Hyperion Solutions Corp, formed through the merger of Hyperion Software and Arbor Software earlier this year, yesterday announced the latest version of its analytical application software, Pillar 4, which the company said will provide users with greater forecasting, planning and budgeting facilities. The company used its European user conference in Amsterdam to launch the software, and focused on three key areas of improvement. The new modeling capabilities will enable companies to expand into more complex budgeting forecasts, Richard Clayton, director of product marketing, told ComputerWire. In particular, Clayton said it would allow organizations to integrate their compensation planning process (accounting for new staff salaries, bonuses and so on in next year’s forecast) into the budgeting system. Before, users had to fill in all the details in a standard spreadsheet then upload it to into Pillar, which was a time consuming and complicated process. But under the new system, the calculations are built into the Pillar application from scratch. The software also features new advanced trending and forecasting features. These are designed for companies that operate on a seasonal basis, such as those in the retail or transportation sector. Clayton said new predefined forecasting and trending facilities – percent change, linear growth and compound growth – will enable companies to quickly develop new forecasts based on historical data without having to carry out a lot of manual work, as was previously the case. By building the logic straight into the application, Pillar 4 automatically generates queries and calculates forecasts. The third area to be enhanced, process improvement and automation, is intended to automate and streamline the budgeting and/or planning process between corporate and remote line management. Now instead of an administrator having to manage the distribution and collection of budget forms, reports, templates etc out to remote managers, Pillar 4 does the whole process automatically. It also manages the calculation and consolidation process and schedules data import, export and printing. Clayton said the main benefit of the feature is that it reduces the time and cost spent managing the application and frees up time for the administrator to get on with analyzing and reporting. KPMG, Lawson Software and JD Edwards were some of the companies that came out at the conference to endorse the new software. Hyperion’s Pillar 4.0 is expected to ship before the end of November and will be available on Microsoft Windows 3.1, 95, 98, NT and Apple Macintosh environments. Pricing starts at $70,000 for 10 users.
