Planning has become faster and financial teams collaborate seamlessly on annual budgets
What is our primary use case?
My main use case for IBM Planning Analytics is as an IT software engineer, and I typically use it day-to-day for planning analytics over the past two years. It is probably the most robust planning and forecasting solution in the market. IBM Planning Analytics is essential for creating a clear budget for our organization so that we can reach our future goals without significant loss. In financial forecasting for our business, it also gives us a platform to collaborate with different departments by taking their inputs in our upcoming projects.
A specific example of how I have used IBM Planning Analytics for financial forecasting or collaboration between departments is that we use TM1 for resources allocation planning and asset management to align with our IT spending and future forecast. IBM Planning Analytics helps us to collaborate across departments where we can collect their feedback and make data-driven decisions easily. We use IBM Planning Analytics for our budget planning, budget forecasting, real-time analysis, and reporting of data across the organization. We are able to make data-driven decisions.
What is most valuable?
The planning efficiency with IBM Planning Analytics is very quick, and data processing can be done efficiently. I also appreciate that it is an AI-based tool for our business, which software mainly focuses on business planning and future forecasting.
The best features of IBM Planning Analytics include that the software helps us in doing budget planning.
Some of the valuable features of IBM Planning Analytics are its intuitive and user-friendly interface, reporting output and scheduling, access control and security, and mobile capabilities.
IBM Planning Analytics has positively impacted my organization as we have noticed specific improvements since we started using it. We are able to forecast the budget for the entire year with significant time savings. All the complex data is easily processed, and with Excel add functionality, it is easier to have all the data in one place, which can be read by pivot or data visualization. The data protection protocols are well set up. Planning efficiency is very good as we can seamlessly plan and work on all budgets on time.
By using IBM Planning Analytics, we have been able to automate manual processes, where we have saved time, especially through automating dashboards. It has also increased the activity of the planning team and provided us with ad hoc reporting capabilities.
What needs improvement?
IBM Planning Analytics could be improved by simplifying the learning curve, as it requires a lot of time to learn and master it. The advanced features are somewhat complex to understand, and if the data set is very large, it takes a lot of time to process, which causes performance to become slower. The initial upfront cost, including the license cost, is somewhat high.
IBM Planning Analytics lags behind a little in performance compared to our BI tools.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using IBM Planning Analytics for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
IBM Planning Analytics is stable because the reason we switched from IBM Cognos is that IBM Planning Analytics capability allows us to connect to multiple tools, which we could not do before.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
IBM Planning Analytics has handled my organization's growth appropriately in terms of scalability.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support for IBM Planning Analytics is very responsive. The few times that I have reached them, they have been very dedicated and provided top-notch solutions.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before, we were using IBM Cognos Analytics.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for IBM Planning Analytics is that the pricing and licensing cost can be somewhat on the higher side, especially for small organizations. However, the setup was straightforward and easy with no significant difficulties.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before choosing IBM Planning Analytics, I evaluated Anaplan as another option.
What other advice do I have?
When I mention significant time saving with IBM Planning Analytics, we have been able to save approximately 50 to 60 percent of our time compared to the previous tool that we were using to forecast and analyze our budgets in my organization.
My advice to others looking into using IBM Planning Analytics is that I highly recommend it because I think it is well-suited for fast financial modeling of offline processes, though it may not be great for huge data volumes.
IBM Planning Analytics is a powerful tool because it has real-time calculations and can aggregate data to the top of the house. I give this product a rating of 8 out of 10.
Streamlined Financial Reporting with IBM Planning Analytics
What do you like best about the product?
I really appreciate the Excel add-in that comes with IBM Planning Analytics because as a CPA, I work with Excel a lot and it's important to me to not have to learn a new web interface just to make a few adjustments. Being able to pull live data directly into my existing models without rebuilding them is a lifesaver. I also like that it's fast, making the process of adjusting and entering data by region or product quite smooth. It's especially beneficial during meetings because I can provide updates immediately without needing to follow up later. The automation features are incredibly valuable too, as they save us a lot of time by automating tasks like currency conversions and aggregations.
What do you dislike about the product?
So the licensing cost, it's a bit too much. It can be reduced. Also, they got it, like, in new app interface for their workspaces, which feels a bit flashy.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
IBM Planning Analytics gives us more control, stops calculation errors, and saves time with automations. It centralizes data, stopping the need for multiple spreadsheets. It automates currency conversions and aggregations, enhancing our financial reporting and handling rolling forecasts effortlessly.
Good Experience with IBM Planning Analytics
What do you like best about the product?
IBM Planning Analytics offers fast, flexible modeling, integration with other software such as Excel and a powerful analytical tool. It also supports forecasting, data integration, etc.
What do you dislike about the product?
In terms of disliking, It's requires proper training. This has very complex administration, limited number of templates, etc. Heavy reliance on Excel can also reduce the speed whlle working on big databases.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It solves disconnected, spreadsheet-driven planning by providing a fast, centralized TM1 engine for real-time forecasting and what-if analysis.
As a Data Scientist, it enables seamless integration of ML outputs, quick scenario testing, scalable multidimensional modeling, and automated data flows through APIs.
This helps me to bridge advanced analytics with enterprise planning.
