purchasing visibility and unity across all agencies, decrease cycle times, re-direct staff time, reduce off contract spend, track results needed to make strategic purchasing decisions, etc.
• Build a funding model that is practical with depleted budgets
• Illustrate tangible return on investment
• Gain support of the information technology and accounting departments
• Reference the success other states, counties, and cities have experienced (aka – the State of Arizona)
• Communicate with appointed and elected officials often to establish and maintain support

Don’t let politics stand in the way of bettering your procurement processes.  Establish a plan where politics and procurement complement one another to achieve success.  If presented properly, it will be difficult for executives and leadership to deny the value of procurement modernization.  The need is there, now make it happen.

In the public procurement world, we hear the words streamline, transparency, and savings thrown around regularly.   Everyone claims their procurement practices achieve transparency, create efficiencies, and offer vendor equality, but very few have the results to prove it. 

When Periscope says we do something, we mean it, and we have proof to back it up!

Transparency Establishes Accountability – Transparency involves full visibility to all agreements between government entities and their vendors.  There’s no picking and choosing which contracts are open record versus which contracts are non-disclosed.  Recently, a large southeastern state spent millions implementing multiple disparate eProcurement systems that fail to post contracts to a central location for public viewership. The casual observer or “John Q. Public” has to dig through the state’s website, understand the difference between a statewide and agency contract, and follow the links to multiple contact websites. 

On the contrary, the state of Arizona implemented BuySpeed eProcurement, calling the project ProcureAZ.  ProcureAZ exemplifies transparency.  Anyone with a web browser can visit ProcureAZ’s website and view all Arizona state and agency contracts in one place.  This transparency establishes accountability with the general public.  Citizens deserve the assurance that their hard-earned taxes are spent wisely.  We need more accountable government entities that not only preach but practice true transparency.

Less is Not Always More – When it comes to public procurement contracts and catalogs, the term “less is more” doesn’t apply.  Some eProcurement systems only offer 200 – 300 catalogs, creating major inefficiencies.  Ordering from non-catalog statewide contracts is complex and lengthy, since you have to contact vendors directly, as opposed to simply placing an order in the system.  Efficiency is thrown out the window, while staff workloads increase.  Often, there is an option to load and maintain additional catalogs to the tune of $25,000 – $50,000 per year, but this approach diminishes cost savings and causes entities to choose what contracts are worth the extra investment. 

With BuySpeed eProcurement, there’s no contract or catalog limit and no additional contract or catalog fees.  Whether an agency has 100 or 10,000 contracts, BuySpeed hosts each catalog at no additional cost.  Our QuickBuy functionality enables users to quickly search and purchase off thousands of catalogs, with the click of a mouse. Periscope’s unique approach to cataloging maintains efficiency and cost savings.

Level the Playing Field – State and local governments stand as economic engines pumping billions of dollars back into the economy.  With this powerful influence, public sector entities should be impartial with vendor selection and include both the “little guys” (local small businesses) and the “big dogs” (national vendors).  We’re finding more and more eProcurement systems offering set contracts with massive suppliers undermining local and minority businesses. 

BuySpeed has tremendous success in public sector because we provide means to practice vendor equality.  One of our top priorities is to level the playing field for vendors, so you can drive business to local economies.  That is why we include all contracts, no matter how small the vendor, in our catalog search.  We also provide tools to create agency -specific categories including MBE/WBE/DBE, and we offer the ability to track certification associated with these categories.  In addition, the NIGP Code can be used to identify vendors for solicitations and as a tool to gauge the level of true competition.  Leveling the playing field ensures procurement practices are fair and non-discriminatory.

Periscope is committed to procurement integrity.  If we say we do it, we do it, and we do it well.  Make sure your government entity is practicing fair and honest procurement practices with transparency, efficiency and equality.

At Periscope we often say, “Don’t ask us, ask our clients.”  We believe the success of our products and services are manifested through the achievements and recognition our clients obtain. This past month NIGP hosted its annual forum in National Harbor, MD, and multiple Periscope clients received top awards and recognition.

Not only did Arizona’s Department of Administration earn this year’s Innovation Award, but Jean Clark, Arizona’s State Procurement Administrator, was also awarded the Albert H. Hall Memorial Award, NIGP’s highest form of recognition.  Jean’s dedication to ethics, efficiency and transparency is appreciated by procurement professionals nationwide.

BuySpeed user Cheri Odeski with the City of Tucson, AZ, was awarded Professional Buyer of the Year.  The award recognizes non-supervisory professionals who have made significant contributions to purchasing, professional development, their entity, their chapter and the Institute. 

Nine Periscope clients were recipients of NIGP’s Outstanding Agency Accreditation Achievement Award.  80% of AEP recipients that attended the forum are Periscope clients.

Periscope is pleased to see multiple clients recognized for adopting industry best practices.   If you are ready to transform your outdated procurement processes into award-winning practices, implement Periscope’s BuySpeed eProcurement solution, apply our consulting services and utilize the NIGP commodity code.

Why is it that some governmental entities have data files that are in disarray and resolving issues is neither quick nor easy, while other entities have no such problems? The answer lies in the management of master data.  John Walters explores this topic in the August 2010 issue of GoPro magazine. http://govpro.com/mag/nigp-master-data-management-201008-09/index.html