LeapComp - Sales Performance Management Blog

Javelin Incentive Manager has a built-in an ETL tool (Extract Transform Load).  This tool is used to load the data in the Javelin application in the required format.  In addition, validation rules can be configured to report an error or a warning if certain conditions are not met.

Reporting
Many reports are available, but they are all Microsoft Excel reports.  I asked why a more “robust” solution was not used or why the reports were not integrated with the application or in a typical pdf format.  The argument is that by having Excel reports, the payees can “play” with the data and perform some modeling by themselves.  Clients with heavy-duty reporting and analytics needs will be pleased to find out that Javelin Incentive Manager can also easily integrate with the leading Business Intelligence application Business Objects.

On-Demand versus On-Premise
This is a big dilemma for many companies: less up-front cost, no technology worries and quicker implementation with an on-demand solution, versus more control with an on-premise solution.  Javelin Incentive Manager might be a good solution for those who can’t make up their mind.  I haven’t actually seen this, but apparently it is very quick and easy to move from an on-demand to an on-premise model, and vice versa.  A company could choose the on-demand offering as a proof of concept or until it makes sense to invest in the on-premise application…  or they could move to the on-demand offering if they realize they do not need to host the application themselves.

Operational Model
ZS offers some flexibility most other vendors do not – they offer the ability to outsource all the ongoing processing services and operations (outsourcing), or a part of those operations (co-sourcing).

Speed
Of course, security, reliability and all those other things can be taken for granted from a leading SPM application.  However, what is often a challenge with applications catering to large client is the speed at which it can process the transactions.  This can usually be particularly challenging for on-demand clients with a large number of payees and transactions.  Apparently, this is not a concern for Javelin.  Pipelines do not need to be scheduled ahead of time – the server load balancing ensures a consistent performance for everyone.  A good optimization of the “engine” also allows it to process data quickly (for example, data for 8000 payees with a large transaction volume and complex rules can be processed under 15 minutes).

This was a quick overview of Javelin Incentive Manager, which is the core application within the Javelin Software Suite.  My next post will focus on all the other modules including territory designer, quota designer, quota refiner, MBO manager, and communication manager.