Leading project and portfolio management (PPM) software provider hosted its largest North American user summit to date, with nearly 250 NPD professionals across 80 different organizations in attendance.
June 8, 2017 (San Francisco, Ca) - Planisware, the leading global provider of Project and Product Portfolio Management (PPM) software solutions for new product development (NPD), R&D, and engineering organizations, recently held its annual user summit at the Warwick Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia. Nearly 250 PPM professionals spanning across more than 80 organizations attended the annual two-day event – making it Planisware's largest North American user summit to date – to discuss best practices and the different ways they leverage Planisware software to optimize their PPM processes.
This year's conference kicked off with a presentation by Planisware Group CEO and co-founder Pierre Demonsant, who discussed the company's recent accomplishments – noting a 164% surge in SaaS implementations in 2016 – and product roadmap, and his vision for Planisware's future. Mark Miller, Director of Client Services, followed Pierre's presentation with a demonstration of new functionalities and enhancements in Planisware V6.2, including integrated Agile capabilities, numerous enhancements to Planisware Explorer – Planisware's embedded business intelligence tool – and Planisware's collaboration tool, Workbox.
The two-day conference also included sessions with several Planisware Center for Excellence thought leaders, including Dr. Richard Bayney, Dr. Ken Huskins, Mike Wiebe, Paul O'Connor, Dr. Michael Menke and Dr. Kenneth Kahn; a “Fireside Chat” with Forrester Research VP and principal analyst, Margo Visitacion, during which she discussed trends in PPM; six interactive group discussions; 12 software-focused workshops; and several hours of networking.
Additionally, seven customers presented PPM business process and software implementation case studies, with featured presentations that included:
- Beam Suntory, “Real-time visibility and accountability in project management”
- Mine Safety Appliances (MSA), “Adopting resource planning on a named basis”
- Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), “From ideation to execution”
- Michigan Department of Transportation, “Unleashing algorithms to ‘drive' highway project schedules”
- AdvancePierre Foods, “A fast-paced implementation for a fast-paced commercialization environment”
- Astellas, “Utilizing Planisware to dynamically predict clinical cost spread over time”
- Daiichi Sankyo, “PPM: 1 year after go-live”
“Planisware is committed to providing customers with an abundance of educational tools and the annual user summit is one of our most effective platforms for rounding up practitioners and thought leaders to share knowledge, innovation best practices, and expertise with each other,” said Pierre Demonsant, Global CEO of Planisware. “The 2017 user summit was one of the most enthusiastic conferences we've ever hosted, thanks to a strong and loyal user community that actively participates in nearly every aspect of the event. It's encouraging that our customers are so engaged in the Planisware solution and community, and this gives us confidence that our product innovation is empowering organizations worldwide to improve their processes and bring better products to market.”