IBM Planning Analytics vs. OneStream

Very powerful modeling capabilities. It has a really good OLAP engine memory. Strong scenario planning for what if analysis. Flexibility of integration with ERPs or WM systems for both cloud and on premises. Centralized planning and alignment of governance is also a plus. Having one single system for many different functions.

Incentivized

Financial Planning / Forecasting, People Planning, and Financial Close and Consolidation are well suite while we are still evaluating GL Account Reconciliations and other solutions available via the Solution Exchange. Overall, we believe OneStream is going to allow us to "get out of excel" and perform Global Consolidation in the system

Incentivized

• 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

• Consolidation of Group Results across 600 Entities
• Flexibility of Reporting through Dashboard Reporting Suite and Excel Interface
• Ability to create Bespoke Models for specific requirements. (Ifrs15/16/BC/DC/Payroll, Covenance Reporting, etc.)
• Singular Cube for One source of the Truth
• Customisable Maintenance Platform to facilitate high growth strategy

• 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

• Journal copy feature would be good to have
• The Excel Add in is limited to only one application. Would be good to have the ability to pull from say Dev and Prod so side by side comparisons could be done
• Better interface to handle metadata changes

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.

Currently we are using OneStream with people 80 - 100 to load the PL, BS , Forecast budget and People Planning. OneStream give us more visibility on trend and way forward thinking. Thanks to OneStream for the tool which helps the business in growing way. Thinking of innovation OneStream is right path.

Incentivized

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

Overall usability as an end-user is very easy. There are more people in the system getting information now than the prior platform used. People are gathering their information quicker as well. From an administrator standpoint, there are fewer glitches and issues than the prior platform. This is very good.

Incentivized

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

OneStream support is focused on the infrastructure. Which means mainly when there issues with accessing to the system, they will be able to help. When the question is to much leaning towards functional it really becomes billable. The other issue is that the response time is not optimal. There is a lot of pingpong of messages and the time between the message can sometimes be long. Sometimes this result into a simple ticket to be taking days before it is closed.

Incentivized

onestream offers a range of training. I have attended a number of trainings. During the trainings a vast amount of information is discussed. The trainings also include exercises. The speed of the training is pretty high. When reviewing the training material afterwards, I found that the material is not complete as reference as it relies also very much on the verbal explanation and elaboration.

Incentivized

As it is related to MS Excel, IBM Planning Analytics is a much more robust and complete solution for the CFO or COO in mind. Oracle Hyperion stacks up nicely against IBM Planning Analytics. However, IBM's investment in AI allows Planning Analytics users more options and speed.

OneStream is the overall clear winner against HFM. There are a few things HFM does better (a couple things in Smart View), but it just doesn't have as much capability. The single, integrated platform that OneStream is provides a massive upgrade from HFM.

Incentivized

• 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

• Customers have moved from multiple EPM systems as well as multiple EPM applications to OneStream.
• Their ROI has been quite high as lesser admins are required, no need to move data back & forth, no need for an additional dashboarding / BI tool, once a user is on OneStream can leverage it for more than 50+ use cases at no additional license cost.
• Automation, direct integration, scheduling, complex calculation capabilities, all help to further improve ROI and free up the time for the team to do value-adding tasks.
• Last but not the least is the confidence on the numbers is much higher.