Enterprise Performance Management - Data is First Priority

If you are SAP Service partner and looking forward for new business avenues with growth trajectory in 2012 - here are some convincing pointers coming out from SAP from their financial results outlook and all the buzz around just concluded SAP FKOM in New Orleans and Milan. Lets look at the highlights of 2011 financial results and outlook provided - ( http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-25/sap-forecasts-higher-profit-sales-this-year-on-analytics-mobile-software.html ) 1. Record Software Revenue 2. Exceeding Revenue Guidance 3.  Exceeding Operating Profit Guidance 4. S trong Margin Growth 5. Exceeding Company Expectations for SAP HANA and Mobile In general - SAP will ride heavily on 5 things in next 2 years to reach to that critical goal  of 320 Million euros from HANA only and 2015 goal of 20 Billion euro company. HANA Cloud Mobility Sustainability Analytics If you are already in atleast one of these - lot of opportunities to grow - if you are not - ...

In today's competitive business environment (as if it was less competitive at some point ), the most important thing is analytics. Analytics because it gives some kind of actionable intelligence. This intelligence when implemented correctly through multiple actions inside organizational business units provides a predictibility - which directly business bottomlines. SAP is having this complete solution suite - Enterprise Performance Management - which includes different solutions for different problems. The end goal for each of these is same - to gain some predictability and enhance performance of the function and then collectively enhance performance of the organization as a whole. Lets look at these different solutions - Strategy management – Set your goals, map your strategies, and then manage performance from high-level objectives to operational metrics. Planning and consolidation – Increase the accuracy and effectiveness of planning, budgeting, forecasting and financial...

So there is a new animal in the zoo. Is it really really different ? probably yes - probably not. But yes - world seems to be curious to know - if its different then whats that difference is? SAP recently launched its long awaiting "new" product in Spend Analytics named as "SAP BusinessObjects Data Enrichment and Classification" (SAP BOBJ DEC). You can read official SAP page  here  and also download the product related information in this  SAP DEC PDF . Is it a game changer ? Yes. Since SAP took over Analytics Inc in 2008 and Business Objects in the same year - they announced a product roadmap integrating the technology platform with the engine that Analytics got on board. 3 years of big effort and we got this good new product. So whats the real difference that SAP partners like Bristlecone can offer now ? 1. A faster engine - Which means less execution time for a engagement - traslated into quick spend visbility 2. Large vendor repository - a real good more...

Guys - You will see few changes to the concept, design and content of this blog in coming weeks. All these years, we focused more on the data management related to Spend Analysis. All studies in recent term, shows customer is more interested to convert this analysis in some kind of intelligence. Basically, to use this analysis to an actionable inputs, which saves money, lowers cost and increase revenue so at the end maximize shareholder value. So the focus going ahead is more on that Business Intelliegence - and how to collaborate more with Business to realize value for organization. Looks interesting ? Keep following. :-) Thanks Prashant Mendki

Yesterday we all read about a news that Brightpoint sued Emptoris - a leading Spend Analysis Service provider based at MA over failed to deliver the service as expected - Brightpoint suing software vendor for negligence There are multiple posts and opinions started pouring the web about why this would happen and what Emptoris should do to respond. Competitors may start using this as a point to win some of the deal and so on. But I think there is a larger message in all this - and that’s about how you sell your product / service, how you setup customer expectation and how your delivery mechanism has been setup - business sensitized or mere a product delivery and lastly whether you stress on value or volume. In today's Spend world, what are the components that one needs to ideally talk about while engaging with customer for Spend Analytics requirements? 1. A strong analytical BI tool - which allows you to maximum slice dice capabilities 2. A strong backbone data service - whi...

Now I know thats a stupid question for any project manager. As you have a activity list, tasks, milestones, resources in your Microsoft Project, and once that complets in time, with all required resources, in budget - thats a successful project and there is a last step in your plan - GO LIVE. As a PMI certified Project Management Professional myself I agree with you all. Thats what happened in one of my recent engagement when team reached to that GO LIVE step. Everybody from bottom to top said - Yes we went live - Bravo - congratulations to the team and kudos and lots of good emails. You certainly love when it happens - but should you when its a Spend Analysis project? a BIG NO NO in my opinion. Why ? Because Spend analysis engagement is  not a conventional project. A part of it when you successfully implement and analytical - business intelligence product - is a milestone. Is that a go live point? again answer is NO. If we  really look at the objective if i...

Hello - Feeling good to restart my blogging, as I missed lot many discussion topics that happened in last 6 months. I took a break. One strong reason was - I was working on my Harvard Manage Mentor course. Yes - and I did that successfully. These were 21 extensive management courses that one needs to complete before you earn that. And despite having all hectic activities, my customer visit travels - I did that. This gives me immense strength now in terms of my professional attitude, working behavior, how I look at peers, How I look at stress and everything around. Earlier I used to take all the work on my head without even thinking whether I am supposed to do it, or I am getting recognized for it - now I am more cautious. So change is there. Thanks to Harvard and Mahindra Group for providing me this opportunity to look inside. Now about analysis - Yes there are lot of happenings in the Enterprise Perfromance Management world - and I have lot to write on...