See It Now

Niche players offer more-reasonable prices, often below $250,000. In fact, according to an AMR Research study of dashboard rollouts, 37 percent of respondents said they had budgeted less than $100,000 for their dashboard and scorecard projects.

But shoppers who have come to expect serious discounting from software vendors may be in for a bit of a surprise when dealing with B&P outfits. Unlike customer relationship management software, planning apps are in demand right now. "[B&P] vendors are not that hungry," says AMR Research's Hagerty. "There's some ability to negotiate, but the vendors are not giving it away."

On the other hand, high sticker prices might have a silver lining—if, that is, they prod buyers to make better plans for buying planning software.

John Goff is technology editor of CFO.

See a chart of selected programs from B&P vendors

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