The Alinean EnterpriseROI™ Sales Tool Platform

Alinean's EnterpriseROI™ platform is the core foundation for implementing enterprise-class, scalable business value selling and decision support tool programs.

EnterpriseROI enables the industry's first programming-free, web-based sales tools. Centralized, scalable & flexible, this turnkey SaaS solution automatically converts spreadsheet-based sales tools into powerful enterprise database driven applications to help B2B & IT vendors improve their selling effectiveness. Using the EnterpriseROI software and platform, a subject matter expert can easily create ROI/TCO calculators, ROI/TCO analysis tools, assessment tools, Peer comparison benchmark tools, online surveys, pricing tools and configurators for any number of demand generation or sales tool programs in three easy steps:

1. Create an Excel® spreadsheet template containing survey questions, metrics, business logic, calculations, results tables and graph specifications.  No macros or navigation needed to be specified, only the content - freeing subject matter experts to focus on what's important.

2. Create Word® & PowerPoint® report templates, used to display detailed results from tools, packaged into a complete business case proposal with supporting marketing material and background information.

3. Import the Excel, Word and PowerPoint templates into the EnterpriseROI platform via the included Administration Console, automatically creating a web-based (desktop option) enterprise sales tool available for use by customers, channel partners, sales professionals and consultants. As updates are needed, simply use the console to publish changes, seamlessly providing updates to the user community.

The EnterpriseROI platform automatically creates online and desktop based sales tools from Excel, Word and PowerPoint template sets. The solution is enterprise-class, supports worldwide standardization, delivers fast time to market, open authoring environment, and easy to update and maintain. The platform provides the only sales tool solution that requires no software customization and programming in order to create and deploy.

The EnterpriseROI platform and platform based sales tools have the following features:

Used to create and deliver any type of Business Value Sales Tool application

• Sales tool applications can include:

  • Peer Comparison / Benchmarking Tools

  • Capability / Maturity Assessments (eg. ITIL Self Assessment)

  • ROI Calculators and Analysis Tools

  • TCO Calculators and Analysis Tools

  • Product Selection and Comparison tools

  • Pricing Tools

  • Configurators

• Convert existing spreadsheet-based sales tools easily into an enterprise, database driven online or off-line application

• Scalable sales tool platform which can be used to develop new sales tools without any software programming, leading to fast time to market (weeks vs. months) and easy maintenance and support should evolution be required to logic, key metrics and more,

• Distribute and access application online from any browser, or via optional off-line desktop version

• Author, edit and maintain sales tool design including screen layouts, questionnaires and surveys, result definitions, business logic and metrics in spreadsheets, providing an open authoring environment - making updates and evolution extremely easy and efficient.

• Used by the Alinean team to quickly and cost effectively develop over 600 customized analysis and assessment sales tool models for over 100 leading IT solution providers,

• Used by customers and partners to develop and maintain over 50 additional customized sales tools.

Create an easy to use interface to collect information from users

• Easy to create and use questionnaires and surveys to collect responses and opportunity information from users.

• Interfaces can include data collection forms, tables, drop down / list selections, sliders, radio buttons, and checkboxes

• Intelligently expand and collapse or hide and show questions and forms as needed

• Tip helps on each data entry item, to provide helpful advice on each entry, review tips and take notes

• Embedded web links to other documents / resources

Conveys compelling assessment and analytical results to capture user's interest and attention

• Create and present assessment and analytical results in attractive tables, and dozens of chart and graph options (bar charts, pie charts, line charts, scoring grids, quadrants, radar diagrams / spider charts, etc.)

• Preset storyboards to make developing ROI / TCO business cases more streamlined - handles tough calculations and results (ROI, NPV, IRR, payback period), as well as providing specialized features such as Benefit object library, and Dynamic Benefit Builder (wizard so advanced users can build and add their own benefits to any case).

• Aggregation application to roll-up multiple project ROI / TCO analyses (optional feature, when preset storyboards are used)

Delivers research based metrics and results

• Research based default industry, size and location based metrics provided on all data entry items to help streamline data collection and allow for quick analysis if user does not know answers to all requested entries

• Intelligent rules based guidance to automatically recommend solutions to close gaps and solve specific goals

• Simulation analytics to model the impact of proposed solutions or planned improvements, quantifying potential value

• Benchmark comparisons to prior tool respondents including industry averages and leaders (standard in Peer Comparison including named company comparisons, optional in other sales tools)

International enabled for worldwide sales and marketing initiatives

• Integrated currency support for over 120 different currencies

• Default analytical metrics for over 80 different countries and regions worldwide, including IT benchmarks.

• Integrated internationalization support with application pre-translated into several common languages including Portuguese, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese.

