3 Reasons You Will Be Happy With BPC

Posted by David Den Boer on Tue, Sep 10, 2013 @ 09:09 AM

At the Apollo temple in Delphi (Greece), an ancient quote is carved in stone, alternately translated as "Nothing in excess" or "All things in moderation". This is a great credo to live by as we all know what excess can bring, especially if we think about things that may seem to be good at the outset. In life, we can think of things like food, wine, and even work that - when managed in small quantities are indeed good things, but when taken to excess, they can become destructive.

Topics: Best Practices, Performance, Implementation

Six years ago, after being in an EPM client role for a few years, I decided to transition to a EPM10 & BPC consultant role. There are pro’s and con’s to every professional choice.  If you are thinking about making the switch into a consultant role, this may help your decision process. This is not a comprehensive list just a personal perspective. For many this may seem like a lateral move, but it was much more of an upgrade.

Topics: Training, Performance

The question of how to perform change management for BPC NetWeaver comes up often from customers. With three ways to move items between landscapes this leaves customers with the question of what is the best method?  We’ll go over the pros and cons of each method.

Topics: Process Improvement, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), NetWeaver, Performance, Microsoft, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

Searching the Web for SAP EPM & BPC Answers - Part I

Posted by Charles Dagaev on Wed, Jul 31, 2013 @ 12:07 PM

It seems every day we are always searching for something on the Internet. A good recipe for pea soup, the cheapest hotel in Oakland, California or the difference between an Aardvark and an Armadillo. We are creatures of habit.  You most likely get your news or local forecast from the same source on line each morning, the same way you probably go to the same coffee house.  Although there are thousands of similar sites, we find a website that provides us with the information we are looking for and we stick with it. I have found over the years that these habits cover not only one’s personal searches but their professional as well.

Topics: Best Practices, Performance, Implementation, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

Using a Technical Expert When Implementing BPC

Posted by Charles Dagaev on Tue, Jul 23, 2013 @ 12:07 PM

Many clients want to implement BPC v10 themselves with no input from technical services which affects development time, project time line and overall project success.There is a right and wrong way to implement BPC and ensure overall project success. We want every client to achieve the highest quality installation.

Topics: Best Practices, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Performance, Implementation

Rolling Forecasts – Effecting EPM Techniques

Posted by Martin Lloyd on Wed, Jul 17, 2013 @ 11:07 AM

In a previous blog I examined the trend away from the traditional annual budget and periodic reforecasting regime and towards the rolling forecast. I’d now like to examine the particular factors which are driving companies towards rolling forecasts and the implications that this has on the required tools and methodologies.

Topics: Best Practices, Process Improvement, Excel, Thought Leadership, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Financial Information Management, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation), Forecasting

Organizational Change Management in EPM and BPC Implementations

Posted by Connie Folk on Wed, Jul 10, 2013 @ 12:07 PM

Previously I discussed the top five critical success factors for a project.  Remember the word of caution mentioned in that blog – “slick, leading-edge technology alone will not guarantee project success.”  So what factor from that list must be coupled with the technology to ensure a successful adoption of your EPM or SAP BPC solution?  The Human Factor, or quite simply, the people that will be involved in using the system once deployed can make or break your project.  I’ll discuss in this blog why Organizational Change Management (OCM) should be one of your Top 5 Critical Success Factors for your EPM or SAP implementation.

Topics: Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Project Management, Value, Implementation, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)

What is a Center or Excellence?

That is a very good question and one that we get a lot from our customers. The generally accepted definition of a Center of Excellence (CoE from here on out) is a team, a shared facility or an entity that provides leadership, evangelization, best practices, research, support and/or training for a focus area. In the case of Column5 that focus area is the successful implementation of Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) solutions.So how does this team help our customers?

Topics: Center of Excellence, Best Practices, Thought Leadership, EPM Maturity, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM)

Is Your Biggest Customer Your Best Customer?

Posted by Martin Lloyd on Tue, Jun 11, 2013 @ 12:06 PM

It’s natural to assume that your large customers, who unquestionably are the source of most of your revenue, also deliver the major part of your profit. The Pareto Principle suggests that 80% of your profits come from 20% of your customers and assumes that the 20% are represented by the largest customers.

Topics: Process Improvement, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Financial Information Management, Performance, Value

3 Reasons Why EPM Unwired Will Add Value to Your Organization

Posted by Will Leonard on Fri, May 31, 2013 @ 11:05 AM

The SAP EPM Mobility suite continues to gain momentum, most recently with the addition of Planning and Consolidation (BPC) to the SAP EPM Unwired app. SAP announced a mobile version of BPC in October 2012, and demonstrated the mobile app at SAP Financials 2013 in Las Vegas. 

Topics: HANA, Enterprise Performance Management (EPM), Cloud, Value, BPC (Business Planning & Consolidation)