Most of the vendors in the BPM (business performance management) arena are working to diversify and broaden offerings, through development, acquisition or private labeling. HardMetrics, however, is going its own way with many of its choices, including making its products deeper and more focused rather than broadening their scope. HardMetrics' four solutions are Java-based applications intended to run on the enti One noteworthy difference is that HardMetrics doesn’t use connectors or OLAP cubes from which to draw the many data sources customers need to integrate; instead, they use very simple out-of-the-box tools to bring data out of the original sources and into a discrete HardMetrics database. End-users work with highly-interactive pre-built or roll-their-own graphs and charts that operate within their browser and show off exceptions and trends they can drill down into. The results let you track and judge trends in effectiveness.The company’s avoidance of connector complexity has several consequences when it comes to the optimal use of Call Center Performance Manager and the other products. They’re aimed square at time-series analysis — and that makes sense because the value to be revealed is less dependent on real-time updates. However, it also means that the system doesn’t auto-trigger alerts. And, the system is not meant as a standalone replacement for, or competitor to, offerings from broader-solution providers such as Cognos, Business Objects, or Hyperion/Oracle; rather, it complements those broader tools by delivering a sharper attack on a specific area of expertise.I was wowed by HardMetrics’ wizard for building data presentation. It was very linear in the design phase, as it should be for the types of users who will take on the analysis. At the same time, the drag-and-drop screen designer, combined with Call Center Performance Manager’s ease of iterative changes (preview, see possibility for improvement, adjustment), was extremely well-executed. And the ability to output deliverables to both PDF (for static, high-fidelity) or spreadsheet files (for others to add value to the analysis) is very sensible. The manipulation and drill-down or drill-up actions are intuitive and surprisingly quick in the demo. I found the business-logic thinking of the company’s experts extraordinary and unusually perceptive. On the downside, HardMetrics’ targeted world view leaves a couple of interface elements with rough edges that more standard designers would have smoothed. For example, menus didn’t provide visual cues that there were sub-menu choices underneath (in Firefox or in Windows desktop applications, designers cue submenus with an arrowhead pointing toward 3 o’clock). And although alert mechanisms would complicate connections, they could come in handy, even in non-real time analyses. For example, if someone else examined the same data series you had already plumbed, an alert sent to both of you could trigger a collaborative discussion that might generate a synthesis of views. IT personnel who are scared of original or eccentric models will be befuddled by HardMetrics; those looking for analytical solutions, though, should put this company on your list of innovators to examine HardMetrics Call Center Performance Manager Platforms: HardMetrics solutions (Call Center Performance Manager, Marketing Performance Manager, and Collections Performance Manager) are Java-based solutions designed to be delivered through browsers to any enabled workstation Price: A perpetual license is $250,000 with an annual management fee; hosted and annual lease options available Verdict: Enterprises looking to increase effectiveness in the areas HardMetrics’ solutions are aimed at should take a deep breath before judging how original/non-standard their approaches are, and measure the potential benefits of this remarkable solution platform. Refined to handle specific problems in specific ways, a solution such as Call Center Performance Manager might just save you a significant hunk of currency in speed and simplicity of deployment at the front end, and insightful conclusions at the users’ desks. Technology Industry