August 17, 2007 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q3 2007

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1 August 17, 2007 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q by Zach Thomas for Business Process And Applications Professionals Making Leaders Successful Every Day

2 Includes a Forrester Wave August 17, 2007 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Authoria, Softscape, And SuccessFactors Lead The Market by Zach Thomas with Paul Hamerman, Sharyn Leaver, and Elisse Gaynor EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Forrester evaluated leading integrated performance and compensation vendors across 95 criteria in a product evaluation and found that Authoria, Softscape, and SuccessFactors established early integrated performance and compensation leadership, thanks to their depth of functionality, heritage as performance vendors, and organically built products that are inherently integrated. Plateau Systems and SumTotal Systems are Strong Performers. Both augmented their learning management offerings by recently acquiring other pieces of the strategic human capital management (HCM) application suite, with some work ahead to complete integration road maps. Kenexa is a Strong Performer with a nice blend of services and software but lacks deep compensation functionality. Halogen Software is a Strong Performer targeted toward the midmarket; it has shown considerable traction despite its limited marketing and sales force. Oracle, Oracle s PeopleSoft, and SAP are Contenders that provide functional breadth that spans the strategic HCM footprint. But they only offer on-premise solutions and still have work ahead to build the depth and usability offered by the best-of-breed providers. TABLE OF CONTENTS Performance And Compensation Is The Linchpin Of Strategic HR The State Of The Market: Growing, Acquisitive, SaaS, On Demand Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions Evaluation Overview Functional Depth Trumps Process Coverage Breadth 14 Vendor Profiles Leaders Strong Performers Contenders 17 Supplemental Material NOTES & RESOURCES Forrester conducted survey-based evaluations, product demonstrations, interviews, and reference checks in May and June 2007, and interviewed nine vendor companies and 10 products: Authoria, Halogen Software, Kenexa, Oracle, Oracle s PeopleSoft, Plateau Systems, SAP, Softscape, SuccessFactors, and SumTotal Systems. Related Research Documents Learning And Talent Management Join Forces March 30, 2007 The Forrester Wave : Human Resource Management Systems, Q September 28, 2006 HR/HCM Applications: Strategic Processes Move To The Forefront January 23, , Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Forrester, Forrester Wave, RoleView, Technographics, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies. Forrester clients may make one attributed copy or slide of each figure contained herein. Additional reproduction is strictly prohibited. For additional reproduction rights and usage information, go to Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change. To purchase reprints of this document, please resourcecenter@forrester.com.

3 2 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q PERFORMANCE AND COMPENSATION IS THE LINCHPIN OF STRATEGIC HR Performance management and compensation solutions enable the measurement and alignment of individual and team goals to corporate goals. In addition, these strategic applications support career development, succession planning, and ultimately rewarding employees through pay-forperformance (see Figure 1). Each component taken separately has benefits. Proactive performance management drives higher productivity. Paper- or -driven performance review processes are dreaded by managers and HR, are rarely compliant, and are typically performed annually in conjunction with salary reviews. Automating this business process helps alleviate these problems, but the strategic impact allows managers to focus on actually improving employee and company performance rather than just focusing on the tactical aspects of the process. Goal alignment ensures that people are working on the right tasks. Organizations benefit by having employees focused on and accomplishing appropriate tasks aligned to corporate objectives. This is not possible without an automated, objectively aligned workforce and falls flat without an accompanying compensation component. Career development increases retention by providing opportunities. Employees are interested in opportunities to improve their job skills and advance along a career path into progressively higher-paying positions. Tools to measure competencies and define career paths are useful in helping employees develop their long-term goals and learn strategies. If such career development opportunities are not provided, employees will resort to looking outside of the organization. Succession planning protects critical (and noncritical) positions. Most firms are sunk, spinning, or severely disabled by sudden executive departures. But these visible departures are only the tip of the iceberg. A corporatewide and deep succession strategy that incorporates competencies, skills, and career development plans will mitigate flight risks at all levels of the organization. Compensation programs provide consistency and enforce compliance. A standalone compensation product enforces policy compliance, audits transactions, and manages the tactical aspects of administering pay. When combined with performance management, organizations are able to reward employees consistently based on their contributions to the success of the business. August 17, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

