I mostly use it for planning, reporting, and forecasting systems.
IBM Planning Analytics as a Service
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AI integration saving time and money
What do you like best about the product?
Being able to see the raw data has created so many opportunities for improvement all while being driven by AI to help in making those big decisions. The Real time analysis makes things a breeze.
What do you dislike about the product?
It can be a complex program to understand right off the bat as there is a lot of features and information to absorb. But once you get used to it, it was a lot easier to pick up.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It helps us with our sales planning across territories and where our best fit of resources is. It also provides an in depth look into sales rep performance so we can see exactly where we need to make adjustments or where to put more suppport to help push.
The use of IBM Planning Analytics has enhanced financial and project planning.
What do you like best about the product?
This provides quick answers to questions, assists in use cases, and solves problems on the fly. This was the right time for the MVP to be available for the internal users, with the freedom of use of the product in different ways. So far, I am very much impressed at how well and fast the software works in general, and I am quite satisfied with the development process.
What do you dislike about the product?
Most things are just a case of getting used to using the Cloud, and you do lose a level of control around things like software updates. Another problem is that IBM Planning Analytics does not have an app; this means that the users are literally stuck up with their plans. Ways could be designed for internal and external people to ideate easily and then collaborate on those ideas.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We have come a long way with the improvement in the manner and way that we plan and analyze our finances since we applied IBM Planning Analytics. You can make it user-friendly with the flexibility of the web layout, and it's pretty easy to connect to other software and Excel. Thank you, IBM, for listening to us and actually changing the product based on what we had to say.
The use of IBM Planning Analytics has enhanced financial and project planning.
What do you like best about the product?
IBM has also been very open to our feedback and suggestions on how things could be done better. They've always reverted promptly when we had questions, worries or use case talks. This kind of help was essential for us to make sure that we could use the tool in total capacity. Planning Analytics is very fast and good at what it does. Minimal viable products sent to internal customers work well and the direction and speed of creating products can be exciting. It is a flexible tool that manages a variety of tasks.
What do you dislike about the product?
You had to give up some of that control, like when the program was changed because it was a cloud based method. I also think that customers would gain a lot from having a security guide, logs, literature created automatically and native connections. Exactly when these characteristics are in demand, they have to be made by hand. Thank goodness, we just put in place a licensing system that is more open and easy to use.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We have added timeseries forecast by IBM Watson Studio with it, hence we can make better guesses. Also the robust tools of Planning Analytics for data processing help us to make choices with flexibility and security and is by far the easiest software to use.
Offers speed of calculation, the ability to build complex models and integration with different data sources
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
The customers make use of it to improve their budgeting and forecasting activities. They can make it more rapid and can forecast more frequently.
The scenario modeling capabilities in IBM Planning Analytics have impacted the customer's planning processes. It's frequently used to create different scenarios, compare them, and see which action leads to which result.
What is most valuable?
The speed of calculation, the ability to build complex models, integration with different data sources, and the flexibility to use Planning Analytics Workspace or create other front ends with REST API and JavaScript React.
What needs improvement?
The workspace API should be improved and documented so we know better which objects and tier-one objects are used.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with IBM Planning Analytics for 30 years now. We always work with the latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability a ten out of ten.
The stability of IBM Planning Analytics has been beneficial. Otherwise, they wouldn't use it anymore.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten. You can have a solution for a single user and a single task, or you can have a solution for thousands of users with ten thousand tasks.
Most of our customers are medium to enterprise businesses.
Smaller customers cannot afford a long development time.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support could be improved. They could sometimes go more directly to the real problem and not provide obvious things that we have already tested. So we lose time during this process.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
It's easy to set up. I would rate my experience with the initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy to set up.
We had a bug in computation a long time ago, but that was solved. Normally, we can rely on the computations being correct.
It is mostly deployed on-premises.
Deployment time:
The initial setup is quite fast, but the system grows and gets more complex over time. Planning Analytics is not a ready-made product; you develop it with the customers based on their specific needs. So from the beginning to the first use, it takes four to six months. If you start from scratch, it can take longer. But if the customer buys pre-designed modules, it's faster.
So the most time it can take is up to six months, if you start from scratch. If the customer buys already designed modules, you're faster.
Deployment process:
We always have a development, test, and quality assurance system, and then a production system.
We have continuous development and deployment for projects that run for two to three years because the customer develops a huge, complex planning and reporting solution. So it doesn't stop after installation. It's not like an app that is ready to use after installation.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.
