Enterprise Incentive Management in an On-Demand

Enterprise Incentive Management
in an On-Demand Secure
Environment
Executive Summary
Every organization should be able to leverage industry-leading Enterprise Incentive Management (EIM)
technology to directly link company sales strategy to day-to-day and quarter-to-quarter incentive
compensation execution. EIM improves agility and responsiveness to change, helps organizations attract and
retain top talent, and ultimately promotes increased shareholder value. In many situations, an on-demand
(hosted) EIM solution is a good alternative to an enterprise-deployed EIM solution.
On-demand EIM serves organizations’ needs in a number of ways:
■
Reduction of the initial EIM investment because there is no software or hardware to buy
■
Rapid return on investment (ROI) due to short implementation times and swift user adoption
■
Transformation of a capital expense into a periodic business expense
■
Redeployment of existing resources to address company core competencies
■
Access to resources with deep specialty EIM knowledge and skills
■
Increased efficiencies, lower operating costs and improved cost-control
Responding to the needs of mid- to large-sized companies and enterprise business units, the Callidus
Software® EIM experts have developed Callidus On-Demand Solutions to extend world-class EIM to
organizations at a lower cost-of-entry point. Callidus On-Demand Solutions offer the power of the entire
Callidus Software TrueComp® EIM Suite within a subscription-based, on-demand framework.
Callidus On-Demand Solutions provide flexibility, efficiency, cost savings, security and reliability. Customers
receive scalable, high-availability, top-performance Grid computing technology within the acclaimed
TrueComp architecture. Upgrades and maintenance, entirely transparent to end users, occur via automatic
distributions. Organizations can enhance their on-demand EIM systems with additional products from the
TrueComp Suite.
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Contents
Executive Summary .........................................................................................................2
Overview ..........................................................................................................................4
A Good Alternative to Enterprise Deployment .............................................................4
EIM’s Suitability for On-Demand Environments ...............................................................................................4
Benefits of Using On-Demand EIM Services ....................................................................................................4
Callidus On-Demand Solutions ......................................................................................6
Service Levels and Options .............................................................................................................................6
Use of Additional Products in the TrueComp Suite..........................................................................................8
Optional Training ..........................................................................................................................................8
Ownership of Data.........................................................................................................................................8
Advantages of Choosing Callidus On-Demand Solutions for EIM ..............................8
Grid Computing: Power, Agility and Accuracy ...............................................................................................9
Proven TrueComp Architecture ......................................................................................................................9
Efficiency and Flexibility for Long-Term Success ............................................................................................10
Upgrades and Maintenance from the EIM Experts ........................................................................................10
Maximum Security and Reliability .................................................................................................................10
On-Demand: Capturing the Value of EIM ...................................................................11
About Callidus Software ...............................................................................................11
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Overview
Enterprise Incentive Management (EIM) technology enables organizations to effectively align sales, channel
and other constituents to carry out corporate strategy, thus improving business performance. Whether
an EIM solution is hosted or deployed within the enterprise, EIM delivers the same tremendous value by
combining sales performance data and best-of-breed technology to increase productivity and drive business
results.
For the purposes of this Callidus Software white paper, “on-demand” refers to software that is hosted in an
off-premise environment. This white paper covers three main topics:
■
On-demand EIM as an alternative to enterprise deployment
■
On-demand solutions that Callidus Software provides
■
Advantages of choosing Callidus On-Demand Solutions for EIM
A Good Alternative to Enterprise Deployment
Both on-demand and enterprise-deployed EIM solutions have numerous advantages, and the decision to
choose one or the other depends on an organization’s business and technology requirements and resources.
In general, the business value of on-demand environments lies in serving specific needs by moving some or all
EIM functions traditionally done on-premise into a setting managed by the provider. EIM is a good candidate
for on-demand arrangements, and as such it offers considerable benefits.
EIM’s Suitability for On-Demand Environments
While the use of application service providers (ASPs), software hosting and business process outsourcing
(BPO) is becoming increasingly popular, organizations are finding that some business processes are more
suitable for an on-demand environment than others.
EIM is a business process that lends itself quite well to on-demand services, whether these cover all EIM
functions or apply to a specific portion of a process such as technical operations. EIM’s technology structure
and the function it serves within the enterprise make it an excellent candidate for an on-demand, off-premise
implementation.
Management of an entire EIM system is usually not core to an organization’s strategy. Although
compensation information is critical corporate intellectual property, the infrastructure, procedures and
resources required to accurately process data within the compensation system is not often an area of
chosen, internal expertise—nor is it necessary for profitable EIM. Therefore, partnering with an organization
dedicated and trained to operate EIM systems is an attractive alternative.
Benefits of Using On-Demand EIM Services
Although the EIM solution itself is the same in both cases, an on-demand EIM environment introduces certain
advantages not inherent in an EIM environment established on-premise. The impact depends on an individual
organization’s business needs and its information technology (IT) infrastructure and resources.