4 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Figure 1 Focusing In On Strategic HCM s Performance And Compensation Processes Planning and analysis Recruitment Learning management system (LMS) Performance Compensation Requisitions Sourcing Applicant tracking Onboarding Training administration Learning content management Online learning delivery Course catalog Learning reports Compliance Individual learning plans Goal management Performance appraisals Multirater appraisals (360) Succession planning Career planning Pay-for-performance Salary administration Market pricing Commission plans Pay-equity analysis Stock programs Competency management Competency libraries GAP analysis Skills assessment tools HRMS transaction system Source: Forrester Research, Inc. The Linchpin Requires An Integrated Approach Why is integration the key to strategic HCM? Because strategic business leaders within HR have lofty goals such as increasing retention, aligning employee tasks to business objectives, promoting top talent, managing subpar talent out, and ultimately implementing processes that have a direct and measurable effect on the bottom line. These savvy folks have come to realize that an integrated approach is necessary because: Competencies must be consistent across the suite. Well-defined corporate and job-specific competencies are the glue that binds performance, succession, and career development planning. In an integrated environment, employees can be assessed, promoted, and compensated based on the achievement and development of competencies that have been proven to affect bottom-line results. 2007, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 17, 2007

5 4 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Pay-for-performance must be embraced. Variable pay should reward the achievement of specific individual goals linked to corporate goals across the enterprise and not be reserved for sales and management roles. Performance and compensation integration (pay-for-performance) enables employers to direct and achieve corporate goals, promote positive turnover, and retain top talent by compensating preferred behaviors and results based on objective performance metrics. HR and business leaders must have a view into the organization. Siloed processes and products give business and HR leaders limited visibility into the enterprise. Without complete visibility, it is very difficult to assess the overall strengths and weaknesses of your workforce and potential gaps that will affect productivity, forecast future needs, and ultimately measure the bottom-line results of performance and compensation systems. THE STATE OF THE MARKET: GROWING, ACQUISITIVE, SaaS, ON DEMAND The HR product and services market is estimated to be a $13 billion market growing at a composite rate of 7%. Within this market, performance and compensation management is growing the fastest, at a rate of 2. 1 As with any growing market, vendors are competing fiercely to gain a foothold and are: Entering the market from different angles. The relative strength of product modules can many times be predicted based on a company s heritage. The end goal for vendors in this market is the same: to provide an integrated product suite that spans the strategic HCM footprint (see Figure 2). Struggling with build versus buy strategies. When making a build-versus-buy decision, vendors weigh things like time-to-market, market share, customer acquisition costs and benefits, and cost of integration, but, more importantly, buyers should understand the inherent benefits and risks of purchasing from vendors with a build or buy strategy. 2 Offering varied deployment options. HCM application customers have a choice of essentially three deployment options: on-premise, SaaS, and hosted. SaaS and hosted deployment options are used when the business process owner requires autonomy or reduced reliance on internal IT. For SaaS in particular, applications can generally be more rapidly deployed, proven through sandbox proof-of-concept projects prior to purchase; if the project goes south, process owners have more agility to move from one vendor to another. 3 August 17, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

