ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives | Financial Performance (17)

Talemetry Finds and Verifies Candidates Better than Others

Posted by Mark Smith on 07 June 2012

Talent Technology software finds and verifies candidates for hire in organizations that use it, as I discussed in my analysis last year. The company’s newly announced product Talemetry Verify provides candidate screening and assessment to help recruiters and job seekers. Improving efficiency and quality in the hiring process is part of our research agenda in human capital management for 2012. But... Read More

Topics: Operational Performance, Business Performance, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Workforce Performance

Companies Are Lagging in GRC Maturity

Posted by Robert Kugel on 07 June 2012

Ventana Research recently completed benchmark research on governance, risk and compliance (GRC), three business activities that are naturally linked. Although managing them requires separate and sometimes very different processes, on the whole these activities affect each other: Effective corporate governance ensures compliances with laws, regulations and company policies, and without governance,... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Customer Experience, Governance, GRC, Management, IT Performance, Operational Performance, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Performance, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Information Management, Workforce Performance, compliance, Risk, financial risk management

Information Builders Advances Business Analytics and Big Data

Posted by Mark Smith on 06 June 2012

More than 1,000 people attended the 32nd annual Information Builders Summit conference this week to learn about the company’s advances in big data, business analytics, cloud computing, mobile technology and social media, which CEO and founder Gerald Cohen announced and demonstrated during his keynote address. With WebFOCUS version 8, Information Builders has made significant strides in a range of... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Mobile, Sales Performance, Social Media, Supply Chain Performance, Sustainability, Business Technology Innovation, IT Performance, IT Research, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Intelligence, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Customer & Contact Center, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Information Applications, Information Management, Location Intelligence, Operational Intelligence, Workforce Performance, Search

Oversight Systems Focuses on Saving Money and Preventing Fraud

Posted by Robert Kugel on 31 May 2012

I recently spoke with Oversight Systems, an operational intelligence analytics company that uses predictive analytics and optimization to help companies save money, reduce the risk of loss and fraud, and reinforce corporate governance and compliance efforts. Ventana Research views operational intelligence as an emerging technology with the potential for a high return on investment. By... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Predictive Analytics, Sales Performance, Supply Chain Performance, Fraud, Governance, GRC, Office of Finance, audit, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Information Management, Operational Intelligence, controls, Oversight Systems

ADP Aims To Dominate Human Capital Management

Posted by Mark Smith on 27 May 2012

Acquisitions and new product releases continue to make the market for human capital management a hotbed of activity, as organizations attempt to fully utilize and increase the value of their workforces as I have outlined in my research agenda. ADP, with more than $10 billion in revenues and more than 570,000 customers, is aiming for the top spot in this market. ADP plans to grow its current human... Read More

Topics: Mobile, Social Media, HCM, Human Capital Management, Learning, LMS, Performance, Operational Performance, Business Analytics, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Financial Performance, Workforce Performance, Compensation, HR, TCM

What’s the Rush in Adopting IFRS?

Posted by Robert Kugel on 25 May 2012

I have commented before on the movement to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) by the United States to replace US-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). Most recently I discussed the drive toharmonize the significant differences between US-GAAP and IFRS on revenue recognition and lease accounting. To those who are interested in but not intimately involved with the... Read More

Topics: Reporting, audit, Consolidation, IFRS, US-GAAP accounting, XBRL, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Performance, Financial Performance, Financial Management, financial standards, FPM

IBM Displays Software for GRC at Vision 2012

Posted by Robert Kugel on 22 May 2012

I recently attended Vision 2012, IBM’s conference for users of its financial governance, risk management and performance optimization software. I reviewed the finance portion of the program in a previous blog. I’ve been commenting on governance, risk and compliance (GRC) for several years, often with the caveat that GRC is a catch-all term invented by industry analysts initially to cover a broad... Read More

Topics: Governance, GRC, Office of Finance, OpenPages, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Performance, Financial Performance, IBM, compliance, controls, IT controls

