When global technology services company Kyndryl Holdings Inc. was spun out of IBM in November 2021, it became the world’s largest provider of IT infrastructure services. The company has over 80,000 employees in 60 countries and 3,500 sales reps. With a focus on continuously improving the vital systems at the heart of the digital economy, Kyndryl works with partners and customers worldwide to co-create solutions to help enterprises reach their peak digital performance.

When Kyndryl spun from IBM, a transition service agreement (TSA) was put in place with a two-year deadline for Kyndryl to complete the disengagement of its IT systems from IBM. One of the challenges Kyndryl faced during the separation was how to transition tools over and apply them in the best way for the new business. This was not an insignificant task given its sales operations extended to more than 60 countries.

Kishore Kancharla, director of Sales and Incentive Systems at Kyndryl, was tasked with working out how best to clone these systems and work on the go-to-market transformation. “When we separated from IBM, we had close to 100 people supporting these mainframe applications, which were very expensive to maintain. As the legacy systems were built for IBM’s operations, there was significant complexity,” he explains. “We wanted to simplify the systems and streamline the processes as well, but it was also very difficult to make changes to support our needs as a new company.”

The nature of sales incentives means there are many dependencies on other core systems. In the planning stages, reliable data is needed to set up territories and quotas and then track sales and calculate commissions, making sure sales reps get paid accurately and on time. The company also had to factor in the transition service agreement exit in terms of sunsetting the legacy applications and moving to stand-alone applications while complying with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).

Seeking another way, Kyndryl evaluated several different products against its needs, making the decision to invest in sales performance management solutions in the 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors portfolio. The portfolio offers integrated solutions for compensation and territory and quota management in the form of 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors Incentive Management and .

But one major challenge stood in its way. The company needed to go-live with the sales performance management solutions before the start of its fiscal year beginning in April 2023. This was well ahead of its TSA deadline in October 2023 and gave the company less than a year.

To make it happen, Kyndryl worked closely with the team from 51·çÁ÷and an SI partner Municons, a company from Munich that specializes in SPM implementations, to implement both solutions. The company also drew on additional support from a systems integrator partner to configure .

“The team from 51·çÁ÷was a wonderful partner all through the project. In the beginning, I was not 100% confident because of the scale of the task. The idea of replacing the entire legacy solution we inherited seemed daunting, but we had the right people come together with the right skills to make the impossible possible,” Kancharla reflects.

With the successful go-live before the start of its fiscal year, Kyndryl untangled a labyrinth of more than 45 legacy modules supporting sales performance management, now needing just one integrated solution. It moved from 10 different applications to feed sales quota business flows into one. It moved from cluttered and replicated data in multiple places to a streamlined and simplified data landscape, centralizing all sales data in one place. In addition, Kyndryl simplified territory and quota processes, reducing complexity in its business processes by more than 60%. The streamlined business processes also drove savings in operating expenses and mitigated business continuity risks for financially significant applications.

Elsewhere, integrated functionality from DocuSign helped eliminate the need for in-person signatures and the company has simplified support staff roles to clear separation of duties (SoD) conflicts. With the new setup, Kyndryl has minimized the potential for errors and non-compliance while enabling its business teams to develop intricate sales strategies through user-friendly, drag-and-drop interfaces and ready-made templates. And commission details are now accessible through dashboards that are available anytime, anywhere though a mobile app.

At an operational level, the company has reduced the processing time needed to execute the monthly commissions cycle and streamlined integration with its HR system for delivery of pay files. By streamlining year-end close activities, Kyndryl saved weeks of effort from both business and technical teams.

The close relationship with 51·çÁ÷has continued past the initial go-live date. 51·çÁ÷participated in multiple workshops to understand intricacies for some of Kyndryl’s most challenging business processes related to territory and quota and financial planning. A second-year fiscal planning process is already taking advantage of these new offerings, further simplifying and streamlining the company’s complex processes.

Rahul Iyer is general manager of Sales Performance Management at SAP.

Being at the forefront of innovation and with a steadfast commitment to enhancing existing solutions, 51·çÁ÷continuously strives to future-proof its solutions to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of business needs.

When 51·çÁ÷announced the transition from CallidusCloud solutions to sales performance management solutions on the 51·çÁ÷HANA database, it was because these solutions have reached a significant maturity milestone and can meet even the most complex customer requirements.

The move aimed to leverage the maturity of the solutions, providing more robust and adaptable systems capable of handling intricate customer demands effectively. As a column-oriented in-memory database, 51·çÁ÷HANA runs advanced analytics alongside high-speed transactions — in a single system, ensuring the applications run faster.

