Compuware, HP Expand Range Of PPM Application Offerings

The announcements follow a new PPM market forecast from the Gartner market research firm that spending for PPM applications, which reached $1.3 billion in 2008, will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.6 percent over five years to reach $2.3 billion in 2013.

The Compuware announcement and Gartner forecast was among the news generated this week at Everything Channel's Project & Portfolio Management Summit in Garden Grove, Calif.

Compuware debuted a new pre-configured version of its Changepoint IT portfolio management software for managing "Agile" development projects and outlined a product roadmap for the next 12 months for Changepoint. Compuware said the roadmap includes what it calls a "next-generation" integration strategy and providing services that ensure long-term return-on-investment.

The roadmap calls for enhancing Changepoint to improve its usability (such as through improved graphics) and performance; leveraging industry-standard middleware to make it easier to link Changepoint with third-party financial, human resource management and help desk systems; and developing new managed services to boost Changepoint's capabilities. Compuware also will bundle a lightweight version of its Vantage application performance-monitoring tool with Changepoint.

Some of the enhancements will be added to the next major release of Changepoint, now scheduled for June 2010. Others will be added in the interim, such as the ability to manage multiple projects with a single interface, a capability that will be added in a service pack scheduled for the third quarter.

The new Agile Accelerator, targeting companies adopting Agile application development methodologies, is the roadmap's first deliverable, said Rick Moreau, director of field enablement, Compuware Changepoint solutions, in an interview prior to the PPM Summit.

Agile development, in contrast to more structured software development methodologies, incorporates iterative development techniques with emphasis on ongoing collaboration between cross-functional teams. "There is a real need to manage those Agile development projects along with more traditional waterfall-type projects in the same environment," Moreau said.

The Agile Accelerator includes best practices for managing project backlogs and adding requirements to software iterations known as "sprints," project templates, artifact management, and key reports such as sprint task detail and task boards.

Microsoft, another Project and Portfolio Management Summit exhibitor, is working on a new release of its Enterprise Project Management suite, which includes Project, Project Server and Portfolio Server, for debut sometime next year. Microsoft will disclose more details about Microsoft Project 2010 and a timetable for its release at a Microsoft conference this fall, said Tad Haas, senior product manager for Microsoft Project " EPM, in an interview at the PPM Summit show.

Meanwhile, showgoers had to content themselves with Microsoft's demonstrations of Project Server 2007 at the show's PPM Pavilion exhibition. But Gartner analyst Daniel Stang, in a presentation Tuesday, said he has seen under non-disclosure some of the work Microsoft is doing on the next release of its PPM applications and he pronounced them "very cool."

Hewlett-Packard this week unveiled a new release of its HP Project and Portfolio Management Center with improved ability to track costs and manage cash flow, improved capabilities (such as multilanguage support) for managing global projects, and access to the PPM Center application using mobile devices.

Many of the enhancements in HP PPM Center 8.0 are geared toward helping companies better align IT with the business, said Bruce Randall, director of product marketing for project and portfolio management, Hewlett-Packard Software and Solutions, in a phone interview before the announcement. "Businesses and IT organizations are looking to reduce costs, but in a smart way. This is a product that a company can use to target the right cost reductions for them."

In the new release, HP has improved the IT portfolio investment management components of its PPM software by adding real-time cash flow analysis. The product's IT financial transparency and controls have been enhanced while new capabilities such as the multilingual support boost the software's ability to globally manage labor and other resources. And HP PPM Center 8.0 has been integrated with HP Universal Configuration Database for improved search and with HP Services Manager for easier access to IT services.

HP is now offering Software-as-a-Service subscriptions for its PPM software. Demand for SaaS products has been increasing for software of all kinds because it reduces up-front license expenses and need for IT infrastructure. And HP said it is offering new services around HP PPM Center 8.0, including fast-track deployment and upgrades, and solution and process consulting services.