PPM Software Playing Key Role In Enterprise IT Mgmt: IDC

According to a new IDC White Paper*, successful organisations worldwide are leveraging project and portfolio management (PPM) software to significantly increase efficiencies, cut costs and drive revenue. The white paper was sponsored by CA.

The companies surveyed realised a 557 percent return on their investment based on a three-year RoI analysis. The PPM solutions showed a return of $5.57 for every dollar invested and paid back the initial investment in just 7.4 months after the deployment was complete. Respondents cited the following changes to their business:

- The number of redundant projects decreased by 78 percent

- Project failure rates decreased by 59 percent

- Cost per project fell by 37 percent

- The time to market for revenue-generating initiatives dropped by 33 percent

“Whether mired in a difficult economy or thriving in prosperous times, organisations continue to gain measurable business benefits from project and portfolio management,” said Randy Perry, vice president, Business Value Consulting, IDC. “From reducing IT project failures, to keeping programmes on budget, PPM software is playing a key role in organisations’ enterprise IT management and governance strategies.”

IDC’s extensive research on PPM systems was validated by in-depth interviews with 13 companies that have had PPM installed for at least six months. In addition to gaining qualitative information, IDC walked each respondent through a series of scenarios to quantify the changes in the IT organisation since the PPM deployment. To acquire quantitative information, IDC focused on each customer’s experience with regard to PPM benefits. The companies surveyed all use PPM solutions from leading vendors, are from major geographical markets, and represent a variety of industries, maturity levels and sizes.

Helge Scheil, corporate senior vice president and general manager, CA Clarity PPM Business Unit, said, “For those organisations not yet leveraging PPM, they need a solid RoI to justify the purchase. This report makes it easy for them to build the business case for buying a PPM solution such as our CA Clarity PPM.”

* IDC White Paper sponsored by CA, “‘How Project and Portfolio Management Solutions Are Delivering Value to Organisations,” Doc # 213980, September 2008