Enterprise Performance ManagementHigh tech and electronics (HTE) companies operate in fast-paced environments where decisions have to be made quickly. Yet these environments are also very complex: They span the globe, involve intricate networks of partners and suppliers, sell and market to many different markets, have short product life cycles, and deal in low margins. Keeping an organization running competitively in this environment is impossible without access to the right information at the right time. Solutions from Microsoft and its partners provide the tools and information required for business leaders to win in this chaotic environment: Improve visibility, communication, and collaboration throughout the business, including with trading partners| Business Challenge | Benefits |
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No business has a more complex value network than HTE. Companies in this business have engineering, manufacturing, sales, and marketing functions distributed worldwide. Business conditions can change overnight, requiring instant reaction. Overseas problems with manufacturing or supply chain members can have immediate and severely negative impacts on the business. Various business systems containing information about finance, product development, sales, or manufacturing may not even be able to communicate. | Microsoft and its partners provide measurement of the enterprise performance by pulling together information from disparate systems and aggregating it, then presenting it using familiar Microsoft Office tools. Using these familiar tools means that more people have access to the information at the right time. Enterprise performance management (EPM) helps create financial metrics that tie individual activities to overall work effectiveness and provides employees and partners with feedback on their roles in the bigger picture. Microsoft technologies provide scorecards and dashboards to immediately flag issues, wherever they occur in the enterprise. |
Make educated decisions on critical issues| Business Challenge | Benefits |
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Given the speed with which things change in the HTE world, critical issues arise every day and quick decisions are required. However, good decisions cannot be made without the right information. Without an understanding of the bigger picture, decision makers are just guessing. | Microsoft technologies can help bring the most pertinent information to decision makers. Drill-across, drill-down, and drill-to-detail capabilities help leaders understand root-cause issues and make the right decisions. Data visualization and analytics help users understand complex information fast, allowing for more nimble decision making. |
Act when conditions are changing| Business Challenge | Benefits |
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Managers can't react to what they don't know, and the speed with which conditions change in the HTE world almost guarantees that they'll be reacting too late. Perturbations in the supply chain, sudden changes in customer sentiment, and new disruptive technologies can all appear overnight, and leaders need to be notified so that they know when to act. | Microsoft solutions provide a mechanism for early notification of changing conditions. Dashboards, portals, real-time access to key performance indicators, and Microsoft Unified Communications all provide an early warning system. Presented with changing information in a familiar, easy-to-understand format, leaders can make decisions quickly and stay ahead of their competition in a fast-changing environment. |
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