In general, premise-based solutions provide maximum flexibility and control. However, the following benefits
of using an on-demand environment can be quite significant for some organizations.
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Reduction of the initial investment in EIM: For a company first beginning to use EIM, on-demand, offpremise solutions require a much smaller capital investment, fewer resources and a significant decrease in the
number of individuals needed to operate the system. There is no need to purchase a hardware infrastructure,
software and supporting software, or secure the headcount to manage and operate it. There is very little to
do up front when a company is “leasing” — not “buying” — EIM.
Fast deployment, swift user adoption and rapid return on investment (ROI): Implementation times
for on-demand solutions are faster than for on-premise solutions, often resulting in lower costs as well.
Equipment procurement cycles and implementation training sessions, both of which are priorities with
enterprise deployments but unnecessary for on-demand solutions, lengthen lead times. In addition, ondemand deployments only require that an implementation team be on site for the initial assessment and
design, then later for deployment and any training—thus limiting travel time and the related costs. Faster
deployment means faster adoption by users and more rapid ROI. When time is measured from the decision to
move forward with EIM to the point when an organization begins to realize ROI, the timeframe is shorter for
on-demand solutions than for enterprise-deployed solutions.
Transformation of a capital expense into a periodic business expense: On-demand arrangements
enable an organization to take a capital cost for a fixed asset and convert that cost into a more flexible,
periodic business expense. Because no lump sum of capital is required, there is no internal approval process
involved in securing it. Periodic charges can come out of a company’s operating expense budget instead. The
prospect of leasing instead of buying an infrastructure and resources can be important for companies that
prefer not to make investments in these areas.
Redeployment of internal resources for focusing on company core competencies: It is common
knowledge that IT is a cost center, not a revenue center, and that today’s IT departments are frequently
plagued by increasing demands and decreasing budgets. On-demand EIM eliminates the burden on internal
IT staff when equipment maintenance and system operations are outsourced to the company providing the
service. Increased availability of resources also extends beyond IT to compensation administration business
operations if a company chooses to engage on-demand services at that level.
Access to additional resources with specialty knowledge and abilities: Organizations choosing an
on-demand solution automatically receive access to talented, experienced EIM resources. This new capacity
in the form of EIM expertise introduces proficiencies on the IT side and — if needed — on the compensation
administration side as well. The availability of supplementary expertise adds significant value, and on-demand
EIM vendors generally have a repository of experienced resources.
Increased efficiencies, reduced operating costs and greater cost-control: When companies place
a process under the control of an outside vendor, there is potential for executive management to have
increased leverage for requiring efficiency improvements on the part of contributors to that process. The
result is a tightening of processes that lowers overall costs.
Elimination of resource time and expenses for maintenance and upgrades: Responsibility for system
maintenance, operations and software upgrades resides with the EIM vendor. Therefore, all direct costs
ordinarily associated with these processes become savings going directly to the customer’s bottom line. All IT
resources normally assigned to these activities are free to pursue other tasks.
Clearly, on-demand EIM arrangements have much to offer. As described in the next section, the industryleading Callidus On-Demand Solutions add to the benefits because they are tailored with convenience and
flexibility in mind.
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Callidus On-Demand Solutions
The best on-demand offerings enable organizations to choose the services and additional products that best
suit their business needs and resource availability. Within Callidus On-Demand Solutions, Callidus Software
offers two different EIM service levels along with two options that boost profitability. Organizations can also
integrate additional EIM products from the TrueComp Suite if they wish.
Service Levels and Options
Callidus On-Demand Solutions customers can select either a Technical Operations or a Business Operations
service level. The Workflow Solutions option and Analytics option augment standard services. Table 1
provides an at-a-glance overview of these offerings.
Callidus
On-Demand Solutions
Service Levels
Hardware, Software and Services Included
Current version of TrueComp Manager™ and TrueInformation® software
Physical environment (data center, power, back up generators, air conditioning,
physical security)
Hardware (database, application and HTTP servers)
Software (operating system, relational database management system [RDMS]
and application server software)
Telecommunications and firewall
Technical Operations
Monitoring and management for network operations, server operations,
storage operations and backup operations
Firewall management
Intrusion detection and prevention
Job execution
Database administration
Application performance monitoring and management and application security
Software and implementation defect resolution
Business continuity and disaster recovery services
End-to-end compensation plan operations
(transaction processing, assigning credits, reporting and all other operations)
Reference data management
Balancing and reconciliation
Business Operations
Compensation plan maintenance
Integration process maintenance
Reporting process maintenance
Research and adjustments
System testing
Change management
Current version of TrueResolution® software
Workflow Solutions
Option
(Requires Technical Operations or
Business Operations)
Payee support
Dispute resolution and reporting
Payee communications and training
Data management
Analytics Option
(Requires Technical Operations or
Business Operations)
Current version of Callidus TrueAnalytics™ software
Executive operational analysis
Executive reporting
Table 1: Callidus On-Demand Solutions Service Levels and Options
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Technical Operations: This service level includes
the infrastructure, infrastructure operations and
Callidus Software application operations layers
required for EIM. Technical Operations covers
everything an organization normally expects an
IT department to handle, such as buying and
managing the machines and software, the technical
aspect of integrating with existing databases and
servers to access and aggregate data, and managing
the EIM technology as a whole.
