1. Why the business performance software is important for senior management and owners? They know their enterprises in detail: people, processes, relations, main results, etc.?
2. What concrete information can I get?
3. I can always ask my deputies or assistants to provide appropriate information anyway. Why there is a need for complications by installing the software, making training of several people, collecting data, changing my work pattern?
4. How much and what data I would need to feed in order to get consistent picture of my business?
5. How much time is necessary to spend preparing all data?
6. How often automatic updating is run?
7. How new formula of my indicator is introduced into Pharos?
8. What is the difference between PHAROS and other known ERP systems?
9. What are the people, which may need Pharos enterprise benchmarking software?
10. What person should administer Pharos in an enterprise?
11. Which size of enterprise is most appropriate for Pharos enterprise benchmarking applications?
12. What type of computers can be used for running Pharos software?
13. What are the options in accessing business results from different departments?
14. What is the installation procedure?
15. Which standards and concepts in business this software supports?
16. What means multi-criteria measurement of results or indicator profile?
17. How to obtain Pharos enterprise benchmarking software and on site support services in a country?
18. What are the language versions of the software?
19. Why Pharos software is declared as a source of continuous improvement of business culture in each stakeholder group?
20. What is the software price? 21. What is the difference between the PHAROS approach and Balanced Scorecard? 22. Are previous version of Pharos as well as FIT, BEST and Produce Plus available? Additional information regarding the Pharos software can be found here >>
1. Why the business performance software is important for senior management and owners? They know their enterprises in detail: people, processes, relations, main results, etc. The majority of entrepreneurs knows their businesses well. However for most of them it is not easy in having regular quantitative information about processes and results especially in a simple to understand way. Consequently not all changes in perfromance are known promptly leading to increased probability of missing the right time for introducing corrections. It became important issue to ensure sustainable growth in the unstable economics. Major decisions are often made without preparing and analyzing optional outcomes. The simulation of decisions' consequences is rare. It is actually not easy to do in existing business environment of many enterprises anyway. As a result vast majority of oreganizations are run without continuous measuring, managing and benchmarking of its business performance having variety of hidden inefficiencies in production, use of available resources, inconsistencies in definition of operational and strategic targets. The issues contribute to growing rate of enterprise mortality in SME industries, decreased competitiveness, lack of sustainability as well as underperformed industrial sectors. The efficiency is the result of knowledge of processes in detail, planning of goals to be achieved and measuring the actual results. PHAROS enterprise benchmarking software helps in measuring business results easily, identifying existing or prospective problems early, making analysis quick and simple. It allows a straightforward way of setting up managerial targets and providing early warning to all persons involved in its monitoring to facilitate proper managerial actions when such targets are missed. After beginning to use PHAROS, entrepreneurs get accustomed to systematic analysis and planning of the enterprise activities, monitoring of its efficiency and holistic vision of the whole business. All these are key issues for new business culture ensuring long-term success, improved competitiveness and sustainable development. Back >>
2. What information I can get? The system is agile, flexible and customizable. One may use predefined set of standard reports available after the installation to review complete picture of enterprise results presented in a standard set of key performance indicators. The set includes financial, strategic, operational, productions or services, customer sales, quality, productivity, labor including staff and divisions, social, energy and environmental ones. The reports can be seen on PC screen, printed, sent by e-mail or to smart phones automatically accordingly to user defined preferences. It can be viewed in the enterprise intranet portal as performance boards. User access such pages is subject to managerial authorization made in the system. The reports present business results in easy metaphors, graphs and tables. User can use predefined reports or define his/her own ones by report editor. Metaphors like Pharos light house, present complete information about particular results over the last period e.g. green is "everything is OK!". This information is relevant to user defined number of indicators measuring different business processes. Is there any red lighthouse? If yes, here is the problem to be analyzed in detail by simple clicking on the appropriate report icon. One may need to analyze and adjust business targets? It is easy, just load target editor and adjust the target values for particular business process. In addition one can run business analytics and benchmarking using Pharos database presenting the key information regarding the history of business achievements. Some other relevant features can be reviewed here >>. Back >>
