New Research from Ventana Research Reveals Inadequacy of Most Companies' Scorecarding Tools

Business Wire, April 21, 2006

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- A new research report from Ventana Research reveals that while companies are committed to monitoring performance, functionality of current scorecards, dashboards and alerts - the majority built in-house - are inadequate.

The research study, "Performance Scorecards and Dashboards: A Performance Alignment Research Study," was released April 5, 2006 by Ventana Research, the leading provider of Performance Management research and advisory services. The company will disclose the key findings of the research study at a live interactive webinar on Thursday, April 27, 2006 at 9am PDT. Sign up for the webinar at www.ventanaresearch.com.

The research, sponsored by technology providers Cognos and SAP, explored how businesses use scorecards, dashboards and performance alerts. The findings are based on an analysis of more than 590 validated respondents. The survey was conducted with the assistance of media partners that included BusinessIntelligence.com, BI Review, CRMAdvocate, Montgomery Research's ASCET/ CRM Project/CFO Project, Questex's ICCM, ITBusinessEdge, CMP's Intelligent Enterprise, Reed Business' Manufacturing.net, TechTarget's SearchDataManagement.com, and Supply & Demand Chain Executive.

Among the key research findings, Ventana Research determined that:

-- Almost two-thirds of all scorecards, dashboards and alerts are internally developed and lack key functions

-- More than two-thirds of companies have scorecards measures that are subject to manipulation or "gaming"

-- 61% of dashboard users cannot drill down to important details

-- 62% of users said their performance alerts were out-of-date and not helpful in guiding a response

"This is groundbreaking research because of the importance of scorecards, dashboards and alerts in making businesses more efficient and effective," said Colin Snow, vice president and research director - Operational Performance Management at Ventana Research. "The research shows what a huge opportunity is available for IT to provide more value for end users by providing timely information for decision making," Snow added. "This is exciting research because we had a huge level of interest and participation from both large and mid-sized companies and it showed us results that companies can achieve when they do apply the right Performance Management technology."

Additional Performance Management education will be offered at Ventana Research's upcoming analyst summit, Connections 2006, this June 11-14 in San Francisco. To learn more, visit www.ventanaresearch.com/connections2006.> About Ventana Research

Ventana Research is the leading Performance Management research and advisory services firm. By providing expert insight and detailed guidance, Ventana Research helps clients operate their companies more efficiently and effectively. These business improvements are delivered through a top-down approach that connects people, process, information and technology. What makes Ventana Research different from other analyst firms is a focus on Performance Management for finance, operations and IT. This focus, plus research as a foundation and reach into a community of over two million corporate executives through extensive media partnerships, allows Ventana Research to deliver a high-value, low-risk method for achieving optimal business performance. To learn how Ventana Research Performance Management workshops, assessments and advisory services can impact your bottom line, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.

(C) 2006 Ventana Research