Dresner’s annual EPM Market study puts Unit4 among the Credible Leaders in the space
Dresner Advisory Services 2023 “Wisdom of Crowds” market study for Enterprise Performance Management systems has just been released. It’s the 16th annual study of its kind and contains a huge amount of information and analysis on the category based on a global survey of enterprises of all sizes. It’s a must-read for users of this kind of software and its associated services.
Survey respondents represented span several geographies. North America accounts for the largest group, with 57 percent of all respondents. EMEA accounts for 27 percent and Asia Pacific for 14 percent (fig.1). Only 2 percent of respondents are from Latin America. 46% of respondents were from Finance, 19% from IT, and 15% from Exec management. Small to Mid-size organizations (0-1000) represented 45% of responses (more than 1000 55%.)
We’re very pleased to report that Unit4 has been ranked strongly against the competition, placing in the “Credibility Leader” category with a particularly strong showing for user recommendation, value, integrity, flexibility, and ease of integration and flexibility.
So what’s an EPM system?
According to the report:
“An enterprise performance management system is a key element of performance management. It allows an organization to plan for the impact of various internal and external factors on its future performance and business outcomes. This includes strategic, operational, and financial planning and forecasting. EPM systems also include reporting and analytics capabilities that allow organizations to set goals and objectives and monitor performance against those objectives, as well as satisfy many regulatory and statutory reporting requirements.
EPM systems can vary significantly in complexity and automation capabilities, from relatively straightforward spreadsheet replacements to sophisticated multi-user systems that support collaborative planning, provide a wide range of analytics and reporting capabilities.”
An EPM system is, therefore, an essential part of any organization’s operational success, particularly as projects become more complex, client and customer expectations rise, and profit margins become tighter.
The EPM market – key findings
The study offers rankings of enterprise performance management software vendors. Dresner rates vendors using 33 different criteria on a five-point scale for each. Criteria cover sales /acquisition experience (8 criteria), value for price paid (1), quality and usefulness of product (12), quality of technical support (5), quality and value of consulting services (5), whether the vendor is recommended (1), and integrity (1).
There has been a notable increase in the usage of enterprise performance management solutions, up to 62 percent from 54 percent in 2022. Usage is up most for mid-sized organizations (defined as those with between 100 and 1000 employees) and small organizations (under 100 employees) – which are up to 59% from 47% and 34% from 24%, respectively, when compared to last year.
This year marks yet another chapter in the story of EPM adoption across industry: just 4 years ago, in 2019, less than 40% of organizations used EPM. By 2023, this number has jumped by over 33%, with more than 75% of organizations that have adopted rate as extremely successful or very successful.
What’s more, nearly 83% of organizations rate EPM as critical, very important, or important to their success.
How does Unit4 compare?
Out of the 16 vendors profiled by the study, Unit4 is Overall Leader in both the Customer Experience Model and Vendor Credibility Model. It maintains a perfect recommend score. Our solution remains generally in line with the overall sample for most measures, with improvements in overall value, product/technology, consulting, and integrity.
Ready to learn more?
To learn more about the EPM market in 2023 – and how Unit4 compares to the competition – download a full copy of the report here.
