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Survey: BPM Deems Adaptive Planning as Core Vendor

By Vivek Naik, TMCnet Contributor

Business Performance Management Partners (BPM) has named Adaptive Planning (AP) a core vendor for the second consecutive year in its Annual Performance Management Pulse (News - Alert) Survey and Report.

BPM said that it shortlists only a few software-driven solution providers each year and deems them as exclusive core vendors that are to be allotted contracts as and when it gets appropriate business. It added that AP was the solitary vendor selected in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) category and that its rating of 4.4 out of 5.0 – last year’s was 4.1 out of 5.0 - was the highest recorded with a significant percentage of customers also acknowledging that AP’s SaaS is a fore-runner for financial planning, performance management and report analysis.

This year alone BPM has gained insight from nearly 900 current and prospective clients and more than 50 percent of them indicated that they would opt for a SaaS solution if and when the need arises. However, the figure goes up to more than 75 percent for companies with less than a thousand staff.

"Over the last several years we have seen a steadily increasing interest in SaaS solutions, as companies become more comfortable with and recognize the potential benefits of the on-demand model," said Craig Schiff, CEO of BPM Partners.

People are taking the SaaS route for the several advantages it offers. It lowers the cost of IT, sometimes even by 17 percent when compared with the pre-SaaS days. It gives companies the flexibility to select only a few essential components in a software suite rather than being forced to buy entire solution, and the licensing fees, too, are transparently distributed to pinch the pocket less.

SaaS vendors offer more value to customers by encouraging them to buy only one combination of software components, experiment with the set and then ramp up the number of seats, or even offload select applications for third party remote vendors to maintain and update. With fewer applications to contend with, systems become leaner, more agile and efficient.

"The data in this survey echoes what we're seeing: interest in SaaS-based performance management is skyrocketing, in particular because affordable, pay-as-you go, quick to deploy planning solutions are highly attractive in the current economic environment," said William Soward, CEO of Adaptive Planning.

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Vivek Naik is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Vivek's articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Michelle Robart