Beyond Finance: BPM Breaks Out

As the old saying goes, a tool is only as good as the people who use it. The companies most successful at using business performance management (BPM) tools not only leverage the technology and align people and processes with strategic goals, but also extend BPM beyond finance into operational areas. The winners of the Business Finance 2006 Vision Awards sponsored by SAS Institute Inc. -- Princess Cruises, Wyeth Canada and Poway Unified School District, Calif. -- demonstrated the ability to make the most of their BPM tools broadly across their organizational structures.

Although the three winners face different performance challenges, some common themes tie them together. "The winners have linked their performance processes to high-level strategy or goals and demonstrate sophisticated use of technology to make the processes work better," says John Pancoast, Vision Awards judge and senior partner at Robert H. Schaffer & Associates in Stamford, Conn. "All three winners were looking for a better-controlled financial reporting process -- and got it."

Here's how each of the winners infused their respective cultures with a performance-based mindset.