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The benefits of moving your expense and travel management to the cloud are well-documented: You get simple-to-use tools that give you greater efficiency, better visibility, and better control of your costs. It¡¯s hardly surprising that for many businesses, their first experience of cloud solutions is with their T&E process.

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Yet despite all the benefits, a move to the cloud can still seem like a big step into an unfamiliar world. This is especially the case if you feel IT isn¡¯t really your "thing." How will you know what questions to ask? What should you be looking out for? How will you know when you¡¯ve found the right provider?

If it¡¯s fear of the unknown that¡¯s holding you back, here¡¯s a guide to the questions you need to ask to find the right T&E solution provider for your business.

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Does the product meet your specific needs?

Let¡¯s start with the most important requirement: does the product itself give you what you need? Here are some things to think about:

• Is the product available anywhere, anytime on desktop, tablet, and mobile so you can maximize the benefits of a cloud solution?
• How frequently is the solution updated and upgraded?
• Can the solution be integrated with your other IT systems?
• How quickly will you see ROI? What is the provider¡¯s track record on ROI for its customers?
• Is the product standalone or does it have an ecosystem of other solutions and apps that will help your business even more?
• Is the product scalable so it will continue to be a good solution even as your business grows or evolves?

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Does the provider have the experience and knowledge you need?

There are three areas you might like to consider here:

• Experience: Does the provider have experience working with companies of your size or that sell your type of product or service?
• Knowledge: Does the provider have a good handle on financial regulations and guidelines?
• Understanding: Does the provider understand how those regulations affect your business?

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What levels of support do you need?

The best T&E cloud solutions are designed to be intuitive and easy to use. But it¡¯s still likely you¡¯ll need support at some time or another, especially in the early days. Here are some things to consider:

• What levels of support are available from the provider and how easy are they to access?
• What training or training materials do they provide so you can get up and running quickly?

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Look at the long-term

The right T&E solution is one that works for you in the long-term.

• What are the provider¡¯s long-term strategic plans?
• What investment is the provider making in developing its solutions and delivering innovative advances?
• Does the provider have a track record in being a long-term partner for its customers?

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Starting your search

IDC MarketScape recently reviewed travel and expense management applications worldwide and published its findings in its?Worldwide SaaS and Cloud-Enabled Travel and Expense Management Applications 2018 Vendor Assessment. The report¡¯s authors positioned SAP ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ as a leader in the sector, commenting: ¡°SAP ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ provides the most sophisticated travel booking application among the travel and expense vendors evaluated in this study.¡±

If you're interested in?how SAP ÂÜÀòÊÓƵ solutions could help your business, take us for a test drive.