Kantata launches as PSA market shifts gear

A new prominent player has emerged in the highly dynamic professional services automation (PSA) software space with the launch of Kantata.

The company was formed through the merger of UK-based Kimble and US-based Mavenlink, first announced at the end of last year, and brings together an organization with more than 600 employees supporting over 2,000 clients. 

Kantata has become one of the largest specialist players in a sector that PAC values at more than €5bn worldwide and growing at a rate of over 8% in many key regions. There has been an explosion of new SaaS-based entrants attacking the PSA sector in recent years. One example is UK-based Dayshape, which supports more than 15,000 users at clients, including two of the big four accountancy firms.

At the other end of the competitive landscape, Kantata will also have to battle the larger ERP/HR platform players that have built out dedicated PSA solutions, such as Unit4, Workday, and FinancialForce. Workday fleshed out its PSA offering six months ago with the purchase of Zimit, a specialist in configure, price and quote software for technology products and services.

PAC recently undertook a major study on the evolving needs of professional services organizations in Europe as they wrestle with evolving workstyles, talent bottlenecks and, a volatile economic backdrop. Many of the world’s largest IT services firms have seen their staff attrition rates rise above the 30% mark in recent months as competition for key development, data, and cyber skills intensify. 

As a result, there is a growing appetite for more robust systems to tackle new challenges posed in areas such as resource and project management. Kantata has launched several new product features, including Talent Network, which is designed to help PS firms add external partners and independent contractors to their resource pools and enable resource managers to conduct scenario planning for future projects.

Professional services firms are increasingly feeling constrained by legacy technology. According to our study, almost three-quarters (71%) said that aging software is holding back their ability to innovate. The reality is that many firms continue to rely on a patchwork of heavily customized spreadsheets to support key areas of their day-to-day activities. The siloed structure of many organizations means that there is often very little standardization across teams or practices, an issue that has been exacerbated by the wave of M&A activity playing out across many areas of the PS market.

Kantata’s launch comes at a time when the professional services sector is contending with its biggest ever period of disruption in a generation. It will not be the only vendor that benefits from growing demand for technology that helps firms scale and adapt.