6 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Figure 2 Vendors Enter The Market At All Angles Oracle Oracle s PeopleSoft SAP ERP vendors Learning vendors Plateau Systems SumTotal Systems Performance and compensation Kenexa Recruitment vendors Performance vendors Authoria Halogen Software SuccessFactors Softscape Source: Forrester Research, Inc. INTEGRATED PERFORMANCE AND COMPENSATION SOLUTIONS EVALUATION OVERVIEW To assess the state of the integrated performance and compensation solutions market and to see how the vendors stack up against each other, Forrester evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of top integrated performance and compensation solutions vendors. Criteria: Product, Strategy, And Market Presence After examining past research, user need assessments, and vendor and expert interviews, we developed a comprehensive set of evaluation criteria (see Figure 3). We evaluated vendors against approximately 95 criteria, which we grouped into three high-level buckets: Current offering. We evaluated the core performance and compensation business processes, as well as how well the processes were integrated. We also placed a good amount of emphasis on the usability and interoperability of the different modules, given the recent consolidation of these product offerings. Global support and customer experience criteria were also evaluated. Strategy. Within this category, we evaluated the vendors strengths and weaknesses in the areas of product vision, road map, alliances, midmarket appeal, commitment to R&D, and deployment options. A substantial amount of emphasis was placed on the SaaS model because we see the market trending in this direction and believe that it is in the best interest of customers and vendors to utilize this deployment option. Market presence. We evaluated each vendor s customer base, financial stability including revenue and revenue growth and total employees available to enhance the product and serve customers. 2007, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 17, 2007

7 6 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Figure 3 Evaluation Criteria CURRENT OFFERING Competency management Goal management Performance review process Career development planning Succession planning Compensation management Global support Usability Technology Customer experience STRATEGY Product strategy and vision Deployment options R&D Strategic alliances MARKET PRESENCE Customer base Revenue Revenue growth Employees How well does the product support competencies? How well does the product manage goals? How well does the product support performance review automation? How well does the product support career developmental planning? How well does the product support succession planning? How well does the product support compensation management processes? How well does the solution support multinational requirements? How easy is the product to use? How well does the solution compare across technology factors? How well does the vendor handle customer support? Does the vendor have a sound and well-defined product strategy and vision? What options does the vendor provide for deployment of the application? What is the vendor s commitment to R&D? How well does the vendor leverage strategic alliances? How large is the vendor s base of customers for this product and for all products? What was the vendor s revenue over the past four quarters? What was the vendor s year-over-year revenue growth over the past four quarters? How many engineers does the vendor have dedicated to this product? How big is the vendor s sales presence? Source: Forrester Research, Inc. August 17, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

8 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Demonstrated Integration Of Historically Siloed Processes Forrester included nine vendors and 10 products in the integrated performance and compensation solutions assessment (listed in alphabetical order): Authoria, Halogen Software, Kenexa, Oracle, Oracle s PeopleSoft, Plateau Systems, SAP, Softscape, SuccessFactors, and SumTotal Systems. Each of these vendors has (see Figure 4): Core performance and compensation processes integrated. Each of the vendors evaluated are able to show performance and compensation features integrated at the user interface (UI) level. Forrester did not attempt to evaluate integration at a deeper, technical level. Market presence. Vendors were required to have at least 40 total customers, with no less than 10 customers on each product module, and to generate at least $10 million annually from the product offering. Demonstrated appeal based on Forrester inquiry. Each of these vendors is the topic of a significant number of inquiries made by Forrester customers. FUNCTIONAL DEPTH TRUMPS PROCESS COVERAGE BREADTH The evaluation uncovered a market in which (see Figure 5): Aboriginal performance vendors fare best. Authoria, Softscape, and SuccessFactors were built from their performance management heritage and then organically augmented their offerings with compensation functionality to support pay-for-performance initiatives. The result is deeper product functionality and inherent integration capabilities (see Figure 6). Learning vendors provide strong performance and compensation solutions. SumTotal Systems and Plateau Systems bought performance and compensation products to complement their existing learning products. Their history in learning gives each vendor a leg up in career development planning, and they are good options for companies with a strong emphasis on integrating learning into their overall talent management strategy. Kenexa and Halogen Software prelude future market dynamics. Product differentiation follows three trends: 1) industry-specific applications; 2) market segmentation based on customer size; and 3) services complementary to the product. Halogen is the early leader in the midmarket and has been quietly adding customers at a good clip by offering a complete solution at a reasonable price (or value). With more than 50 Ph.D.s providing expert organizational consulting, Kenexa offers a compelling blend of products and services. ERPs provide process coverage but lack depth. Oracle, Oracle s PeopleSoft, and SAP provide complete integration and process coverage but lack best-of-breed depth, except in the area of compensation management (see Figure 7). We expect a renewed investment in this functional 2007, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 17, 2007

