Anaplan vs SAS Advanced Analytics

Likelihood to Recommend

Well Suited

Any process that you expect to change frequently.
A process within a dynamic environment, such as high tech / the startup world, where you expect significant business process changes.
Any process that requires a significant number of collaborators.
Any process where you intend for users to update logic with Excel-like formulas.
Any process where using Google Docs has failed to accommodate your needs for data integrity.

Less Appropriate

Data visualization - Anaplan has capabilities here, but other tools are more focused on this.
Data storage - Anaplan is not a data warehouse and has limits on what you can store.

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Matthew Kuo

Senior Sales Planning Analyst

Tableau SoftwareComputer Software, 1001-5000 employees

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SAS Advanced Analytics excels with projects that have at least 3 parts. The first part is the ability to address and compare different modeling types. Suppose you are an analyst interested in predicting home prices or whether an individual will reapply for unemployment insurance. There are lots of model types that could work for these two situations. SAS Advanced Analytics makes it easy (although not as easy as SAS Enterprise Miner) to compare the performance of different modeling types, such as comparing support vector machines with random forest models. A second scenario that SAS Advanced Analytics does a good job at is making the analysis reproducible. By showing the lineage of analyses, another analyst is able to follow the work of the previous analyst. This is a huge advantage for individuals working in corporations or governments. The third area SAS Advanced Analytics is useful is in text analytics. The field is huge now, and I haven't come across a software that makes text analytics as easy as SAS Advanced Analytics.

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Thomas Young

Owner, previous CEO

Econometric StudiosFinancial Services, 11-50 employees

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Feature Rating Comparison

Anaplan

7.2

SAS Advanced Analytics

—

Customizable dashboards

7.2

—

Anaplan

8.0

SAS Advanced Analytics

—

Publish to PDF

8.3

—

Report Versioning

8.3

—

Report Delivery Scheduling

7.3

—

Anaplan

6.9

SAS Advanced Analytics

—

Responsive Design for Web Access

6.9

—

Anaplan

8.4

SAS Advanced Analytics

—

Long-term financial planning

7.8

—

Financial budgeting

8.7

—

Forecasting

8.9

—

Scenario modeling

8.3

—

Management reporting

8.3

—

Anaplan

7.1

SAS Advanced Analytics

—

Financial data consolidation

8.6

—

Journal entries and reports

7.3

—

Multi-currency management

6.2

—

Intercompany Eliminations

6.0

—

Minority Ownership

6.0

—

Local and consolidated reporting

8.1

—

Detailed Audit Trails

7.6

—

Anaplan

8.0

SAS Advanced Analytics

—

Financial Statement Reporting

9.2

—

Management Reporting

8.8

—

Excel-based Reporting

5.3

—

Automated board and financial reporting

8.6

—

Anaplan

7.0

SAS Advanced Analytics

—

Personalized dashboards

6.6

—

Color-coded scorecards

7.1

—

KPIs

7.0

—

Cost and profitability analysis

7.0

—

Key Performance Indicator setting

6.9

—

Benchmarking with external data

7.1

—

Anaplan

8.3

SAS Advanced Analytics

—

Flat file integration

8.8

—

Excel data integration

7.5

—

Direct links to 3rd-party data sources

8.7

—

Pros

Anaplan is great for headcount reporting. We have reports by dept, office location, and subsidiary that is great for planning and also for full company reporting.
Although they can be complicated to set up, Anaplan is also great for setting up complex P&L views. For example, setting up a P&L with a combination of subs/depts., that still needs to consolidate to the total P&L.
Systems-wise, I like that it's impossible to #REF the model! Anaplan shows you where everything is referenced, so it's very difficult to break anything.
I also like that formulas copy across, so there is no chance of pointing to the wrong cell, like in Excel

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Dan Shuwarger

Finance Manager, FP&A

SplunkComputer Software, 1001-5000 employees

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Complex Survey Analysis- SAS is a great resource if you need to analyze complex survey data. One can easily write code for this by inserting (survey) in front of the procedure with the weight, cluster, and strata variables. (ex: surveyfreq)
Modeling/ Graphing- SAS creates clean and easy to understand graphs and models which take visual data to the next level.
Support- There is a large SAS Advanced analytics online support in place. It is easy to find help on many procedures that you will use in this software.

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Verified User

Employee in Other

Health, Wellness and Fitness Company, 51-200 employees

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Cons

Error handling can be annoying. A single formula error can lock up your model for 2-5 minutes while it reverts back to before you pressed enter, and while its improved a little in the year I've been using Anaplan, there are certain situations where I feel like it could be eliminated or made more efficient.
Time subsets would be really nice.

