Anticipating and understanding trends is a necessary skill for success in business. When Business Performance Management magazine was launched early last year, we expected interest in business performance management (BPM) systems to grow. That expectation has materialized. Even during the economic downturn, when most organizations were dramatically reducing costs, BPM spending grew to reach $3.4 billion last year, according to International Data Corp. And Gartner anticipates that more than 40 percent of Global 2000 organizations will implement performance management solutions by 2006.

As the market grows, so does this magazine, in terms of both circulation and editorial influence. This issue, published in conjunction with our second annual Business Performance Management Summit, is evidence of the magazine's expanding breadth, depth, and relevance.

One topic that is relevant to all BPM initiatives -- but is often overlooked -- is the need for software implementers to understand how decision-makers in their organization use data. Richard Stein has written a seminal article delineating the disparate information needs of data consumers throughout an enterprise. His model for BPM design provides a blueprint for data management and business decision-making. All BPM implementers can use his data consumption model to understand how their systems can best serve their stakeholders.

Because effective business decision-making depends as much on data quality and consistency as on data distribution methods, we asked Michael Abbott, of Composite Software, to contribute an article on companies' ability to achieve a "single source of truth" -- the holy grail of BPM. He posits that establishing a single system of record may not be practical and describes how a composite view of record can help an organization optimize its data systems, provide access to reliable information, and meet the needs of its many decision-makers.

Having a clear view of the truth is especially critical for companies working to meet new regulations of everything from capital requirements to information privacy to financial controls. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, in particular, has prompted significant changes in the ways businesses do business. Has it been a primary driver of BPM software implementations? Robert D. Kugel, of Ventana Research, offers us his perspective, drawn from a just-completed survey. And Alan D. Ginsberg, of Cartesis, argues that smart companies are viewing Sarbanes-Oxley as an opportunity to streamline processes and improve visibility with the help of BPM systems.

Ginsberg adds that companies need to inspire a performance culture, in which people, processes, and technology all work toward the same goals. For organizations embroiled in internal turf wars, attaining a performance culture may seem impossible. But in this issue Robert J. Herbold, former COO of Microsoft, shares his insights on overcoming the common corporate problem that he calls the "Fiefdom Syndrome." In Herbold's opinion, achieving a single source of truth is even more important to an enterprise's culture than to its internal controls.

The good news is that cultural barriers to organizational alignment and accountability can be surmounted. As George H. Labovitz's article demonstrates, technology can facilitate a cultural transformation. The U.S. Navy is using a Web-based software system to regularly assess the alignment of its personnel with its mission. The chief of naval operations is in good company, as a growing number of executives are coming to understand that achieving best practices in BPM is mission-critical. At this magazine, following developments in the BPM market to help readers transform "mission critical" into "mission accomplished" is our objective. If you have article ideas or suggestions that can help us achieve this goal, we'd welcome your contribution.

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.