Earlier this year, Fast Company magazine named Splunk, a fast-growing software vendor in the big data market, as #4 on its prestigious 2013 World’s Most Innovative Companies list for “bringing big data to the masses.”

The accolade focused on innovative Splunk technology for collecting, indexing, and analyzing machine-generated data, but the San Francisco-based company can be lauded for several other innovations as well—including its embrace of cloud business management to fuel rapid global growth.

Splunk’s growth has been stratospheric. Its April 2012 IPO was a resounding success, with the share price more than doubling in the first day’s trading for a valuation of more than $3 billion.  Splunk just reported 64 percent year-over-year growth at the end of its fiscal year 2012.

That sort of success requires strong vision and execution on multiple fronts—as well as the visibility and efficiency achievable with cloud ERP. A NetSuite solution covering financials from procure to pay and order to cash, as well as global business management and professional services automation (PSA), has given Splunk a flexible foundation for growth.

“Since we’ve been on NetSuite we’ve been able to be increasingly nimble—our growth has been tremendous,” says Doug Harr, Splunk CIO. “We’re big believers in cloud business software and we’re certainly deriving the benefits of being in the cloud.”

Efficiency on a Global Scale
With the NetSuite OneWorld global business solution, Splunk manages more than a dozen international subsidiaries in Europe and Asia while transacting business in multiple currencies and complying with local tax regulations. The finance department can close its global monthly books in just seven days, compared to about three weeks in the past.

The finance department also leverages NetSuite’s sophisticated revenue recognition capabilities to simplify complex processes and account for revenue derived from multiple recurring and one-time streams. The fully auditable GAAP-compliant process helped Splunk to prepare for its IPO and to meet and exceed the standards expected of a public company while minimizing risk.

The NetSuite OpenAir solution for PSA has helped Splunk to strengthen its important and growing services team with project management and resource optimization capabilities, improving project controls, and the ability to staff the best individuals to the right projects. Services billing integrates seamlessly with the back office, enabling Splunk to accelerate invoices and collections.

A Focus on Innovation
On the sales front, NetSuite captures data from Splunk’s Salesforce.com CRM system via an integration between the two applications. “We can onboard new features and functionality with ease,” Harr says. “It’s all very configurable and manageable.”

In Harr’s view, one of the great advantages of ERP in the cloud is how it liberates staff to focus on value-added innovation. Business staff doesn’t need to waste time with double entry and troubleshooting manual errors. Resources otherwise invested in on-premise software and servers can be channeled into engineering breakthrough technology and outstanding customer support.

“The benefits of cloud ERP are many, and it starts with cloud versus on-premise,” Harr says. “We don’t have servers or storage to maintain and can focus on innovating our technology. Cloud ERP gives us a tremendous advantage from that perspective.”