As businesses struggle through the economic slump, demand for financial-management tools is on the upswing. That's good timing for Hyperion Solutions Corp., which Tuesday released new versions of its Hyperion Business Modeling and Hyperion Planning applications.

The two applications help eliminate the disconnect between corporate operations and strategic planning. The business modeling software is used to study what-if scenarios, such as whether building a new manufacturing plant or expanding an existing facility will be more cost-effective. Hyperion Planning is the vendor's budgeting and financial-planning software. Although the products are separate applications, they can share data and be used together.

Enhancements in Hyperion Business Modeling 2.0 include new net profit and economic value-added calculations, unlimited model components for modeling large enterprises, and new recursive/reciprocal costing functionality. Business Planning 2.0 offers advanced workflow and application-management capabilities, enhanced security and reporting features, and improved scalability. Pricing for the combined applications starts at $100,000.