2016

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

CORPORATE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT &

BUYER’S GUIDE

Align Your Teams with Your Business Strategy

SOFTWARE

PAGE 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Understanding The Basics 3

Determining Your Needs 4

Choosing Your Partner 6

PAGE

Next Steps 8

What is Business Intelligence?

What is Corporate Performance Management?

Business intelligence (BI) uses data analysis tools and applications to help business users make more informed decisions. BI software is designed to collect data from multiple business systems and allow users to mash up and transform raw data into meaningful and useful information. Many of today’s top performing organizations are data-driven, using BI tools to make strategic business decisions and distributing real-time business metrics to their team members- aligning people and process with technology to drive business performance.

Corporate Performance Management (CPM) is closely associated with Business Intelligence (BI). Historically used within finance departments, CPM software is now designed to be used enterprise-wide, often as a complement to business intelligence systems. CPM software includes financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, & planning functions, as well as graphical scorecards and dashboards designed to align business users with their organizations strategic goals. CPM is also known as business process management (BPM) or enterprise performance management (EPM).

PAGE 3

UNDERSTANDINGTHE BASICS

73% of organizations feel BPM increases organizational agility*

believe BPM enhances and supports collaboration*

67%*AIIM BPM - User Perceptions and Expectations 2016

PAGE 4

DETERMININGYOUR NEEDS

Define the metrics you are looking to measure with your BI/CPM solution (Performance Measures).

Understand which business systems your teams utilize to ensure integration of data with a particular BI/CPM platform (Data Sources).

Know how many users will require access and what is needed to provide them with the best user experience (Business Users).

Clearly define your reporting requirements. Whether it’s to export reports, present them visually, or always have the most current data, different platforms offer different options (Reporting Capabilities).

Know how your users want to access and share their data. Be aware of any specific security standards or compliance restrictions (Data Governance).

Performance Measures

DataSources

Business Users

Reporting Capabilities

Data Governance

What’s your focus?

Where’s your data?

What will users need?

When & how do you want your data?

Who has access to which data?

•Financial•Operational•Both+Bonus: Budgeting & Forecasting

•ERP•CRM •HCM•Cloud-based systems•Marketing automation software•Excel spreadsheets, etc.

•Number of users•Summary level or granular information•Self-service or guided access•Types of dashboards

•Real-time access?•Types of reports / data visualizations•Exportable reports•Mashing up data from multiple sources•Drilldown capabilities

•Industry regulatory standards•Role-based user access permissions•Location-based access options

Before you can successfully choose a BI/CPM software platform, you’ll need to evaluate your business goals.

PAGE 5

DETERMININGYOUR NEEDS

Drilldown capabilities

Self-servicevs

Guided access

Flexible user-type pricing

Customizable dashboards &

workspaces

Real-time acess to data

Secure user access &

permissions

Excel export capability

Customizable alerts

On-site or cloud deployment

Mobile apps Professional services

Board & chart pivots

Interactive data visualizations

Full snapshot capabilitiy

Budgeting & forecasting

Financial reporting

Match Features to Your Needs

After evaluating your business challenges and needs, you can explore more advanced features. Focus on the features that provide solutions to your core business challenges and look for functionality that will scale and grow with your business. Keep in mind, not all providers will offer every feature and some may be at additional costs.

CHOOSING YOURPARTNER

PAGE 6

Once you determine your needs, cross reference them with the BI/CPM providers you’re looking into to ensure they cover the essentials to transform your data into business solutions.

1. Verify data compatibility

When choosing your BI/CPM provider, it is essential to understand more than just the features of the software and the price. Use these steps as a reference to understand all aspects of how a provider will supply your organization with the solutions that will set your teams up for success.

2. Understand the implementation process

Check to see who will be doing the implementation. Will it

be a member of their team or do they rely on third-party vendors or resellers? How long does a typical implementation take and

what are your responsibilities versus the vendor’s responsibilities? Make sure to have an accurate assessment of the implementation costs.

4. Ask about professional services offeredEven if you are planning on your users being self-service to create your content and metrics, it is imperative to see if a vendor offers professional services, and to understand their process and pricing. Many BI vendors depend on third-party resellers to provide professional services, make sure you know in advance.

3. Discuss the Training ProcessFor successful adoption by your users you need to have a training plan in place. Make sure to discuss what kind of training you receive as part of your purchase. Is the training on-site or via the web, and how much training is provided? Do they offer different training for your different types of users? Also check to see if they provide ongoing training and what the costs may be.

CHOOSING YOURPARTNER

PAGE 7

6. Check referencesRequest 2-3 references that you

can talk to you and get their feedback. Be prepared with a few questions when you call to

ensure your call is productive and you get the information you need to make an educated decision.

Examples of questions:• How does system performance compare to

expectations?• How would you rate the vendor’s response

to technical issues?• What significant benefits have you realized

since implementing the system?

5. Know the level of support providedWhat level of support is included after implementation and are there additional costs? Go the extra step and ask who will be providing support— is it a third-party vendor or outsourced overseas? Also double check your provider’s support policy to know if all users can call support directly or just your administrator.

Doing a proof of concept or free trial allows you the opportunity to not only test a provider’s software but also to assess their

implementation, training and support procedures. There is no substitute for due diligence and this step is crucial to a successful product and service

evaluation.

Things to keep in mind during a Proof of Concept:• Focus on your core business issues• Allocate adequate time and resources to

testing the platform• Verify compatibility with your business

systems• Get feedback from users regarding their

experience

8. Do a Proof of Concept

What type of contracts does the vendor offer and are there flexible options? Annual, monthly and multi-year terms. What is the process for adding, subtracting and transferring user licenses? Ask for a copy of their SLA and take the time to review and understand it.

7. Understand the contract & pricing options

NEXT STEPS...

PAGE 8

BI/CPM solutions can help transform your business and provide you with a competitive advantage by aligning your people, processes and data.

Understanding your business challenges and user needs will help you define your criteria for choosing the right partner. Keep in mind different departments within your organization may have different business needs so take the extra step and involve leaders across multiple departments. Anticipate your future business needs and look for a solution that will provide you the scalability to grow with your business.

Do your due diligence by taking the time to do a Free Trial or Proof of Concept to test the solution with your business systems.

Interested in trying our Business Intelligence software?Sign up for a FREE 14-day Trial with your data!

Data driven companies grow faster.

igXite is here to help you through your buying journey, feel free to call us at 1-844-305-4969.

No credit card required.

The Case for Business Intelligence: