The global property valuation industry, which was previously dominated by boutique operators, is being revolutionized by an Australian company. Opteon is changing the game by deploying new technology and uniting industry experts under a single vision. Having proven its model in Australia and New Zealand—where it acquired and integrated over 20 companies and has 8 franchisees—Opteon entered the U.S. in 2019 with the potential for further international expansion.
For James Harkness, Opteon’s chief strategy & finance officer, transformation is a state of mind, not a destination. “We are in a constant state of transformation,” Harkness says. “Our competitive advantage stems from our ability to seamlessly fold new acquisitions, new technologies, and new processes into our organization.”
Harkness credits Opteon’s partnership with Workday for providing that agility. “Workday is a key part of our expansion, the center of our financial and people data universe—offering one source of the truth.”
Acquisitions integrated seamlessly and at pace.
Harkness says that having all of its people, financial, and data integrated from customer-facing systems on one platform is a big advantage for Opteon, which has been able to flex to integrate around 31 businesses into its operations without missing a beat.
“Opteon has grown very quickly. Each time we acquire a new business, we inherit a new group of people, a new set of systems, a new set of processes,” Harkness explains. Using Workday, Opteon has been able to rapidly harmonize those incoming systems and processes, connect people, support collaboration between jurisdictions, and communicate its growth strategy around the world.
Just as Opteon has the best technology in our market, Workday has the best technology in the finance and HCM space.
Chief Strategy & Finance Officer
Insights to support a global growth strategy.
Data is all important in Opteon’s growth journey. “Our people are growth focused. They’re all about innovation and disruption,” says Harkness. “Our decisions, our analysis, our customer reports are all based on data and data insights.”
Integrated with Opteon’s own technology systems, Workday provides one central repository for the company’s core workstreams, ensuring everyone has access to quality people, financial data, and analytical tools. “That’s extremely important,” Harkness comments. “The more we can have one connected, integrated set of technology and data at our disposal, the more successful we’ll be.”
Harkness says Workday has been a perfect partner for Opteon, keeping pace with its technological development. “We see Workday growing and changing at a similar speed to our business.”
Throughout our partnership, whenever we’ve reached out, Workday has always been there with the finance and HR technology support we needed.
Chief Strategy & Finance Officer