My recommendation:
Check for a solution that is similar to your needs because it's not easy to understand how it works sometimes. If you see a similar solution, you can easily compare. Every year, there's a big conference where customer solutions are shown to other customers.
So it's really important to have resources who have knowledge of the product.
Capable of handling large amounts of diverse data types
What is our primary use case?
The main customers and use cases for Planning Analytics are large companies in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, typically with more than 2,000 employees.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of IBM Planning Analytics for streamlining planning processes include a unified database where all data are centralized, similar to Microsoft Excel but with the advantage of centralized data storage. Another essential feature is sandboxing, allowing extensive analysis and testing without affecting core data. Additionally, the workflow functionality enables locking and approval processes for calculations and formulas, providing enhanced management control and collaboration compared to Microsoft Azure.
What needs improvement?
To improve IBM Planning Analytics, adding predefined templates could be beneficial. These templates could cover various business areas like volume planning, service levels, and more. Specific templates for functions such as sourcing based on criteria like minimum order quantity and stock levels would also be helpful. Additionally, having templates for P&Ls and cash flow could enhance usability.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Planning Analytics for about a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of IBM Planning Analytics as a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is highly scalable. Our customers for IBM Planning Analytics are mainly large enterprise businesses, typically with two thousand employees or more.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate IBM's technical support as a seven out of ten. They could be a little faster.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
Setting up IBM Planning Analytics can vary depending on client expectations and needs. For someone covering just one area, it might be relatively easy. I would rate the setup at around a six out of ten in terms of ease.
The deployment duration for IBM Planning Analytics varies greatly depending on each client's needs and complexity. It can range from a minimum of one month to a maximum of one year.
What was our ROI?
Customers see ROI with IBM Planning Analytics. It improves internal processes, reducing the need for extensive control departments and resulting in operational cost savings. More importantly, it enhances predictability in business and provides better insights into the potential impacts and implications of decisions.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost of IBM Planning Analytics is not cheap, considering the amount of money involved. However, it offers good ROI for customers.
What other advice do I have?
IBM Planning Analytics is used for cross-departmental planning and forecasting by our customers. Different versions of the planning can be used, such as budgets and projections based on monthly results. The system keeps all historical data and tracks the development from projected numbers.
IBM Planning Analytics supports compliance and risk management within financial operations. It enables the calculation of impacts, such as increased interest rates, across various business areas. The effectiveness of risk management depends on the system setup and how risks are defined by the company.
In financial planning, IBM Planning Analytics aligns with current trends, including the use of AI and leveraging unstructured data. It is capable of handling large amounts of diverse data types. While it is unclear if IBM fully incorporates AI, it likely follows the trend as many companies do.
Before using Planning Analytics by IBM, consider your planning process and how it can be simplified. Understand that the system won't solve all issues on its own.
Overall, I would rate IBM Planning Analytics as a nine out of ten.
Can easily create dashboards and helps businesses improve forecasting accuracy
What is our primary use case?
I use the solution in my company for our company's budgeting process; IBM Planning Analytics is used every year to manage different scenarios based on the needs of the users. The finance managers in our company use the product to change 90 percent of the budget processes and cash flows, along with some forecasting purposes.
What needs improvement?
The local authentication part is difficult to manage in the product, making it an area where improvements are required.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using IBM Planning Analytics for six years. My company has a partnership with IBM.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product's stability is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is very useful. Previously, in my company, we used IBM Cognos and IBM Accelerator, but presently, we use IBM Planning Analytics, which is a very useful tool compared with the past products we used.
How are customer service and support?
I am satisfied with IBM's support. I rate the technical support an eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The product is easy to deploy. The configuration of the authentication part with the tool is difficult. When I tried to integrate IBM Planning Analytics with LDAP, the configuration changed, so the config file changed. The integrations and certain syncs are sometimes difficult to match and authenticate.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing part of the product is good. Every year, there is a need to renew the license. My company also uses multiple functionalities offered under IBM Cognos Analytics for ETL-related purposes. Compared to the regular licenses offered, the licensing model of IBM Planning Analytics is good. Compared with the other tools in the market, IBM Planning Analytics is a bit expensive.
What other advice do I have?
The product has improved our company's forecasting accuracy since it serves as a very useful tool for our sales and controller teams as they easily get to enter the inputs using views in TM1, which gets loaded into our main database. If there are sales team members in different parts of the world, like in Hong Kong and Singapore, they may prefer to use IBM Planning Analytics, which is easy to use when compared to the Excel tool.
