For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Untamed Business Processes: When Even The Best Of Intentions Go Awry

by Craig Le Clair, August 21, 2009

A business process — at its highest level — is any activity that helps an enterprise achieve its goals. Packaged and industry-specific applications form the transactional backbone for most critical business processes in enterprises and small and medium-size . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Momentum: Business Application Software, H2 2008

Software Supermajors Set The Trend For Integrated Solutions

by Holger Kisker, Ph.D., July 7, 2009

Various prominent mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in early 2008 significantly changed the face of the business application software market, leading to the rise of the software supermajors. In the second half of 2008, vendor activities focused on product . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

TechRadar™ For BP&A Professionals: Financial Management Applications, Q2 2009

Essential Business Needs Drive High Levels Of Value And Adoption

by Paul D. Hamerman, June 30, 2009

Financial management applications range from essential and ubiquitous tools for accounting and financial reporting to specialized solutions for optimizing process efficiency and cash flow. Compliance is a major requirement underlying several of the solutions, . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

Vendor Snapshot: Boardwalktech Applies Collaboration And Controls To Spreadsheets

by Sheri McLeish, February 12, 2009

As collaboration and enterprise 2.0 vendors promote the latest must-have innovations to improve information worker productivity, Silicon Valley startup Boardwalktech turned its focus to something a little more commonplace: spreadsheets. Boardwalktech's . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Topic Overview: ERP Applications 2008

Forrester's Reference Guide For Navigating The Ever-Expanding World Of ERP

by R "Ray" Wang, Paul D. Hamerman, June 24, 2008

Enterprise applications suites, commonly known as enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, represent the transactional backbone for most enterprises and comprise a variety of applications for finance and administration as well as industry-specific . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The EIPP Market Is Ripe For Consolidation

Demand For Applications To Streamline Buy-Side Invoice-To-Pay Processes Will Continue To Grow Rapidly

by Duncan Jones, October 22, 2007

Most invoices start life in order management applications and end up in accounts payable (AP) products, yet almost all must first become paper, processed by expensive, slow, and error-prone human beings. AP Electronic Invoice Presentment and Processing . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Business Objects Assembles A Leading Product Set In Business Performance Solutions

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q4 2007

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

Business Objects has demonstrated its commitment to be a leading player in business performance solutions (BPS) with two significant acquisitions within the past year, ALG Software and Cartesis. The current set of products features best-of-breed capabilities . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

SAS Institute Has Arrived As A Leader In Business Performance Solutions

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q4 2007

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

Not a prominent player in business performance solutions (BPS) in the past, SAS Institute has, somewhat surprisingly, made a great deal of progress lately with a renewed focus on performance management applications. It now has a solid set of BPS offerings . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Infor Brings A Solid Track Record In Business Performance Solutions

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q4 2007

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

Infor is looking to breathe new life into a well-integrated business performance solution that has a lineage tracing back to Geac and Comshare. Although Infor ranks third among enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors, behind SAP and Oracle, its brand . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Applix Has Strong Appeal As A Flexible Business Performance Platform

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q4 2007

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

Applix is a Strong Performer in Business Performance Solutions (BPS) on the strength of its modeling flexibility, integrated analytics platform, and customer reference ability. Over the past few years, Applix has made a transition from a platform provider . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Cognos Leads In Business Performance Solutions With Breadth And Maturity

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q4 2007

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

Cognos is a leader in Business Performance Solutions (BPS) with a sophisticated vision and thought leadership programs as well as maturity and depth in scorecarding, planning, and consolidations. Cognos also offers a broad portfolio of planning and analytical . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Oracle Leads In Business Performance Solutions Following Its Hyperion Acquisition

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q4 2007

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

Oracle is a Leader in our Business Performance Solutions (BPS) evaluation based primarily on its strength in the financial process solutions of planning and financial reporting. Its acquisition of Hyperion Solutions in April 2007 moved it to the front . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Clarity Systems Excels In Planning And Budgeting

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q4 2007

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

Clarity Systems is a Strong Performer in business performance solutions (BPS) largely on the strength of its best-in-class planning and budgeting solution functionality. As a pure-play specialist, Clarity Systems does not match the breadth of its larger . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Business Performance Solutions, Q4 2007

