In the area of Performance Management there are many buzzwords going around in the market: Management information systems, Executive information systems, Business Intelligence, Planning & budgeting, Business performance management, etc....

We believe the most comprehensive definition is given by The Gartner Group:

"Corporate performance management (CPM) is an umbrella term that describes the methodologies, metrics, processes and systems used to monitor and manage an enterprise's business performance. Many enterprises are looking to CPM to improve their planning and control cycles. The reasons for organizations to do so include the following:

• To increase the speed, quality and accuracy of decision making


• To increase the quality of the management reports


• To increase the agility of the planning process in more turbulent environments


• To create the necessary organizational alignment for tight strategy execution


• To facilitate corporate transparency (that is, to provide regulators, board of directors, shareholders and other external parties with insight into the organization's operations)"

There are 2 key elements in this definition:

1. Performance management is not only about reporting systems but especially also about the methodologies and processes used to implement and sustain solid performance management


2. It is not only about a reporting or planning/budgeting solution, it is the combination of both that provides the closed-loop needed for solid performance management

We believe the true value of a performance management solution is the availability of a system that tightly connects Strategy to Execution: have everyone focussed on the overall strategy, and thereby the Goal, of the organization.