Technical Operations Service Level
Customer Environment
Callidus Data Center
Field Payees
INTERNET
IT Operations
Web Server
Database
TrueComp Manager™
and TrueInformation®
Software
VPN
Organizations selecting the Technical Operations
service level receive the following:
■
Compensation
Administration
The most recent version of TrueComp
Manager™ and TrueInformation® software
TrueComp Grid™ Computing Architecture
■
All hardware and software required to build
the infrastructure that supports TrueComp
technology
■
All resources needed to operate the infrastructure
■
All resources required to administer and manage TrueComp applications
(Callidus Software specialists)
Business Operations: This service level provides
all the benefits of Technical Operations and adds
business operations to it. With the Business
Operations service level, Callidus Software
performs all the tasks involved in establishing,
running and managing the organization’s
TrueComp EIM system.
Data Sources
Customer Legacy Systems
Business Operations Service Level
Customer Environment
Callidus Data Center
Compensation
Administration
Callidus Software Trained Analysts
Web Server
INTERNET
Field Payees
The Business Operations service level includes
operational services such as creating a
compensation plan, validating and importing
data, running the pipeline to process
compensation, and reporting. In addition, Business
Operations covers plan and process maintenance,
testing, plan modifications and much more.
Companies selecting this service level do not
need to hire and train a compensation analyst or
compensation administration team to design and
run the system. Callidus Software’s compensation
professionals bring their own expertise to bear on the
customer’s system.
IT Operations
Database
TrueComp Manager™
and TrueInformation®
Software
VPN
TrueComp Grid™ Computing Architecture
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Data Sources
Customer Legacy Systems
Workflow Solutions option: Customers can add payee administration through the Workflow Solutions
option. Using expertly crafted standard workflows, TrueResolution® software automates the resolution of
compensation credit disputes and can automatically resolve and close more than 80 percent of disputes
with 100 percent accuracy. So users can leverage TrueResolution software’s capabilities with confidence, the
Workflow Solutions option includes a choice of the Payee Self-Service or Data Management solution.
Analytics option: Customers can add valuable analytics and reporting capabilities with the Analytics option,
which uses Callidus TrueAnalytics™ software to boost EIM results with advanced analysis and monitoring of
sales incentive performance. Role-based, personalized analytics dashboards, ad-hoc querying and reporting,
and “what-if” scenario building are just a few of the advantages that come with the Analytics option.
Use of Additional Products in the TrueComp Suite
An on-demand EIM solution from Callidus Software begins with TrueComp Manager and TrueInformation
software as its foundation, and the TrueResolution and Callidus TrueAnalytics applications are available
as options. However, organizations using Callidus On-Demand Solutions are in no way limited to this EIM
framework. The on-demand offering extends to every current and future product in the TrueComp Suite
so companies can benefit from Callidus Software’s full range of EIM solutions today and as new solutions
are developed tomorrow. Customers have the option to include product customizations, industry-specific
solutions and additional offerings as they emerge.
Optional Training
Callidus Software provides training for system operations. Clients are encouraged to take additional Callidus
Software-certified courseware based on the level of service selected.
Ownership of Data
In an on-demand arrangement, the customer owns the transaction, reference and report data. This includes
all transactional data captured by the TrueComp EIM system. Callidus Software owns all the intellectual
property it uses to configure the solution according to the customer’s integration, compensation plan and
reporting requirements.
The structure of Callidus Software’s on-demand services gives customers autonomy and convenience. As seen
in the next section, these services also provide distinct advantages compared to other EIM vendors offering
hosted solutions.
Advantages of Choosing Callidus On-Demand Solutions
for EIM
Callidus Software stands head and shoulders above the competition when it comes to on-demand EIM:
■
Powerful Grid computing technology in a on-demand environment — unique in any industry
■
Proven TrueComp architecture for comprehensive, extensible EIM
■
Efficiency and flexibility within an end-to-end solution for long-term success
■
Industry-leading service, maintenance and upgrades from the experts in EIM
■
Security and reliability from the Sun™ Grid Compute Utility
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Grid Computing: Power, Agility and Accuracy
Rules-based Grid computing is the optimal technology choice for EIM because it addresses the performance,
scalability and flexibility demands that distinguish EIM from other enterprise systems. Having refined Grid
computing technology for EIM, Callidus Software is the only company offering Grid computing within an
on-demand EIM environment. Organizations choosing Callidus Software EIM—whether on-demand or
enterprise-deployed—immediately benefit from Grid computing’s number-crunching power to calculate
complex compensation rewards with speed and accuracy.
