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IBM Planning Analytics vs XLCubed comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Planning Analytics
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (4th)
XLCubed
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Reporting (30th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Business Intelligence solutions, they serve different purposes. IBM Planning Analytics is designed for Business Performance Management and holds a mindshare of 4.2%, down 10.1% compared to last year.
XLCubed, on the other hand, focuses on Reporting, holds 1.1% mindshare, up 0.4% since last year.
Business Performance Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Planning Analytics4.2%
Anaplan6.4%
Adaptive Insights5.0%
Other84.4%
Business Performance Management
Reporting Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
XLCubed1.1%
Tableau Enterprise14.6%
Microsoft Power BI13.5%
Other70.8%
Reporting
 

Featured Reviews

Gladys Njeri - PeerSpot reviewer
Key Account Manager at DHL
Data-driven planning has transformed financial decisions and now saves major reporting time
IBM Planning Analytics helps with collaboration between teams by allowing us to gather data from various departments, analyze it, and collaborate on the data to make data-driven decisions between different departments easily. As I mentioned previously, I mainly use IBM Planning Analytics to visualize the existing data to generate meaningful report dashboards and use it during stakeholder meetings to arrive at the right decision. The best features IBM Planning Analytics offers include budgeting, forecasting, and what-if scenario analysis. The scenario modeling feature in IBM Planning Analytics is probably the most robust planning and forecasting solution we use, especially for what-if scenarios, where we are able to forecast using Watson Studio, which helps in better prediction. I really appreciate the Excel integration in IBM Planning Analytics because it keeps things familiar and adds more power.
it_user1391316 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Finance Systems at NHS
Cost effective with great capability, performance, flexibility and visuals
In general, we're happy with the solution but we're always looking to see what else is out there. The thing we've struggled with is our partnership with Tagetik UK, the consultants, and the issue we had gaining access to consultants to develop the solution on our behalf. Thankfully we connected directly with XLCubed and now have a pretty close and good relationship with them so the earlier problem we had of actually getting resources to help us develop has now been solved. One of the things that we've been asking for and would like as an additional feature is a sort of benchmarking functionality. The ability to be able to benchmark, directly against the company digital corporate numbers. That said, there seems to be improved functionality within the latest release that could help us develop that further.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The product's stability is good."
"We cut down on manual budgeting and forecasting work, which saved us between 50 to 70% of our time."
"The most valuable feature is that it is able to slice and dice the data."
"All the different platforms are well integrated."
"The ease of use is valuable. The fact that it's plugged into Excel spreadsheets is also valuable. It provides additional functionality where you can slice and dice the information in a way that you can't do with spreadsheets"
"The most valuable features of IBM Planning Analytics for streamlining planning processes include a unified database where all data are centralized."
"The flexibility of IBM Planning Analytics is a great feature of this solution. The design flexibility with data rules and defining calculations The ability to combine online and offline calculations are a benefit. Additionally, the forecasting features and predictive analytics is very good."
"Some of our customers previously used Excel spreadsheets for budget planning, and the process took more than two months, however, after switching to Planning Analytics, they could do it in a week."
"The solution has great capability, performance, flexibility, visuals, everything, and we also have a very good relationship with the consultants and the solution is also very cost effective."
"I am looking forward to testing their full graphics that are available, as they looked very interesting in the demo."
 

Cons

"Scalability is quite hard to implement in TM1, largely since the on-premise installation chosen back in 2014. On a scale, I'd rate scalability at four, out of ten. It's difficult."
"IBM Planning Analytics does not work offline, which makes it difficult for me and my team to work or gather required data when we do not have an internet connection."
"Data visualization and development interface are areas which need to be worked on."
"It is a bit expensive, but it does the job."
"The workspace API should be improved and documented so we know better which objects are used."
"The tool's transport layer could be improved when promoting development between environments."
"The dashboard is very poor and needs a lot of improvement."
"If we talk only about the TM1 engine, it's quite rich and possibly too rich, making it complex to perform simple tasks."
"Would like the ability to be able to benchmark."
"At this time, I cannot recommend this solution to others because I cannot connect."
"There should be a better or an easier way to establish that connection to external sources."
"It's quite a stable solution although we sometimes encounter issues internally within our IT department with regard to the structure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a bit expensive, but you get what you are paying for."
"The license of this solution is paid annually. Most of my customers choose a license that includes support."
"I would rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten since it's expensive."
"IBM Planning Analytics is priced well, and licensing costs are yearly."
"Compared with the other tools in the market, IBM Planning Analytics is a bit expensive."
"IBM Planning Analytics is not the cheapest solution, but it's priced per the market standard for this type of solution. I rate the price at seven out of ten."
"Our licensing cost is approximately $50,000.00 per year."
"I am still using the two-week trial, but at first sight, the price is reasonable."
"14,000 Pounds per year for licensing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Retailer
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Insurance Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise16
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Planning Analytics?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for IBM Planning Analytics is that the pricing and licensing cost can be somewhat on the higher side, especially for small organizations. Howev...
What needs improvement with IBM Planning Analytics?
IBM Planning Analytics could be improved by simplifying the learning curve, as it requires a lot of time to learn and master it. The advanced features are somewhat complex to understand, and if the...
What is your primary use case for IBM Planning Analytics?
My main use case for IBM Planning Analytics is as an IT software engineer, and I typically use it day-to-day for planning analytics over the past two years. It is probably the most robust planning ...
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Also Known As

Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos TM1
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ManpowerGroup, Convergys, AIG, Orchard Brands, Citibank, InterGen, Northwestern University, EF Education First, Ironside, Bazan Group, CSOB Insurance, Macquarie Group, Charles Stanley, SATO, Government of Sint Maarten, BMW Financial Services
Marshalls Ltd, BP Exploration and Production, Thorntons, Ted Baker, Bristol-Myers, Rank Group, ING Bank Genve, Cargill Value Investment, Chloride Power, Auchan, Erste, UEFA, Novartis, Porsche Informatik, Raiffeisen Bank International
Find out what your peers are saying about Anaplan, SAP, Oracle and others in Business Performance Management. Updated: June 2026.
904,748 professionals have used our research since 2012.