CALUMO Planning on Microsoft BI Platform

[Calumo]

PerformancePoint Services included in MOSS
On 24 Jan Microsoft announced the decision to consolidate PerformancePoint Server Monitoring and Analytics into Microsoft Office SharePoint Server. Microsoft is making it easier for customers to achieve “BI for the masses” by including PerformancePoint Services in the SharePoint Enterprise license thereby delivering the complete Microsoft BI Platform (SharePoint, Excel and SQL Server) to customers at an even lower total cost of ownership.

PerformancePoint Planning Discontinued
Microsoft also announced that PerformancePoint Planning will be discontinued. It must be remembered that PerformancePoint Planning was only a planning application built on the Microsoft BI Platform. Discontinuing this first version planning application is actually liberating to what is now an even more unified BI platform comprising SharePoint, Excel and SQL Server.

Performance Management = Planning + Business Intelligence
Discontinuation of PerformancePoint Planning does not mean that customers cannot “do planning” on the Microsoft BI Platform. The essence of planning applications (budgeting and forecasting) is allowing users to input feedback both numbers and text (write back). Planning also includes other features (eg manipulating data according to business rules etc), but most of these are also BI features. The term Performance Management is used to describe the convergence of Planning and BI on a unified platform – the cycle of Plan, Monitor, Analyze. The advantages of true Performance Management are readily evident by integrating planning with BI in order to analyze and compare history with future plans and what-if analyses. The architecture of effective Performance Management must be unified. Failing to do so requires constant batching and transformation as the many parts of the system exchange data. Few (if any) vendors other than Microsoft can lay claim to this architecture.

How then to achieve Planning + Performance Management on Microsoft’s BI platform
CALUMO Planning is a complete planning application built on the Microsoft BI platform. The CALUMO features below summarize planning capability, the missing pieces of the performance management puzzle, with integration to SharePoint, Excel and SQL Server.

1. Planning input forms - Bottom-Up and Top-Down write back
2. Self Service Reporting and Analysis - Ad-hoc (pivot) browse and dynamic reports
3. Excel and Web client for ad-hoc browse, reports and input forms
4. Simple, flexible architecture - Planning over any SQL Server Analysis Services cube structures
5. Support for: Drill Down (Members), Drill Through (Transactions or Cubes), Grids, Charts, Freeze frames, Text management, Slice to Excel etc.
6. Integration with SharePoint, Excel and SQL Server

Alfred E. Neuman “What, me worry?” Hecklers will claim a gap-toothed smile in Microsoft’s BI capability. Don’t be fooled, CALUMO is evidence that planning is not missing and will continue to work with customers and Microsoft to offer true Performance Management on Microsoft’s unified BI Platform. Web budgeting at the University of New South Wales is just one example of this.

CALUMO - Microsoft Business Intelligence Partner of the Year
For the CALUMO Group, 2008 Microsoft BI Partner of the Year, the withdrawal of PerformancePoint Planning has removed any perceived confusion or conflict over differences between PerformancePoint Planning and CALUMO Planning. CALUMO Performance Management, including planning has a credible track record and heritage, including Microsoft case studies at the University of New South Wales and Aevum

About CALUMO
The CALUMO Group (www.calumo.com) is a leading provider of Performance Management solutions for enterprise-wide reporting planning and Business Intelligence. Since 1998 the group has successfully delivered solutions to a wide range of enterprises from SME’s to some of the largest listed companies and government organisations. These solutions provide quantifiable and valuable business insight, offering a single platform from which to integrate Corporate, Financial and Operational performance and objectives.

The Group is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in Business intelligence (achieving full competency in both Platform and Performance Management Specializations), Data Management Solutions and ISV/Software Solutions.



More...