Long time user and tool keeps improving
January 15, 2021

Long time user and tool keeps improving

Lacie Baumgartner | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with IBM Planning Analytics

I have implemented this solution across multiple industries such as manufacturing, education, energy, and retail. I have seen this solution be used by the Finance department for budgeting and forecasting but then integrated into other departments throughout the company, such as Sales or Operations for analytics and other uses. Highly customizable for the client's needs.
  • Customizable to your needs.
  • Ability to deploy to many users and one version of truth instead of multiple files.
  • Integrates with Excel.
  • Automates tasks and calculations to allow users to focus on results rather than data integrity.
  • Small learning curve with tool.
  • So many options with the tool that could be confusing where to begin.
  • Integration with certain source systems.
  • Reduces month end close time.
  • More accurate forecasts due to one version of the truth.
  • Easier to plan at a more detailed level including allocations.
Scenario planning is very important and Planning Analytics is able to tackle many scenarios as business needs. Planning Analytics supports a continuous time-dimension so users are able to plan as far out as they would like to across many scenarios. The tool is highly customizable so certain scenarios can be planned, reported, and/or analyzed at either a high or detailed level.

Do you think IBM Planning Analytics delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with IBM Planning Analytics's feature set?

Yes

Did IBM Planning Analytics live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of IBM Planning Analytics go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy IBM Planning Analytics again?

Yes

Highly responsive, especially if you're a cloud customer.
IBM keeps improving on usability and is responsive to enhancement requests from clients.
Highly customizable so Planning Analytics can be suited for not just planning and budgeting but any use cases where analytics are needed. Integrates with Cognos Analytics well and can be used for inputs for reports. Dashboarding and books within Workspace take analytics to a new level. Similar to compiling books in Excel, but easier to share with other users. Scenario planning is top-notch within this tool.

IBM Planning Analytics Feature Ratings

Long-term financial planning
10
Financial budgeting
10
Forecasting
10
Scenario modeling
10
Management reporting
10
Financial data consolidation
8
Journal entries and reports
5
Multi-currency management
8
Intercompany Eliminations
5
Minority Ownership
8
Local and consolidated reporting
8
Detailed Audit Trails
5
Financial Statement Reporting
8
Management Reporting
8
Excel-based Reporting
10
Automated board and financial reporting
5
Personalized dashboards
8
Color-coded scorecards
8
KPIs
9
Cost and profitability analysis
8
Key Performance Indicator setting
9
Benchmarking with external data
8
Flat file integration
10
Excel data integration
10
Direct links to 3rd-party data sources
7
Customizable dashboards
8
Drill-down analysis
9
Formatting capabilities
8
Report sharing and collaboration
10
Publish to Web
7
Publish to PDF
7
Report Versioning
8
Report Delivery Scheduling
5
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
9
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization
8
Predictive Analytics
8
Multi-User Support (named login)
10
Role-Based Security Model
10
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
10
Single Sign-On (SSO)
10
Responsive Design for Web Access
6
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile
5