The Value Indexes are the product of more than two decades of experience and knowledge of the market and of in-depth analyses of technology suppliers' products. The Value Index for Financial Performance Management involves a comprehensive examination of vendors and their products in the context of their ability to support the full span of processes and methodologies used in the Office of Finance. Ventana Research asserts that making informed investments in such software will improve an organization's performance as a whole.

The Index is constructed through a detailed evaluation of each offering's suitability-to-task with capabilities, and equally important, the product's support of usability, manageability, reliability and adaptability. These aspects of the evaluation are unique to the Value Index report and are not covered to any depth in other analyst firm ratings. It also assesses the effectiveness of vendor support for the buying process and customer assurance. It gauges the value offered by a vendor and its products and presents the results in a clear and accessible graphic representation of a thermometer and in a precise numerical index of its maturity. Technology vendors earning the highest "Hot" and "Warm" Vendor classifications are those that Ventana Research certifies as best able to deliver buyer value based on a thorough evaluation and audit - that is, based on research and verifiable facts. The Value Index is not just a selection of "cool" products, and rather than merely representing a vendor mostly on their vision or market execution, the Index provides specific thermometer readings, both overall and component metrics, for a technology buyer to consider. Organizations can use the Value Index as a guide to determine if they should assess existing technology providers and determine if their provider's best meet their needs today and in the future.

In the 2013 Value Index for Financial Performance Management, the two companies that deliver the highest value on an overall weighted-evaluation basis are IBM and SAP, followed by Host Analytics, and Longview, who also earned the Hot Vendor rating. They are followed Infor, Tagetik, Prophix, Oracle and SAS, which all earned the next level at the rating of Warm.

"Financial Performance Management (FPM) covers a broad range of core finance department processes such as planning, budgeting, the financial close and management reporting," noted Robert Kugel, Senior Vice President and Research Director, Office of Finance. "Finance executives need to execute these core processes and, increasingly, they need to do more, such as automate external financial reporting, guide profitability management efforts and provide more value-added analysis. The Value Index shows Finance executives how to assess FPM software vendors and which of the vendors lead the pack in supporting the work of the finance department."

This new research-based undertaking is fully independent. It is neither sponsored nor influenced by technology vendors and is conducted solely in pursuit of Ventana Research's mission to provide value to business and IT through benchmark assessments, workshops and advisory services. Ventana Research's goal is to help guide and assess organizations to optimal efficiency in their use of technology investments for business and IT. To learn more about the Value Index for Financial Performance Management, please visit: www.ventanaresearch.com/FPMvalueindex/.

About Ventana ResearchVentana Research is the most authoritative and respected benchmark business technology research and advisory services firm. We provide insight and expert guidance on mainstream and disruptive technologies through a unique set of research-based offerings including benchmark research and technology evaluation assessments, education workshops and our research and advisory services, Ventana On-Demand. Our unparalleled understanding of the role of technology in optimizing business processes and performance and our best practices guidance are rooted in our rigorous research-based benchmarking of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions in every industry. This benchmark research plus our market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver education and expertise to our clients to increase the value they derive from technology investments while reducing time, cost and risk.

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To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations' use of information and technology through benchmark research, education and advisory services, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.