MCI Consultants, the sole distributor for Applix`s TM1 product in SA, today announced it has joined industry visionaries to found the BPM Standards Group. Other founding participants include: BPM Partners, Hyperion, IBM, IDC, META Group, SAP and The Data Warehouse Institute.
The BPM Standards Group grew out of an Applix-hosted dinner for customers, vendors and analysts at DCI`s Performance Management conference. Over the course of a dinner discussion, the like-minds came together and realised a need for a comprehensive, single definition of BPM and standards to help the industry better understand the tools and techniques that comprise BPM and how to achieve the greatest benefits from BPM.
"Key players at the founding firms gathered for a discussion on BPM," commented David Menninger, vice-president of worldwide marketing, Applix, Inc. "The analysts and vendors at the table felt the industry needed a guiding hand to help define the market and help end-user companies have a better understanding of the components and benefits of BPM. Our initial discussion led to the creation of the BPM Standards Group."
The BPM Standards Group`s goals are to:
* Accelerate adoption of successful business performance management (BPM) practices.
* Provide consistent thought leadership and establish standards for vendors, service providers and consultants in the industry as well as users of BPM.
The BPM Standards Group represents all the major categories in the BPM industry - application vendors, tools vendors, implementation consultants, IT/data warehousing experts, industry analysts, management consultants and system integrators. Companies that wish to participate in the group can contact Applix or one of the other founding participants. Additional participants will be recruited in order to assist in the creation and adoption of the group`s standards.
As a founding member, Applix, along with the other founding companies, will help guide the group and facilitate the adoption of BPM.
As a first deliverable, the BPM Standards Group has established a common definition of BPM that provides appropriate context for performance management, including the following principles:
* BPM as a set of integrated, closed-loop management and analytic processes, supported by technology, the address financial as well as operational activities.
* BPM as an enabler for businesses in defining strategic goals, and then measuring and managing performance against those goals.
* Core BPM processes include financial and operational planning, consolidation and reporting, modelling, analysis and monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs) linked to organisational strategy.
For more information on the BPM Standards Group, see today`s related release at http://www.bpmstandardsgroup.org/.
According to figures recently released by the META Group, the BPM industry grew to approximately $1.1 billion in 2003 and is expected to grow 15% to 20% in 2004. A recent META Group study also shows that, within the next 18 months, 85% of firms surveyed will work on a BPM project.
According to IDC, the market for BPM and financial analytic application passed the $1 billion mark in 2003 and should grow to $1.6 billion by 2007, a compound annual growth rate of better than 10%. The major applications in this category are budgeting, planning, consolidation, activity-based management and cross-functional scorecarding.
In a survey conducted by BPM Partners, BPM initiatives are being driven by an internal demand for greater accuracy and accountability and transparency of financial reporting, including a focus on having `one version of the truth`. Almost 40% of respondents questioned the accuracy and integrity of the financial data available to them from their existing systems.
For further information, please contact Aliki Droussiotis, MCI: tel (011) 454 3420, fax (011) 454 3417, e-mail aliki@mci.co.za.
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Applix is a global provider of business intelligence and business performance management solutions. These solutions enable the continuous management and monitoring of performance across the financial, operational, customer and organisational functions within the enterprise.
More than 1 700 customers worldwide use Applix`s adaptable, scalable and real-time solutions, delivered by Applix and by a global network of partners, to manage their business performance and respond to the marketplace in real-time. Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, USA, Applix maintains offices in four countries in Europe, North America and the Pacific Rim. For more information about Applix, please visit www.applix.com.
MCI Consultants
MCI Consultants is a South African-based business information systems consulting firm specialising in providing software solutions to the business community, specifically to the financial services and personnel recruitment industries.
It offers a complete solution, which can include project management, consulting services, installation, training and support, packaged software implementations, product development including e-commerce solutions, hardware supply, installation and design services.
Its approach is to continuously provide solutions to meet clients` changing requirements. The company prides itself on delivering excellent customer service and building long lasting partnerships with clients.
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