Oracle, Cognos, And SAS Institute Lead, Business Objects And SAP In Hot Pursuit

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

Forrester assessed 10 leading business performance solutions (BPS) vendors across 83 criteria in a product evaluation. Cognos, Oracle, and SAS Institute were found to lead the category with overall breadth of functionality and aggressive strategies for . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

SAP Is On A Roll In Business Performance Solutions

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q4 2007

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

SAP narrowly missed the Leader classification in business performance solutions (BPS) as it works to integrate a strong set of acquired capabilities with its business intelligence (BI) middleware and market-leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) transactional . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Longview Solutions Is A Strong Performer In Business Performance Solutions

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q4 2007

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

Longview Solutions is a relatively small, Canadian vendor that has a good track record among large customers with complex planning needs. Although below average in prepackaged content for strategy and profitability measurement, the solution has good out-of-the-box . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Microsoft Is Making Its Move In Business Performance Solutions

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q4 2007

by Paul D. Hamerman, October 10, 2007

Microsoft's visionary approach and massive market presence make the September 2007 launch of Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 a significant event for the Business Performance Solutions (BPS) market. Microsoft is endeavoring to make business . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

SAP Acquires OutlookSoft: The Latest Move In A Consolidating Business Performance Market

by Paul D. Hamerman, May 25, 2007

While not exactly a surprise, SAP's acquisition of OutlookSoft was urgently needed following recent deals by key rivals, particularly Oracle's acquisition of Hyperion. Business performance solutions (BPS) is a growing market with a shrinking vendor landscape, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Hyperion Acquisition Boosts Oracle's Position In Business Performance And BI

by Boris Evelson, Paul D. Hamerman, March 19, 2007

With the announcement of the Hyperion acquisition, Oracle did, again, what it does best — made a bold play to absorb a key competitor's technology and customer base. While this acquisition appears to be primarily focused on Hyperion's strong financial . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Business Performance Solutions: The Competition Heats Up

by Paul D. Hamerman, February 7, 2007

Adoption of applications for planning, measuring, and reporting business performance is growing rapidly as companies focus on aligning their growth and operating strategies with individual performance measures and compliance requirements. We project that . . .

Assessing SOX's Impact On IT

by Michael Rasmussen, Paul D. Hamerman, November 29, 2006

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) continues to challenge and befuddle IT shops and risk/compliance management organizations. The scope of SOX has initially been interpreted more broadly than intended by the SEC as a result of a lack of clarity on the . . .

COLT Transforms F&A Through Shared Services

Careful Communication Ensures Success

by Euan Davis, November 27, 2006

COLT's journey to standardize business processes brings multiple benefits to its finance and administrative function. COLT Business now has a three-tier business model that utilizes an offshore shared services center, European interaction center, and . . .

US IT Spending Benchmarks For 2006

How To Turn The CIO's Bane Into An Effective Tool For IT Budgeting

by Andrew Bartels, November 20, 2006

Every year, CIOs and their finance people get prepared for the following question from their CEOs: "How does our IT spending compare with our competitors?" To help them respond, Forrester is providing 2005 and 2006 IT spending benchmarks, including IT . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Oracle's Acquisition Of SPL Brings Utilities CIOs A Vendor Heavyweight

by R "Ray" Wang, Andrew Bartels, Paul D. Hamerman, November 9, 2006

On November 3, 2006, Oracle announced the acquisition of SPL WorldGroup, primarily known for its revenue and operations management expertise in the utilities sector. Oracle currently lags behind SAP in utilities, and the acquisition of industry leader . . .

Oracle's Acquisition Of SPL Should Make Vertical Industry Vendors Wary

Utilities Industry Is Latest Milestone In The Firm's Vertical Acquisition Strategy

by R "Ray" Wang, Andrew Bartels, Paul D. Hamerman, November 7, 2006

On November 3, 2006, Oracle announced the acquisition of SPL WorldGroup, primarily known for its revenue and operations management expertise in the utilities sector. Oracle currently lags behind SAP in utilities, and the acquisition of industry leader . . .