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Chris Friederich

Director, Financial Planning & Analysis

Cherwell SoftwareComputer Software, 201-500 employees

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SAS requires a lot of coding compared to other software like STATA or SPSS. However most of the code is repetitive , an easy copy/paste.
SAS Advanced Analytics is not always easily learned, most people would need some training before getting comfortable with the software.
The layout of the modeling system may get confusing when too many different windows are open, may need to look at different graphs and models one at a time.

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Verified User

Employee in Other

Health, Wellness and Fitness Company, 51-200 employees

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Likelihood to Renew

Anaplan 8.2

Based on 3 answers

I don't think we could function without the collaboration capabilities built into Anaplan that replaced disparate Excel files in the workforce planning model

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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SAS Advanced Analytics 4.5

Based on 5 answers

More cost effective options out there - WPS, Revolution Analytics (R), etc.

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Bethany Klebanov

Sr. Manager Global Business Analytics

Go2Market Analytics, Inc.Telecommunications, 10,001+ employees

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Usability

Anaplan 8.2

Based on 2 answers

There is a dependency in this rating - in that I find Anaplan extremely easy to use, but I've spent the necessary time developing a strong understanding of the platform. Once you understand how to use it, the platform is flexible, easy to use, and fun to use.

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Chris Friederich

Director, Financial Planning & Analysis

Cherwell SoftwareComputer Software, 201-500 employees

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SAS Advanced Analytics 6.1

Based on 2 answers

If SAS Enterprise Guide is utilized any beginning user will be able to shorten the learning curve. This is allow the user a plethora of basic capabilities until they can utilize coding to expand their needs in manipulating and presenting data. SAS is also dedicated to expanding this environment so it is ever growing.

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Nathan Och

Analytics Specialist

Array Services GroupFinancial Services, 501-1000 employees

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Reliability and Availability

Anaplan 10.0

Based on 1 answer

In nearly 3 years, I have only had 1 issue of being unable to access my model for an unplanned maintenance. Even planned maintenance windows are handled during low traffic hours on the weekend.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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SAS Advanced Analytics 10.0

Based on 1 answer

SAS probably has the most market saturation out of all of the analytics software worldwide. They are in every industry and they are knowledgable about every industry. They are always available to take questions, solve issues, and discuss a company's needs. A company that buys SAS software has a dedicated representative that is there for all of their needs.

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Nathan Och

Analytics Specialist

Array Services GroupFinancial Services, 501-1000 employees

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Performance

Anaplan 9.0

Based on 1 answer

Everything is calculated in memory in the cloud. It's nearly instantaneous updates when you make changes. The only time things get a little slow is when you have a massive model with very intricate calculations...but "slow" for Anaplan is not what I would call "slow" for something like Hyperion. We used to have Hyperion calcs that ran for 60 mins before you could use data. The equivalent would be 60 seconds in Anaplan.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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SAS Advanced Analytics 9.0

Based on 1 answer

Although nothing is perfect, SAS is almost there. The software can handle billions of rows of data without a glitch and runs at a quick pace regardless of what the user wants to perform. SAS products are made to handle data so performance is of their utmost important. The software is created to run things as efficiently as SAS software can to maximize performance.

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Nathan Och

Analytics Specialist

Array Services GroupFinancial Services, 501-1000 employees

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Support

Anaplan 8.1

Based on 2 answers

I feel like the support team is a little lacking in product knowledge. Several times I have contacted them to get help, and ended up finding a solution to my own problem before the team could get back to me with anything useful. I have also submitted a few bugs, and never got updates to when they were fixed in later releases.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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SAS Advanced Analytics 10.0

Based on 2 answers

Simple. Their knowledge and accessibility. Support can be reached via email, text, chat, or phone. They can also utilize WebEx to tap into your machine and see what the user is seeing. SAS is dedicated to helping their users maximize their software.

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Nathan Och

Analytics Specialist

Array Services GroupFinancial Services, 501-1000 employees

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In-Person Training

Anaplan 3.0

Based on 1 answer

The in-person training is simply not worth the cost. After a few weeks of playing in Anaplan, I went to the basic training and knew more than the person teaching it. a year down the road, I was the first person to complete the advance training, and again could have been teaching the class better than the person running the session. Spend some time on your own trying out different things and you will get all the understanding you need to be successful.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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SAS Advanced Analytics 9.0

Based on 1 answer

SAS has regional and national conferences that are dedicated to expanding users' knowledge of the software and showing them what changes and additions they are making to the software. There are user groups in most of the major cities that also provide multi-day seminars that focus on specific topics for education. If online training isn't the best way for the user, there is ample in-person training available.