SAP Brings Out New Voice and Strategy for the Cloud at SAPPHIRE

Posted by Mark Smith on 18 May 2012

At this week’s SAPPHIRE NOW (Twitter #SAPPHIRENOW) annual conference, SAP unveiled a refreshed cloud computing strategy and released technology that addresses its new cloud computing business priorities regarding customers, people, money and suppliers. It’s a good time to see what has changed since my analysis at the SAP Analyst Influencer Summit last December. The company’s new leader in cloud... Read More

Topics: Sales Performance, SAP, Human Capital Management, Mobile Technology, Business Analytics, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Business Technology, CIO, Cloud Computing, Customer & Contact Center, Financial Performance, Information Management, Information Technology

Informatica 9.5 Supports New Generation of Big Data and Cloud Computing

Posted by Mark Smith on 18 May 2012

Informatica has announced a major release, version 9.5, of its software platform, which will be generally available in June. The company’s data integration technologies will support the new generation of computing that includes big data, cloud computing, mobile and social media. These computing environments, which our firm has defined as key business technology drivers for this decade, have a... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Supply Chain Performance, Mobile Technology, IT Performance, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Business Technology, CIO, Cloud Computing, Customer & Contact Center, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Informatica, Information Applications, Information Management, Information Technology, Strata+Hadoop

Kronos Supercharges Workforce Analytics with New Technology

Posted by Mark Smith on 11 May 2012

Adoption of workforce analytics is increasing as organizations seek to recruit and retain employees more effectively and ensure that their people deliver the productivity they expect. According to our benchmark research on the topic, 89 percent of organizations want to make it simpler to provide workforce analytics, which is not surprising as our analysis shows that only 12 percent of... Read More

Topics: MicroStrategy, Human Capital Management, Kronos, Research, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Mobility, Workforce Performance, HR, HRMS, Talent Management, Workforce Analytics

JDA’s Revenue Recognition Issues Have Lessons for Finance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 11 May 2012

JDA Software is an established vendor of (among other categories) accounting software for the retail sector. So it is a bit ironic that the company is in the process of restating its earnings for 2008 through 2010 because of revenue recognition practices that led it to book some revenue sooner than it should have. The issue centers on certain transactions the company linked to service agreements... Read More

Topics: Performance Management, Customer Experience, Human Capital Management, Office of Finance, end-to-end, IFRS, JDA Software, Business Analytics, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), GAAP

Sales Organizations Need a Swift Technology Kick

Posted by Mark Smith on 10 May 2012

Our latest benchmark research on sales applications and technology reveals three trends sales organizations see as critical to improving their operations and performance: mobile technology like smartphones and tablets, collaborative capabilities and business analytics applied to sales. At the same time many sales processes are becoming easier to use, including compensation, forecasting and quota... Read More

Topics: Sales Performance, Operational Performance, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Intelligence, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Customer & Contact Center, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Location Intelligence, Workforce Performance

Consolidation Software Is a Key to Faster Closing

Posted by Robert Kugel on 10 May 2012

For at least a couple of decades completing the financial close within five or six business days after the end of the period has been accepted as a best practice. As such, that creates an expectation that finance organizations that take longer should work to reduce their closing intervals. In updating our last benchmark research on the closing process, Ventana Research has found this not to be... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, close, Consolidation, Controller, XBRL, Business Analytics, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Information Management, CFO, Data, Document Management, Financial Performance Management

Pentaho Business Analytics Brings Visual Discovery and More Big Data Support

Posted by Mark Smith on 10 May 2012

With the release of Business Analytics version 4.5, Pentaho has expanded its platform and tools to address the needs of business and IT. The product has come a long way since the version 4 release less than a year ago, which broke ground in ease of use and support for big-data sources. Advancing beyond its roots in business intelligence, Pentaho Business Analytics 4.5 addresses data discovery,... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Pentaho, Supply Chain Performance, Mobile Technology, IT Performance, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Business Technology, CIO, Cloud Computing, Customer & Contact Center, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Information Applications, Information Management, Information Technology, Strata+Hadoop

