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Host Analytics
Updated November 13, 2020

Host Analytics

Niru Irukulla | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Modules Used

  • Workforce Planning & Budgeting

Overall Satisfaction with Planful (formerly Host Analytics)

We migrated from a spreadsheet based budget process to Host Analytics. Data integrity, version control and having single source of truth were issues we encountered with spreadsheets and that is now something we do not have to worry about. I agree with some of the other users in that the interface may not be the best, especially for those of us who have used Hyperion products in the past but it does the job. You will not need IT involvement in maintaining the tool, implementation was fast and cost effective.

We now have budget, actuals and forecast data in one system rather than numerous spreadsheets. There is more time for analysis, as opposed to checking and re-checking data in excel files. The finance team can finally be partners to the business and provide data in a timely and consistent manner. Host Analytics customer support is excellent, and overall very attentive to customer feedback on features and product enhancements. In fact, they released some features in workforce planning that we had asked for.
  • Workforce Planning. The ability to plan payroll taxes, benefits and merit at the employee level. Important for SW company where headcount is major cost driver.
  • BI like tool for reporting; takes some getting used to but powerful once you get the hang of it.
  • Data load rules, allows ease of uploading data such as headcount or GL data. Set up the rule once and just reuse it.
  • Dynamic planning; offers excel like interface and more flexibility than structured planning
  • Takes a lot of clicks to complete tasks
  • If you use structured planning as well as dynamic planning it does feel like i am managing 2 systems. would be nice if it was one integrated platform
  • Templates with calculations, reference accounts and history data can be slow to open
  • Workforce reporting cube is not intuitive
  • Lots of focus on bells and whistles type of features such as AI, machine learning. worry that they may lose focus on core functionality.
  • Dynamic planning is very flexible, with that comes the woes of having an open canvas to design models. Can be tricky to trouble shoot issues.
  • Would love to have usage report concept in all parts of the application including dynamic planning
  • More time for busines partnering
  • Less time checking spreadsheets
  • Data integrity
  • Consistent and timely analysis & reporting
The ability to have single source of truth for finance. Quick, user friendly reporting. Our business is growing and changing and we have been able to adapt our system with this change thus far.
Reporting is fairly intuitive, haven't spent too much time on dashboards but basic ones are fairly easy.
Very easy in my opinion, but also depends on how well your data and dimensions are structured.
I wasn't involved in the evaluation process, current company already had Planful/Host before I joined and we re-implemented and enhanced functionality as that was more efficient time wise than moving to brand new tool.
It's a good option for any company looking to get off Excel budgeting. Companies of any size or industry can benefit from Host Analytics.

Planful Feature Ratings

8.8
Long-term financial planning
8
Financial budgeting
9
Forecasting
9
Scenario modeling
9
Management reporting
9
Not Rated
Financial data consolidation
Not Rated
Journal entries and reports
Not Rated
Multi-currency management
Not Rated
Intercompany Eliminations
Not Rated
Minority Ownership
Not Rated
Local and consolidated reporting
Not Rated
Detailed Audit Trails
Not Rated
8.5
Financial Statement Reporting
8
Management Reporting
9
Excel-based Reporting
Not Rated
Automated board and financial reporting
Not Rated
Not Rated
Personalized dashboards
Not Rated
Color-coded scorecards
Not Rated
KPIs
Not Rated
Cost and profitability analysis
Not Rated
Key Performance Indicator setting
Not Rated
8.0
Flat file integration
8
Excel data integration
Not Rated
Direct links to 3rd-party data sources
Not Rated
Not Rated
Pixel Perfect reports
Not Rated
Customizable dashboards
Not Rated
Report Formatting Templates
Not Rated
7.5
Drill-down analysis
Not Rated
Formatting capabilities
7
Report sharing and collaboration
8
9.0
Publish to Web
Not Rated
Publish to PDF
9
Report Versioning
Not Rated
Report Delivery Scheduling
Not Rated
Not Rated
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
Not Rated
Predictive Analytics
Not Rated
8.0
Multi-User Support (named login)
8
Role-Based Security Model
8
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
8
Single Sign-On (SSO)
Not Rated
Not Rated
Responsive Design for Web Access
Not Rated
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile
Not Rated

Planful Features and Attributes

The team is very responsive when cases are opened. Additionally, we have 1:1 support when rolling out more complex enhancements and that has been valuable.

Do you think Planful delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Planful's feature set?

Yes

Did Planful live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Planful go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Planful again?

Yes

Workforce planning and reporting functionality is excellent. Dynamic planning (aka Spotlight, modelling) is powerful too as well. However, learning curve can be a little steep initially.
It's provided one source of truth for the FP&A team, and user friendly platform to create and run reports.
For a large organization it's been invaluable tool to consolidate forecasts and budgets. Having the ability to create scenarios aids in what if analyses.
Product team was very receptive to some features/functionality i had been wanting and actually deployed it. They definitely try to listen to the customer. And they have provided 1:1 support when needed for some system related projects we were rolling out.

Using Planful (formerly Host Analytics)

100 - All users within finance
2 - Reside within the FP&A team, 1 had prior experience using Planful at prior company.
  • Workforce planning
  • Reporting, P&L and adhoc style reports
  • Driver based planning
  • not sure
  • Bring in more data from other systems such as Workday
  • Leverage dynamic planning more, external source models etc
We are able to accomplish what we need with Host Analytics right now so no plans to switch.

Evaluating Planful (formerly Host Analytics) and Competitors

Not Sure
  • Price
  • Product Features
  • Product Usability
  • Existing Relationship with the Vendor
  • Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor
  • Analyst Reports
Functionality, being able to do what we want with the system
I may include more detailed use cases and proofs of concept.

Planful (formerly Host Analytics) Support

ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
Immediate help available
Support cares about my success
Quick Initial Response
None
Yes
Yes - Yes

Using Planful (formerly Host Analytics)

ProsCons
Like to use
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
Requires technical support
  • Reporting
  • Workforce Planning
  • Dynamic planning