85% of Organizations to Have BPM Initiatives Underway by End of 2004, Says META Group; New Report Based on BPM Survey Examines Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley on IT Investments.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 20, 2003

The top reason for implementing a business performance management (BPM) solution is to improve decision making in the organization, according to Business Performance Management, a new report released today by META Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: METG). Gaining efficiency in the financial planning/reporting process and enhancing allocation of company resources rounded out the top three reasons most cited by respondents.

"The increased interest in BPM is primarily due to the rapidly changing economy and new public accounting regulations intended to provide greater transparency and visibility. These regulations have put tremendous pressure on organizations to provide better visibility and accountability in enterprise financial results," says John Van Decker, META Group vice president, Technology Research Services. "BPM initiatives typically begin with a desire to move from Excel in an attempt to support a more centralized, dynamic, and active planning process within an organization. They often expand to cover reporting and metrics management and, when applicable, financial consolidations."

The survey found that organizations evaluated BPM solutions from leading ERP vendors, business intelligence (BI) vendors, and financial analytics vendors. Respondents were closely divided between best-of-breed and ERP solutions and showed no preference for one or the other. Other key findings include:

-- Only 15% of respondents said their organizations will do

nothing with respect to BPM in the next 18 months.

-- The idea of integrating the components of BPM into one single

system appeals to most respondents. However, BPM initiatives

will continue to evolve through incremental efforts.

-- There is significant confusion about the BPM vendor landscape.

Users have difficulty distinguishing between BPM solution

providers and generalists not typically considered vendors of

BPM solutions.

-- Spreadsheets are tightly woven throughout enterprise BPM

efforts due to their flexibility, portability, and heavy

legacy use -- Excel spreadsheets are the most commonly used

tool for performing BPM activity.

-- Larger organizations are the most advanced in the use of

sophisticated analytics tools and budget the largest amounts

for future analytics investments.

"While many user organizations have jumped on the Sarbanes-Oxley and BPM bandwagon, most continue to wonder what BPM means to them and what they should do specifically about it," said John Luc Alarcon, senior vice president and director, Data Services and Published Research. "This report brings clarity and valuable insight into the reality of current and future BPM initiatives. It enables business and IT decision makers to learn from the experiences and practices of 450 organizations that have already gone or are currently going down this path."

About the Report

The Business Performance Management report analyzes current BPM technology adoption trends and the impact of recent public accounting regulation on BPM investments The report also reveals the reality of BPM practices, the state of BPM implementations, the general experience of user organizations with BPM solutions, and their plans for the future. The analysis is based on recent META Group research and on a survey of more than 450 professionals involved in BPM initiatives within user organizations. Respondents include business and finance executives as well as IT professionals responsible for BPM investments, across all industries and organization sizes. To learn more about Business Performance Management or other META Group publications, visit metagroup.com or call (800) 945-META (6382).

About META Group

META Group is a leading provider of information technology research, advisory services, and strategic consulting. Delivering objective and actionable guidance, META Group's experienced analysts and consultants are trusted advisors to IT and business executives around the world. Our unique collaborative models and dedicated customer service help clients be more efficient, effective, and timely in their use of IT to achieve their business goals. Visit metagroup.com for more details on our high-value approach.