How we evaluate the CPM Market

The 2026 editions of the BARC Score for Integrated Planning & Analytics (IP&A) and Financial Performance Management (FPM) are entering their final stage. Results will go live on March 31. Yet the publication date is only the endpoint. What defines the scores is the process behind them – the analysis, the cross-checking, and the rigorous internal debate that shapes every vendor position.

This week, my BARC colleagues and I sat through a marathon alignment session, locking in vendor placements across both scores. These meetings are anything but procedural. Each positioning decision gets challenged, defended, and stress-tested by analysts with different vantage points on the market.

What exactly do the BARC Scores evaluate?

Both scores evaluate mature, industry-neutral CPM products with broad planning capabilities and meaningful revenue in at least two global regions. Two axes define each vendor’s position: Portfolio Capabilities functional and technological depth, architecture, usability) and Market Execution (product strategy, organizational strength, user satisfaction).

The critical distinction between the two scores is their focus area:

• The IP&A Score targets vendors whose platforms unify reporting, analysis, and planning on a shared data foundation – combining what many organizations still handle in separate tools.
• The FPM Score zeroes in on group consolidation, statutory reporting, and disclosure management – the full financial close and compliance workflow.

For buyers, this separation is valuable. It helps them determine whether they need a platform that bridges planning and analytics or one purpose-built for financial management and regulatory compliance.

How does BARC ensure accuracy and neutrality?

Vendor marketing decks are one input – never the only one. Our evaluations rest on a deliberately broad evidence base:

• Year-round vendor briefings covering product demonstrations, roadmap deep-dives, and strategic direction – with more sessions completed this cycle than in any previous edition
• Large-scale customer feedback surveys such as The Planning Survey and The Consolidation Survey, capturing real user experiences at scale
• Direct project involvement through software selection mandates and proof-of-concept engagements

Triangulating these sources is the point. It allows us to validate vendor narratives against measurable outcomes and distinguish substantive product advances from polished messaging.

Neutrality is non-negotiable, it guides every step of this process. No vendor pays for inclusion. BARC earns no commissions from recommendations. The objective is simple: equip decision-makers with a trustworthy, unfiltered view of the market.

What makes the alignment session so critical?

It is where the raw inputs – data, demos, customer feedback, market intelligence – get distilled into defensible positions. Here is a sample of what we worked through:

• Which product updates create real user impact, and which amount to cosmetic improvements?
• Which roadmap commitments are backed by credible execution, and which read more like wish lists?
• How do organizational shifts – leadership turnover, workforce reductions, acquisitions – affect a vendor’s capacity to deliver?
• How do we calibrate weightings across vendors that differ significantly in size, focus, and maturity?

No shortcut exists for this work. It requires accumulated market knowledge, a structured evaluation framework, and candid disagreement among analysts who each see the market from a different angle.

When can you expect the results?

Both the BARC Score IP&A 2026 and the BARC Score FPM 2026 go live on March 31, 2026. My thanks to Christian Fuchs, Kelley Lynn Kassa, Larissa Baier, and Stefan Sexl for the depth and intensity of our discussions – and to every vendor that dedicated time to briefings throughout this evaluation cycle.

📅 Save the date. March 31, 2026: the BARC Score IP&A 2026 and BARC Score FPM 2026 are published. Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date about all fresh BARC publications.