Dresner Advisory Services Publishes 2nd Annual Wisdom of Crowds Enterprise Planning Market Study

NASHUA, NH--(Marketwired - Jun 29, 2016) -  Dresner Advisory Services today published the 2016 Wisdom of Crowds® Enterprise Planning Market Study, its annual assessment of the enterprise planning market. Enterprise planning is defined as the systems and software deployed for the planning of the internal and external factors that affect an enterprise, including strategic, operational, and financial planning.

For the annual study, enterprise planning users contributed their opinion on many topics related to their current and planned usage, and were asked to prioritize strategic planning technologies and initiatives. The 2016 study tracked 18 initiatives and technologies, including revenue/demand planning, rolling forecasts, workforce/staff planning, capital asset planning, and others.

According to the 2016 study, enterprise adoption rates are relatively stable year over year, with finance departments in all organization sizes, and large organizations overall, the most likely current users. Perceived criticality of enterprise planning also declined 5 percent, while measures of "very important" and "important" improved slightly, indicating lower urgency that may be related to economic cycles.

"While we see adoption relatively unchanged from the previous year, over time the functional use of enterprise planning is in a fairly stable state," said Howard Dresner, founder and chief research officer at Dresner Advisory Services. "Not surprisingly, finance, with its many cyclical reporting obligations, is the leading functional use of enterprise planning in organizations today with close to 70 percent of 2016 finance respondents claiming current use. Operations, sensitive to continuity and business dynamics, is the second most frequent user at 42 percent, closely followed by strategic planning, sales, IT, and human resources."

The 2016 report also examined enterprise planning supplier trends around strategic, financial, and operational planning, as well as architectural features. The study finds that current industry products fully address most common feature requirements.

The annual Wisdom of Crowds Enterprise Planning Market Study is based on data collected on usage and deployment trends, products, and vendors. Enterprise planning users in all roles and throughout all industries contributed to provide a complete view of realities, plans, and perceptions of the market. To purchase a copy of this year's report, visit www.enterpriseplanningreport.com. 

About Dresner Advisory Services
Dresner Advisory Services was formed by Howard Dresner, an independent analyst, author, lecturer, and business adviser. Dresner Advisory Services, LLC focuses on creating and sharing thought leadership for Business Intelligence (BI) and related areas.