The Dozen 2003OutlookSoft Corp.Stamford, Conn.First, it was lack of visibility: Didn't see the recession coming. Then, as Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, and others ignominiously crashed down, it became a legal problem of corporate governance. By August, household names were scrambling to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which required top corporate executives to swear under oath that financial statements submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission were accurate. The whole mess became the top business story of 2002. For investors — and perhaps indirectly, the entire economy — the problem became a deep loss of confidence. Technology can't fix ethical problems; but it's clear that for financial management to keep up with the speed, complexity, and new legal requirements of today's economy, an infusion of intelligent software wouldn't hurt. The spreadsheet — killer app of some 20 years ago — needs reinvention. With integrated databases, online analytic processing (OLAP), Web interfaces, and business performance metrics, the elements are there. Somebody just has to put it all together — and keep the beloved spreadsheet in middle of the picture, of course. OutlookSoft's timing couldn't be better. Founded in 1999, OutlookSoft is a rising star in BPM software. The company's pedigree goes deeper: Its leadership stands on long experience in the field with Hyperion Software. With Enterprise Analytic Portal (EAP), OutlookSoft's goal is to create a nexus for the disparate activities that go into planning, optimizing, and analyzing business performance. These include budgeting, forecasting, consolidation, and strategic planning — the financial management activities that are under such fire today. Joining the EnterpriseUnderlying OutlookSoft's approach is a fervent desire to open the eyes of corporate strategists so that they gain, in the company's words, "a single, holistic view of total organizational performance." To accomplish this, OutlookSoft has cast its technology lot with Microsoft, which makes eminent sense considering the dominance of Microsoft Excel. Some of EAP's secret sauce is its tight integration with Excel — but it can also make sauce with general ledger, ERP, and other applications. The data infrastructure allows users to reach that Holy Grail: a single version of the truth. Within reach of OutlookSoft users are both structured and unstructured data sources. EAP also makes state-of-the-art use of the Web to disseminate financial results and analysis, which alone is a huge time-waster at most organizations. By unifying data sources and key processes, OutlookSoft furthers collaboration between managers from different lines of business, which is essential if BPM efforts are to succeed. MAJOR MOVES IN 2002· Named Michael Morini as COO · Partnered with McKesson Information Solutions to develop solutions exclusive to the healthcare market INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISES· Dell Computer Corp. replaced internal databases and spreadsheets with EAP for corporate forecasting · US Sugar uses EAP for comprehensive planning and performance management
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