9 8 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q area through SAP s HCM enhancement road map and the ongoing development of Oracle Fusion Applications, but upgrade issues will persist for Oracle customers who are not on the latest release and SAP customers who are not using SAP ERP 6.0. In SAP ERP 6.0, the strategy of enhancement packs was introduced with the aim to minimize upgrade costs by providing the ability to add incremental change rather than full upgrades. This evaluation of the integrated performance and compensation market is intended to be a starting point only. Readers are encouraged to view detailed product evaluations and adapt the criteria weightings to fit their individual needs through the Forrester Wave Excel-based vendor comparison tool. Figure 4 Evaluated Vendors: Performance And Compensation Information And Selection Criteria Vendor Product evaluated Product version evaluated Version release date Authoria Authoria Performance Authoria Succession Authoria Salary Authoria Incentive December 2005 December 2005 December 2005 December 2005 Halogen Software eappraisal ecompensation esuccession January 2007 January 2007 January 2007 Kenexa Kenexa CareerTracker 4.6 November 2006 Oracle Performance Management (self-service HR) Compensation Workbench, Incentive Compensation January 2007 Oracle PeopleSoft PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM 9 December 2006 Plateau Systems Plateau Performance Plateau Compensation February 2006 February 2007 SAP SAP Performance Management SAP Enterprise Compensation Management 4 3 October 2005 October 2005 Softscape Softscape Apex 2007R1 May 2007 SuccessFactors Performance Management Compensation Management - September 2001 August 2004 SumTotal Systems TotalPerformance TotalCompensation June 2007 June 2007 Vendor selection criteria Each of the vendors evaluated are able to show performance and compensation features integrated at the user interface level. Vendors were required to have at least 40 total customers with no less than 10 customers on each product module and to generate $10 million annually from the product offering. Source: Forrester Research, Inc. August 17, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

10 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Figure 5 Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q3 07 Strong Risky Bets Contenders Strong Performers Leaders Market presence Softscape SuccessFactors SumTotal Systems Oracle Authoria SAP Plateau Oracle PeopleSoft Kenexa Systems Halogen Software Current offering Go online to download the Forrester Wave tool for more detailed product evaluations, feature comparisons, and customizable rankings. Weak Weak Strategy Strong Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 2007, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 17, 2007

11 10 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Figure 5 Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q3 07 (Cont.) Forrester s Weighting Authoria Halogen Software Kenexa Oracle Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau Systems SAP Softscape SuccessFactors SumTotal Systems CURRENT OFFERING Competency management Goal management Performance review process Career development planning Succession planning Compensation management Global support Usability Technology Customer experience 5 5% 5% 18% 8% 8% 18% 1 15% 5% STRATEGY Product strategy and vision Deployment options R&D Strategic alliances % 5% MARKET PRESENCE Customer base Revenue Revenue growth Employees 45% % All scores are based on a scale of 0 (weak) to 5 (strong). Source: Forrester Research, Inc. August 17, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

12 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Figure 6 Forrester Wave : Performance Solutions, Q3 07 Strong Current offering Risky Bets Contenders Strong Performers Softscape SumTotal Systems Kenexa SAP Oracle Oracle PeopleSoft Halogen Software Leaders SuccessFactors Plateau Systems Authoria Market presence Go online to download the Forrester Wave tool for more detailed product evaluations, feature comparisons, and customizable rankings. Weak Weak Strategy Strong Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 2007, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 17, 2007

13 12 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Figure 6 Forrester Wave : Performance Solutions, Q3 07 (Cont.) Forrester s Weighting Authoria Halogen Software Kenexa Oracle Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau Systems SAP Softscape SuccessFactors SumTotal Systems CURRENT OFFERING Competency management Goal management Performance review process Career development planning Succession planning Compensation management Global support Usability Technology Customer experience % 5% STRATEGY Product strategy and vision Deployment options R&D Strategic alliances % 5% MARKET PRESENCE Customer base Revenue Revenue growth Employees 45% % All scores are based on a scale of 0 (weak) to 5 (strong). Source: Forrester Research, Inc. August 17, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

