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IBM Planning Analytics vs Oracle Essbase vs Oracle OBIEE 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:
 

Mindshare comparison

Business Performance Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Planning Analytics4.4%
Anaplan7.1%
Board5.0%
Other83.5%
Business Performance Management
Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle Essbase1.2%
Redgate SQL Toolbelt Essentials4.5%
Spotlight4.0%
Other90.3%
Database Development and Management
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle OBIEE1.3%
Microsoft Power BI9.3%
Tableau Enterprise6.7%
Other82.7%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

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.
Bhavya N - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Engineer at Infosys
Ensuring efficient data analysis and reporting while identifying areas for calculation and export improvements
The features of Oracle Essbase are valuable, such as its multi-dimensional database used for dynamic calculations and reporting purposes. These features are valuable because they support multi-dimensional data views, allowing users to analyze relationships across various data categories and establish a comprehensive perspective on business operations. Moreover, dynamic calculations allow real-time data analysis, significantly improving the accuracy and depth of financial insights. I have utilized Essbase's data aggregation capabilities. The Oracle Essbase interface provides a good user experience, allowing users to easily navigate and analyze data with fast query performance, effective data visualization tools such as charts, graphs, and tables, and flexibility for customizable analysis and reporting, including the ability to create ad hoc reports. The benefits of the interface include improving productivity and enhancing decision-making.
AA
Analyst at Equifax Inc.
Unified semantic layer has driven informed credit risk decisions and real-time analytical insight
Performance-related issues are a concern, as in multiple reports I have seen, some reports were poorly performing. We can focus on implementation of performance so that reports are delivered within seconds. The user interface and self-service experience can be improved through modernization of the UI, addressing self-service limitations, and integrating with mobile. Technical and administrative complexities can also be addressed. Complexities such as system configuration require attention. In the initial setup of Oracle OBIEE, there are multiple things starting from infrastructure provisioning, database schemas, and WebLogic server installations. However, the RPD, the semantic layer, is the steepest hurdle. Security integration, integrating with LDAP or Active Directory, is rarely plug and play and requires deep knowledge of WebLogic. Deep knowledge is necessary when starting with the initial setup of Oracle OBIEE. Other dependencies include Java middleware and client tools. Since Oracle OBIEE deals with huge data, report performance is the biggest concern. The out-of-the-box setup is rarely optimized, so we need to manually check configuration files, such as nqsconfig.ini file settings. For recommendations in Oracle OBIEE, from what I have seen, we work with star schemas in the RPD. I always aim for the star schema in the business model, even if the physical source is normalized. This approach will impact the performance, speed of the data, and accuracy. Oracle OBIEE could improve to allow other schemas as well. Performance is a major area for improvement, and they should work on aggregating the persistence and improve the persistence wizard where we implement aggregations. Caching features have been given, including event polling tables where we can do purging and seeding, but the main focus should be with respect to schema designs.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"IBM Planning Analytics is essential for creating a clear budget for our organization so that we can reach our future goals without significant loss."
"IBM Planning Analytics has positively impacted my organization since we started using this tool."
"The flexibility of IBM Planning Analytics is a great feature of this solution, with design flexibility using data rules and defining calculations, the ability to combine online and offline calculations, and very good forecasting features and predictive analytics."
"The most valuable feature is that it is able to slice and dice the data."
"We cut down on manual budgeting and forecasting work, which saved us between 50 to 70% of our time."
"I would strongly recommend to go with TM1 Enterprise in terms of stability, scalability and performance."
"Navigating through the data to make analysis is really quick."
"I don't think there are many tools out there that are as flexible as this solution."
"It is highly efficient and easily scalable, particularly for handling large databases."
"The solution can handle a large volume of data."
"I have found the most valuable aspect is the user-friendly environment and current features."
"The solution is quite scalable, which is the most useful aspect for us."
"It helps us fetch specific data sets per users' requirements."
"Oracle Essbase is a web integration system that integrates with other data systems."
"Unlike relational, where you're linking together multiple tables, with Essbase, you basically define what the dimensions are beforehand, and you define the hierarchy, and then load the data. This allows you to do a pretty sophisticated analysis so that you can drill into it and slice and dice the data."
"The solution is scalable."
"The reporting capabilities are good."
"The most valuable feature of Oracle OBIEE is its ease of use."
"The most valuable features of the solution are the various scenarios the product offers and its stability."
"It's easy to create fully-functional Dashboards."
"The most valuable features are what you can do with it; it's the insight of the data that really gives the management the capability of looking beyond what they probably currently have within the transaction system."
"Our company loves the benefits of this solution and has used it for a long time."
"The “Business Model & Mapping” layer in the Administration Tool, because the maintenance and evolution processes are greatly facilitated."
"We implement this for our customers who have seen multifold speedup in reporting and better visibility into their organizations."
 

