Kantata Announces General Availability of Kantata Pulse: A Breakthrough in Project Delivery for Professional Services
Kantata Pulse combines real-time project sentiment data with operational data in a single platform for a comprehensive view of project health
IRVINE, Calif., and LONDON – October 15, 2024—Kantata, a leading global supplier of purpose-built technology for professional services, today announced the general availability of Kantata Pulse, a pioneering solution designed to optimize service delivery across project portfolios by infusing operational data with real-time project sentiment data.
“Kantata Pulse moves the needle on what it means to deliver successful projects,” said Sarah Edwards, Chief Product Officer of Kantata. “While financial metrics are essential, they don’t give the full picture. Kantata Pulse adds a crucial new dimension by capturing client and team perception throughout the project lifecycle to ensure smoother delivery and stronger client relationships.”
Closing a Crucial Data Gap in Professional Services
Professional services firms face a persistent challenge: how to effectively gather actionable data on how key stakeholders believe project delivery is progressing. Many organizations rely on end-of-project surveys, which fail to provide the insights needed to course-correct during delivery. Kantata Pulse solves this issue by automating the collection of customer and team perception at regular intervals, ensuring firms have real-time insights when it matters most – before the completion of a project.
“The lack of structured, consistent feedback mechanisms has been a long-standing issue for professional services firms,” said Martin Beil, Principal Product Manager at Kantata. “Typical approaches capture feedback too late, or keep data siloed from other key operational metrics. Kantata Pulse integrates sentiment data directly into project workflows, giving decision-makers a real-time view of both project performance and client and team perception, so they can course-correct before a project goes off track.”
Kantata Pulse not only delivers project sentiment data on an ongoing basis but also presents it alongside operational data like burn rate and margin, creating a holistic view of project health. This enables project managers, resource managers, and executives to identify risks early and take proactive measures to ensure delivery meets both client needs and profitability targets.
The Business Impact: Providing Real-Time Visibility for Decision-Makers
The benefits of this visibility extend far beyond project managers. According to new research from the Resource Management Institute, 89% of resource managers say real-time feedback on projects they’ve staffed would be useful, but only 23% receive regular updates on client satisfaction, and just 18% get frequent updates on team satisfaction. With Kantata Pulse, professional services firms can bridge this gap, delivering the data needed to optimize resource allocation, ensure client satisfaction, and keep teams engaged throughout every project.
“The pressure on professional services organizations to differentiate through exceptional client experiences has never been higher,” said John Ragsdale, Distinguished Researcher and Vice President of Technology Ecosystems at the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA). “Businesses that embrace innovations like Kantata Pulse will be well-positioned to meet this challenge and thrive in today’s fast-evolving market, because they will be able to understand the impact service delivery is having on clients and the teams that serve them, rather than just the bottom line.”
Kantata Users Confirm Benefits of Kantata Pulse
Kantata Pulse is already receiving positive feedback from early-access users that reinforces many of the assumptions that drove the solution’s development:
- Out-of-the-box Pulse Checks: Based on industry best practices, automated and ready to use assessments save time and eliminate the complexity of designing and administering effective data collection.
- In-flight Insights: By collecting feedback throughout the project rather than at the end, Pulse identifies at-risk projects, clients, and teams to enable intervention before it’s too late.
- Unified Data: Pulse combines operational and sentiment data in one platform, eliminating the need to manually merge data from different systems and providing a more comprehensive view of project health.
Margaret Connolly, Sr. Director of Project Management at Abrigo, an early-access customer of Kantata Pulse, noted, “Kantata Pulse is going to help meet one of Abrigo’s top objectives: identifying when service delivery and customer expectations are out of sync as early as possible. With Pulse, we will be able to efficiently gather precise customer feedback on project progress, providing valuable insights to identify potential risks, ensure projects stay on track, and fine-tune our approach going forward.”
Looking Ahead: Generative AI and Kantata Pulse
Kantata has ambitious plans for Pulse’s future, including integrating Generative AI (GenAI) to provide deeper, interpretive analysis of project sentiment data. This is part of Kantata’s larger vision for applied GenAI that owns key tasks throughout the professional services project lifecycle, driving efficiency while providing decision-makers with actionable insights to improve future project delivery.
“GenAI is poised to revolutionize how professional services organizations exceed client expectations,” Edwards said. “But to provide truly groundbreaking insights, AI models require both transactional data about project progress as well as relational data on client and team perception. That data that hasn’t been available in one place until Pulse. By integrating GenAI into Pulse, we’re taking another big step toward automating key tasks throughout the project lifecycle. This allows organizations to focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional client outcomes and creating an engaged workforce.”
Kantata Pulse Availability
Kantata Pulse is the first capability which has been developed to be compatible with and launched across both of Kantata’s core solutions, Kantata OX and Kantata SX. Kantata Pulse is now generally available to Kantata OX users, with a planned release for Kantata SX in the first half of 2025. The solution’s compatibility with both platforms underscores Kantata’s mission to provide innovative technology for professional services organizations of all shapes and sizes.
Martin Beil, Kantata’s Principal Product Manager, will present an exclusive session titled Transform Project Success with Real-Time Sentiment Analysis Using Kantata Pulse at TSIA World ENVISION on October 22, 2024.
About Kantata
Kantata takes professional services automation to a new level, giving people-powered businesses the clarity, control, and confidence they need to optimize resource planning and elevate operational performance. Our purpose-built cloud software is helping over 1,500 professional services organizations in more than 100 countries focus on and optimize their most important asset: their people. By leveraging the Kantata Professional Services Cloud, professionals gain access to the information and tools they need to win more business, ensure the right people are always available at the right time, and delight clients with project delivery and outcomes.
Media Contacts:
Jen Dodos for Kantata
949-322-6181