IBM Planning Analytics vs. Tableau Desktop

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
IBM Planning Analytics
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
IBM 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
Tableau Desktop
Score 8.4 out of 10
N/A
Tableau Desktop is a data visualization product from Tableau. It connects to a variety of data sources for combining disparate data sources without coding. It provides tools for discovering patterns and insights, data calculations, forecasts, and statistical summaries and visual storytelling.
$1,380
per year (purchased via a Creator license)
Pricing
IBM Planning AnalyticsTableau Desktop
Editions & Modules
Essentials
$825
per month 5 users
Standard
$1,650
per month 10 users
Tableau Creator License
$115
per month (billed annually) per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
IBM Planning AnalyticsTableau Desktop
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesYes
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAll pricing plans are billed annually. A Creator license includes Tableau Desktop, Tableau Prep Builder, and Tableau Pulse. Discounts sometimes available for volume.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
IBM Planning AnalyticsTableau Desktop
Considered Both Products
IBM Planning Analytics
Chose IBM Planning Analytics
Workday Adaptive Planning is really tough to set up and use as a fresher. So I have always faced difficulties helping new joinees to set up and use it. But with IBM Planning Analytics, it is more straightforward and easier to use with a good interface.
Chose IBM Planning Analytics
This was an older verions that was also very good, but the new IBM Planning Analytics is a far better tool that enables better scenario planning or what-if analysis.
Chose IBM Planning Analytics
IBM Planning Analytics with Watson is much more flexible and scalable in comparison. IBM PAW is the clear winner for our organization's successful planning and analysis needs.
Chose IBM Planning Analytics
IBM Planning Analytics was by far the most robust tool we evaluated among several top competitors. It stood out for its place in the industry to provide detailed, integrated, and aggregate integration for data governance. I was impressed with the approach from the sales team to …
Tableau Desktop

No answer on this topic

Features
IBM Planning AnalyticsTableau Desktop
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
7.5
109 Ratings
2% below category average
Tableau Desktop
8.4
175 Ratings
3% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports7.496 Ratings8.0145 Ratings
Customizable dashboards7.4109 Ratings9.1174 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates7.8103 Ratings8.1151 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
7.6
115 Ratings
6% below category average
Tableau Desktop
8.3
172 Ratings
3% above category average
Drill-down analysis7.9111 Ratings8.5167 Ratings
Formatting capabilities7.4113 Ratings8.4170 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages7.487 Ratings8.0126 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration7.8111 Ratings8.5165 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
8.0
109 Ratings
3% below category average
Tableau Desktop
8.3
166 Ratings
1% above category average
Publish to Web7.9103 Ratings8.0155 Ratings
Publish to PDF7.9102 Ratings8.0154 Ratings
Report Versioning8.3100 Ratings8.3120 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling7.993 Ratings8.5128 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings8.878 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
7.4
110 Ratings
4% below category average
Tableau Desktop
8.3
164 Ratings
4% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)7.8110 Ratings8.5162 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization6.9102 Ratings8.5156 Ratings
Predictive Analytics7.8100 Ratings8.6131 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining6.932 Ratings7.57 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
7.9
115 Ratings
8% below category average
Tableau Desktop
9.0
149 Ratings
6% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)7.9113 Ratings9.0145 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model7.5114 Ratings9.0125 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.0115 Ratings8.7136 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control7.542 Ratings9.010 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)8.4107 Ratings9.283 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
7.2
101 Ratings
5% below category average
Tableau Desktop
7.9
141 Ratings
2% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access7.597 Ratings8.7130 Ratings
Mobile Application6.862 Ratings7.3101 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile6.073 Ratings7.4122 Ratings
Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting
Comparison of Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
8.7
124 Ratings
6% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Long-term financial planning8.3120 Ratings00 Ratings
Financial budgeting8.6123 Ratings00 Ratings
Forecasting9.2123 Ratings00 Ratings
Scenario modeling8.9122 Ratings00 Ratings
Management reporting8.3123 Ratings00 Ratings
Consolidation and Close
Comparison of Consolidation and Close features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
8.4
115 Ratings
6% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Financial data consolidation9.2111 Ratings00 Ratings
Journal entries and reports9.2103 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-currency management8.2104 Ratings00 Ratings
Intercompany Eliminations8.2101 Ratings00 Ratings
Minority Ownership8.894 Ratings00 Ratings
Local and consolidated reporting7.3107 Ratings00 Ratings
Detailed Audit Trails7.9108 Ratings00 Ratings
Financial Reporting and Compliance
Comparison of Financial Reporting and Compliance features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
8.4
116 Ratings
5% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Financial Statement Reporting8.0112 Ratings00 Ratings
Management Reporting8.5113 Ratings00 Ratings
Excel-based Reporting9.3115 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated board and financial reporting9.2105 Ratings00 Ratings
XBRL support for regulatory filing6.976 Ratings00 Ratings
Analytics and Reporting
Comparison of Analytics and Reporting features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
8.3
118 Ratings
2% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Personalized dashboards8.9117 Ratings00 Ratings
Color-coded scorecards7.9112 Ratings00 Ratings
KPIs8.2115 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost and profitability analysis8.0113 Ratings00 Ratings
Key Performance Indicator setting8.3113 Ratings00 Ratings
Benchmarking with external data8.284 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration
Comparison of Integration features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
8.7
116 Ratings
5% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Flat file integration8.4113 Ratings00 Ratings
Excel data integration8.9114 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct links to 3rd-party data sources8.7104 Ratings00 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
IBM Planning Analytics
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
7.7
67 Ratings
0% below category average
REST API00 Ratings8.259 Ratings
Javascript API00 Ratings7.653 Ratings
iFrames00 Ratings6.751 Ratings
Java API00 Ratings8.248 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings7.354 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings8.148 Ratings
Best Alternatives
IBM Planning AnalyticsTableau Desktop
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