Cons

"It's wonky, and not super user-friendly with Excel."
"It's wonky, and not super user-friendly with Excel."
"The CAFE Excel plug-in needs to be improved to handle all the features of older TM1 Perspectives plug-in for Excel."
"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."
"Planning Analytics could be improved by adding automation features."
"It's highly competitive right now, and all the vendors are in a race to put out new versions with additional features. IBM comes out with new versions too often, and it has an impact on quality."
"It would have been better if the solution was not just a tool kit."
"Pulling data from planning crashes very often."
"The initial setup could be simplified."
"It's an expensive product to use."
"The ability to drive external reporting out for development could be improved."
"Sometimes, the current program is slow. They may have to consider the storage and the RAM, increasing the speed and performing the queries at a faster speed."
"The solution could be cheaper. It is costly, and the initial setup could be simplified."
"The main concern is that Oracle is ending on-premises server support, so it would be better if there was a cloud platform available for Oracle Essbase."
"The licensing costs are too high."
"The reporting tool of Essbase needs improvement."
"There are a lot of bugs, hangs and freezes."
"Oracle OBIEE has a steep learning curve compared to tools like SQL Server or Power BI. In situations where complex problem-solving is required, Oracle's support tends to direct users to sales representatives with limited technical knowledge, which is less than ideal."
"Clustering and security (SSL, SSO, etc) can be tough at times."
"When a large number of queries are running at the same time, the report fails."
"Its overall organization as an analytical tool, the layout of OBIEE, is not very good."
"Designing and building the entire set up of Data Warehousing and Dashboard Reporting implementation has been challenging in terms of resources and time."
"It is complex for designing RPD, and it can be simpler. Their support can also be improved in terms of response time."
"One significant improvement is the need for simplification. The set up could be more intuitive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten since it's expensive."
"It is a bit expensive, but you get what you are paying for."
"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."
"IBM Planning Analytics is priced well, and licensing costs are yearly."
"The license of this solution is paid annually. Most of my customers choose a license that includes support."
"Our licensing cost is approximately $50,000.00 per year."
"I believe the licensing is on a monthly base."
"The solution is expensive."
"It is a costly solution."
"Essbase is competitively priced."
"Be prepared to spend a lot of time and money."
"Compared with the other products in the market, I feel Oracle OBIEE is an expensive product."
"The pricing we negotiated with Oracle. But, I do not have details."
"Its licensing is yearly."
"There are no additional costs, but there might be some charges for the Java feature."
"It is an expensive solution."
"It's comparable to the current technology we're using, Qlik Sense."
"It's expensive."
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Comparison Review

it_user79932 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager - BI Head with 5,001-10,000 employees
Feb 4, 2015
Comparison of SAP BO, Tableau, QlikView, Cognos, Microsoft, OBIEE and Pentaho
1. SAP BO/BI Enterprise scalability Security Ease of use Semantic layer 2. Tableau Visualization Data discovery Turnaround time 3. IBM Cognos Enterprise scalability Security In-memory feature 4. MS BI - Flexibility 5. Pentaho - Open source but still enterprise grade 6. QlikView Data…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
9%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Insurance Company
7%
Retailer
5%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business40
Midsize Enterprise34
Large Enterprise103
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Planning Analytics?
The most valuable features of IBM Planning Analytics for streamlining planning processes include a unified database w...
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 co...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Essbase?
It's not that expensive, but also not cheap. I'm not sure because it's a private license.
What needs improvement with Oracle Essbase?
A significant area for improvement in Oracle Essbase is that financial statement analysis, CAPEX and OPEX analysis, a...
What is your primary use case for Oracle Essbase?
The initial setup of Oracle Essbase is dependent on whether you select BSO or ASO cubes. First, you need to set up th...
How does Oracle OBIEE compare with Microsoft BI?
Oracle OBIEE is great in allowing design and creativity per the individual needs of the organization. Dashboards are ...
Which Oracle product is better - OBIEE or Analytics Cloud?
Oracle OBIEE is designed to be relatively easy to set up and has a helpful customer support staff at the ready to ass...
What do you like most about Oracle OBIEE?
The most valuable feature of Oracle OBIEE is its ability to handle large volumes of data and provide traditional BI f...
 

Also Known As

Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos TM1
Essbase
OBIEE, Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition, Oracle BI, Oracle BI EE 11g
 

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
CHU de Rennes, Bellco Credit Union, Akindo Sushiro Co. Ltd, Deutsche Telekom AG, Samarco MineraÊo S.A., PCCW Ltd., QDQ media S.A.U., Boiron Italia, Specialized Bicycle Components Inc., Akindo Sushiro Co. Ltd., Air Canada, Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd.
Banca Transilvania, BeckmanCoulter, Hong Kong Housing Society, HealthShare, Ivanhoe Cambridge Unifies, and Home Credit, and Finance Bank.
Find out what your peers are saying about Anaplan, Oracle, IBM and others in Business Performance Management. Updated: March 2026.
885,444 professionals have used our research since 2012.