PerformancePoint preview (Microsoft)

Author: Nigel Pendse
Released: 2007
Pages: 32
Single User Price: Now available only as part of the Microsoft Package

An in-depth product preview

After 4 years in development, PerformancePoint (code-named Biz#) was finally released in November 2007

The impact of PerformancePoint has already been felt with a wave of PM vendor acquisitions involving some of the industry's biggest players in early 2007. But what is all the fuss about?

Now it has been released, Microsoft's highly-anticipated and (almost) fully integrated financial application gets the Nigel Pendse treatment in this 32-page preview.

With over 7000 registered CTP2 participants and over 2100 software downloads by May 2007, this product will have had a longer, more intense beta testing program than any previous new CPM product. But as with all 1.0 releases, we will see the inevitable range of bugs and missing functionality. This preview addresses many of these issues, and highlights what to look out for when considering an early-release deployment.

We examine the new and complex architecture in detail, and look at how it inter-relates with existing Microsoft tools such as SQL Server, Analysis Services, Excel and ProClarity (acquired in 2006). You will also find out how PerformancePoint measures up on a number of other criteria including:

• pricing
• calculation functionality
• reporting flexibility
• currency support

A sample of the numerous specially generated screenshots from this review. Click to enlarge.