Hyperion helps Bytemobile access success. A conversation with Randy Stevens.

ANOTHER IN A SERIES OF INTERVIEWS WITH EXECUTIVES WHO ARE USING HYPERION PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TO CHANGE THE WAY BUSINESS GETS DONE

RANDY STEVENS IS THE Corporate Controller and Senior Director of IT for Bytemobile, headquartered in Mountain View, California. Bytemobile delivers optimized mobile network access to its customers, with reliable, highly scalable solutions for network operators, ISPS, enterprises, and other service providers worldwide.

Q: HOW DO YOU TAKE PERFORMANCE ACCOUNTABILITY BEYOND FINANCE?

A: Vice presidents and managers look at a lot of non-financial information and metrics. With a Hyperion Performance Management solution, we're able to combine both financial and operational data and run the close on a nightly basis. This "virtual close" allows managers to quickly view and act on key performance indicators instead of having to wait until a few days after the month end to see what happened. The finance team can also turn budgeting, planning, and reporting into a self-service, dynamic activity-giving department heads ownership and accountability for their budgets.

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Q: HOW DOES PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT ADDRESS YOUR KEY CHALLENGES?

A: Hyperion Performance Management ensures that reports are accessible across the enterprise. All information is online and available to Bytemobile's managers anytime, anywhere, so the entire strategic and tactical planning cycle is streamlined. This global, daily view of financial and operational information provides managers with access to a wide variety of performance metrics, including budget vs. actuals, sales pipeline and forecast cash balances, customer support requests, headcount, and even purchase orders. Managers can drill down to get the details on each of these individual performance components and have the essential tools for accurate, informed decision-making.

Q: HOW DO YOU RELY ON SOFTWARE TO HELP YOU ESTABLISH INTERNAL CONTROLS AND DRIVE ACCOUNTABILITY?

A: Hyperion Planning virtually eliminated any clerical aspect of data entry, assimilation, and reporting, allowing us to realize important resource savings almost immediately. The finance team was able to reduce one headcount allocation and cut administrative tasks, freeing staff to work on strategic activities. For the first time, our finance users can easily administer the application, including the creation of data-entry forms, calculations, and reports, eliminating the IT glass house.

Q: WHAT IS THE MAIN WAY HYPERION HAS BENEFITED YOUR COMPANY?

A: With Hyperion software any of our managers is able to view key metrics in near real time, with detailed drill-down facilitating true automated, self-service analysis. For example, any of these managers is able to view companywide customer support requests, the number of requests, and the severity of each case and quickly drill down to the customer and individual support case details. This means decision-makers can make better, more timely decisions based on a current 360-degree view of our business.

To learn more about what Hyperion is doing for other companies, or to find out what we can do for your company, log on to www.hyperion.com/customers