TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    IBM Planning Analytics

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AIBM Planning Analytics, powered by IBM TM1®, is an integrated planning solution designed to promote collaboration across the organization and help keep pace with the speed of modern business. With its calculation engine, this enterprise performance management solution is designed to help users move beyond the limits of spreadsheets, automating the planning process to drive faster, more accurate results. Use it to unify data sources into one single repository, enabling users to build…

    $825

    per month 5 users

    Infor Birst

    Score6.5 out of 10
    N/AInfor Birst offers multi-tenant cloud BI for deployment in a public or private cloud, or on-premises. It provides an in-memory columnar data store and a BI layer comprising a reporting engine, predictive analytics tools, mobile native apps, dashboards, discovery tools, and an open client interface.N/A
    Pricing
    IBM Planning AnalyticsInfor Birst
    Editions & Modules
    Essentials
    $825
    per month 5 users
    Standard
    $1,650
    per month 10 users
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    IBM Planning AnalyticsInfor Birst
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    IBM Planning AnalyticsInfor Birst
    Considered Both Products
    IBM
    No answer on this topic
    Infor
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    99%
    Would buy again
    128 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    114 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    125 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    89 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    93%
    Implementation went as expected
    104 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    IBM Planning AnalyticsInfor Birst
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    7.6
    116 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Infor Birst
    7.4
    77 Ratings
    10% below category average
    Pixel Perfect reports7.6102 Ratings7.068 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards7.7116 Ratings8.077 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates7.5109 Ratings7.159 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    8.0
    122 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Infor Birst
    7.0
    78 Ratings
    13% below category average
    Drill-down analysis8.5119 Ratings8.078 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities7.9120 Ratings7.077 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages7.992 Ratings6.127 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration7.8118 Ratings7.068 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    8.1
    116 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Infor Birst
    8.0
    75 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Publish to Web7.9109 Ratings8.052 Ratings
    Publish to PDF8.2109 Ratings8.067 Ratings
    Report Versioning8.3106 Ratings7.28 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.298 Ratings9.066 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    7.5
    117 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Infor Birst
    6.9
    72 Ratings
    15% below category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.1117 Ratings8.072 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization7.7109 Ratings7.058 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics7.8107 Ratings5.833 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining6.638 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    8.0
    122 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Infor Birst
    8.3
    72 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)8.1120 Ratings9.070 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model7.7121 Ratings8.068 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.0122 Ratings8.069 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control7.549 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)8.4114 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    7.6
    105 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Infor Birst
    5.0
    54 Ratings
    43% below category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access7.7102 Ratings7.052 Ratings
    Mobile Application7.666 Ratings3.034 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile6.676 Ratings3.042 Ratings
    Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting
    Comparison of Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    8.4
    131 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Infor Birst
    -
    Ratings
    Long-term financial planning8.0127 Ratings00 Ratings
    Financial budgeting8.4130 Ratings00 Ratings
    Forecasting8.7130 Ratings00 Ratings
    Scenario modeling8.6129 Ratings00 Ratings
    Management reporting8.6129 Ratings00 Ratings
    Consolidation and Close
    Comparison of Consolidation and Close features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    8.5
    122 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Infor Birst
    -
    Ratings
    Financial data consolidation9.1118 Ratings00 Ratings
    Journal entries and reports9.2108 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multi-currency management8.5110 Ratings00 Ratings
    Intercompany Eliminations8.4107 Ratings00 Ratings
    Minority Ownership8.6101 Ratings00 Ratings
    Local and consolidated reporting7.8114 Ratings00 Ratings
    Detailed Audit Trails8.1115 Ratings00 Ratings
    Financial Reporting and Compliance
    Comparison of Financial Reporting and Compliance features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    8.8
    123 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Infor Birst
    -
    Ratings
    Financial Statement Reporting8.2119 Ratings00 Ratings
    Management Reporting8.7120 Ratings00 Ratings
    Excel-based Reporting9.4122 Ratings00 Ratings
    Automated board and financial reporting9.1111 Ratings00 Ratings
    XBRL support for regulatory filing8.680 Ratings00 Ratings
    Analytics and Reporting
    Comparison of Analytics and Reporting features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    8.4