Proven TrueComp Architecture
Callidus Software’s widely acclaimed TrueComp architecture is comprised of a set of modules working
together to deliver an end-to-end EIM solution. Callidus On-Demand Solutions include all the elements
of industry-leading EIM, using the same basic components included with a Callidus Software enterprisedeployed solution. On-demand customers receive a full featured version, not a condensed or scaled-down
version, of TrueComp EIM.
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TrueComp Technology: User-Friendly EIM Engineered for Optimal Performance
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Efficiency and Flexibility for Long-Term Success
Other vendors offering hosted EIM solutions might promise extremely short implementation times. However,
an unusually rapid implementation can mean the application does not possess the robust functionality
required. Callidus Software’s On-Demand implementations are comprehensive, and they establish a
framework for an organization to leverage every feature and customization it needs. This ensures system
efficiency, flexibility and consistent, ongoing results from EIM.
Upgrades and Maintenance from the EIM Experts
Callidus Software upgrades its on-demand customers as new releases come available. Upgrades, service and
maintenance are all performed by Callidus Software specialists, assuring access to new functionality in a
timely fashion. On-demand solutions make it even easier than enterprise-deployed solutions to begin using
the upgraded features and functions of all the product lines.
In addition, the years of expertise accumulated by the Callidus Professional Services team give on-demand
customers the confidence that their implementations will function with maximum efficiency and any
concerns will be resolved quickly. Customers choosing the Business Operations service level also benefit from
the expertise of Callidus Software’s compensation professionals.
Maximum Security and Reliability
Callidus On-Demand Solutions maximize the convenience, security and reliability of the on-demand
environment and ensure high availability. The result of a partnership between Callidus Software and Sun
Microsystems, the on-demand physical environment is established at a dedicated Sun Grid Compute Utility
location that provides state-of-the-art Grid computing.
Callidus On-Demand Solutions run on the newest and most reliable Sun equipment, third party software and
data center services:
■
The facility is fully compliant with the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 70, Service Organizations
(SAS 70).
■
The facility provides 24x7 data security measures that guard software and data with continuous
monitoring, firewall maintenance, nonstop virus scanning and more.
■
The on-demand infrastructure ensures full system redundancy while providing safety features such as
temperature control, smoke detection, fire suppression and continuous power measures.
■
The infrastructure supports a high level of security and availability by providing a single tenanted
instance for each customer.
■
Physical security includes card access, video monitors and round-the-clock security personnel.
■
Callidus Software provides secure virtual private network (VPN) access and/or private communication
circuit access to the facility.
■
Sign-on security is managed by the customer’s existing network security, such as Lightweight
Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and Active Directory® directory service.
■
Callidus Software and the customer manage access rights to the TrueComp application suite.
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On-Demand: Capturing the Value of EIM
Because EIM lends itself to an on-demand model, Callidus Software is bringing its superior EIM technology
to the market as a comprehensive on-demand solution. With Callidus On-Demand Solutions, every company
has the opportunity to leverage the productivity-enhancing features of EIM. Whether they choose an
on-demand or premise-based solution from Callidus Software, customers gain access to identical
applications, features and business benefits.
Callidus On-Demand Solutions deliver industry-leading on-demand EIM according to the specific service
levels, options and customizations an organization might require. Selecting Callidus On-Demand Solutions is
an excellent way to capitalize on EIM, an indispensable strategic tool for increasing shareholder value.
About Callidus Software
Founded in 1996, Callidus Software Inc. (www.callidussoftware.com) is a leading EIM provider to global
companies across multiple industries. Callidus Software’s EIM systems allow enterprises to develop and
manage incentive compensation linked to the achievement of strategic business objectives. Through its
TrueComp Grid™ architecture, Callidus Software delivers the industry’s only EIM solution that combines
the power and scalability of grid computing with the flexibility of a rules-based interface. Customers/
partners include AOL Time Warner Corporation, AT&T Wireless, BMC Software, CUNA Mutual, IBM, SBC
Communications and Sun Microsystems. Callidus Software is publicly traded on the NASDAQ under the
symbol CALD.
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© 1998-2006 Callidus Software Inc. All rights reserved. Callidus Software, the Callidus Software logo, Callidus TrueAnalytics, TrueChannel, TrueComp, TrueComp Datamart,
TrueComp Grid, TrueComp Manager, TrueInformation, TrueIntegration, TruePerformance, TrueReferral, TrueResolution, TrueService and TrueSupport are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Callidus Software Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other brand, service or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
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