Kapow Software Harvests and Virtualizes Information and Applications for Business

Posted by Mark Smith on 08 May 2012

Making business use of the vast amount of information on the Web and Internet along with a company’s intranet is no easy task. Kapow Software aims to help by providing tools to define and virtualize access to information, integrate it with other information, such as that in databases, and present it in a useful format. The tool can supply access to data from legacy applications such as PeopleSoft... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Supply Chain Performance, Mobile Technology, IT Performance, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Business Technology, CIO, Cloud Computing, Customer & Contact Center, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Information Applications, Information Management, Information Technology, Kapow, Strata+Hadoop

Nomis Global Pricing Forum Highlights Pricing Optimization

Posted by Robert Kugel on 08 May 2012

I recently attended the 2012 Global Pricing Forum hosted by Nomis Solutions, a provider of software and services to banking and finance companies. This annual event brings together thought leaders and practitioners in the area of pricing and revenue optimization (PRO). This technique uses analytics to sift through large data sets to tease out customer behavior characteristics, identify customer... Read More

Topics: Sales, Sales Performance, Supply Chain Performance, Office of Finance, credit, financial analytics, Nomis Solutions, PRO, Operational Performance, Analytics, Business Analytics, Financial Performance, banking, Financial Services

InetSoft Empowers Organizations To Mobilize Business Analytics

Posted by Mark Smith on 07 May 2012

Business intelligence software is increasingly mobile, becoming available via smartphones and tablets and now enabling planning and what-if scenarios to determine the impacts of changes that might be made to improve performance. InetSoft, which has been providing business intelligence tools for more than 15 years, has advanced its technologies to address these trends. The company recently... Read More

Topics: Sales Performance, IT Performance, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Business Performance, Business Technology, CIO, Cloud Computing, Financial Performance, InetSoft, Information Applications, Information Management, Information Technology

Infor’s Local.ly Could Help with Tax Provisioning

Posted by Robert Kugel on 07 May 2012

One of the new products that Infor announced at its recent Inforum user conference (which I covered here) is Local.ly, which is designed to facilitate localization of its applications (that is, adapting them for languages, units of measure, statutory requirements, customary processes and other specific features of the places where they will be used). Local.ly is scheduled to be released in the... Read More

Topics: ERP, Office of Finance, Local.ly, Tax, Analytics, Business Analytics, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Infor

Peoplefluent Advances Social Collaboration and Learning with Socialtext

Posted by Mark Smith on 04 May 2012

This week Peoplefluent announced that it has invested in Socialtext, a company that provides social collaboration software at the enterprise level. With this strategic investment Bedford Funding, the private equity firm that owns Peoplefluent, is the direct beneficiary. Peoplefluent will extend Socialtext into the human capital management market while continuing to let the company meet the... Read More

Topics: Sales Performance, Social Media, Sustainability, Human Capital Management, LMS, Peoplefluent, Performance, Recruiting, Research, SocialText, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Information Applications, Information Management, Mobility, Workforce Performance, Compensation, HR, HRMS, Talent Management, Workforce Analytics

Workday 16 Brings Simplicity and Mobility to Human Capital Management

Posted by Mark Smith on 04 May 2012

Competition in the human capital management market rages on, with application suppliers racing to provide sophisticated applications that operate in the cloud. Cloud computing is a key factor in advancing human capital management, included in our research agenda for this area, along with analytics, collaboration, mobility and social media. Workday recently unveiled version 16 of its suite of... Read More

Topics: Sales Performance, SAP, Social Media, Sustainability, Human Capital Management, LMS, Performance, Recruiting, Research, Business Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Mobility, Business Performance, Cloud Computing, Financial Performance, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Information Applications, Information Management, Mobility, Oracle, Workforce Performance, Compensation, HR, HRMS, Talent Management, Workday, Workforce Analytics