Businesses juggle urgent and strategic project portfolios. How can you maintain an overview when each project has its own missions and needs? To successfully complete tasks, the program manager will need the right management tools. ERPs are designed to provide visibility and structure operations.
Program Manager: a Key Strategic Role
The program manager should not be confused with a project manager. While the latter handles a specific project, the program manager oversees an entire portfolio, with one mission: to align projects with the overall strategy.
In practice, the program manager ensures consistency between organizational objectives and operational execution to improve productivity and ensure better quality management. A study by Capterra indicates that 96% of French companies that have adopted artificial intelligence in project management report significant benefits in terms of efficiency.
Thus, 65% of respondents highlight an improvement in strategic decision-making thanks to AI’s analytical capabilities, while 55% mention optimized planning.
Project Portfolio Management (PPM) is a structured approach aimed at selecting, prioritizing, and overseeing all projects and programs within an organization. Thanks to this centralized approach, the company has a solid reference framework to guide its decisions and maintain overall consistency.
The Program Manager’s Concrete Missions
The program manager’s daily routine involves several essential tasks:
Plan and structure portfolios: define priorities and organize projects according to strategy.
Manage resources: human, financial, material. Arbitration is constant.
Anticipate and manage risks: identify threats before they turn into crises.
Ensure communication and liaison between stakeholders: operations director, project managers, clients, teams.
Measure and adjust performance: key indicators, feedback, reporting.
In other words, they are a tightrope walker balancing between strategic vision and operational execution… with a spreadsheet under their arm and back-to-back meetings.
Daily Challenges: Complexity, Prioritization, Reporting
The role is crucial, but far from simple. The program manager must handle:
- Intersecting projects, sometimes with conflicting objectives.
- Constant pressure on deadlines and budgets.
- Demanding stakeholders who want quick results.
A McKinsey study shows that 45% of large IT projects exceed their initial budget, and many do not fully achieve their objectives. In many cases, the problem is not a lack of competence, but the absence of suitable tools.
The Utility of ERPs and PPMs for Program Management
This is where ERPs and project portfolio management (PPM) software come into play. They don’t replace human expertise, but they amplify it.
ERPs like Furious enable data centralization, simplified financial management, real-time budget tracking, automated reporting, and a consolidated view of resources. PPMs, on the other hand, offer a more specialized approach. They provide advanced features for prioritizing projects, simulating different scenarios, and measuring each initiative’s contribution to the overall strategy.
In other words, the ERP ensures integrated governance at the core of the business, while the PPM provides the manager with a control tower dedicated exclusively to the project portfolio. Management tools offer several advantages. Once implemented, they help reduce costs. In 91% of cases, they positively impact ROI.
We've been using Furious for just over two years now. [...] Since we implemented Furious, we've doubled our revenue in two years. [...] It allows us to manage our business, ensures people work together, see what's being done, and we've truly gained in efficiency.
How to Choose the Right Program Management Tool?
Not all solutions are equal, and a wrong choice can quickly turn software into an overly complex system. Here are some key criteria:
- Adaptability: the tool must reflect your specific needs, not the other way around.
- Integration: an ERP must communicate with your internal systems (finance, HR, CRM), while a PPM must interface with your project tools.
- Ease of use: an overly complex tool will discourage your teams.
- Scalability: whether it’s an ERP or a PPM, the solution must support the growth and evolution of your projects.
Let’s take an example: a digital services agency simultaneously managing 15 client projects. Without an ERP, it relies on scattered Excel files, and management has only partial visibility.
Having a tool that covers the entire value chain, from quote generation to production and delivery, allows us to be much more consistent and better control our processes.
Among the many portfolio management solutions available on the market, some planning software stands out for its features and adaptability to business realities. Here are a few often cited as references, useful to know if you are considering equipping yourself.
- monday.com: highly flexible, visual interface, customizable dashboards, budget tracking, resource management, deadlines, etc.
- Triskell Software: robust solution for mid-sized and large accounts, combining strategic steering, scenario simulation, prioritization, and real-time project tracking using various methodologies.
- Sciforma: long-standing presence, credibility, large global user base, suitable for large project portfolios, strong analytical capabilities, reporting, advanced planning.
From Business Needs to Solution: an Inseparable Duo
The program manager, ERP, and PPM form a complementary trio.
- Without a competent manager, tools remain empty shells.
- Without suitable management tools, the manager ends up tinkering with disparate files, risking wasted time and poor decisions.
An ERP will never replace human discernment, and a PPM alone will not make the right decisions. Together, they empower the manager to transform multiple projects into tangible results. It’s much like a pilot having both a comprehensive cockpit and a precision GPS: one without the other is of little use.
Towards more Effective and Agile Governance
Today, the program manager is one of the most strategic players in a company. Their role: to transform a multitude of projects into a coherent and high-performing whole. But to succeed, they need robust tools capable of centralizing information, optimizing planning, and offering real-time visibility.
Furious ERP provides integrated governance that contributes to project portfolio management. The management tool enables the program manager to control and supervise with clarity, anticipate risks, and involve all stakeholders.
You might be Asking Yourself these Questions?
01 What is Automatic Transaction Categorization?
This is an AI-based feature that automatically categorizes your expenses according to their nature, for simplified and more reliable financial tracking.
02 how Does Furious AI Work to Categorize Transactions?
With each import or bank synchronization, the AI analyzes the label, amount, and context to suggest a relevant category and tags. You validate, adjust if necessary, and the tool learns from your choices.
03 What are the Benefits of Automatic Categorization for Financial Teams?
Less manual entry, better accounting consistency, reduced human errors, and significant time savings on recurring tasks.
04 Can You Maintain Control over the Categories Suggested by the AI?
Yes, you remain in control of the suggestions: each classification can be accepted, modified, or refined. Automation supports, not replaces.
05 Does the AI Improve its Suggestions over Time?
Absolutely. The more you use the feature, the more the AI learns from your corrections and offers categorizations tailored to your habits.
06 who is this Feature for?
For financial managers, executives, or anyone looking to automate accounting processing, optimize cash flow, and focus on analysis rather than data entry.
