'BPM is the inflection point in the market'

What is information democracy and how is it connected with
business performance management (BPM)?

It is the "right of individuals" within enterprises-which
roughly translates into individuals having access to tools that help them glean
insights, leverage an opportunity or correct an issue before it becomes a
problem. BPM has the capability to deliver enable information democracy in the
enterprises, en masse to all the constituents-aligning people, processes and
accountability.

BPM marries BI to planning and control cycle and creates the
fluid process that allows modeling scenarios, developing them and measuring
against achievement. With BPM you can go back to the basic business plan change
the assumptions or other parameters, the implications of those changes get
reflected throughout the plan. Analytics and BI are only a component here. It is
the business focus that is primary. There was a time when BI was about
technology. Users don't really care about the technology, they are interested
in their business and tools that can help them align their businesses with
customers and suppliers.

IT is not the catalyst anymore, business focus is. And emergence
of BPM is that inflection point in the market place where the customers are
demanding more and BI is not enough.

How is Hyperion positioned to align with the business of the
future?

We are way ahead of our closest competitor in terms of the value that we
deliver to our customers. Since its launch last year, Hyperion System 9 has
acquired 800 customers. In the recent past, we have executed a couple of
acquisitions to strengthen our hold on the BPM market. The strategy is to evolve
System 9 beyond finance applications. We are expanding into adjacent areas of
workforce management and operations.

Enterprises have a fragmented view of their operations. The
relationship between various applications is not understood empirically. But
once BPM is extended beyond financial BPM, it will have a positive impact on
business.

Is BPM available on demand?

There is nothing in the technology that precludes us from delivering the
software-as-a-service (SAAS). However, typically SAAS is targeted at small
players in certain applications serving the low end of the market and is a very
small percentage. BPM is currently not being marketed as SAAS... We are
carefully watching the on-demand software market and are not complacent about
maintaining our position as the BPM leader.

Nandita Singh

maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in