Mastering OpenAir System Management: A Guide to Sustainable Success

In today’s professional services landscape, NetSuite OpenAir stands as a leading platform for managing projects, resources, and financials. However, like any sophisticated system, OpenAir requires consistent attention and expertise to deliver optimal value. As organizations increasingly rely on OpenAir for their critical business operations, understanding the cadence of system maintenance becomes paramount for long-term success.

The Hidden Complexity of OpenAir Administration

While OpenAir provides powerful capabilities out of the box, maintaining and optimizing the system requires more than occasional attention. Effective OpenAir administration demands a deep understanding of not just the technical aspects, but also how they align with business processes and industry best practices. This expertise typically takes years to develop, as each organization’s implementation brings unique challenges and requirements.

Essential Maintenance Activities

Let’s explore the key activities that should be part of every OpenAir administrator’s toolkit, organized by frequency:

Daily Vigilance

System administrators should maintain regular oversight of critical system functions, including:

• Monitoring integration health and error logs
• Reviewing system performance metrics
• Addressing time-sensitive user requests
• Ensuring smooth operation of approval workflows

Weekly Health Checks

On a weekly basis, administrators should focus on data quality and system usage:

• Conducting targeted data audits across key entities (users, projects, bookings, clients)
• Reviewing user activation/deactivation requests
• Monitoring resource allocation and utilization
• Checking for booking conflicts and resolution

Monthly System Maintenance

Monthly activities focus on broader system health and optimization:

• Performing comprehensive system maintenance reviews
• Analyzing reporting accuracy and effectiveness
• Updating user permissions and access controls
• Reviewing and optimizing workflow configurations
• Assessing resource management effectiveness

Quarterly Deep Dives

Quarterly maintenance involves more strategic activities:

• Conducting thorough reports module health checks
• Reviewing and optimizing NSOA connector configurations
• Updating resource profiles and skill matrices
• Analyzing system usage patterns and user adoption
• Evaluating integration performance and optimization opportunities

Annual Strategic Review

Annual maintenance ensures long-term system sustainability:

• Updating company work schedules and holidays
• Managing accounting period configurations
• Reviewing and adjusting approval processes
• Archiving completed projects and historical data
• Updating job codes, rate cards, and generic resources
• Conducting comprehensive PTO balance maintenance

The Experience Factor: Beyond Checklist Management

Having a maintenance checklist is one thing – knowing how to interpret and act on what you find is quite another. Think of it like maintaining a high-performance vehicle. Anyone can follow a basic maintenance schedule, but it takes years of experience to recognize the subtle signs that something isn’t quite right, or to understand how different systems interact with each other.

OpenAir administration works the same way. While the maintenance tasks we’ve outlined are essential, the real value comes from understanding the broader context of each action. An experienced administrator doesn’t just check integration error logs – they understand what those errors mean for different business processes and can anticipate potential downstream impacts before they become problems.

This kind of expertise isn’t developed overnight. It comes from years of working with different implementations across various industries, seeing how different organizations use the same features in unique ways, and learning from both successes and challenges. Every organization has its own “personality” when it comes to using OpenAir, and experienced administrators bring this wealth of cross-industry knowledge to bear on each new situation they encounter.

Consider a scenario where you’re configuring a new approval workflow. A novice administrator might focus solely on the technical setup, but an experienced administrator will ask deeper questions: How will this impact existing processes? What happens during employee vacations or leaves? How can we make this both efficient and foolproof? These insights come from having seen similar situations play out across multiple organizations and understanding the subtle nuances that can make or break a configuration.

The Real Cost of In-House Administration

When organizations consider their OpenAir administration strategy, they often focus primarily on the salary of an administrator. However, the true cost of in-house administration goes far deeper than just a line item in the budget.

Think about what happens when your primary OpenAir administrator takes a vacation, accepts a new position, or needs to focus on other priorities. Suddenly, you’re faced with a knowledge gap that can take months – or even years – to fill. The institutional knowledge that walks out the door with a departing administrator can be incredibly costly to replace, both in terms of direct training costs and the indirect costs of reduced efficiency during the transition.

Moreover, an in-house administrator typically only sees one way of doing things – your organization’s way. While they might become extremely proficient in your specific implementation, they miss out on the broader perspective that comes from working with diverse organizations and seeing different approaches to similar challenges. This limited exposure can mean missed opportunities for optimization and innovation.

There’s also the ongoing challenge of staying current with platform updates and best practices. OpenAir is constantly evolving, and keeping up with these changes while managing day-to-day responsibilities can be overwhelming for an in-house administrator. Important updates or new features might be overlooked simply because there isn’t enough time to properly evaluate and implement them.

A Better Approach: Managed Services for OpenAir

This is where managed services, like Top Step’s OnDemand Advantage, offer a compelling alternative. Instead of bearing the full burden of OpenAir administration internally, organizations can leverage the expertise of dedicated professionals who:

• Bring years of cross-industry OpenAir experience
• Provide proactive system maintenance and optimization
• Offer strategic guidance based on broad implementation experience
• Ensure consistent system health and performance
• Reduce risk through expert oversight and best practices

As you evaluate your OpenAir administration strategy, consider these questions:

• Do you have the internal expertise to fully optimize your OpenAir implementation?
• How much time and resources are you investing in system maintenance?
• Are you confident in your ability to keep pace with platform updates and best practices?
• What is the real cost of potential system issues or suboptimal configuration?

Taking the Next Step

If you’re looking to optimize your OpenAir investment while reducing administrative burden, consider exploring Top Step’s OnDemand Advantage service. With decades of combined OpenAir expertise and a proven track record of success, Top Step can help ensure your OpenAir implementation delivers maximum value for your organization.

Contact Top Step today to learn how OnDemand Advantage can transform your OpenAir administration strategy and drive greater value from your PSA investment.