CPM Africa to implement first complete enterprise portfolio management solution

CPM Africa, the South African distributor of Pacific Edge Software`s portfolio management software, is ready to implement the new release, Portfolio Edge 2.0 announced on 7 July.

This is a significant release that redefines how companies select, prioritise and manage business investments for maximum value. Portfolio Edge 2.0 delivers a broad range of features and functionality not currently available in other products, delivering unprecedented power, allowing businesses to rapidly reduce costs, increase the value and strategic alignment of corporate initiatives, and improve governance over large volumes of corporate investments.

"We are ready to assist companies with implementing the system and with the training and consulting needed to ensure that the full business benefit is realised," said Paul Viviers, managing director of CPM Africa.

CPM Africa is a South African company partnered with the Australian CPM Group. The CPM Group in Australia has been associated with project and portfolio management for the past 15 years. Pacific Edge Software is the leading provider of enterprise portfolio management software.

CPM Africa is a complete project and portfolio management solutions house offering a range of services designed to assist companies in growing the maturity of project management practices. They deliver, develop and customise methodologies and procedures as well as supplying and implementing a range of software tools, including Portfolio Edge 2.0.

CPM Africa also offers training in all aspects of managing projects and project portfolios and provides project management staff to supplement your skills base.

Enterprise portfolio management (EPfM) is the continuous process by which companies select, prioritise and manage a set of investments. Analyst firm Meta Group predicts that by 2004, 40% of Global 2000 enterprises will focus on enterprise portfolio optimisation to strategically and tactically deliver business value, to optimise all enterprise investments.

Currently, many companies struggle to manage major investments in information technology, new products and a variety of corporate initiatives through ill-suited tools (spreadsheets, e-mail, collaboration software, accounting applications, etc) not intended for the strategic planning and analysis required to maximise business value. Organisations are in need of a comprehensive planning solution that provides complete business investment lifecycle management.

Portfolio Edge 2.0 offers a feature set that allows for truly dynamic management of business investments. The product enables organisations to consider business investment opportunities in terms of their contribution to overall corporate objectives, weighing and balancing risks and rewards, and enabling the rapid adjustment of the portfolio based on performance and changing business needs, much like a fund manager does for financial investments. This makes it possible for companies to make solid decisions that support the organisation`s long-range strategy.

"In today`s business climate, companies and government agencies are faced with increasing pressure to improve governance over corporate investments, reduce operational costs and dramatically shorten budget and planning cycles," said Mike Metcalf, vice-president of marketing for Pacific Edge Software.

"By implementing our enterprise portfolio management solution, our customers have saved millions of dollars, largely due to their ability to manipulate business portfolios as business and economic conditions change. This insight into the effects of change gives them a complete set of data needed to make strategic decisions."

Portfolio Edge 2.0 is designed to help companies reduce costs by identifying redundant, low value or non-strategic initiatives; increase the return on enterprise portfolios through improving the selection, prioritisation, sequencing, and governance of corporate investments; optimise the use of critical resources by focusing on the most valuable investments; and achieve competitive advantage by reducing the time required to realign the portfolio of business investments with rapidly changing business needs.

At the core of Portfolio Edge 2.0 features is the ability to:

* Perform full business investment lifecycle management of assets, products, projects and resources;

* Perform real-time, multi-dimensional analysis and scenario planning;

* Easily prioritise, select and sequence investments; and

* Deliver closed-loop, agile shared planning among all investment stakeholders.

Until now, enterprise portfolio management solutions have been primarily analysis and communication tools or have been restricted to managing a specific type of investment such as an IT project. True EPfM requires the management of any type of investment, not just projects, and incorporates capabilities beyond analysis, such as planning, optimisation and tracking.

Portfolio Edge 2.0 tightly integrates these areas to create a solution that transforms the way a company evaluates its investments and considers new initiatives. With these capabilities, it is clear how initiatives map with business objectives, and strategic goals are clearly understood.