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PLEASANTON, Calif. - July 6, 2009 - Ventana Research today introduces its 2009 Value Index for Total Compensation Management, the fourth in a new category of quantified, research-based Indexes. This new Value Index provides research-based metrics that will enable organizations to ascertain the value to them of applications and tools for addressing Total Compensation Management, which is the practice of managing the efficiency and effectiveness of compensation-related business activities and processes to a common set of workforce and talent management goals and objectives. Using the Value Index, businesses will be able to meet the challenge of evaluating vendors and their products and making choices based on an understanding of how well the offerings meet their needs in total compensation management.

The Value Index is the result of more than two decades of experience and knowledge of the market and of an in-depth analysis of technology suppliers' products. The methodology used to produce the Value Index for Total Compensation Management evaluates in detail aspects of product functionality and suitability-to-task as well as the effectiveness of vendor support for the buying process and customer assurance. The Index represents the value offered by a vendor and its products, using both a clear and accessible graphic representation in thermometer form and a precise numerical index. Those technology vendors earning the highest Hot and Warm Vendor classifications are those that Ventana Research certifies best represent buyer value based on a thorough evaluation and audit - that is, based on research and verifiable facts. The Value Index is not just a selection of "cool" products, and rather than merely representing a vendor on a four-quadrant chart, the Index provides a specific thermometer reading with a series of component metrics for a technology buyer to consider. Organizations can use the Value Index by determining their priorities and then consulting the Index to determine which vendors best meet those needs.

The 2009 Value Index for Total Compensation Management indicates that the company delivering the highest value on an overall weighted-evaluation basis is Softscape, Inc., which earned the Hot Vendor rating, followed by Workscape, which also was rated as a Hot Vendor, and Plateau Systems, which earned the Warm Vendor rating, and Authoria, which the Value Index placed in the Cold Vendor category. A number of other vendors, including companies offering major HRMS and ERP applications along with vendors with dedicated applications in this category, declined to participate in this in-depth company and product assessment.

"The market for Total Compensation Management has been exposed as a critical process that ranges from executive compensation to the specific needs of incentives and rewards to the annual review and merit pay," said Mark Smith, CEO and executive vice president of Ventana Research, "and the Value Index for Total Compensation Management helps compensation professionals and the supporting HR, finance and operational organizations assess their current environment and determine the vendors and applications that best meet their needs. This new research-based Value Index on Total Compensation Management is representative of the research that is necessary to help organizations accurately assess their environment and vendors for compensation management. Our research-based assessment and index helps organizations advance beyond the typical environment of depending on spreadsheets or applications that do not address total compensation.

"We applaud all the participating vendors for the confidence they showed in their company and products in being willing to subject them to our scrutiny, enabling us to provide the first true assessment of this critical market segment," Smith added. "Many of the product reviews offered by other analyst firms lack focus and depth, which isn't surprising as they service only IT organizations and do not research, serve or in fact have experience in HR or Finance organizations, let alone compensation professionals."

This new research-based undertaking is neither sponsored nor influenced by technology vendors and is conducted in pursuit of Ventana Research's mission to provide value to business and IT through benchmark assessment, workshops and advisory services. Ventana Research's goal is to guide organizations to optimal efficiency in their use of technology investments for business and IT. To learn more about the Value Index for Total Compensation Management, please visit http://www.ventanaresearch.com/valueindex.

About Ventana Research

Ventana Research is the leading benchmark research and advisory services firm. We provide expert guidance to help organizations manage and optimize performance - to become not only more efficient but more effective. Our unparalleled insights and best practices guidance are based on our rigorous research-based benchmarking indexes of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions worldwide. The combination we offer of benchmark research, rigorous market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver business and technology education and expertise to our clients where and when needed. The Ventana Research Indexes - the Value Index and the Benchmark Index family -have redefined the research industry by providing accessible, easy-to-use research-based business and technology guidance to businesses. Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst coverage in the industry; more than 2.5 million business and IT professionals through our community of 85,000 professionals and network of media and association partners around the world benefit from Ventana Research's insights. Ventana Research focuses on business and technology trends and best practices that maximize organizations' potential to perform while reducing the time, cost and risk and still achieve optimal outcomes. To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations use of information and technology through benchmark research, market indexes, education and advisory services, and also where to find us on Facebook or LinkedIn or how to follow us on Twitter or BusinessWeek's BusinessExchange, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.

Media: Copies of benchmark research report and interviews are available upon request.

Media Contact: Marisela Reynoso  

(925) 242-2579 marketing@ventanaresearch.com