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Nathan Och

Analytics Specialist

Array Services GroupFinancial Services, 501-1000 employees

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Online Training

Anaplan 5.0

Based on 1 answer

I'm giving this a 5 simply for the anapedia outline of calculations. The online videos and trainings leave a lot to be desired, but having anapedia around to help you understand calculations has been helpful. The drawback to anapedia is the depth they go into for calculations, it is lackluster at times. Because of that, I have been working through a much more in-depth look at each calculation on my website for users to reference: http://www.anaplanguru.com/formulas/

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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SAS Advanced Analytics 8.0

Based on 1 answer

There are online videos, live classes, and resource material which makes training very easy to access. However, nothing is circumstantial so applying your training can get tricky if the user is performing complex tasks. When purchasing software, SAS will also allocate education credits so the user(s) can access classes and material online to help expand their knowledge.

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Nathan Och

Analytics Specialist

Array Services GroupFinancial Services, 501-1000 employees

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Implementation

Anaplan 6.7

Based on 12 answers

I won't rate this low due to the 3rd party consultant, because overall the implementation with Anaplan went great. We had working models in our first month of having Anaplan, and have been able to branch out into multiple facets of the business in the 3 years since our first implementation.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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SAS Advanced Analytics 9.0

Based on 1 answer

Ask as many questions you can before the install to understand the process. Since a third party does the installation your company is sort of a passanger and it is easy to get lost in the process. It also helps to have all users and IT support involved in the install to help increase the knowledge as to how SAS runs and what it needs to perform correctly.

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Nathan Och

Analytics Specialist

Array Services GroupFinancial Services, 501-1000 employees

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Alternatives Considered

Anaplan was selected by management without technical expertise. Now there is no way back.

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Максим Шилиманов

Planning Excellence Senior Specialist

UnileverConsumer Goods, 10,001+ employees

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SAS allows the user a wider range of capabilities to cleanse and manipulate the data. Not only can the data be pulled directly into SAS, but before it is finalized it can be transposed, graphed, or altered in any way imaginable which puts it a step above the Business Objects and Crystal Reports. Not only that, but full reports can be created in SAS allowing the user to expand on the presentation of the data using charts, graphs, or lists. In addition, all SAS projects can be automated to update at a time chosen by the user which allows them to focus on other projects rather than on manually running projects repeatedly.

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Nathan Och

Analytics Specialist

Array Services GroupFinancial Services, 501-1000 employees

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Scalability

Anaplan 7.0

Based on 1 answer

It's going to handle most of what you can throw at it. The problem lies in the sparsity of some datasets. When you have over 5ish dimensions of sparse data, the size of the model gets bloated for not much value. In several cases, I have had to adapt my model to account for sparsity in a way that minimized use of space, but also made interacting with the data more cumbersome.

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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SAS Advanced Analytics 9.0

Based on 1 answer

It all depends on the type of SAS product the user has. Scaleability differs from product to product, and if the user has SAS Office Analytics the scaleability is quite robust. This software will satisfy the majority of the company's analytic needs for years to come. In addition, if SAS is not meeting the users needs the company can easily find SAS solutions that will.

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Nathan Och

Analytics Specialist

Array Services GroupFinancial Services, 501-1000 employees

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Return on Investment

Workforce Planning efficiency - so much easier than excel to maintain sensitive information planning
Long range plan lead time - the old excel model took weeks to update. The Anaplan model takes hours

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Joe Bradbury

Manager, Financial Systems

Research NowMarket Research, 1001-5000 employees

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Increased understanding of how customers purchase
Ability to understand new product adoption
Ability to look at partner performance by factors other than top line revenue

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Bethany Klebanov

Sr. Manager Global Business Analytics

Go2Market Analytics, Inc.Telecommunications, 10,001+ employees

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Likelihood to Recommend

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Feature Rating Comparison

Customizable dashboards

Publish to PDF

Report Versioning

Report Delivery Scheduling

Responsive Design for Web Access

Long-term financial planning

Financial budgeting

Forecasting

Scenario modeling

Management reporting

Financial data consolidation

Journal entries and reports

Multi-currency management

Intercompany Eliminations

Minority Ownership

Local and consolidated reporting

Detailed Audit Trails

Financial Statement Reporting

Management Reporting

Excel-based Reporting

Automated board and financial reporting

Personalized dashboards

Color-coded scorecards

KPIs

Cost and profitability analysis

Key Performance Indicator setting

Benchmarking with external data

Flat file integration

Excel data integration

Direct links to 3rd-party data sources

Pros

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Cons

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Likelihood to Renew

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Usability

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Reliability and Availability

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Performance

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Support

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

In-Person Training

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Online Training

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Implementation

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Alternatives Considered

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Scalability

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Return on Investment

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Screenshots

Anaplan

SAS Advanced Analytics

Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

Free/Freemium Version