Welcome to the first issue of Business Performance Management magazine, the only publication dedicated to the subject of -- you guessed it -- business performance management (BPM).

What, exactly, is BPM? Simply put, it is a framework for organizing, automating, and analyzing the business methodologies, metrics, processes, and systems that drive business performance. It is a blueprint for better business management. It promotes greater visibility and accountability and better aligns stakeholder goals with strategic and operational planning.

BPM encompasses what has always been a critical component of an executive's job -- monitoring and managing business performance to achieve maximum value. Why do we need a new magazine (and a new acronym) to describe a concept that was first voiced by Adam Smith? It's because BPM has assumed a new urgency. The economic downturn, the complexities of globalization, and the crises in corporate governance and financial reporting have underlined the need for greater transparency, more effective metrics, and integrated strategic and operational planning in organizations today. New technology now delivers systems that -- when done right -- can integrate and streamline essential business processes and facilitate more effective management of an organization's performance. As a result, BPM promises a significant and positive shift in the way organizations operate, stakeholders behave, and businesses perform.

Research conducted by Business Finance, a sister publication to this magazine for which I serve as publisher, has identified BPM as the number one area of interest for readers three years in a row. I've also heard from many of our readers directly. At scores of webcasts and in-person events and in hundreds of follow-up e-mails, I've learned that regardless of your primary focus (whether it is business, finance, or IT), you need information that can help you evaluate, implement, extend, and administer BPM initiatives in your organization.

This first issue was developed to answer many of the most common questions you have asked regarding BPM: How does BPM technology differ from traditional business intelligence and decision support tools? What role should IT play to facilitate a successful BPM initiative? Who are the leading providers in the BPM solutions market, and how will it evolve? How can an organization measure ROI on a BPM technology investment? Where can organizations get help in deploying and maintaining BPM software? How can an organization utilize BPM to capitalize on new opportunities and avoid pitfalls? How can it use BPM methods to achieve rapid, sustainable gains? And (tongue planted firmly in cheek) why did we choose "BPM" over any number of other acronyms to describe this discipline? (Short answer: Because performance management applies to all businesses, regardless of size or type.)

Business Performance Management makes its debut not only to satisfy your demand for information, but also to help shape the debate regarding the development of this increasingly important discipline. A key purpose of this magazine is to provide a forum for the BPM community by introducing you to the leading influencers (and their opinions) who have put BPM to work and are inspiring conceptual and practical performance management change in organizations today.

I'd like to extend my sincere thanks to the following: To this issue's contributors, who have tackled the above questions with a combination of intellectual rigor and common sense. To Hyperion, for their sponsorship of this first issue. And to all of the many readers who have shaped the development of this magazine. To meet your needs, future issues of Business Performance Management will include lists of BPM information resources, new research, and extensive coverage of implementation case studies.

If you wish to comment on this debut issue, if you would like to discuss a contribution we should consider for a subsequent issue, or if you have other information needs that Business Performance Management can fulfill, please contact me directly at dblansfield@penton.com. I welcome your thoughts and comments.

David Blansfield is editorial director and publisher of Business Performance Management and chair of the BPM Summit. You can reach him at dblansfield@penton.com.