Symphony Metreo and Ventana Research Present Best Practices for Bridging the Operations Management Divide Between Analysis and Decision Making

Business Wire, Sept 29, 2008

Joint Webinar Identifies the Cornerstones for Achieving Better Cross-Functional Planning and Execution Using the Right Mix of People, Process and Technology

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Symphony Metreo, Inc., a leading provider of enterprise pricing and operations management solutions, today announced a joint webinar with Ventana Research titled, "Best Practices and Innovative Technology for Business Analytics and Decision Making," taking place on Thursday, October 2. The webinar will take the findings of a related benchmark report a step further by unveiling the best and worst practices for decision making and performance management, and presenting specific approaches organizations can put in place to solve the increasing disconnect between functional departments related to analytics and planning.

The recent Ventana Research benchmark research sponsored by Symphony Metreo, "Decision-Making and Performance: Improving Essential Business Analytics and Technologies," found that poor communication across departments; companywide dependence on error-prone spreadsheets; and a lack of investment in robust, market-ready technology to improve data collection and analysis has resulted in a lack of confidence in organizations' analysis and planning capabilities. In fact, only one-third of respondents are confident about the way their organization manages its analysis and planning processes. The October 2 webinar will explain how new approaches to people, process and technology can optimize analysis, planning and decision making by better connecting business analysts, responsible for making sense of data, with the business managers and IT departments, responsible for providing this data.

"With so many of today's key decision-making processes spread across functional departments, such as revenue and price management, and S&OP, organizations may be aware of the related challenges, but have not yet adopted technologies that can really drive cross-functional operational improvements," said Bennett Indart, vice president, marketing and business development, Symphony Metreo, Inc. "The lack of adoption can be related to gaps in traditional technology solutions, forcing companies to invest in piecemeal approaches that aren't scalable or flexible. For example, when spreadsheets are the primary technology used for collaboration between departments, there is little hope for optimal decision making. This webinar will examine better technology-based options for driving forward-looking, collaborative decision-making that bridges the analysis-planning divide."

"Executives are often unaware that their business analysts are hampered in doing their jobs by organizational impediments, unreliable information and inappropriate technology," said Mark Smith, CEO & EVP of research, Ventana Research. "Meanwhile, many analysts and management personnel lack the confidence in the effectiveness of their analysis and business planning processes because they mistrust or spend too much time verifying the data used in these processes. "

The "Best Practices and Innovative Technology for Business Analytics and Decision Making" webinar will feature presentations by Mark Smith, CEO and executive vice president of research, Ventana Research and Bennett Indart, vice president, marketing and business development, Symphony-Metreo. Attendees will benefit from hearing more about the following topics:

* Pain points of the business analysts responsible for analyzing data across departments

* The issues in organizations' approaches to analytics and planning

* The costly and time-consuming gaps in technology today, and how Symphony Metreo is helping its customers solve cross-functional decision-making issues by simultaneously addressing people, process and technology.

The webinar will take place on October 2, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. PDT/1:00 p.m. EDT. Attendees can register for the webinar and download the associated research at http://www.ventanaresearch.com/dmp/dmp.aspx?id=2781

The October 2 webinar is a follow up to a September 9 Ventana webcast, "Benchmark Your Decision-Making and Performance Management Process," which discussed the 'Decision-Making and Performance' benchmark research findings and related areas for improvement. This previous webcast is available on replay at http://www.ventanaresearch.com/webinars/index.aspx?id=2777.

About Symphony Metreo

Symphony Metreo helps organizations meet their financial goals of Revenue and Margin with innovative solutions that align and synchronize top-down planning with bottom-up execution by focusing on the strategic levers of Price, Volume and Cost. Symphony Metreo serves global enterprises with innovative award winning applications in the areas of Enterprise Pricing, Operations Management and Performance Management. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., Symphony Metreo is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Symphony Technology Group, a $2.1 billion strategic holding company. For additional information, visit http://www.symphony-metreo.com.

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