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US-based Conga with significant product engineering out of India is leading the Revenue Lifecycle Management (RLM) space. If we were to decode RLM, it is a holistic approach that connects both front and back-office operations, tackling the fragmentation that frequently disrupts revenue processes. By refining this lifecycle, businesses can ensure they’re not only driving revenue but cultivating the right type of revenue that fuels sustained long-term growth.
The company’s platform is chosen by leading enterprises to accelerate the end-to-end revenue lifecycle and achieve a revenue advantage. Conga brings Configure, Price, Quote, Contract Lifecycle Management, and Document Automation capabilities together on a single open platform that works with any ERP, any CRM, and any Cloud. The company states that its offerings are born for the top line—powered by a unified revenue data model, complete revenue intelligence, and purpose-built AI—to help companies grow, protect, and expand their revenue. It has over 10,000 customers and 6.4 million users around the world. More than 7 million contracts and 46 million quotes are generated annually with Conga.
Speaking exclusively to CIOL, Koti Reddy, CTO of Conga, discussed how his company is playing out in the RLM space and the state-of-the-art competencies it has built over the years. Excerpts.
On the Need for a Holistic Revenue Lifecycle Management
As a leader in revenue lifecycle management, operating as a quote-to-cash company for years, conceptually this has been done by companies for many years. But the problem is, traditionally, revenue operations have been siloed, with separate systems for CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote), contract lifecycle management, billing, revenue recognition, and renewals. This disconnection leads to inefficiencies, increased risks, and customer dissatisfaction, particularly when revenue recognition issues result in late renewal notices for subscription businesses.
Here is where we come in. We offer a holistic and unified revenue lifecycle management solution that integrates all aspects of revenue operations, helping companies capture revenue effectively. By providing clear discounting guidelines, our CPQ solution streamlines the approval process for sales teams, allowing them to offer discounts efficiently.
Once a quote is approved, it can be quickly converted into an agreement using our unified data model. This minimizes manual intervention, enabling seamless negotiations and electronic signing via Conga Sign. After the billing schedule is created, data flows into revenue recognition, categorizing it appropriately, and facilitating a smooth renewal cycle.
On the Core Expertise
Our expertise lies in automated workflows and unified data models that empower organizations to focus on customer service rather than fragmented and siloed processes, maximizing revenue potential and improving customer satisfaction.
On Intersecting RLM with AI
Three years ago, we acquired a company called Contract Wrangler, a leader in leveraging AI and ML to analyze contract terms and obligations, providing insights that influence revenue, risk, and cost after the contract is executed. This acquisition gave us ample leverage to play out in the AI space and help companies gain actionable insights from all their contracts. AI has indeed elevated our offerings and take the case of Conga Copilot, which is an AI-driven virtual assistant that enhances productivity and efficiency throughout the entire contract lifecycle. By utilizing machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP), it can comprehend, analyze, and generate content. This tool is especially valuable for users handling large documents, allowing them to ask questions and gain insights about the contract’s content.
In addition, we also have software like Conga Contract Intelligence that extracts commercial terms and converts them into verified data, empowering businesses to drive performance and make informed decisions.
On Operations in India
India is a very critical region for us. Around 51% of our employees are based in India, we have development centers in Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Pune. Actually, from a product engineering perspective, 82% is based in India. Moreover, we give great emphasis to diversity and inclusion with 30% of the workforce being women.