3. I, as a manager, can always ask my staff to provide appropriate information. Why there is a need to make additional complications by installing the software, making training of several people, collecting data, changing my work pattern? The information which can be viewed in Pharos is easily available at any time by a couple of mouse clicks. It just cannot be received in this accurate and non-biased detail so quick from any other human source of information. It allows having an independent view of a business while keeping things confidential and simple. Thó information became a must for effective business development and survival after the last global crises, in times of change. Back >>
4. How much and what data I would need to feed in order to get consistent picture of my business? The software was developed with idea of minimizing the amount of source data. The data includes only those items which are necessary for calculation of the Pharos indicators. The data is extracted automatically from existing enterprises data sources such as accounting, sales, production and saved in the Pharos enterprise database. On the other side there is no to way to get any valuable results when there is no data. Back >>
5. How much time is necessary to spend for preparing all data? There are two components of this effort: initial installation and running. The installation would require connecting the Pharos database to the other enterprise data sources. It is done using Pharos database import editor and take some time as well as require support of IT person. When done and tested one have it all done automatically updating PHAROS database accordingly to the data updating schedule. Back >>
6. How often automatic updating is run? It depends on the definition of updating periods for each calculated indicator. If the some data used in its formula for the calculation is changed often then updating is to be made accordingly to this period. The indicator is automatically recalculated after each update to present new value. The updating periods be adjusted by user to the intervals of the measured processes within the range of 1 second to 1 year. Back >>
7. How new formula of my indicator is introduced into Pharos? One can use Pharos indicator editor to introduce new formula, describe it, define necessary data model and test it all. Pharos software installation includes complete set of core business performance indicators. It can be expanded later with additional measures of business processes defined locally within an enterprise. Any process which has data as measurements can be defined in the formula editor. Back >>
8. What is the difference between PHAROS and known ERP systems? ERP, or Enterprise Resource Planning are large integrated information systems that serve all departments within an enterprise. An ERP system includes software for manufacturing, order entry, accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, purchasing, warehousing, logistics, human resources, e-commerce, employee, etc. Some of the modules in such systems are aimed at providing support to management in enterprise performance monitoring. Evolving out of the manufacturing industry with major known systems such as SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, Baan and J.D. Edwards, ERP implies the use of packaged software. The ERP systems are usually costly in purchase coming from hundreds thousands to millions of Euro thus applicable for relatively large and well established enterprises. Pharos software has one main objective compared to ERP: measuring the actual business processes, having its monitoring and presentation of the results in a comfortable and easy to use way. Its features include as follows: - Small level of total cost of ownership becoming fairly acceptable for every enterprise.
- Integration with existing software systems and databases
- Introducing into existing business management practices without any interrupts and restructuring
- Fast learning curve for the personnel
- Strong facilitating enterprise business and ICT culture after installation, improving business quality and results
- Improves enterprise image and relations with customers and investors
Pharos can effectively complement existing enterprise packages including ERP systems. Back >>
9. What are the people, which may need Pharos enterprise benchmarking software ? Anyone willing to measure a business process and have its results presented in easy and convenient way including as follows: - Top and middle level management of organisations, their assistants
- Entrepreneurs willing to review their enterprise performance
- Industrial and quality management consultants
- Executive and vocational training, application of information technology in business management
- Students, studying the strategic and operational enterprise management or information technology for innovative management
- Investors and banks willing to monitor efficiency of their loans, risks, overall results related to particular customer groups
- etc.
