REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwire - March 18, 2010) - Host Analytics, the leading provider of cloud-based financial performance management solutions, today announced support for new research from Aberdeen Group that says best-in-class companies are requiring more flexibility in their budgeting and financial planning processes than that which is possible with spreadsheets. According to the report, "companies are realizing the limitations of static annual plans" and are moving to online tools that enable "continuous and dynamic" forecasting and scenario analysis.
"Our research indicates that 88% of all companies remain dependent on spreadsheets," said Cindy Jutras, vice president and research fellow at Aberdeen Group. "They are easy to use and nearly all staff members have some proficiency with them. However, leading companies are going beyond spreadsheets to online financial planning, budgeting, consolidation and reporting tools that dramatically enhance collaboration and promote fact-based decision making."
These findings are in line with research performed recently by Host Analytics. In a January 2010 study of over 600 finance execs, 60% indicated that "improved decision making" was their top priority, compared to only 13% who are primarily concerned with achieving better visibility into organizational performance. Host Analytics' award-winning online financial performance management systems let finance execs see the full implications of decisions -- both risk and reward -- before business plans are implemented.
"In these difficult economic times, companies need to be more agile than ever," said Ric Ratkowski, vice president of product strategy at Host Analytics. "From the Aberdeen research it's easy to see that static budgets managed by offline spreadsheets impede rather than improve the budgeting, planning and scenario analysis processes. Host Analytics' solutions are unique in their ability to facilitate iterative and continuous planning that is required by industry leaders."
The Aberdeen report, "Financial Planning, Budgeting, and Forecasting: Will the Economy Emerge? Will You?," was published this week and is co-sponsored by Host Analytics. Interested parties can download a free copy at this link. A pre-recorded webcast detailing the study and featuring Aberdeen analysts Cindy Jutras and Nasreen Quibria can be viewed here.
About Host Analytics
Host Analytics helps executives see the full implications of decisions -- both risk and reward. Our leading on-demand corporate performance management solution helps financial executives improve budgeting, forecasting, financial consolidations, dashboarding, scorecarding, reporting and analysis. Most importantly, it helps drive fact-based decisions based on sound financial justification. Host Analytics delivers its product suite using Software as a Service (SaaS) on-demand delivery to increase security while reducing cost and deployment time. Founded in 2000, Host Analytics serves enterprise, large, and midsize companies across industries, including industry-leading companies JP Morgan Chase, Procter & Gamble, Otis Spunkmeyer, Pitney Bowes, and Red Roof Inn. Host Analytics was included in JMP Securities' prestigious "Hot 100: The Best Privately Held Software Companies" and was the recipient of the Best of SaaS Showplace Award from market research firm THINKstrategies. For additional information, visit http://www.hostanalytics.com/ or call (314) 588‐2121.
© 2010 Host Analytics Incorporated. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Kevin Wolf
Host Analytics
650-327-1641