Business Performance Management Market Trends 2021

In this blog, I am covering the latest trends in the business performance management (BPM) market. BPM solutions in this context include software applications for business management-related reporting including consolidated results, all aspects of planning (strategic, operational, driver based, zero based budgeting, etc.) and forecasting.

The empirical data used as basis for this post is based on the “Pulse Survey 2020” that was kindly authorized for usage by BPM Partners a leading, independent research specialist for BPM solutions. For the full survey results, vendors reviews, and other analyst services please contact BPM Partners: https://www.bpmpartners.com/

What is Business Performance Management (BPM)?

BPM refers to software applications used for business management-related reporting, including consolidated results, planning (strategic, operational, driver-based, zero-based budgeting, etc.), and forecasting.

Business Performance Management Market: An Overview

The overall BPM market has again seen very significant growth rates (in case of Acterys again around 400% compared to 2019), these according to the survey results, have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 situation. This also reflects the feedback that I got from 100+ client projects this year in which more clarity about future outcomes and the ability to easily simulate scenarios in particular around cash flow forecasting have been the key motivating factors:

Economic impact on Performance Management plans. Source: BPM Partners

Primary Drivers for BPM: Motivating Factors

The survey results of latest trends in performance management show a high priority on improving management reporting followed by more effective planning processes and general decision support.

Primary drivers for BPM / Business Performance Management in Business Intelligence Industry

My experience confirms this as well with a very high numbers of customers still looking to replace manual spreadsheet-based processes. The very the interesting trend that I see here is, that for the majority of cases (~80%) customers prefer to move to completely new platforms e.g. self-service analytics ecosystems like Power BI rather than automating spreadsheet-based processes (despite the availability of the same core feature set in Excel in our case) particularly around automated source system integration and report updates.

The leading choice for a BI platform integration is with a 20 percentage point margin Power BI:

Business Performance Management & Business Intelligence (BI) Platform integration

The reasons to integrate BPM with an analytics platform that our customers conveyed to us were:

1. improved interactive visualization options
2. extensive options for integrating other relevant sources as well as
3. quicker distribution as reports can be consumed by web browser/mobile apps and can be easier secured by detailed access rights to the data and limiting report editing to only were intended.

Relevance of BPM Components for BI

Not too surprisingly planning is the key focus but interestingly financial reporting remains a key focus:

Bpm / Performance Management components

Key Purchase Decision Drivers

This is one of the most surprising outcomes of the BPM survey: Key factor for vendor selection is flexibility followed by scalability:

BPM Vendor selection reasons

This exactly coincides with our experiences: the option for business users to customize the application to their process requirements and integrate it with other tools (office productivity but also more and more visualization tools and process automation platforms is becoming imperative.

Bottom-line: Business Performance Management Trends 2021

The survey clearly demonstrates that BPM has again rose to one of the top priorities for senior finance and IT executives. This seems to be driven by general economic factors in particular uncertainty following a global pandemic but also technological changes like the move to cloud deployments, the dramatic rise of self-service analysis tools as well as a general focus on streamlining processes.

In a dramatic change from historic behavior, we also see IT departments taking a more prominent role focused on replacing a variety of hard to maintain disparate legacy applications (hard to maintain and integrate silo data stores) with unified solutions that utilize a single data platform.

To address these challenges, we -as always- recommend to actively compare different approaches in real life scenarios and not just rely on glossy marketing materials and promises from sales reps.  Get the vendors to provide you with working prototypes and prove they can be adapted to changing requirements without the reliance on expensive external consultants and integrate swiftly with your key data sources, productivity tools and processes.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Business Performance Management (BPM) market has experienced significant growth rates, as reflected in empirical data, with some BPM solutions seeing around 400% growth compared to 2019.

1. Improving management reporting, enhancing planning processes, and facilitating general decision support are identified as primary drivers for BPM solutions. 

1. A notable trend is the preference of organizations (around 80%) to move to entirely new platforms like self-service analytics ecosystems such as Power BI, rather than automating existing spreadsheet-based processes.

1. The integration of BPM with Business Intelligence (BI) platforms, particularly Power BI, is a leading choice. Reasons for this integration include improved visualization options, easier access, and enhanced security through web and mobile apps.

1. Flexibility and scalability are identified as key factors for vendor selection in BPM solutions. Business users’ ability to customize applications and integrate them with other tools is crucial.

1. BPM has become a top priority for senior finance and IT executives, driven by economic factors, technological changes, and a focus on streamlining processes.

FAQs

1. How has the BPM market been impacted by recent events, particularly COVID-19?

According to the survey results, the BPM market has seen substantial growth rates, with some BPM solutions reporting an increase of approximately 400% compared to 2019. This growth can be attributed to the unique challenges such as unprecedented uncertainties, making clarity about future outcomes and the ability to simulate various scenarios.

2. Why are organizations moving away from spreadsheet-based processes to new platforms like Power BI?

Shifting to new platforms can be attributed to several factors:

• New platforms, such as Power BI, offer self-service analytics ecosystems that empower users to harness data more effectively. 
• They streamline processes, particularly around automated source system integration and report updates. 
• They provide advanced features for interactive visualization, data integration, and secure distribution, making them an attractive choice for organizations seeking enhanced agility and efficiency.

3. Which BI platform is most commonly integrated with BPM solutions?

Organizations favor Power BI integration due to several key advantages:

1. Power BI offers improved interactive visualization options, enhancing the presentation and comprehension of data. 
2. It provides extensive options for integrating various data sources, enabling organizations to consolidate data from multiple streams efficiently. 
3. Power BI facilitates quicker distribution of reports, as they can be easily accessed via web browsers and mobile apps.