Our primary use case for IBM Planning Analytics is for budgeting, planning, and forecasting. We also use it as a reporting tool, preparing our database to get our P&L and trial balance, and disclose financial data.
IBM Planning Analytics as a Service
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Planning Analytics Assessment
What do you like best about the product?
What I like most about planning analytics is the ability to change the position of the metrics.
What do you dislike about the product?
I find the interface not very user-friendly, it looks like an old system.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
For the end customer, planning analytics helps them see the data in detail.
Best budget planning platform
What do you like best about the product?
I like that it is practical and intuitive for both developers and users.
What do you dislike about the product?
The lack of video documentation with examples.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
I haven't had any problems yet.
The Best Planning Software
What do you like best about the product?
The Planning Analytics evolved to a planning solution that can be integrated to any other software, enabling the construction of a budget and facilitating the forecasting process of any company.
What do you dislike about the product?
Well, there is some front-end resources that the software needs to evolute, for example, the responsivity
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
The PA solves the problem of many worksheets of the budget across the enterprise, permitting only one budget version for all company, and permiting the collaboration of all areas, via web portal that is easy to use (Workspace)
Scenario-building and forecasting with advanced machine learning features
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
IBM Planning Analytics can help us build scenarios through a sandbox environment, allowing us to test multiple variables and assess their impact on our budget and planning. The ability to maintain multiple versions is crucial for us. It also integrates machine learning and AI engines, enabling us to use algorithms for inventory forecasting which optimizes our inventory and replenishment rates, making it valuable for data-intensive forecasting.
What needs improvement?
IBM is behind competitors like Tableau and Power BI in terms of visualization. Their visuals are less innovative and practical with fewer varieties. IBM's visualization needs significant improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using IBM Planning Analytics since 2016, but our organization has been with IBM Cognos solutions for planning since around 2006.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution has been stable enough, as we have been using it since 2008 without major issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is straightforward but it is pricey since it's a SaaS model priced per user.
How are customer service and support?
We do not use IBM directly for technical support due to their high prices. Instead, we rely on third-party partners recognized by IBM, who provide cost-effective support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before IBM Planning Analytics, we used IBM Enterprise Planning, which was also a Cognos product. It was eventually updated to the version we use now.
How was the initial setup?
Installation typically involves third-party assistance, either from IBM or a partner, as they have the expertise required for migrating data and setting up servers, especially in a SaaS context.
What about the implementation team?
Implementation is generally handled by third parties who are experts in IBM services.
What was our ROI?
Transforming IBM Planning Analytics into a reporting tool saves costs by eliminating the need for a separate reporting solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
While IBM's solutions were costly before, the introduction of SaaS models has reduced prices significantly. Comparatively, IBM rates may be better than those of competitors, such as Hyperion and SAP's Business Objects.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We considered Oracle's Hyperion for integration with our systems, but found it to be very expensive compared to IBM.
What other advice do I have?
I rated IBM Planning Analytics eight out of ten points. IBM should focus on integrating their various products into a single solution as well as improving their visualization capabilities.
User - friendly Financial Planning and Analysis tool
What do you like best about the product?
I like its robust modelling capabilities and flexibility, ability to create customisable dashboards/reports and integration with TM1 for real time data analysis.
What do you dislike about the product?
It doesn’t work offline making it difficult for me to work or gather required data when I don’t have internet connectivity.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Creating customisable dashboards and reports and allowing real time data analysis. This is benefiting me to make quick decisions even if there is any slight change in the data.
A Smart and Reliable Tool for Planning
What do you like best about the product?
I like how powerful and flexible IBM Planning Analytics is when it comes to handling complex financial planning and forecasting. The ability to work with large datasets, automate reports, and create custom dashboards makes life so much easier. Plus, the integration with Excel is a big win—it keeps things familiar while adding more functionality.
What do you dislike about the product?
Setting up complex models can be time-consuming.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It helps streamline sales forecasting and demand planning by giving real-time insights and automation. This reduces manual work, improves accuracy, and makes decision-making faster and more data-driven.
Making our lives better
What do you like best about the product?
Analytics helps in managing and analyzing the data. It simplifies the Budgeting and forecasting. It also helps in creating the report with raw data and by this it saves lot of our time.
What do you dislike about the product?
Sometimes the software will be very slow and the report might jumbled sometimes
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It helps in creating the reports with raw data which saves most of my time. It helps in data visualization.
A good platform for detailed business analysis
What do you like best about the product?
Very detailed plots and sessions help to get a good overview of the problem.
What do you dislike about the product?
Feels more congested, also it would better to what is where and maybe switching tiles.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Helps to give me all in all analysis in a single dashboard
Amazing Planning Tool
What do you like best about the product?
I liked the Real Time Analytics and the interactive dashboard.
What do you dislike about the product?
There is no downside from my point of view but IBM can provide it with little low price.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It is helping to forecast the future demand.
Ensured functionality meets user needs, yet complexity remains a challenge
What is our primary use case?
I make sure that developments inside are matching our end user needs. I check monitoring and assist newcomers in developments. TM1 is not used as a reporting database. We elaborate the budget inside, extract data, and make it available through different tools.
We use it for planning all the costs and budgets for production parts in our company. TM1 is mainly used by the financial controlling department, and they use Excel directly connected to TM1 to make their dashboards.
What is most valuable?
TM1 is primarily used for planning functions. We use it to manage and plan costs and budgets for production parts within the manufacturing department. TM1 is used for calculating and elaborating our budget, which is time-consuming. Its stability helps controllers win time in their planning processes. This level of stability is crucial for a product like Cognos TM1, as using an unstable platform would result in loss of time.
What needs improvement?
Since I'm using TM1 as an old version of Planning Analytics, it wouldn't be fair to specify what needs improvement because it's possible these issues have already been addressed in newer versions. If we talk only about the TM1 engine, it's quite rich and possibly too rich, making it complex to perform simple tasks.
The abundance of features results in complexity, requiring strict guidelines for developers to ensure simplistic approaches are adhered to. This complexity makes it hard to maintain and evolve developments.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using TM1 since 2012 and have overall experience since 2007 for Cognos Analytics.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
TM1 is quite stable and I would rate its stability as an eight out of ten. This stability is really important as we use it for budget calculation, which is time-consuming. A stable platform prevents loss of time during this process.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is quite hard to implement in TM1, largely since the on-premise installation chosen back in 2014. On a scale, I'd rate scalability at four, out of ten. It's difficult.
How are customer service and support?
Support is generally good. We have a multi-level support system, with the initial level handled by the company we bought the license from and subsequent support from IBM. I rate this support at a seven out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
TM1 is not easy to implement. Based on my observations, I'd rate the initial setup between a five or six out of ten.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
TM1 is quite expensive, and I'd rate the pricing as an eight out of ten. While we do get what we want in terms of functionalities and compatibility with other IBM tools, given the product's old architecture and interface, they need to make it more affordable.
What other advice do I have?
Comparing it to newer solutions like SAP Analytics Cloud, TM1 is more expensive and harder to implement. Overall, I rate TM1 as a six out of ten.
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