Familiar flexible front end scalable stable backend.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Vena is primarily used by FP&A, with limited workflows for other departments to provide input on KPI reports. This platform provided the robust backend needed to scale at the speed the organization required. Having Microsoft Excel as the front end made adoption and maintenance much easier than other platforms that I demoed.
Pros
- Scenario snapshots.
- Dimensional reporting.
- Ease of import and export of data.
Cons
- Robustness of troubleshooting tools in 365 versus desktop solution.
- Ability to name output tabs in report books generated by script.
- Ability to verify and stage data imports for any formatting issues prior to attempting import.
Likelihood to Recommend
Does a fantastic job of keeping snapshots of your work and requiring far less horsepower on your local machine. I appreciate the familiarity of the Microsoft Excel front end, especially when you have to adapt models often in a fast-paced environment. I do wish there were easier ways to expand working templates and models on demand to see all selected locations or departments, and to separate tabs for easier comparisons while modeling. Once you learn how it varies from an Excel-only environment, it proves its worth as an enterprise tool.