Reliable and Fast Budgeting Tool with Intuitive Financial Management
What do you like best about the product?
Its a reliable tool for Budget and Forecasting. Easy to login, view financial statements, administer permissions for users and and is relatively quick for speed.
What do you dislike about the product?
The pages look clunky and can look outdated, sometimes it can be hard to troubleshoot business rules and rule building in the cubes can be complex and with not many online resources available.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Doing budgeting and forecasting across multiple Business Units and incorporating some complicated accounting business rules.
Boosts Productivity with Excel Integration, But Needs More Tutorials and Monitoring Tools
What do you like best about the product?
I love this platform for its capability to integrate with Microsoft Excel and prepare reports into excel. It makes work much easier, simpler and productive by using this platform. I also love this platform as it have a very user friendly environment to work with making things less complex. The platform can also automate workflow enabling data flow more organized and free from human input. It improves efficiency by allocating resource to more productive and critical work. This platform allows product management and planning more efficient with its superb business logic integrated into the system. A more informed Decision making can be made by using this platform.
What do you dislike about the product?
I wish that there were more tutorials to assist users to this platform. I also felt the cost can be a bit lower. I also wish that there was better monitoring tools that would allow to review the whole processes with ease.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Reports are more organized using this platform. It allows better decision making. It also reduces mistakes in reporting and allows conversion of data to information faster. Teams becomes more efficient and productive by using this platform.
Exceptional Speed, Flexibility, and Integration for Enterprise Planning
What do you like best about the product?
IBM is integrating AI/ generative-AI into BI and analytics workflows. For example, the next-gen BI in Cognos is being powered by the IBM Granite foundation models.
IBM.
Offerings such as IBM Planning Analytics now include a “Planning Analytics Assistant” plus “Multivariate AI Forecasting” to support plain-language queries, predictive insights and more autonomous planning.
What do you dislike about the product?
Setting up dashboards, modeling data, or creating visuals often requires more clicks or technical steps.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
-IBM Planning Analytics addresses complex and time-sensitive planning and forecasting needs in real time.
particularly within sales and supply chain operations. With its real-time calculations, planning cycles are significantly shortened, reducing the process from days or weeks to just a few hours. The platform’s centralized and consistent modeling improves the reliability of both sales and demand forecasts, leading to greater forecast accuracy. Organizations benefit from increased agility, allowing them to respond swiftly to market changes, supply chain disruptions, or sudden shifts in demand. Additionally, it helps optimize production and inventory levels, which in turn lowers carrying costs and improves resource utilization. The use of shared models and dashboards also fosters stronger collaboration and transparency among different departments.
Innovative Data Integration, Needs Goal-Based Analysis Features
What do you like best about the product?
It aims to reduce processing time and incorporate variables that current business models do not take into account, while also improving how data is prepared and integrated into the models.
What do you dislike about the product?
At the moment, I don’t program the tool myself; I focus on reviewing various model outputs and comparing them against our existing manual models. A potential improvement would be to enable goal-based analysis and present results at defined intervals, along with an assessment of their stationarity.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It reduces the time needed to model various outcomes and enables the inclusion of variables that are challenging to incorporate through manual modeling processes.
IBM Planning Analytics: Driving Efficiency and Accuracy in Business Planning
What do you like best about the product?
IBM Planning Analytics stands out for its impressive blend of flexibility and performance. The integration of TM1 with a user-friendly interface enables real-time data analysis and supports quicker decision-making. I also value how easily I can create dynamic dashboards and carry out multidimensional modeling. Its automation features greatly minimize manual work, which enhances both efficiency and accuracy across planning, forecasting, and reporting tasks.
What do you dislike about the product?
One aspect where IBM Planning Analytics could see improvement is in its user interface and the complexity of the initial setup. Although the tool offers robust capabilities, newcomers may struggle to navigate and set up models effectively without sufficient training. Furthermore, performance can occasionally lag when working with particularly large datasets. Improving the platform’s user-friendliness, as well as its documentation and troubleshooting resources, would help create a smoother and more efficient experience for all users.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
IBM Planning Analytics is helping us solve several critical challenges related to budgeting, forecasting, and data consolidation. It eliminates the need for manual spreadsheet work, ensuring accuracy and consistency across departments. The platform’s real-time data integration and automation capabilities enable faster analysis and more informed decision-making. As a result, we’ve experienced improved collaboration, reduced turnaround times, and greater visibility into financial and operational performance across the organization.
TM1 Review
What do you like best about the product?
Flexibility out of the box to develop and design whatever I need for our customers. multiple ways for users to interact with data
What do you dislike about the product?
Having trouble scaling complex calculations, especially with the inability to have a native "Average" function. Hard to keep up with new functionality being rolled out to customers.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We have been able to bring multiple siloed teams and processes together to have 1 integrated solution for our Business Management team. Allowed consistent forecasting and faster insights into collected data.
infuse more AI capabilities into to streamline processes
What do you like best about the product?
Mostly forecasting and budgeting, it is quite seamless and has quite a user friendly and easy to navigate user interface
What do you dislike about the product?
It is quite a powerful tool but could be even better with full AI infusion
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It eliminates the use of multiple sources such as excel in different locations where you could use excel in one location (PAFE). This makes it easier to retrieve data and present it seamlessly without taking much time
