The webinar discussed moving budgeting and forecasting to the cloud using applications like Host Analytics. It highlighted challenges like disconnected spreadsheets and the benefits of cloud-based solutions, including collaboration and automating processes. Representatives from iBusiness Solutions and Host Analytics then explained their companies' roles in helping clients capture, manage and analyze financial data in the cloud.

1. Budgeting and Forecasting in the Cloud
Live webinar presented by
iBusiness Solutions & Host Analytics
iBusiness Solutions, Inc.
7300 Metro Blvd, Suite 590
Edina, MN 55439
www.ibusiness-solutions.biz

2. Today’s Session
 Using cloud-based applications to capture, manage and analyze financial data
 Applying best practices to cloud-based technology
 Leveraging industry best practices to automate budgeting and planning and enable
forecasting, dashboarding, scorecarding and more
 Moving away from disconnected spreadsheets
 Introduction to Host Analytics, the industry's first cloud-based corporate performance
management (CPM) suite
 Use cases for cloud-based financial budgeting, planning and reporting
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3. Today’s Speakers
Timothy Brands, CEO – iBusiness Solutions
 Founder and Chief Executive Officer of iBusiness Solutions
 Created The intelligent Business ProgramTM, a package of tools,
techniques, best practices, and best-in-class examples for creating
innovative technology-based solutions to help organization
communicate what has happened, influence what is happening,
and anticipate what will happen next.
Keri Brooke, VP Marketing – Host Analytics
 Keri manages Host Analytics’ marketing activities. She oversees
product marketing, brand management, market strategy, lead
generation, public relations, and analyst relations.
 Keri comes to Host Analytics with 15 years in the CPM space. She
started in Consulting Services management in Hyperion UK, moved
into product marketing in 1998 and made a move to the Hyperion US
HQ in 2000.
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4. The intelligent BusinessTM
Using cloud-based technologies to capture, manage, and analyze data
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5. Challenges remain the same
 Moving to Cloud-based budgeting and planning requires
 Discipline
 A plan
 A strategy
 Collaboration of all affected parties
 Top-down approach
 Clear goals and objectives
 Defined outcomes
 Technology alone cannot solve strategy-related problems
 Garbage in will always = Garbage out
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6. iBusiness Solutions, Inc. www.ibusiness-solutions.biz. Copyright. All rights reserved. 6

7. The Vision ExpanderTM
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8. The Strategic NavigatorTM
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9. The Data TransformerTM
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10. The Business Hierarchy ModelTM
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11. The Technology AcceleratorsTM
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12. What’s Wrong With Spreadsheets?
 Not built for a process
 Prone to error
 Not built for collaboration
 Unstructured documentation
 Invisible dependencies
 Lack of flexibility
 Little modularity support
 No separation of data to end-user interface
 Changing is major surgery
 Too much time!
 …The list goes on...
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13. Effect
 Working in data isolation
 Latency
 No collaboration
 Business trends and market
movements not driving decisions
 Missed opportunities
 No contingency planning
….Too much time on non value
added activities
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14. What that meant for technology
 Spreadsheets
 Finance analytics and client server
 Web based applications
 Combination of CPM and BI
 Combination ERP, CPM and BI
 A new technology emerges as mainstream
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15. Introduction to Cloud-Based Budgeting and Forecasting
iBusiness Solutions, Inc.
7300 Metro Blvd, Suite 590
Edina, MN 55439
www.ibusiness-solutions.biz

16. Evolution of Financial Applications
Dashboards
and variance
reports
Financial
Consolidation and
Iterations
Budgets,
Aggregation and
version control
1st generation
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17. Evolution of Financial Applications
Scenario
Modeling
Dashboards
and variance
reports
Basic Excel Financial
or Consolidation and
Early Finance Iterations
Applications
Budgets,
Aggregation and
version control
1st generation 2nd generation
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18. Evolution of Financial Applications
Functional/
Operational
Decisions
Strategic
Decisions
Scenario
Modeling
Dashboards
and variance
reports
Basic Excel Tailored Excel Financial
or Applications Consolidation and
Early Finance or Iterations
Applications
Finance
Applications 2.0 Budgets,
Aggregation and
version control
1st generation 2nd generation 3rd generation
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19. Evolution of Financial Applications
Functional/
Operational
Decisions Profit
Improvements
Strategic
Decisions
Scenario
Modeling
Predictability
Dashboards
Improvements
and variance
reports
Basic Excel Tailored Excel Financial
or Applications Consolidation and
Early Finance Iterations
Applications or
Finance Productivity
Applications 2.0 Budgets, Improvements
Aggregation and
version control
1st generation 2nd generation 3rd generation
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20. Bringing Value
 Table stakes, cost focused efficiencies
 Improving service levels
 Value add benefits
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21. Cost Efficiencies
 Lower overhead
 Reduced IT involvement
 Reduced costs of implementation
 Quick implementation times
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22. Improve service levels
 Process improvements
 Expanding the footprint of the finance processes
….
….without the increase in infrastructure
 Putting rigor into those financial processes
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23. Driving value
 Profit Improvements
 Driving fact based decision making throughout the organization
 Providing access to large groups of people
 More operational data being fed into finance
 Using “smart” content like benchmarks
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24. Bridging the gap
Ease
Of Use
Customization
Driven by vendor
Technology
agnostic Performance
Right features
Driven by vendor
Helped by cloud Access to latest functionality
Low ongoing costs
Low initial costs
Benchmarks
Vendor
agnostic Best people on the right problems
Enabled by cloud
Integration of efforts and avoid silos
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25. What can happen if you get this right…
Source Aberdeen Group 2010 --- No of Respondents 159
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26. Thule
Challenges
 Late and inconsistent excel data
“Before, we were lucky just to  Long, long meetings
get the numbers. With Host  Adjustments mid-year very hard
Analytics we get the numbers
 Sales forecasting accuracy
and the whole story.”
Solution
“Budget meetings are now
about the business, not about  A single source of consistent data
the integrity of information.”  Budgeting now takes half the time
 What-if scenarios and ad-hoc reporting
- Mark Cohen, Vice President  12 month rolling forecasts
of Finance and IT, Thule Results
Vehicle Accessories North  Confidence in their data
America  Meetings are dedicated to decision-making
 Self service reporting
 Finance understands the model behind the
numbers
 No involvement from in-house IT staff
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27. A Partial List of Companies Creating Value
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29. The D.C.O. ModelTM
Session 3:
• Technology Accelerators
• Cloud-based reporting
demonstration
March 30th at 1PM CST
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30. Thank you!
Questions?
tbrands@ibusiness-solutions.com
kbrooke@hostanalytics.com
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