Previously, if we were building models and things like that, we would typically build them in SQL, and, before then, Microsoft Access, and before then, Excel. Some of my clients still use Excel just to keep it kind of simple, however, the reason why we switched to it is that it's really easy to set up the user interface, so you can build something that used to take us six months in SQL with a web UI. Now it takes us six weeks to build something. It's just the speed to deployment which is significantly faster. This is due to the UI which is very well designed, so you can build out that UI very, very quickly. Then the model in the background is also extremely powerful as it's all in memory. The barrier for most companies is the cost to switch. A lot of our clients would stay with Excel models until they got to a certain point, or a company got to a certain size, and then they would move over to an Anaplan.

I have worked on TM1, Essbase, Hyperion, and other similar tools with these capabilities. Comparing to these, I think Anaplan is doing a great job. But in terms of actual user experience, there is room for improvement.

Many clients used Hyperion in the past, but in a lot of cases, they're switching because Hyperion has a heavy data platform. Hyperion was big when they were on JD Edwards for different functions, and those clients are moving away from JD Edwards to the leading industry solutions in real estate, so there's also a shift away from Hyperion planning into Anaplan's flexibility.

We did previously use IBM Cognos. We also noticed people were using Orion Hyperion, however, it is called something else now. 

Cognos is very limited. It takes quite a long to implement and it is not scalable at all. You cannot extend the usage of Cognos as very quickly you are faced with a limit. IBM and Anaplan are like day and night.

I've used other solutions, such as SAP and Oracle. 

The multidimensionality is good in Anaplan as compared to other options. In Anaplan, we can also do calculations in designing a module for all the departments in one go. For other ERPs, for example, in SAP, for each department, there are separate SAPs, different implementations have to be done, and the process has to be set up for all the different departments. 

The client's previous software was less flexible, more clunky, and didn't give them what they wanted. Anaplan has been more flexible, more streamlined, and gives them what they want. If they want X, they get X, and they don't get Y instead.

We did not use another solution previously.

We have business planning and consolidation SAP BPC. It's primarily a financial-driven tool because you just do it at a high level and collect information as a data dump. You don't have any driver-based solutions that extensively in BPC. We went with Anaplan because our focus was on driver-based solutions and cloud strategy.

The solutions are completely different because the other solution is purely an Excel-based solution, a native product, and is much less driver-based. It was very finance-focused, but Anaplan is quite a different strategy for us.

Previously, we had a built-in and Excel-based solution. We switched for more agility, data control and transparency.

I used IBM Cognos TM1, which is now called Planning Analytics. I started using Anaplan because I was given an additional role, and I started supporting Anaplan simultaneously. 

I think there's a lot of differences between Anaplan and IBM because Anaplan is cloud-based. But I believe IBM Planning Analytics is getting on the cloud as well. The old version of IBM is more like a remote desktop. But Anaplan is on the cloud, and you can access it via the web anywhere you go.

We chose Anaplan based on the client’s requirements.

I switched due to the company's policy I work for now.

I have used Microsoft Excel previously.

I didn't use business performance management, however, I do use SAP, IBP, and APO. These are mainly ERP-related Software solutions.

Before using this solution, I used to develop using Excel macro dashboards. I switched because while Excel is a bigger environment compared to Anaplan, this product is a tool created to achieve something, not like an enterprise package.

I used a different solution. I switched to expand my exposure to a budding tool in planning.

Previously we used MS Excel. We switched because we needed global visibility, forecasting accuracy and a cloud/SaaS/online solution for our sales organization.

The organization & forecasting solution in Excel had gotten so complex, took too long to aggregate and was giving Sales Leadership false forecasts (based on bad data).

Being a business analyst, we use multiple tools.

We were the early adaptors of Anaplan. Because of the customizability that it offers and the ease of various “what-if” scenarios, you can build on this tool.

None of the other tools in the market offer that level of flexibility. Hence, it is pretty unique in that sense.