Item: Anaplan
Rating: 7
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Prior to Anaplan, the firm has used Excel spreadsheets that had to be cleaned up regularly so that the users were even able to open them. After the data collection and build phase, we are currently in the time-consuming, yet rewarding process, of replacing spreadsheets with Anaplan models. Anaplan helped us with standardizing the forecasting and reporting approach to all asset classes. Thanks to all assets being already in the single standardized framework, we are able to run additional ad-hoc analytics required by the business as well as start expanding the model into additional areas.

Pros and Cons

Industry and use case agnostic.
Powerful engine.
User friendly audit trail and history.

Focus on expertise in use cases outside FP&A and Supply Chain.
Management reporting.
Workflow.

Most Important Features

Powerful engine calculating across multiple dimensions.
Cloud solution that allows collaboration.
Audit trail.
APIs.

Return on Investment

Process and data standardization across departments.
Global data forecast analysis.
Industry and scope agnostic - can add new models per business needs.

Key Insights

Do you think Anaplan delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Anaplan's feature set?

Yes

Did Anaplan live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Anaplan go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Anaplan again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Microsoft Excel

Likelihood to Recommend

Anaplan is best suited for sizable standardized cases (units, departments, products) that require collaboration among multiple people - e.g. budgeting or forecasting as well running ad-hoc stress analysis of the uncertain economic environment. Anaplan is not appropriate for organizations with unclear business processes, which have to be defined and agreed upon prior to the implementation start. Additionally, given that Anaplan's success within the organization depends greatly on the business users' involvement, the end-users have to be willing to commit time to implement and test the solution.

Scalable solution but requires time to implement / train users

Overall Satisfaction with Anaplan