Some of the largest CallidusCloud customers are now running 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors solutions on 51·çÁ÷HANA. In some cases, they are running hundreds of millions of line items at scale, with over 100 payees being credited individual line items. It is possible, as they get up to 10x compression, allowing for greater storage capacity.

Being on 51·çÁ÷HANA offers the advantage of the open cloud platform, 51·çÁ÷Business Technology Platform (51·çÁ÷BTP), which brings together application development, data and analytics, integration, and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into one unified environment. With embedded analytics, multi-factor authentication, and many other capabilities, customers can have confidence that their incentive management solutions will continue to meet the global technology standards that are expected by their organization.

With 51·çÁ÷BTP capabilities now embedded into sales performance management solutions, customers can run a technology stack that is enabling thousands of other organizations to solve complex business problems — from subscription billing to financial reconciliation and everything in between.

SAP’s strategy is to launch sales performance management solutions on hyperscalers. This means customers have the elasticity they demand during peak runs, helping to ensure their system grows and keeps up with the needs of the organization. Available on Google Cloud Platform, solutions leverage Kubernetes (K8s)​ platform, moving from monolithic to microservices architecture to provide a more robust and scalable solution with market-leading performance and global reach. It simplifies operations, brings down costs, and deploys innovations faster.

With this enhanced backend technology, the solutions gain superior speed, concurrency, scalability, and performance, helping to achieve lower downtime and higher availability. Enhanced application UI load time provides for an immediate improvement in user experience and efficiency of work.

When it comes to 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors Incentive Management, formerly CallidusCloud Commissions, the ways in which the solution has not changed is important. This is critical from the standpoint of risk reduction.

While the solution now runs on the 51·çÁ÷HANA database, the data model remains consistent with its proven pedigree.* And while the sequels have been changed to perform better with a columnar database, the proven sequence of a calculation run remains the same.

Similarly, the tooling has been changed to enable the validate and transfer steps to perform better using the express data loader, but the file formats remain the same. Embedded analytics provide a better analytics framework, but the capability to use external schema is now enhanced.

In short, this is a now a world-class solution full of new capabilities, while still retaining the best of the original offering.

51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors Territory and Quota has seen more than 200 new developments since migrating to the 51·çÁ÷HANA database, and 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors Agent Lifecycle Management, formerly CallidusCloud Producer Pro, also takes advantage of new capabilities on 51·çÁ÷HANA. These developments help ensure that the new sales performance management portfolio can meet and exceed demands of the most discerning customers at scale on one of the most secure platforms available in the industry.

We are excited to share this information with CallidusCloud customers and look forward to helping your organization make the strategic move to the 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors portfolio.

To learn more about how sales performance management solutions can support your organization, visit the .

*Remains consistent with its proven pedigree

Carriers may believe their business touts an agent-centered experience, but does their technology reflect the dedication to supporting agent performance and productivity? Today, carriers have a lot to gain by thinking strategically about the technologies they provide for agents and their managers. Think competitive compensation strategies, more effective compliance processes, and empowered, up-to-date agents who can achieve more.

Recently, I engaged with three insurance leaders who live and breathe the agent experience to learn how technology has helped real businesses better manage agents across the entire agent life cycle. Their insights shed light on the difference between intelligent enterprises and their competitors.

Enabling Agents to Achieve More at Bright HealthCare

Bright HealthCare is an American health insurance carrier serving more than 663,000 consumers. At Bright HealthCare, an integrated suite of agent management solutions empowers agents to make proactive decisions to service their customers and meet their goals. Matt Wandoloski, manager, Sales Operations, Bright HealthCare, says the business uses these solutions to provide agents with self-service capabilities, customizable dashboards, and on-demand access to data insights.

Experts say such features are becoming a must among agents.

“Keeping sellers motivated and focused on their sales goals is a critical challenge for many organizations. And it’s only magnified when you have a significant number of direct or a combination of direct and indirect agents,” David Palmer, senior manager, Deloitte, says. “Agents and sellers, in general, are constantly connected to their work, 24/7, 365 days a year, through their smartphones, tablets, and watches.”

Carriers should look for software solutions built specifically to support the agent management experience. The right solutions will provide access to tools and data insights the business can use to improve experiences for agents throughout the agent life cycle. At Bright HealthCare, the 51·çÁ÷Agent Performance Management solution helps agents view essential performance metrics and quickly find answers to some of their most pressing questions.