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10. What person should administer Pharos in an enterprise? Typically it is senior manager or his/her assistant trained in software application. Having the name of Administrator or Business Processes (ABA), the person is responsible for definition of system users, their rights in accessing indicators, reports, database as well as other functions available in Pharos software. His/her background is not being an IT person but rather as senior manager responsible for the whole enterprise. Back >>
11. Which size of enterprise is most appropriate for Pharos enterprise benchmarking applications? These advanced ICT application is developed for Small and Medium - sized Enterprises (5 - 300 employees). However its application does not depend on the enterprise size directly. The its is multi user, cross-platform (i.e. MS Windows, Linux) client-server software. Having high level of flexibility and customization build-in it allows a simple way of starting with standard features of core system and then growing into powerful enterprise application serving all necessary users. Back >>
12. What type of computers can be used for running Pharos software? It is multiuser software which can be run on any commodity PC and PC Windows or Linux operating system. The server has Pharos database applications and supports main system functions including enterprise WIKI and intranet portal. The users can access it using their own workstations (PCs, notebooks, mobile smartphones, PDAs). Ultimately the number of users depends on server capacity to handle it. The more powerful server is the more users can be supported. The minimum configuration has at least two connected computers of which the server can run on any available free PC. In addition there is new highly effective option to decrease Pharos installation and running costs: having it running in the cloud computing environment. Back >>
13. What are the options in accessing business results from different departments? Using the client software any user can access his/her reports by a click form his/her PC. Alternatively the performance boards presenting particular results e.g. production line output per hour, can be viewed in a browser accessing local intranet web. Pharos recalculates and publishes the ongoing results into such web pages automatically. Access rights to such pages depends on local management definitions of user groups and rights, i.e. some financial data can be seen only by particular people. Back >>
14. What is the installation procedure? The software package is delivered to customers with complete pre-configured functionality enabling simple installation, setup and guided start-up. The people who install it locally need to do as follows: - select PCs,
- run installation of server and clients,
- enter / identify all software users,
- connect to existing source databases in an enterprise,
- define their own business targets for the processes being monitored by them
- check system functions.
The system has build in self-test feature. Back >>
15. Which standards and concepts in business this software supports ? It directly complies and contributes to implementation of several existing and newly developed ISO standards including ISO 9001 (Sections "Establish monitoring and measurement processes and Carry out monitoring and measurement activities), ISO 9004 (Sections "Measurement and analysis" and "Continual improvement"). ISO 14000 ISO 17025
In addition it supports such concepts as Open Society, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), new economies as well as international collaboration and coordination. Back >>
16. What means multi-criteria measurement of results or indicator profile? The concept appeared in the first versions of Pharos and further expanded in this major upgrade. It allows compressing information about several measured business processes into one metaphor. The metaphor i.e. Pharos lighthouse, represent a user view into a group of interrelated business measurements and helps in providing a very simple interpretation. A user can define such views in the software and apply it to monitoring of selected process groups. Back >>
17. How to obtain Pharos enterprise benchmarking software and on site support services in a country? The software will be provided to participants of Industrial Modernization programmes and UNIDO Pharos workshops by the end of 2010 and in 2011. The support can be provided by local consultants. Back >>
18. What are the language versions of the software? The first version is in English. The adaptation into other languages is made using of international localization tools for translation of software texts. The work will be implemented in collaboration with partners in countries. We plan to have it adapted to most popular languages in 2010 and 2011 including Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Indonesian, Malay, French, Portuguese, Persian, Turk and others. Back >>
19. Why Pharos software is declared as a "source of continuous improvement of business culture" in each stakeholder group ? It was one of the major outcomes mentioned by all entrepreneurs in the final conference after the end of the Pharos programme in Bogota in 2004. The Pharos upgrade provides special operational environment empowering this process. The effective change in business culture is facilitated by simplicity of measuring and benchmarking applications tuned to needs of people with different qualifications and knowledge. At the same time their working environment becomes rich in powerful yet easy to use features supporting achievement of valuable and sustainable results viewed from several perspectives. As we all know there cannot be improvement in any processes unless it had been measured, Back >> 20. What is the software price? At the initial stage the package is distributed within Upgrading and Modernization Programs. Later the software subscription as a service model is planned to support the revenue required for its maintenance and further development. The basic option would be available as free one. Back >>
21. What is the difference between the PHAROS approach and Balanced Scorecard? Balanced Scorecard methodology presents systematic framework for analysis of business performance, views to the company at different angles and perspectives, requires local definition of enterprise measurements and detailed enterprise data. Pharos suite supports monitoring and measurement of business results in any combination of key performance indicators, user defined processes and data and would have add-on component supporting implementation of BSC methodology. Back >>
22. Are previous version of Pharos as well as FIT, BEST and Produce Plus available? Yes. However the functionalities and features of all these software items are included into new Pharos upgrade providing more flexible and powerful application environment. Back >> | 
