Getting fit is all about inputs and action: eat fresh, nutritious food and keep moving your body. Business health is the same: take in high-quality, real-time data and feed it into an ongoing loop of innovation.

Oracle customer SRAM, a Chicago-based manufacturer of high-end bicycle components, could be called a champion for both human and business health. Not only does the company embed fitness-tracking analytics in its unique products, but it also uses data to maintain lean internal operations. This, too, benefits customers because they get ever-improving products without paying for more non-value-adding overhead.

A key area where lean processes have taken hold at the $725 million private company is finance management. SRAM was running an aging version of Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) and was faced with deciding whether to upgrade to a newer version of HFM (which required upgrading the database), or move to the cloud.

At the same time, the company wanted to be able to keep its financial headcount in check by leveraging technology to accelerate and streamline financial close processes. Going with a cloud solution made sense moving forward in terms of SRAM's culture and industry, where speed and execution are critical.

"SRAM is a medium-sized company, and when looking to move to the cloud, we wanted a solution that was going to require minimal IT effort, along with satisfying the complex requirements that we have, such as intercompany eliminations and currency translation," said Ted Homewood, global director of finance for SRAM.