The Productivity Multiplier: More Projects, Zero Added Headcount
When professional services firms talk about efficiency, they often point to automation or incremental gains. The organizations IDC studied for The Business Value of Kantata were aiming higher. They wanted to change how work happens. What they found wasn’t just a better way to manage projects, but a model that helped them deliver more value — with the same resources.
IDC’s research shows that organizations using Kantata realized an average of $17 million in annual benefits through stronger project delivery, sharper financial visibility, and better use of people and data. These results came from freeing up time that had been locked inside manual processes and fragmented systems, not from cutting staff.
Turning Work into Impact
Before Kantata, many of the companies IDC interviewed were spending significant effort on manual coordination and inconsistent reporting. Each team had its own tools and spreadsheets, which made scaling difficult.
One IT consulting organization clearly described the challenge:
“Before adopting Kantata, we relied on a single, internally developed tool to manage activities, timesheets, and invoicing. It was very limited and difficult to maintain. We also lacked standardized practices and processes across the group. Each team operated differently, and even with that one tool, managers often used their own Excel calculations to report figures. We needed a robust, unified solution to manage our key activities from sales through to invoicing.”
Kantata gave those same teams a single connected system that centralizes delivery, resource planning, and financial operations — leading to an average 21.3% efficiency gain for project management teams and reclaiming nearly $1.86 million in annual staff time that could be directed toward client and strategic work.
Fast, Confident Delivery
The impact on project delivery was nearly immediate. IDC found that organizations using Kantata delivered 33% more projects on time, reduced average project length by 12%, and saw 61% fewer projects running over budget. Predictability improved because everyone — from project managers to finance leaders — was working from a single, current dataset.
One managed services organization explained that Kantata helped them move from reaction to anticipation. “We now manage by exception,” they shared. “If a project overruns, it’s a conscious investment, not a surprise. Kantata gives us early warnings through key indicators, so project managers are always aware of what’s happening and can forecast accurately. No one operates blindly anymore.”
Instead of discovering problems at the end of a project, teams could spot issues early and adjust. Weekly health reviews and standardized reporting created new discipline around visibility. The result? Faster, more confident delivery.
A Shift to More Meaningful Work
One of the most interesting findings from the study is what didn’t change: headcount.
Gains and efficiency weren’t driven by reducing staff but by using their time better. Kantata automated the repetitive work that used to eat up team members’ days (like reporting, reconciliation, time tracking) and gave that time back to teams to focus on higher-value activities. One organization even reported a 10-15% reduction in repetitive, manual tasks, allowing more time to be redirected toward client-facing initiatives and innovation.
This enables your people to do the work they were hired to do, rather than being bogged down by time-consuming manual tasks. For one digital strategy firm, that meant trading late-night spreadsheet sessions for strategic decision-making. “Centralized reporting with Kantata replaced our Excel-heavy workflows, saving time and reducing complexity,” they said. “It’s helped us manage staff more effectively, understand pipeline demands, and plan resources proactively.”
Real Financial Results
The ripple effects of efficiency can reach every corner of an organization — including your finance department.
Research shows that finance teams, specifically, were able to achieve a 51.5% efficiency gain with Kantata, cutting the time and effort required for financial operations nearly in half. Period-end processes accelerated dramatically, with month-end close time dropping 61%, from 11.5 days to just 4.5 days.
For professional services leaders, that kind of improvement changes how their businesses run. Faster closings mean faster insights, and faster insights mean stronger, more informed decision-making that helps your organization grow.
As one managed services finance executive put it, “We’ve seen a significant improvement to our month-end close in professional services, from taking over a week to just a few days. With a large finance team supporting our acquisitive, PE-backed structure, this efficiency is a major win.”
Reclaiming the Power to Grow
Sure, efficiency saves time; but it also creates the space for growth. IDC found that the organizations they studied used the time they saved to pursue new revenue opportunities and improve client engagement. Freed from manual tasks, teams could collaborate earlier in the sales cycle, align delivery with forecasting, and identify upsell opportunities faster.
This alignment between delivery and business development helped firms achieve $8.2 million in annual business enablement value, nearly half of the total quantified benefit. Kantata’s impact didn’t stop at operational excellence; it became a driver of top-line growth.
Human-Centered Performance
Technology is only as valuable as how it helps the people using it. Tools should give your team the power to do their work better and more effectively than ever before. They should take repetitive tasks off your people’s plates, rather than create more time-consuming, low-value work.
When your team can focus on work that actually drives progress and ensures stronger outcomes, they’re more likely to be happier and more invested in their work — and less likely to leave your organization after a short tenure. And with a PSA, employee satisfaction increased by 32% among the organizations surveyed. Teams felt more engaged, more capable, and more connected to the work they were doing.
One organization even described how Kantata allowed them to reduce burnout and develop talent simultaneously. Thanks to improved visibility into utilization, they were able to reassign underused staff to internal initiatives or training. This not only boosted morale but also strengthened their talent pipeline and reduced burnout.
For professional services firms competing in a tight talent market, that level of engagement is a strategic asset. Efficiency and culture move from being separate conversations to becoming part of the same equation.
Why It Matters
IDC’s research makes one truth impossible to ignore: when data, delivery, and decision-making come together, performance multiplies. And Kantata customers are getting more work done, while building a foundation that scales.
The numbers don’t lie:
- $17M in annual benefits per firm
- 33% more projects delivered on time
- 61% fewer projects over budget
- 21% increase in project management efficiency
- 32% higher employee satisfaction
- 61% faster month-end close
- 78% improvement in reporting accuracy
This is what successful professional services performance looks like: connected, informed, and human.
Ready to see smarter productivity in action? Read IDC’s full report and learn how Kantata helps professional services organizations turn reclaimed time into measurable impact.