• To translate specific tool content, Alinean can provide translation services, or your regional team can translate the templates used to build the tool (spreadsheet, Word and PowerPoint templates) dramatically reducing translation workload, burden and cost.

Supports team based selling and user collaboration

• Invite team members to help contribute to analysis or review results

• Can be enabled to support customer's inviting their colleagues, channel partners and your sales team to collaborate

• Can be enabled to support team based selling amongst sales team members, consultants and channel partners

• Secure environment so all analyses kept private except for permission based collaboration invitations

• Support real time collaboration on same analyses, or asynchronous collaboration

• Complete audit trail of all changes helps to determine any conflicts or issues with collaboration entries

Enables users to create powerful turnkey Word reports and PowerPoint (PowerPoint) presentations

• Allow users to create a compelling turnkey executive summary or full Word report of the assessment and analytical results

• Allow users to create a compelling PowerPoint report of the assessment and analytical results

• Templates can combine marketing messages, value research and case studies with tool results

• Different templates can be setup for international languages, or even different vertical campaigns

• Reports are template based, using XML tags to pull results from tool and combine with formatted, customized Word / PowerPoint templates making creation and maintenance /updates as easy as editing any Word or PowerPoint document

• Supports output of Word Questionnaires including all defaults and notes to help in manual data collection

• Output instance of spreadsheet (Excel) file (advanced and optional feature) to review calculation logic, or to collect data using spreadsheet, then import into tool

Includes a Central Analyses Database

• Supports save and retrieving of any results

• Supports sharing results in collaborative team environment (secure / invitation only)

• Stores all user analyses and entries / metrics centrally in an enterprise relational database

• Centrally manage a library of available sales tools and corresponding report templates for for the community of users

• Review prior analyses in aggregate for case studies and analytical research

Benchmarking / Peer Comparison ValueBase™

• Compare assessment and analysis results to an aggregate of prior respondents of survey's, assessments, or ROI /TCO analyses results.

• Empowers users to not only see what they can achieve, but provide competitive comparison to where others are and what they have achieved

• Compare results to industry, size and location based averages and leaders

• Saves each respondents results for future analyses and on-going aggregate inclusion in comparison averages and leader bases

• Special Peer Comparison application exclusive capabilities to compare to / access metrics on over 20,000 companies Financial and IT benchmarks for named company / head to head comparisons

Automated Usage Reporting and Tracking is Included

• Tracks usage centrally by user, user type and group, location / region

• Tracks usage of library content to determine which users are most using / not using which particular content

• Automatically e-mails extensive usage report monthly to key stakeholders

• Advanced and custom reports can be created and executed via Administrator's Console

Advanced Identity and Access Management and Tracking is Included

• Login authentication and access control is flexible based on sales tool's purpose and user group who are accessing

  • Login required

  • Login required to get print-out / on exit

  • Login not required

• Rights management to tune application features, restricting advanced features to advanced users, and domain based content administration, to control which groups get which content (restrict channel partners to only channel versions of tools)

• Single Sign On support and integration with your own authentication system

Additional Integrated Support for Calculators and Self Assessment tools used in Demand Generation Campaigns

• Registration customization to integrate with your own demand generation tracking system (such as Eloqua), or authentication system (such as Partner access programs)

• Tracking of registrations for lead generation

• Tracking of access and usage

• Various login options and dialogues to collect requisite data and attract more qualified registrants

File and Directory Management to organize work and collaborate

• Save and retrieve any analysis results

• Access a library of sales tools using single interface. Repository organizes all sales tools in a standard interface, standard application

• Manage analyses in directories including copy, move and delete features

• Share results on an invitation only basis with colleagues

Administrator Console to effectively manage and track usage

• Manage users and permissions / access

• Publish content such as new tool templates, report templates, benefit objects and resources to keep the community up to date with the latest metrics, models and content

• Review and create customized usage reports

Empowered connectivity to other applications

• Import capability so author can connect Alinean based sales tools and models with other applications via XML Data Import

• Can import XML data from a file into any set of spreadsheet cells within an analytical or assessment model

Available via Software as a Service

• Zero client footprint / Internet only web application

• Annual license including bi-annual updates / upgrades providing continuous roadmap enhancements without any additional charges

• Secure application hosting

Available in a Desktop based off-line mode (Pack and Go) Option

• Desk-side version of application for disconnected operation (traveling, secure facility use)

• Latest content is maintained locally via synchronization

• Any local work is maintained centrally to database via synchronization

Integrated help and training to empower users to better learn and adopt the application and toolkit

• Integrated resources directory to post helpful Word questionnaires, methodology white papers, case studies and other sales resources

• Integrated context sensitive help system

• Integrated links to online business value / ROI tutorial