14 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Figure 7 Forrester Wave : Compensation Solutions, Q3 07 Strong Risky Bets Contenders Strong Performers Leaders Market presence Current offering Softscape SuccessFactors Oracle Halogen SAP Software Authoria Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau Systems Kenexa SumTotal Systems Go online to download the Forrester Wave tool for more detailed product evaluations, feature comparisons, and customizable rankings. Weak Weak Strategy Strong Source: Forrester Research, Inc. 2007, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 17, 2007

15 14 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Figure 7 Forrester Wave : Compensation Solutions, Q3 07 (Cont.) Forrester s Weighting Authoria Halogen Software Kenexa Oracle Oracle PeopleSoft Plateau Systems SAP Softscape SuccessFactors SumTotal Systems CURRENT OFFERING Competency management Goal management Performance review process Career development planning Succession planning Compensation management Global support Usability Technology Customer experience % 5% STRATEGY Product strategy and vision Deployment options R&D Strategic alliances % 5% MARKET PRESENCE Customer base Revenue Revenue growth Employees 45% % All scores are based on a scale of 0 (weak) to 5 (strong). Source: Forrester Research, Inc. VENDOR PROFILES Leaders Authoria: a business model migrating to SaaS. In 1997, Authoria was founded to provide a Web-based employee benefits product. Since then, it has bought or built many pillars of strategic HCM, including recruiting, performance, and compensation. The latest shift in the business is from an on-demand and on-premise offering to a 10 SaaS offering. Authoria provides strong performance and compensation features across the suite, particularly in the areas of succession planning, and provides a very rich UI with embedded tutorials and wizards. The major drawback is that the solution is offered in English only, but the technology platform supports multiple languages, including multibyte, and additional languages will be added in the near future. This means that Authoria is a good choice for firms looking for strong performance and compensation capabilities, with recruiting on the short list of future application initiatives. 4 August 17, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

16 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q Softscape: the most complete process coverage for best-of-breed vendors. Softscape provides the most comprehensive coverage across the strategic and transactional HR process footprint, including recruiting, learning, performance management, and underlying HRMS functions. Softscape scored very well across the performance management components and was particularly strong in compensation management. The product is used globally by more than 2 million users, and reference customers gave high marks for usability. The one drawback was in the area of strategy, which, while not particularly bad, was guarded, and the vendor was unwilling to divulge the specifics to the market. 5 SuccessFactors: a SaaS thoroughbred. As the only pure-play SaaS offering, SuccessFactors provides strong functionality across the entire performance and compensation suite, has been implemented globally by large and small organizations, and has a clear product vision and strategy that includes the addition of recruiting, learning, and industry specialization. One drawback is usability, which is being addressed by NextLabs, SuccessFactors development group dedicated to innovation and customer experience. This means that SuccessFactors would be a good choice for firms that prefer SaaS and are looking to automate performance and compensation first in their journey toward strategic HCM integration. 6 Strong Performers Halogen Software: the midmarket leader. Halogen is the self-proclaimed leader focused on performance and compensation solutions for the midmarket. And its strategy is working, given the vendor s more than 1,000 customers, global reach, and company growth. Halogen s product provides strong support for automating the performance review and compensation process. The major drawback is that, as the customer base grows, the selected deployment options on demand or on-premise will pose extensive maintenance and support costs that may not scale with the software cost for the chosen midmarket; nevertheless, the vendor remains cash-flowpositive and profitable. This means that smaller companies looking to automate these processes should give Halogen a look. 7 Kenexa: a good blend of software and services. Kenexa is the largest pure-play HCM product and services company in this evaluation. Kenexa CareerTracker provides strong functionality for performance review automation of particular note is the elegant and simple UI and availability of in-house organizational development professionals. Major drawbacks include the lack of a comprehensive compensation offering and multilingual capabilities. This means that Kenexa CareerTracker is a good choice for firms looking to automate their performance review process and that require related process or content consulting. 8 Plateau Systems: not just a learning vendor anymore. Plateau s recent acquisition of Nuvosoft for compensation functionality clearly indicates that the company s intention is to become a dominant player in the strategic HCM market. A major drawback is that the Nuvosoft 2007, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 17, 2007