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Score 8.7 out of 10
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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Score 8.8 out of 10
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User Ratings
IBM Planning AnalyticsTableau Desktop
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(123 ratings)
8.8
(203 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
(5 ratings)
7.5
(41 ratings)
Usability
7.8
(69 ratings)
8.3
(73 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(11 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(10 ratings)
Support Rating
7.4
(93 ratings)
1.0
(57 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.4
(4 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(5 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(34 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(1 ratings)
9.0
(4 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
IBM Planning AnalyticsTableau Desktop
Likelihood to Recommend
IBM
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.
Read full review
Tableau
The best scenario is definitely to collect data from several sources and create dedicated dashboards for specific recipients. However, I miss the possibility of explaining these reports in more detail. Sometimes, we order a report, and after half a year, we don't remember the meaning of some data (I know it's our fault as an organization, but the tool could force better practices).
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.
Read full review
Tableau
  • An excellent tool for data visualization, it presents information in an appealing visual format—an exceptional platform for storing and analyzing data in any size organization.
  • Through interactive parameters, it enables real-time interaction with the user and is easy to learn and get support from the community.
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
Read full review
Tableau
  • Pricing should be more user-friendly and usage-driven
  • Making edits to the production reports is fairly tough and has a vast scope of additional capabilities
  • Tableau Desktop should be able to differentiate itself from the Tableau server else there is no major meaning of two different products being offered
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
Tableau
Our use of Tableau Desktop is still fairly low, and will continue over time. The only real concern is around cost of the licenses, and I have mentioned this to Tableau and fully expect the development of more sensible models for our industry. This will remove any impediment to expansion of our use.
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.
Read full review
Tableau
Tableau Desktop has proven to be a lifesaver in many situations. Once we've completed the initial setup, it's simple to use. It has all of the features we need to quickly and efficiently synthesize our data. Tableau Desktop has advanced capabilities to improve our company's data structure and enable self-service for our employees.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
IBM
No answers on this topic
Tableau
When used as a stand-alone tool, Tableau Desktop has unlimited uptime, which is always nice. When used in conjunction with Tableau Server, this tool has as much uptime as your server admins are willing to give it. All in all, I've never had an issue with Tableau's availability.
Read full review
Performance
IBM
No answers on this topic
Tableau
Tableau Desktop's performance is solid. You can really dig into a large dataset in the form of a spreadsheet, and it exhibits similarly good performance when accessing a moderately sized Oracle database. I noticed that with Tableau Desktop 9.3, the performance using a spreadsheet started to slow around 75K rows by about 60 columns. This was easily remedied by creating an extract and pushing it to Tableau Server, where performance went to lightning 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.
Read full review
Tableau
Tableau support has been extremely responsive and willing to help with all of our requests. They have assisted with creating advanced analysis and many different types of custom icons, data formatting, formulas, and actions embedded into graphs. Tableau offers a weekly presentation of features and assists with internal company projects.
Read full review
In-Person Training
IBM
No answers on this topic
Tableau
It is admittedly hard to train a group of people with disparate levels of ability coming in, but the software is so easy to use that this is not a huge problem; anyone who can follow simple instructions can catch up pretty quickly.
Read full review
Online Training
IBM
No answers on this topic
Tableau
I think the training was good overall, but it was maybe stating the obvious things that a tech savvy young engineer would be able to pick up themselves too. However, the example work books were good and Tableau web community has helped me with many problems
Read full review
Implementation Rating
IBM
No answers on this topic
Tableau
Again, training is the key and the company provides a lot of example videos that will help users discover use cases that will greatly assist their creation of original visualizations. As with any new software tool, productivity will decline for a period. In the case of Tableau, the decline period is short and the later gains are well worth it.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
IBM
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.
Read full review
Tableau
I have used Power BI as well, the pricing is better, and also training costs or certifications are not that high. Since there is python integration in Power BI where I can use data cleaning and visualizing libraries and also some machine learning models. I can import my python scripts and create a visualization on processed data.
Read full review
Scalability
IBM
No answers on this topic
Tableau
Tableau Desktop's scaleability is really limited to the scale of your back-end data systems. If you want to pull down an extract and work quickly in-memory, in my application it scaled to a few tens of millions of rows using the in-memory engine. But it's really only limited by your back-end data store if you have or are willing to invest in an optimized SQL store or purpose-built query engine like Veritca or Netezza or something similar.
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
Read full review
Tableau
  • Tableau was acquired years ago, and has provided good value with the content created.
  • Ongoing maintenance costs for the platform, both to maintain desktop and server licensing has made the continuing value questionable when compared to other offerings in the marketplace.
  • Users have largely been satisfied with the content, but not with the overall performance. This is due to a combination of factors including the performance of the Tableau engines as well as development deficiencies.
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