An enterprise performance management (EPM) system represents 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.
EPM is heavy on analytics and closely related to business intelligence (BI). The relationship between the two is neatly summed up as follows:
“The goal of BI is to provide insight, while the goal of EPM is to link the insight provided by BI to the planning and control cycles of the enterprise, which deliver tangible action and, consequently, business value.”
Howard Dresner, The Performance Management Revolution, 2007