Speaking about planning analytics and data analysis, I would say that our company used to use IBM Cognos Analytics for reporting, where we used to use Cognos Dynamic Cubes so that users can easily use its drag and drop features while getting to see the data for which the users had to wait for two to three minutes prior to its use. In our company, tons of data are loaded into the memory, and users can use Cognos Dynamic Cubes to analyze data and understand it.
The AI capabilities of IBM have benefited our planning strategy as they are very useful for business. The tool allows the easy creation of dashboard reports using AI capabilities. No technical knowledge is required for business use cases.
It is possible to integrate the product in scenarios where some new integrations are available. I remember that my company used Azure Data Factory to connect Azure, Oracle, and IBM WebSphere Application Server.
When it comes to IBM Planning Analytics, it is complex to integrate it with LDAP and or any other authentication tool offered by Microsoft. In our company, some users like to integrate IBM Planning Analytics with the common LDAP or Microsoft AD, which we currently use for all our applications. The authentication part is difficult to configure with IBM Planning Analytics.
The maintenance of the product is easy. My company has scheduled maintenance on the product every week, especially during forecast times, so that memories automatically lapse and users can freely access their servers.
The use of the tool has had an impact on collaboration within our company's planning team since everyone knows how to easily access the data and publish the results.
I recommend the product to those who plan to use it.
I rate the tool a nine out of ten.
Overall Satisfaction with IBM Planning Analytics
What do you like best about the product?
Flexible product that can easily be customized to various business needs
Integration with Excel - the foundation of most Finance organizations
Good dashboarding interface in Planning Analytics Workspace
Quick response time for complex calculations
Integration with Excel - the foundation of most Finance organizations
Good dashboarding interface in Planning Analytics Workspace
Quick response time for complex calculations
What do you dislike about the product?
Simplification of rule writing interface
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
IBM Planning Analytics tackles several challenges faced by financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams, leading to significant benefits for businesses. Here's a breakdown of the problems it solves and the resulting advantages:
Problems Solved:
Inefficient Budgeting & Forecasting: Manual spreadsheets and siloed data sources can lead to inaccurate forecasts and time-consuming budgeting processes. PA streamlines these tasks by automating calculations, consolidating data, and enabling collaborative planning.
Limited Scenario Planning: Traditional methods often make it cumbersome to test different business scenarios. PA allows for quick creation of "what-if" scenarios, helping you assess the impact of potential changes on your financial outlook.
Lack of Collaboration: Disconnected data and processes can hinder communication and transparency between departments crucial for effective planning. PA fosters collaboration by providing a central platform for data sharing and real-time insights.
Data Accuracy and Consistency: Relying on multiple spreadsheets increases the risk of errors and inconsistencies. PA ensures data integrity and consistency through a centralized data repository.
Problems Solved:
Inefficient Budgeting & Forecasting: Manual spreadsheets and siloed data sources can lead to inaccurate forecasts and time-consuming budgeting processes. PA streamlines these tasks by automating calculations, consolidating data, and enabling collaborative planning.
Limited Scenario Planning: Traditional methods often make it cumbersome to test different business scenarios. PA allows for quick creation of "what-if" scenarios, helping you assess the impact of potential changes on your financial outlook.
Lack of Collaboration: Disconnected data and processes can hinder communication and transparency between departments crucial for effective planning. PA fosters collaboration by providing a central platform for data sharing and real-time insights.
Data Accuracy and Consistency: Relying on multiple spreadsheets increases the risk of errors and inconsistencies. PA ensures data integrity and consistency through a centralized data repository.
Analyst
What do you like best about the product?
User friendly, streamlined and can be customised as per the client requirements
What do you dislike about the product?
Additional coverage of category others will help add new requirements
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
All the channels involved are able to have a clear view of supply chain
One of the best available planning tools
What do you like best about the product?
It's one of theost recommended tool in the market for planning .
With new implementation coming up regularly and also by the introduction of PAW it has improved a lot on looks and visualisation.
Also the working is very convenient and smooth also allows to do any sought of planning required based on project.
With new implementation coming up regularly and also by the introduction of PAW it has improved a lot on looks and visualisation.
Also the working is very convenient and smooth also allows to do any sought of planning required based on project.
What do you dislike about the product?
There should be regular bug fixes.
Also new impametatons updates can be elaborated on IBM docmetation
Also new impametatons updates can be elaborated on IBM docmetation
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It's helps us to plan for our project based on customer requirements and helps generating reports for that
IBM Planning Analytics
What do you like best about the product?
Handles large amount of real time data with accuracy
What do you dislike about the product?
Costly per user complicated user interface
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
Real time data analysis and providing insights to large data
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