Planview First to Gain Gold Award in All Seven Areas of the Office Of Government Commerce Approved Evaluation

Austin, TX (PRWEB) May 30, 2007-- Planview, a leading provider of comprehensive IT portfolio management solutions, is the first to gain Gold level accreditation in all 7 areas for its product, Planview Enterprise, against the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) guidelines for business change management. These guidelines were set up to encourage best practice in public sector programmes and projects and so improve the quality, success rate and value for money they deliver. To gain the award, Planview Enterprise went through a rigorous, OGC-approved evaluation process devised and carried out by an independent non-government organisation, APM Group.

Richard Pharro, managing director, APMG said, “The scheme involves a tool being reviewed against OGC's Core Business Change Guidance which incorporates 7 elements - Benefits Management, Portfolio Managements, Risk Management, Project Management, Programme Management, Requirements Management and Strategic Management. Planview is the first tool to be awarded gold that relates to all seven elements, and is consistent with them. APMG congratulates them on this significant achievement.”

Such ready-verified solutions can ease public sector decision making and speed up the procurement and implementation process so that the resultant benefits are realised much more quickly.

A strategic MOD Directorate, the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC), has already recognised the advantages of Planview Enterprise, which was implemented to support business processes introduced to improve its planning, decision making and output delivery. Lieutenant Commander JH Reed Royal Navy, Staff Officer Plans at the DCDC, says: “With an eye to the future, we decided to look for a reputable and reliable, off-the-shelf commercial IT portfolio management solution to support our new business processes and it was reassuring to know that Planview Enterprise was fully aligned to the principles of the OGC’s operational guidance for business change. Since implementation, the product has proved a wise investment, making a significant contribution to efficient output delivery and offering excellent value for money. The public sector must never forget that the spending of taxpayers' money comes with the responsibility to exploit modern and effective business practices in order to maximize return. Portfolio Management does exactly that and, following the success at the DCDC, Planview is set to provide real visibility and coherence in delivering the UK Defence Acquisition Programme”

Planview Enterprise was put through a rigorous evaluation process by APM Group. The initial stages, leading to Bronze and Silver accreditation, examined product features to establish that Planview Enterprise is aligned to and consistent with the full principles of OGC operational guidance. The Bronze assessment involved an assessor spending a whole day with Planview and the Silver assessment was conducted during a two-day visit. To gain Gold accreditation, representatives from APM Group carried out comprehensive interviews with two Planview customers - one of which was the MOD - to check that the functionality and usability of the solution matches the claims made for it.

Planview Enterprise is a comprehensive solution that fulfills requirements in all the areas of business change management covered during the APM Group assessments. These include benefits management, portfolio management, risk management, project management, programme management, requirements management and strategic management.

Greg Jarvis, Northern Region General Manager at Planview concludes: “We are proud to be the first company to receive this Gold Award. It provides clients with independent verification of the comprehensive capability of Planview Enterprise, and confirms the solution’s suitability to support best practice within the public sector.”

A copy of the full APM Group report on Planview Enterprise can be downloaded from http://www.planview.eu/ogcgold/index.asp.

About Planview
Since 1989, Planview has been a market leader and trusted partner in providing comprehensive portfolio management solutions. Planview Enterprise®, the company's leading performance management platform, combines project and portfolio management software with adaptive best practices, Planview PRISMS®, to provide unprecedented visibility of total IT spend. By integrating the business process management of strategies, services, and projects within a single, Web-based solution, Planview empowers organisations to achieve greater levels of control over their ever-changing environment by dynamically managing money, resources, and capacities. Industry leaders such as Citigroup, Reuters, EDF and the Allianz, partner with Planview to achieve their strategic business goals.

Planview has its headquarters in Austin Texas, with offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific, Planview supports more than 500 customers in virtually every industry. Planview is privately held and has been profitable for over a decade.

For more information please contact Cliff Sutton, Marketing Manager Northern Europe
Planview UK Ltd
csutton @ planview.co.uk
Switchboard: +44 (0)118 963 7716
Direct Line: +44 (0) 118 963 7722
www.planview.co.uk

###