PerformancePoint Server goes loopy

Wow! The CTP (Customer Technology Preview) of PerformancePoint Server was released the other week and has been getting some rather good feedback.  Here's what the press have been saying about it:

 

Why Microsoft PerformancePoint matters - Mary Jo Foley, 12-05-2006

ZDNet

On December 5, Microsoft announced the public availability of a Community Technology Preview (CTP) test build of PerformancePoint Server 2007. If you're not a KPI (key-performance-indicator) jockey, you probably haven't paid much attention to Microsoft's PerformancePoint. But here's why it matters, in the grander Microsoft scheme of things. Almost all of Microsoft's recent talk about Office has centered around the desktop application suite as … well, a desktop application suite. But Microsoft also is angling for Office to be a front-end to back-end business applications. That's what the company's push around OBA (Office Business Applications) and the recently introduced OBA RAPs (OBA Reference Application Packs) is all about.

 

Users to kick tires on Office PerformancePoint Server - Dawn Kawamoto, 12-05-2006

CNET News.com

The downloadable preview is designed to allow users to gauge how the integrated monitoring, analytics and planning software would work in their particular business environment. Microsoft plans to release an additional one or two more previews before the product hits the market in mid-2007. Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 is designed to combine planning, budgeting, forecasting and financial consolidation features of its product, code-named "BizSharp," with the "scorecard" monitoring functionality of Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager Server 2005. When the software giant releases its next community technology preview, early next year, it is expected to incorporate into the preview version 6.2 of the analytics services software developed by Microsoft subsidiary ProClarity. Market researchers, however, question whether there will be strong demand for Office 2007 and Microsoft's next-generation operating system, Vista, within the first year of its release. In a recent poll commissioned by online retailer CDW, 51 percent of respondents noted they would have to replace or upgrade half of their PCs to run Vista. And while 86 percent of those polled anticipate eventually purchasing the software, only 20 percent said they expect to do so next year. Loading...

 

Brief: Microsoft offers preview of performance management tool - Heather Havenstein, 12-05-2006

Computerworld

Microsoft Corp. has released the first Community Technology Preview (CTP) of its integrated performance management software called PerformancePoint Server 2007. Due out in mid-2007, the software is designed to round out the company’s business intelligence family of products by providing analytics and financial planning built on top of SQL Server 2005, which houses Microsoft’s BI reporting and analysis tools. The CTP includes planning, budgeting, forecasting, financial consolidation and scorecarding functions.

 

Microsoft Bulks up Intelligence Stack - Michael Hickins, 12-05-2006

internetnews.com

Microsoft (Quote) is making its new business intelligence (BI) platform available for review by its developer community today. PerformancePoint, which builds on previous BI tools such as Business Scorecard Manager and the ProClarity analytics server, is intended to broaden the number of users within an organization who can benefit from reporting, dash-boarding, planning and forecasting capabilities. These tools "are not broadly deployed across the enterprise. We're trying to make broader deployment easier and more cost-effective," said Michael Smith, Microsoft director of marketing for PerformancePoint.

 

Microsoft Releases Test Version Of PerformancePoint Server - Antone Gonsalves, 12-05-2006

Intelligent Enterprise

Microsoft on Tuesday released the community technology preview of PerformancePoint Server 2007, a key component of the software maker's business intelligence suite. PerformancePoint Server provides analytics and reporting for financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, financial consolidation and scorecards. The software sits on top of SQL Server, which contains an on line analytical processing, or OLAP, server and reporting tools. For the user interface, Microsoft plans to integrate its BI data with Office 2007 and Office 2003. Microsoft Excel remains the most widely used software in business reporting and analysis.

 

Microsoft Previews Upcoming PerformancePoint BI Product - Stacy Cowley, 12-05-2006

CRN

Microsoft on Tuesday released the first community technology preview (CTP) of its upcoming PerformancePoint Server 2007, the vanguard of its planned push into the business intelligence market. Scheduled for a mid-2007 release, PerformancePoint -- formerly code-named BizSharp -- will replace Microsoft's Business Scorecard Manager (BSM) 2005 software and incorporate the technology that Microsoft picked up in its April acquisition of analytics firm ProClarity. The initial CTP includes the BSM technology along with planning, budgeting, forecasting and financial consolidation features. A second CTP, scheduled for early 2007, is slated to add ProClarity's analytics tools.

 

 

Technorati tags: BI, PerformancePoint Server