17 16 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q integration is still a work in progress. As a leading learning management provider, Plateau is well positioned to thrive in this market if it is able to integrate this and future acquisitions into its suite. Plateau is a good choice for companies that are either currently using the learning product or want to enter strategic HCM applications from a learning angle. 9 SumTotal Systems: acquiring the strategic HCM application suite. A rollup of sorts, SumTotal is the product of the 2003 merger of learning management vendors Docent and Click2learn. SumTotal stuck with a buy strategy as it entered the broader HCM marketplace in November 2006 with the acquisition of MindSolve Technologies for performance and compensation functionality. The product provides good career development planning and innovative performance review capabilities but lacks comprehensive compensation capabilities and has limited global capabilities. This means that current SumTotal customers or prospective customers with a learning bent looking to expand their footprint into performance and compensation would be well served by SumTotal. 10 Contenders Oracle: process breadth and strong compensation. In January 2007, Oracle released R12 of its Enterprise Business suite, which introduced many functional enhancements to objective management and the performance review process. E-Business Suite (EBS) provides process coverage for all components of strategic HCM and is particularly strong in the area of compensation management. A major drawback, however, is that Oracle lacks the depth of functionality when compared with best-of-breed providers in strategic HCM areas, including career development planning and succession planning. This means that Oracle is a good choice for Oracle shops that place an emphasis on integration across the product suite, compensation support, and global capabilities, and have a preference for on-premise deployment. 11 Oracle PeopleSoft: still developing but suited for legacy PeopleSoft shops. Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM 9 was released in December 2006 and provides process support for all components of strategic HCM. Core to this product offering is the concept of profiles, which can be created for jobs, roles, employees, or candidate records. This approach provides flexibility and ultimately enhanced analytics and will be a focus of future development efforts. A major drawback, however, is usability and functional depth when compared with best-of-breed vendors. This means that Oracle PeopleSoft HCM is a good choice for PeopleSoft shops that place an emphasis on integration across the product suite and global capabilities, and have a preference for on-premise deployment. 12 SAP: complete process coverage, especially for existing SAP shops. Many large, global organizations run SAP HCM as their human resource management system (HRMS) with success. SAP covers the process footprint for strategic HCM but lacks the depth and key functionalities that most HR business leaders expect. The product is strong in compensation management and organically integrates data across the suite. SAP continues to make significant investments in strategic HCM through its ERP 6 and A1S products and is a good choice for SAP shops with the patience to wait as these products mature and a preference for on-premise deployment. 13 August 17, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

18 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL Online Resource The online versions of Figures 5, 6, and 7 are Excel-based vendor comparison tools that provide detailed product evaluations and customizable rankings. Data Sources Used In This Forrester Wave Forrester used a combination of three data sources to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each solution: Vendor surveys. Forrester surveyed vendors on their capabilities as they relate to the evaluation criteria. Once we analyzed the completed vendor surveys, we conducted vendor calls where necessary to gather details of vendor qualifications. Product demos. We asked vendors to conduct demonstrations of their product s functionality. We used findings from these product demos to validate details of each vendor s product capabilities. Customer reference calls and surveys. To validate product and vendor qualifications, Forrester also conducted reference calls and surveys with three of each vendor s current customers. The Forrester Wave Methodology We conduct primary research to develop a list of vendors that meet our criteria to be evaluated in this market. From that initial pool of vendors, we then narrow our final list. We choose these vendors based on: 1) product fit, 2) customer success, and 3) Forrester client demand. We eliminate vendors that have limited customer references and products that don t fit the scope of our evaluation. After examining past research, user need assessments, and vendor and expert interviews, we develop the initial evaluation criteria. To evaluate the vendors and their products against our set of criteria, we gather details of product qualifications through a combination of lab evaluations, questionnaires, demos, and/or discussions with client references. We send evaluations to the vendors for their review, and we adjust the evaluations to provide the most accurate view of vendor offerings and strategies. We set default weightings to reflect our analysis of the needs of large user companies and/or other scenarios as outlined in the Forrester Wave document and then score the vendors based on a clearly defined scale. These default weightings are intended only as a starting point, and readers are encouraged to adapt the weightings to fit their individual needs through the Excel-based tool. The final scores generate the graphical depiction of the market based on current offering, strategy, and market presence. Forrester intends to update vendor evaluations regularly as product capabilities and vendor strategies evolve. 2007, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 17, 2007