    125 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Infor Birst
    -
    Ratings
    Personalized dashboards8.7124 Ratings00 Ratings
    Color-coded scorecards8.4119 Ratings00 Ratings
    KPIs8.1122 Ratings00 Ratings
    Cost and profitability analysis8.2120 Ratings00 Ratings
    Key Performance Indicator setting8.5119 Ratings00 Ratings
    Benchmarking with external data8.590 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration
    Comparison of Integration features of IBM Planning Analytics and Infor Birst
    Feature
    IBM Planning Analytics
    8.7
    123 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Infor Birst
    -
    Ratings
    Flat file integration8.7120 Ratings00 Ratings
    Excel data integration9.0120 Ratings00 Ratings
    Direct links to 3rd-party data sources8.6112 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    IBM Planning AnalyticsInfor Birst
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Centage
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management
    Score7.1 out of 10
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    IBM Planning AnalyticsInfor Birst
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (132 ratings)
    7.5
    (99 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.1
    (5 ratings)
    9.0
    (35 ratings)
    Usability
    7.8
    (69 ratings)
    9.0
    (12 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    4.1
    (6 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.5
    (6 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.3
    (93 ratings)
    6.0
    (19 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.3
    (6 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    6.0
    (24 ratings)
    Data Sources
    9.0
    (3 ratings)
    7.6
    (76 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (2 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    6.0
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    5.0
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    IBM Planning AnalyticsInfor Birst
    Likelihood to Recommend
    IBM
    Ideal for large organization with complex multi-dimensional data, large budgets and dedicated administrator support. The performance of the TM1 data base is unmatched. The PAW and PAX options providing planners to work in both Excel and workspace environment. Higher Implementation efforts due to the greenfield implementations. Visualization features are not up to the mark.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Infor
    Infor Birst OEM and embedded analytics are well suited for advanced analytics and business intelligence. It has flexible deployment features and a lot of configuration ability with low code - no coding ability. Ability to ingest data from multiple live data sources. Source data from multiple sources can be segregated into multiple sections based on business criteria. Easily searchable business terms (metadata) across all enterprise analytic content.
    Read full review
    Pros
    IBM
    • Handle very large data volumes.
    • Scale to a large number of users.
    • Not having to compromise on business complexity.
    • It can be run by business users.
    • Availability of highly qualified consultants to support businesses.
    • REST API allows for an open eco system and a variety of solutions to extend the product.
    • Vast integration possibilities.
    • AI-infused engine with IBM Watson.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Infor
    • End-to-end solution, from raw source data, ETL, warehousing and reporting, Birst is able to do everything we need in one package instead of needing to develop and maintain multiple technologies
    • Intuitive report development. The drag and drop creation of reports is simple. More complicated queries are easy to generate.
    • Very user-friendly and interactive. A lot of nice features are available both for developers and end users to streamline the process of preparing and consuming data
    • Rich API which allows us to programmatically interact with Birst
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    IBM
    • sometimes it is hard to produce pixel perfect reports from the Web UI. I know it is not made for this, but still, it'll be great
    • getting in e.g. an Excel file just by drag and drop, and the AI should "understand" what the data is all around
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Infor
    • Birst prices are fairly expensive. License plus cost of users can add up pretty quickly
    • Depending on the size of data, rendering of reports can take a little bit. Need faster processing of data
    • Takes a little time to understand how to build reports, not the most intuitive UI
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    IBM
    Since IBM Cognos Express is suitable only for medium data warehouse environment, we are not sure if this tool solves the long term need as the business keeps growing rapidly. So its a 50/50 ratio to renew Express license. But having said that, the components of IBM Cognos Express are also available in other Cognos BI suites like Cognos 10.x version. So we will probably upgrade our environment to IBM Cognos 10.x which comes with more new features.
    Read full review
    Infor
    We have been able to overcome any of the drawbacks we've found with Birst easily and it has fulfilled almost all of our analytic needs to date. Having seen their roadmap it would be highly unlikely we would move away from this platform any time soon. You simply can't beat the functionality that Birst provides for the price and the things I see coming out of the company solidify that our decision to choose Birst was the best possible choice. We have never regretted the decision.
    Read full review
    Usability
    IBM
    IBM Planning Analytics is generally good in terms of functionalities. It can be used reduce time for budget planning, resource planning, demand forecasting, etc. The performance of IBM Planning Analytics is acceptable, but user interface can be improved. It would be good to see new features that allow users to customise the dashboard.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Infor
