After only 15 months on the market, Microsoft has decided to stop selling its business process management (BPM) software, PerformancePoint Server, as a stand-alone product. It will instead integrate BPM functions into SharePoint Server, reports Computerworld. Specifically, PerformancePoint Server 2007’s features will become available via client access licenses of the enterprise version of SharePoint Server, said Kurt DelBene, senior vice-president of Microsoft’s Office Business Group, in a statement on the company’s Web site.
Released in September 2007, PerformancePoint was to help managers budget, forecast, and measure profits and efficiency. It was intended to compete with BPM software from IBM, Oracle, SAP and SAS Institute as well as business intelligence wares and ERP vendors.
This server was lauded as a major part of Microsoft’s BI package which also included SQL Server 2008 and integration with Office 2007. PerformancePoint is the product based on Microsoft’s acquisition of ProClarity in 2006.
Microsoft doesn’t typically fold products like this. Its usual mode of operation is to launch, undercut established players on price, integrate its new product with its other popular wares, get its resellers to build custom add-ons and try to build momentum over several years. Whether the death of PerformancePoint is the new face of a Microsoft determined to grow leaner (and, possibly, meaner?), or whether this is a one-time anomaly, time will tell.