19 18 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q ENDNOTES 1 Overall, this $3 billion software market based on licenses and SaaS subscription revenues is growing at a rate of 7%. Strategic applications, including performance/talent management and learning management systems (LMSes), are growing at robust rates of 2 and 11%, respectively, while the more mature core HRMS market is growing at a rate of 3%. See the January 23, 2006, HR/HCM Applications: Strategic Process Move to the Forefront report. 2 Customer benefits of a vendor build strategy include tight integration across the modules, a consistent UI and usability paradigms, and standardized technologies. Risks include an immature product, no proven customer base, and limited organic domain knowledge if entering a new market. Customer benefits of a vendor buy strategy include a more mature product; an existing customer base; and organic domain experience, assuming the employees of the acquired company are retained. Risks include loose integration across the modules, inconsistent UI and usability paradigms, and a lack of standard technologies across the suite. 3 SaaS and on-demand deployments are different, with differing inherent risks and benefits. SaaS is a shared code base and database across all customers and relies on configuration rather than customization for process-specific changes. On demand, on the other hand, is hosted by the vendor and supports both configuration and customization. This means that SaaS is a better option for firms that can stay within its configuration confines, given its reduced upgrade and implementation costs. On demand is a good option for firms with very unique processes that cannot be changed and must be supported via customization but comes with higher upfront costs and ongoing upgrade costs. 4 View the vendor summary for more detailed analysis on how Authoria fared in this evaluation. See the August 17, 2007, Authoria Ranks Among The Leaders In Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions report. 5 View the vendor summary for more detailed analysis on how Softscape fared in this evaluation. See the August 17, 2007, Softscape Is Among The Leaders For Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions report. 6 View the vendor summary for more detailed analysis on how SuccessFactors fared in this evaluation. See the August 17, 2007, SuccessFactors Leads Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions report. 7 View the vendor summary for more detailed analysis on how Halogen Systems fared in this evaluation. See the August 17, 2007, Halogen Is A Strong Performer For Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions report. 8 View the vendor summary for more detailed analysis on how Kenexa fared in this evaluation. See the August 17, 2007, Kenexa Is A Strong Performer For Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions report. 9 View the vendor summary for more detailed analysis on how Plateau Systems fared in this evaluation. See the August 17, 2007, Plateau Systems Is A Strong Performer For Performance And Compensation Solutions report. August 17, , Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

20 The Forrester Wave : Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions, Q View the vendor summary for more detailed analysis on how SumTotal Systems fared in this evaluation. See the August 17, 2007, SumTotal Is A Strong Performer For Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions report. 11 View the vendor summary for more detailed analysis on how Oracle E-Business Suite fared in this evaluation. See the August 17, 2007, Oracle EBS Is A Contender For Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions report. 12 View the vendor summary for more detailed analysis on how PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM fared in this evaluation. See the August 17, 2007, PeopleSoft HCM Is A Contender For Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions report. 13 View the vendor summary for more detailed analysis on how SAP fared in this evaluation. See the August 17, 2007, SAP Is A Contender For Integrated Performance And Compensation Solutions report. 2007, Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited August 17, 2007

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