    I would like to see additional usability put into the ETL scripting. Recently, Birst added a nice function reference inline to formula creation which has kept me from having to return to documentation so much. The same in ETL would be very beneficial. The interface problems related to the Flex framework are being addressed in a rewrite to HTML 5, but for now they are still a hindrance to a higher usability rating.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Infor
    We frequently experience -103 errors due to us using the Live Connect functionality, which does not seem to handle even minor interruptions in connectivity, and treats all future connection attempts or data requests as errors, even if the issue does not exist any longer
    Read full review
    Performance
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Infor
    Everything runs very fast and smoothly. The only process that I wish was faster would be processing the data after uploading new data or making changes to the existing data model. It can take 15-20 minutes (roughly) to upload and process new data once you start getting into 10's of millions of rows. Given my experience with how long it takes me to pull the same data using SQL Server Management Studio, I don't think Birst is unreasonably slow - but for me to give a higher rating, I would want it to be unreasonably fast
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    IBM
    IBM support has been very quick to respond and handle the very few issues we've had. We've had a third-party who partners with IBM to be our consulting team which has helped greatly reduce the need for us to contact IBM directly. I highly recommend researching and selecting a well-respected partner to help with an implementation as well as ongoing support as needed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Infor
    • Poor turnaround time
    • Low response rate when the problem at hand are large
    • Lack of infrastructural knowledge when it comes to scaling solutions
    • Lack of inter team work noticed
    • Most of the tickets are open for a long period of time
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Infor
    I have attended two different training sessions. The first one was my initial training on the system. It was well paced, clear and concise. If there were questions that were not able to be answered by the instructor, he took down the question and actually followed up and provided us a response quickly. The second session was specific to the dashboard and report design components. This training was very good though there were some attendants who had little or no experience and their questions slowed the class.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Infor
    Although I found the online resources helpful, a lack of appropriate examples for certain tasks key to report creation and advanced modeling make the online training/documentation less than perfect. For an inexperienced BI professional, the online training would not enable a streamlined launch of the product.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Infor
    Have clean data! Birst flexibility allows - Start small, then introduce functionality and complexity along the way. If you try to present all the functionality [bells and whistles] and wow them, but bad data is uncovered, the end user blames the new application and turns away.
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    IBM
    For strong technical teams and flexibility IBM Planning Analytics is the way to go. For quicker adoption and less technical teams Anaplan is the best option. If consolidation, financials, and moving from legacy tools are main focus than OneStream will be a really good choice. If deeply invested into SAP already than the SAP BPC will be the best fit to maintain the investment.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Infor
    Birst was better than Domo for our needs because we could get in and tinker with it. Our impression of Domo was that it had a lot of connectors and ready to go reports, but it made too many assumptions about applications we use. We customize too much to use a "ready to go" solution like that. When we looked at Tableau, we liked its visualization capabilities, but it wasn't going to help us do the extractions, ETL, and warehousing of data. It may have come some distance since then.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    IBM
    No answers on this topic
    Infor
    we can see that loading a lot of data can cause a noticable slow down in performance. Birst support indicated that they don't really consider anything less than 30 seconds to be an issue, but that is not the case for our customers, so we have had to change some of implementation to address this
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    IBM
    • Automate direct data connections to multiple data sources
    • One secured version of the the truth (for data and formulas)
    • Ability to scale to much more detailed planning with option to create predictive forecasts at detail
    • Business user friendly with powerful Excel integration
    • Very flexible and powerful modeling, can handle custom modeling needs at scale
    • Can make the same data available across finance and ops, but at the level of details and timeline that makes sense for them
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Infor
    • Being a manufacturing company we tend to lag behind technologically. But having all the data for different ERP systems in one place has been an eye opener for the executives. It has lessened the need to convert some legacy ERP systems.
    • Having such a simple reporting tool is a great asset to some of our sites that have traditionally had trouble gathering data from AS400 systems.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    IBM Planning Analytics Screenshots

    Screenshot of Workflow managementScreenshot of Income statementScreenshot of Margin analysisScreenshot of Metrics managementScreenshot of Income statementScreenshot of Expense analysis

    Infor Birst Screenshots

    Product screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshotProduct screenshot