The Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG), the world's largest user knowledgebase for Oracle Applications users, announced that it has released the results of an OAUG ResearchLine study that focused on performance management solutions and methodologies. The study, conducted by Unisphere Research and sponsored by IBM Cognos, is based on the results of a survey completed by members of the OAUG. The purpose of the study was to measure the challenges enterprises face when adopting performance management, which leverages business Intelligence (BI), enterprise planning and analytic application software and services to help companies plan, understand and manage financial and operational performance.
Among the key findings from the study are that cautious IT spending has resulted in a mixed picture for performance management analytics, with some organizations ramping up performance management efforts to meet increased competitive challenges, and others facing budget issues.
There are considerable demands from Oracle enterprise applications users for reports, dashboards, scorecards or planning models to help decision makers determine the health of their business, the survey found. Additionally, Oracle enterprise applications users tend to rely on single-source BI, analytics or performance management solutions from their ERP provider; these systems are less likely to see results for their performance management efforts.
The difficulties and time lags in securing the right information helps perpetuate a spreadsheet analysis culture, and spreadsheets even dominate decision making at companies with relatively robust performance management systems within Oracle applications sites, the survey found. Barely a handful of organizations in the survey have attained robust "performance management-driven cultures," defined for purposes of the survey as having tools and solutions widely available across their organizations. At the same time, there is growing support toward enabling end users to build their own interfaces to performance management information.
OAUG ResearchLine is an exclusive proprietary resource for members of the OAUG that provides ongoing research and information about trends and challenges of interest to users of Oracle Applications. The executive summary of the survey results is available to all OAUG members through the organization's website at www.oaug.org.