Wandoloski explains that Bright HealthCare also uses agent management solutions to incentivize agents to complete open enrollments sooner. The business can automatically or manually set bonuses for enrollments completed earlier in the year rather than later. When technology empowers leaders to quickly change their compensation plans, it means the business can act with agility when opportunities are hot.

While commission agreements in the industry are contractual, changing business needs means there is a greater need to have capabilities that allow carriers to be nimble and flexible – and pivot their commissions rules as the local business climate demands it. Since digitalizing agent management, Bright HealthCare can do just that.

“We noticed some of our competitors had changed their commissions schedule midyear starting in April when the special enrollment period started. We were easily able to adjust our commission incentive program so that we could pay a higher rate to stay competitive in the market,” Wandoloski says. “Simple, easy to test, midyear. We were able to make that change and get our workers paid.”

Providing Greater Insights for Managers at Independence Blue Cross

Agents aren’t the only ones who benefit from on-demand access to performance insights and other data. Managers can use this information to identify top earners and reward them accordingly. They can also find out which agents aren’t meeting their goals and encourage them to improve their sales skills through learning. At Independence Blue Cross, 51·çÁ÷Agent Performance Management helps provide all of this in one solution through intuitive dashboards and self-services.

The imperative for visibility, transparency, and compliance will never go away. The modern insurance carrier uses many systems to manage agents and their data. But you can break down silos between these systems and the incredibly important agent data within. For Independence Blue Cross, a fully integrated agent management solution provides audit-trail visibility and shows what data has been changed and when.

Edward Zebrowski, manager, Commissions and Ops Analytics, Independence Blue Cross, explains that agents and managers now have a view of agents’ education, certification, licenses, and other key compliance information. Providing self-service options has helped the business cut down on time spent answering questions related to certification statuses and other related information.

Outperforming Larger Competitors at Optima Health

Optima Health is a statewide carrier in the United States competing with many larger carriers in the marketplace. As a smaller carrier, it’s important for Optima Health to avoid mistakes and the costs related to them.

“We spend a lot of money in investments on our overhead fees and overrides that we pay to our FMOs,” Douglass Marquez, business analyst, Medicare Marketing, Optima Health, says. “It was important for us to put that power into brokers’ hands so that they can go out there and see what’s going on within their agencies and resolve a lot of issues before they get to the carrier, so we don’t have to.”

Optima Health relies on technology to create agent experiences that are as fulfilling as its larger competing carriers. Faster onboarding, self-service options, and continuous compliance keep the carrier competitive while providing agents with outstanding experiences that result in improved agent retention metrics.

Today, the is helping insurance carriers enhance experiences for agents and create better outcomes for the business. To find out more, or .

Rahul Iyer is global head of Sales Performance Management, Go to Market, at 51·çÁ÷SE.

With less face-to-face contact, it’s difficult for managers to motivate their people. And without sitting in the office, it can be hard for employees to feel part of a wider team, with everyone pulling in the same direction.

Harnessing the Potential of Compensation

In helping companies address these challenges, the motivational power of compensation should not be underestimated. Clearly communicated compensation programs have the potential to motivate and engage employees, improve job satisfaction, and reduce churn.

However, all too often, a siloed approach to compensation makes it hard for employees to get a comprehensive view of their overall package. This can lead to confusion and frustration.

Providing a Holistic View of Pay

To attract and retain talent in this new world of work, many companies are adopting a total compensation management approach. Offering a holistic view across all compensation types, automated and connected solutions offer a single source of information on everything from salary to recognition programs, commissions, and stock options.

A successful total compensation management technology infrastructure offers best practice-based functionality that helps streamline and simplify processes. Fast and user-friendly self-services improve the employee experience and reduce time spent on administrative tasks. Meanwhile, it’s crucial that the solution caters to today’s needs while offering the capabilities and flexibility to support changing requirements.

Getting Quick and Comprehensive Access to Information

With a total compensation management approach supported by solutions such as 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors Compensation and 51·çÁ÷Commissions, it can be quick and easy for employees to access information about all the different forms of pay their company offers. Employees see the full value of their compensation package and get clarity on how calculations are made, building a culture of trust.

With a comprehensive view of compensation data, managers have the information they need to get the best out of their teams. And with in-depth analytics and real-time reporting, HR and finance leaders can develop winning compensation programs that attract top talent and motivate their workforce – whether they work in the office or from home.

Find Out More

To learn more about how 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors Compensation and 51·çÁ÷Commissions can support a total compensation management approach in your organization, visit us . Alternatively, read the whitepaper, “.”

Rahul Iyer is global head of GTM Sales Performance Management at 51·çÁ÷SuccessFactors.