Microsoft`s Business Scorecard Manager (BSM) lands in November, the same timeframe the company has given for the release of SQL 2005. Business Scorecard Manager is Microsoft`s latest scorecard and dashboard application and aims to take advantage of features in the new Office and SQL editions.
Ryan Jamieson, director of Microsoft Gold Certified partner, IS Partners, says BSM is addressing some of the enterprise and mid-market`s requirement for a mature scorecard application that does not rely, or tie the user into a "rigid" scorecard methodology. "Cost and implementation flexibility are the major differentiators being offered by BSM," he says.
Jamieson attended Microsoft`s first training session on Business Scorecard Manager, where a number of partners were introduced to the design and implementation of scorecard solutions using the new product.
Wherever an organisation is in defining their scorecards, the Microsoft application can effectively dovetail into the process, and cater for any type of scorecard approach. Users can start simply, by defining internal performance metrics, or capitalise on the features of BSM even where a more formal scorecard approach has been initiated, and is being adhered to, such as the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) or Six Sigma approaches, for example.
BSM gets around many of the limitations of these, and similar point solutions that are designed around a strict scorecard methodology, Jamieson says. "The key advantages of BSM include a capability for multi-dimensional presentation of performance indicators and a dashboard element that enables the presentation of multiple facets of the business in one view," he says.
"Many point solutions operate in isolation, creating silos of information that require more effort in technical construction to consolidate business data. In the case of BSM, the technology builds on the Microsoft platform. It makes use of familiar components, such as Microsoft Office. Where point solutions make data import difficult, the more generic Microsoft platform facilitates this process."
Point solutions are also typically hard-coded into costly applications that are structured around that methodology. Jamieson explains that problems arise with these applications where there is a requirement to deviate from predefined views, if, for example, the organisation might want to break the corporate perspective down to a divisional view. "Similarly, these solutions don`t offer the necessary flexibility for metric driven scorecards that require multi-dimensional presentation of information.
"BSM has been defined and constructed on the Microsoft platform, and takes advantage of the SharePoint Portal Server. This means that most organisations already have many of the building blocks in place to get going with scorecards in a more cost-effective and unrestricted way," he adds.
"Regardless of an organisation`s chosen scorecard methodology, BSM can build on this for added analytical power. BSM essentially makes understanding the criteria that drives your organisation`s performance easier. The ability to drill down into detailed information, as well as implementation and data presentation flexibility, ensure business questions can be quickly and efficiently answered."
Share
Established in 2001, IS Partners addresses the need for quality implementations of Microsoft solutions. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner for Business Intelligence, IS Partners specialises in empowering sales, marketing, financial and management in its customer base. This includes various industries such as retail, distribution, finance and IT. IS Partners uses its own proven, streamlined methodology for all implementations. It also specialises in bringing bottom line value to CRM systems, providing business analysis, technical design, application architecture, implementation, training and performance tuning of CRM implementations on the Microsoft platform and Microsoft`s own CRM solution. For more information, go to www.ispartners.co.za.
Editorial contacts