Business Performance Management Software-as-a-Service Because One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Why Customers are turning Their Backs on Legacy BPM Vendors

For years companies of all sizes have struggled with improving their business performance. The

emergence of Business Performance Management software approximately six years ago gave

larger organizations the opportunity to improve their operational and financial performance with

new software suites that promised better and easier budgeting, planning, forecasting,

scorecarding and financial consolidations. To fulfill the promise of business performance nirvana,

vendors in the Business Performance Management software category have spent years creating

sophisticated software applications that promise to improve the way companies strategically plan,

manage their budgets and forecast future sales. However to get to BPM nirvana, companies have

paid hefty software licensing prices and spent months in implementation mode. Let’s also not

forget the additional hardware costs and inflated consulting/professional services fees.

The Oxymoron I thought the goal of Business Performance Management software was to improve shareholder

value and business performance? So why have companies spent the last few years purchasing

solutions from what are now considered legacy BPM vendors? Isn’t it considered an oxymoron

when a software vendor promises to improve your bottom line if you spend hundreds of

thousands of dollars on their software? What’s even more frustrating, is traditional

implementations are more expensive than planned, and the results are not consistent with the

original vision.

Are companies starting to put their feet down and say “no” to over-complicated and incomplete

Business Performance Management and Business Intelligence applications? It remains to be

seen, but Host Analytics has been betting on it for years. Companies of all sizes want to improve

their operational and financial performance, and are looking to Web-based budgeting, planning,

forecasting, financial consolidation, scorecarding and dashboarding software, they just don’t want

to pay over-inflated prices and wait months or years to see the value. Many are seeking out more

cost-effective solutions that offer quick deployment and are easier to use.

It’s all about options Business Performance Management software has become a high priority for almost every

company in the world. As more companies search for solutions to help them improve their

performance, it is critical for software vendors in this category to offer options – after all, one size

doesn’t fit all. In 2000, Host Analytics recognized the inherent inefficiencies with traditional

enterprise software, including the tremendous time, effort and cost that organizations have

endured to install applications and keep them running. The company saw a need and addressed

it with a cost-effective suite of BPM applications. They coupled their offerings with an

implementation model which delivers value almost immediately.

“SaaS vendors are winning contracts with large, brand-name companies”

Jeff KaplanTHINKStrategies

OVERVIEW

The Host Analytics BPM solution offers the following benefits over any other offering including:

• Lower total costs

• Lower up fronts costs

• Broad functionality

• Ease of doing business

• History of reliability and satisfied customers

Why Software as a Service? Host Analytics allows its customers the flexibility to either purchase software licenses or “rent” the

software on a subscription fee basis. This alternative option is called Software as a Service

(SaaS). SaaS is a way to further lower the costs of implementing and using BPM software and

has many other advantages including:

o Alleviates installation/deployment concerns

� No purchasing or installing of additional hardware and software

� No hardware configurations

o Relieves maintenance anxiety

� Upgrades are performed automatically

� Systems are monitored continuously

o Improves service levels

� Includes both BPM domain knowledge and systems knowledge

� Vested interest in continued use in the service - support must be

exceptional

o Lowers the total cost of ownership

o Utilized licenses more efficiently (pay as you go)

o Provides quicker time to value

o Delivers faster achievement of business objectives

o Lowers your implementation risk

o Supports best practices for you

Small to medium-sized businesses have been seeking BPM solutions to help improve their

operational and financial performance, but after evaluating the software in this category, they

have found that the traditional vendors in this category come with hefty expenses and inadequate

customer support. Big IT budgets in small and medium sized companies just don’t exist. The

software licenses alone could drown some organizations. But isn’t it fair to say that companies of

all sizes deserve the opportunity to improve their performance with Web-based strategic planning,

budgeting, sales forecasting and financial consolidations?

SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE (SaaS)

Small, medium and large size organizations have turned to Host Analytics to help them cost-

effectively reach performance nirvana. The smaller companies find the On Demand, Software as

a Service (SaaS) option quite compelling as it alleviates the costs of traditional perpetual

licensing fees and eliminates the need for IT infrastructure investments. If the software doesn’t

work, they don’t pay. If they want to convert the SaaS license into a purchase, they can – Host

Anlaytics is flexible in their offering and can be hosted or purchased like a traditional license.

Larger organizations have also turned to Host Analytics for On Demand Business Performance

Management software for all of the same reasons as smaller companies, but have also realized it

is a way to implement their solution much faster, without impacting their IT department’s existing

delivery schedule. MWH Global, a billion dollar global services company saw the Host Analytics

on demand offerings as a fast way to improve their budgeting and planning of projects and

workforces without having to go through a major IT evaluation. MWH Global uses HOST

BUDGET on-demand, and now has over 505 global business units budgeting in 22 currencies.

The use of HOST BUDGET has dramatically decreased their time to budget while increasing the

level of budget detail and accuracy.

Some Still Want In-House Control

Some companies still want to have their solutions implemented in-house as it gives them the

feeling of control. Host Analytics has customers who have opted to purchase the license instead

of hosting. When questioned about why they selected Host Analytics over other vendors, they

replied “the Host Analytics “One and Done” implementation methodology was very compelling”.

Ric Ratkowski, VP of Engineering for Host Analytics examined the implementation methodologies

of its closest competitors and found that the biggest objection to implementing BPM software was

the time and costs associated with getting the software installed and users up and running. Host

Analytics has created a methodology that eliminates the run away costs of traditional

implementation methods. This methodology provides “fixed cost” implementations that the

customer can rely on. Customers have visibility upfront about what their deployment fees and

timeline will be and the confidence that these fees will not change.

Breaking the Cost Barrier

Although traditional BPM vendors are still in business, companies are turning to Host Analytics

software for on-demand, low-cost purchase options. Host Analytics has officially broken the cost

barrier with their cost-effective path to BPM nirvana.

“In many cases, the functionality of on-demand software exceeds legacy applications”

Jeff KaplanTHINKStrategies

WHO’S USING SaaS IN BPM?

Software as a Service isn’t an extension of the old ASP and hosting models from the 90s

While SaaS isn’t a new idea, the economic climate and need for BPM software have combined to

make today’s SaaS providers more successful than their predecessors. The ASPs and hosting

companies of the 90s failed for two reasons.

First, the architecture was immature for the hosting environment.

Second, software applications like budgeting, planning and forecasting are strategic assets for

any organization. BPM software applications hold a company’s critical financial and operational

data and the thought of having the information outside of the organization can be a bit scary.

Security was an issue. Security has come a long way since the 90s and times have changed.

Today’s competitive pressures are forcing companies of all sizes to look at Software as a Service

for their enterprise applications. They are starting to realize it is a smart, strategic, viable option.

BPM software is not an anomaly. After all, CRM vendor, Salesforce.com seems to be doing quite

well with their model.

For more information on the Host Analytics SaaS and In-house implementation options, email

info@hostanalytics.com

CONCLUSION