In recent years, academics and management consultants have argued the merit of the strategic management plan that is based upon the intelligent use of company performance data. New technologies have evolved to support the growing need for data that supports intelligent management decision making. Corporate performance management systems clearly provide a distinct competitive advantage to those with the ability to execute strategy based upon the data. However, while vigorous data analysis and reporting makes sense, the effort may be fruitless if causal factors and metrics to measure those same factors are not linked to corporate strategy. If the goal is to increase economic value, management energy must be purposefully directed toward activities that exhibit the greatest potential to influence the outcome of economic value in a positive way.

Academics, investors and business professionals throughout the world agree that SaaS inherently provides a host of economic benefits to the customer. However, recent studies show that the vast majority of finance professionals will use a valuation technique that may fail to capture those same benefits1. While SaaS providers have enjoyed much success in recent years, this should be a concern for those that compete against traditional license based models for the true value of the SaaS application may go unrecognized.