IBM Planning Analytics for IBM Cloud Pak for Data

What do you like best about the product?

It gives thorough and useful information. within my paygrade it could always be more

What do you dislike about the product?

Sometimes it provides more information than is actually needed.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

They gave me an in-depth analysis of a business case as a trial, and we used part of the information they provided.

What do you like best about the product?

I like how IBM Planning Analytics centralizes data, making budgeting, forecasting, and what-if analysis faster and more accurate. I also find its Excel integration really helpful, as it makes working with the system easier. Once IT set it up, the system was relatively easy to use and maintain.

What do you dislike about the product?

I find the learning curve steep as advanced features can require technical expertise. I also think the interface could be more intuitive and modern.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

IBM Planning Analytics centralizes our budgets, forecasting, and planning, replacing fragmented spreadsheets, manual calculations, and inconsistent data. It automates planning processes, enhances accuracy and speed for budgeting, and offers seamless Excel integration.

What do you like best about the product?

What I like best about IBM Planning Analytics is its fast, powerful TM1 engine paired with native Excel integration. It lets finance teams run real-time consolidations and unlimited what-if scenario planning on complex multidimensional models, cutting manual spreadsheet work dramatically. It provides a single trusted source of truth for budgeting, forecasting and planning,supports collaboration, and scales well for large enterprise datasets.

What do you dislike about the product?

What I dislike most about IBM Planning Analytics is its steep technical learning curve. Creating and updating TM1 models and rules demands specialist knowledge, meaning less technical business users often need support from developers to make ad-hoc changes. This can create minor delays and raise ongoing model maintenance overhead.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

IBM Planning Analytics solves common FP&A pain points such as disjointed spreadsheets, slow manual consolidations, inconsistent data versions, and time-consuming scenario testing. By centralising planning data in a multidimensional TM1 model, it delivers real-time calculations and a single source of truth. This benefits me by reducing manual data entry and reconciliation work, enabling fast what-if analysis, streamlining budgeting and forecasting cycles, and supporting quicker, more reliable business decisions.

What do you like best about the product?

The predictive nature of the tool for forecasting

What do you dislike about the product?

It is a bit expensive when you have to onboard the big datasets

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

In my business, it enables us to make data-driven decisions quickly and saves money in the downstream products generation

What do you like best about the product?

It allows working with large volumes of data quickly, creating scenarios and simulations in real time, and reducing the reliance on scattered Excel sheets. Its integration with Excel facilitates adoption by users accustomed to this tool, maintaining a centralized and controlled data model. Additionally, it allows different departments to collaborate on a single source of information, improves traceability of changes, and reduces manual errors. It is especially powerful for performing multidimensional analyses and easily comparing actual data, budgets, and forecasts.

What do you dislike about the product?

Its main disadvantage is complexity: it requires technical knowledge, has a steep learning curve, and its implementation and maintenance can be costly compared to simpler solutions.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

Resolve manual and fragmented planning processes by centralizing data and automating forecasts. This saves time, reduces errors, and improves decision-making.

What do you like best about the product?

It helps me create multiple scenarios to evaluate the impact of changes, supported by a detailed execution plan.

What do you dislike about the product?

We usually run into performance issues, and it often requires some development effort to address them.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I’m currently using it on a profitability analysis platform across different use cases.

What do you like best about the product?

I appreciate IBM Planning Analytics most for its powerful scenario modeling and unified data framework. It allows me to run flexible what-if analyses and adjust rolling forecasts efficiently, all based on one reliable source of truth to avoid duplicated or conflicting data. It integrates smoothly with our internal platforms and supports automated data consolidation, cutting down heavy manual workload and letting me focus more on strategic business insights instead of repetitive spreadsheet work. It also connects seamlessly with SAP ERP and our BI tools, simplifying data synchronization and supporting clear, actionable business dashboards.

What do you dislike about the product?

The biggest downside is its steep learning curve, especially for non-technical team members. Advanced modeling and custom configuration require professional training, slowing down team onboarding. The interface feels outdated compared to modern cloud tools, with rigid navigation and limited self-service reporting functions, leaving many routine tasks dependent on the central analytics team. Besides, system integration with our telecom infrastructure is quite complicated to deploy and maintain, relying on continuous IT support.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

IBM Planning Analytics unifies scattered spreadsheet data into one centralized platform, greatly reducing manual errors and version confusion. It automates repetitive planning tasks, standardizes cross-departmental data alignment, and delivers consistent forecasting results. This saves substantial working hours, improves overall data accuracy, and supports faster, more reliable business decision-making.

What do you like best about the product?

I like the clarity and clean UI of IBM Planning Analytics. It's easy to use and not cluttered.

What do you dislike about the product?

Training needed for basic use. It was not intuitive to use and needed some growing pains.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

I use IBM Planning Analytics for budgeting and forecasting, allowing me to forecast budget needs based on last year's data.

What do you like best about the product?

I use IBM Planning Analytics for integrated planning, automation, advanced analysis, scalability, and flexibility. I like that it eliminates spreadsheet chaos, reduces manual work and errors, and speeds up planning and execution. I appreciate the real-time insights and value the automation and 'what if' scenarios for their flexibility. I use the TM1 Engine for its speed, flexibility, efficiency, and consistency. In planning and budgeting, I enjoy the centralized planning and rolling forecasts, while the scenario modeling's predictive analysis is something I find particularly useful.

What do you dislike about the product?

It is multidimensional and intimidating for new users.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

IBM Planning Analytics eliminates spreadsheet chaos, reduces manual work and errors, speeds up planning and execution, provides real-time insights, and offers automation and flexibility.

What do you like best about the product?

I like IBM Planning Analytics for its unmatched strength in handling large-scale, complex enterprise planning, especially for a global industrial automation business like ours. Its multi-dimensional modeling engine (TM1) is incredibly powerful, allowing us to build detailed, flexible models for production forecasting, supply chain planning, and profitability analysis, which scale effortlessly across thousands of cost centers and global sites without performance issues. I appreciate the real-time data aggregation and collaboration features that enable finance, operations, and engineering teams to work on the same plan simultaneously, eliminating version chaos and delays. I also find its deep scenario-planning capabilities extremely valuable, allowing us to quickly simulate supply chain disruptions, material price changes, or shifts in production demand, which is critical for our operations.

What do you dislike about the product?

I find the outdated user interface in some modules a bit frustrating. Parts of IBM Planning Analytics feel dated compared to modern planning tools. The navigation isn’t always intuitive, and the dashboards require heavy customization to look clean and user-friendly for non-technical managers. Also, there is slow performance with extremely large datasets. When running full-year forecasts across our global production, supply chain, and sales entities simultaneously, the queries and consolidations can lag. While it handles scale well overall, it's not as fast as I’d expect for real-time decision-making on the factory floor.

What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?

IBM Planning Analytics eliminates error-prone spreadsheets, automates financial consolidations, and supports dynamic scenario modeling, improving data accuracy and planning efficiency across our global divisions.