BPM.Xpo Announced as First Unbiased Head-to-Head Review of BPM Software Vendors - Nine Leading BPM (Business Performance Management) Software Vendors Participate in Unprecedented Webcast Series

Business Finance magazine and BPM Partners have teamed up to launch a groundbreaking method for BPM software vendor selection. Following the very successful Beyond the Hype: The Truth About BPM Vendors" Webcast they conducted in January, David Blansfield, publisher of Business Finance, and Craig Schiff, CEO of BPM Partners (previously co-founder of OutlookSoft and Hyperion Software) will host the event. This Webcast series will include objective critiques from BPM industry veterans and hands-on software demonstrations by technology experts from Cognos, Hyperion Solutions, PeopleSoft, SAP, SAS, Comshare, Outlooksoft, Cartesis and Longview Solutions. The event will be free of charge and will take place on March 25, 26 and 27, 12 noon EST. Interested BPM decision-makers can register at www.bfmag.com/register.

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BPM.Xpo Announced as First Unbiased Head-to-Head Review of BPM Software Vendors
Nine Leading BPM (Business Performance Management) Software Vendors Participate in Unprecedented Webcast Series

Stamford, Conn., March 13, 2003 – Business Finance magazine and BPM Partners have teamed up to launch a groundbreaking method for BPM software vendor selection. Following the very successful Beyond the Hype: The Truth About BPM Vendors" Webcast they conducted in January, David Blansfield, publisher of Business Finance, and Craig Schiff, CEO of BPM Partners (previously co-founder of OutlookSoft and Hyperion Software) will host the event. This Webcast series will include objective critiques from BPM industry veterans and hands-on software demonstrations by technology experts from Cognos, Hyperion Solutions, PeopleSoft, SAP, SAS, Comshare, Outlooksoft, Cartesis and Longview Solutions. The event will be free of charge and will take place on March 25, 26 and 27, 12 noon EST. Interested BPM decision-makers can register at www.bfmag.com/register.

Enterprises that integrate their business intelligence applications into an overall corporate performance management (CPM) suite will be better able to identify the areas of their business that are performing well and those that arent" commented Lee Geishecker, research director at Gartner Inc., on the impact of BPM in todays enterprise. Other research conducted by Gartner noted that by the year 2005, 40% of the Global 2000 will use a performance management system. BPM solutions include budgeting, planning, forecasting, consolidation and corporate key performance indicators. BPM allows companies to measure, monitor and manage performance in a unified fashion that integrates information from a myriad of applications and databases and presents it in a format that aligns with an enterprises strategic goals.

Readers of Business Finance have identified business performance management as their number one area of interest, " says David Blansfield, publisher of Business Finance. What they have told us they need to know now is what systems and software are right for their organization. We're pleased to work with BPM Partners to provide our readers with an objective resource to help them make the right decision. "

I applaud the vendors that are participating in this event, allowing prospective clients to get a detailed, objective critique of their solutions in a public forum," said Craig Schiff, CEO of BPM Partners. This is a testament of their leadership and confidence in their ability to deliver successful BPM solutions."

BPM.Xpo will present vendors with a variety of profiles – enterprise resource planning (ERP), analytics and business intelligence software providers. BPM Partners experts will provide an overview of important factors to consider when evaluating BPM solutions and give a no-holds-barred critique of the individual vendors. Vendors have been allotted a fixed time for a hands-on demonstration of their unique capabilities. Attendees will receive non-biased, actionable data for either advancing their existing BPM initiatives or planning future projects.
   
About BPM Partners
BPM Partners is a privately held professional services firm with an exclusive focus on business performance management (BPM) solutions. The firm helps companies understand the value of business performance management, provides insight on how to collect and analyze the right information to address specific business goals and leads clients through the evaluation and implementation of departmental or enterprise-wide BPM systems. Specific services offered by BPM Partners include business needs analysis and vendor evaluation programs, hands-on project management, and detailed implementation and rollout services. For further details, go to www.bpmpartners.com.

About Business Finance Magazine
Part of the Penton Media publishing family, Business Finance is a trade magazine about and for senior business and finance executives at mid-tier and large organizations – CEOs, CFOs, COOs, treasurers, controllers, finance directors and business managers at organizations of at least $100 million in annual revenue. Its purpose is to help them achieve best practices in their organizations and do their jobs better.
Business Finances editorial not only informs its readers about important trends but also educates them as to how to achieve best practices in many areas of business and financial management. For further details, go to www.bfmag.com.

Note 1: Cognos (Nasdaq: COGN), Hyperion (Nasdaq: HYSL), PeopleSoft (Nasdaq: PSFT), SAP (NYSE: SAP), SAS, Comshare (Nasdaq: CSRE), Outlooksoft, Cartesis and Longview Solutions are registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Note 2: Lee Geishecker quote used with permission from Gartner, Inc. Content was referenced from "Introducing the CPM Suites Magic Quadrant", Lee Geishecker, Frank Buytendijk, Research Note # M-17-4718 and "Use CPM to Integrate the Enterprise View", Lee Geishecker, Brian Zrimsek, Letter from the Editor # LE-17-4266.