IBM Planning Analytics vs SAS Activity-Based Management comparison

IBM and SAS are both solutions in the Business Performance Management category. IBM is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3, while SAS is ranked #18. IBM holds a 4.4% mindshare in BPM, compared to SAS’s 2.5% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of IBM users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 20% of SAS users who would recommend it.

IBM Planning Analytics

Read 28 IBM Planning Analytics reviews

3,172 Views
1,364 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

SAS Activity-Based Management

Read 5 SAS Activity-Based Management reviews

591 Views
591 Comparison Views

20% willing to recommend

IBM Planning Analytics

SAS Activity-Based Management

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

SAS Activity-Based Management and IBM Planning Analytics are competing products in the realm of business performance management. IBM Planning Analytics seems to hold the upper hand with its expansive features that are valued positively.

Features: SAS Activity-Based Management provides extensive cost analysis and cost allocation capabilities, offers OLAP data extraction and export, and supports cube generation for better data presentation. IBM Planning Analytics excels in real-time calculation, integrates well with Excel, and offers extensive in-memory processing for fast performance.

Room for Improvement: SAS Activity-Based Management could enhance its chart/graphs feature, expand its data integration capabilities beyond cubes, and simplify user training. IBM Planning Analytics may improve its deployment intricacy, increase configurability without IT assistance, and add more user-friendly interfaces for non-technical users.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAS Activity-Based Management offers a straightforward deployment process with comprehensive support. IBM Planning Analytics, though slightly more complex to deploy, provides flexible support services post-deployment.

Pricing and ROI: SAS Activity-Based Management is a cost-effective solution with favorable ROI due to its emphasis on cost analysis. IBM Planning Analytics, while initially more expensive, delivers a convincing ROI with its advanced analytics and planning functions.

To learn more, read our detailed IBM Planning Analytics vs. SAS Activity-Based Management Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

IBM Planning Analytics vs. SAS Activity-Based Management

March 2026

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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

Ranking in Business Performance Management

4th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SAS Activity-Based Management

Ranking in Business Performance Management

18th

Average Rating

5.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Business Performance Management category, the mindshare of IBM Planning Analytics is 4.4%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Activity-Based Management is 2.5%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Business Performance Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
IBM Planning Analytics	4.4%
SAS Activity-Based Management	2.5%
Other	93.1%

Business Performance Management

Featured Reviews

Gladys Njeri

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.

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it_user530763

CEO at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees

Helps to compare production costs across different departments. Try CostPerform from QPR.

Helps to compare production costs across different departments The data integration is very complex Visualization of the cost flow is not user-friendly It takes hours to build OLAP cubes to analyze the results of the model We have been using this solution for three years. I would rate the…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The scenario modeling capabilities are frequently used to create different scenarios, compare them, and see which action leads to which result."

"IBM Planning Analytics is essential for creating a clear budget for our organization so that we can reach our future goals without significant loss."

"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."

"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."

"This level of stability is crucial for a product like Cognos TM1, as using an unstable platform would result in loss of time."

"I would recommend Planning Analytics to other users as it's user-friendly, accessible, and flexible."

"Navigating through the data to make analysis is really quick."

More IBM Planning Analytics pros

"The product helped determine the organization's true cost of providing its products and services to customers."

"Helps to compare production costs across different departments."

"We use ABM as an expense allocation model and it has improved the awareness and accountability of the cost incurred due to the traceability feature."

"Cube generation is a valuable feature."

"The product allows us to calculate the distributed cost across activities."

Cons

"It would have been better if the solution was not just a tool kit. They did not embed some functionalities already developed, we are having to develop them ourselves."

"TM1 is a bit expensive, especially for small companies who should look more at products like Jedox or Tableau etc.. Who propose all in 1 products with good looking visualization components"

"The new frontend Planning Analytics Workspace is not very good, it could be improved. I like the Planning Analytics functionality but it would be helpful if it could be more customizable. You can create a prediction and receive information but you cannot do feature engineering regarding the predictive models. If this was added it would be helpful."

"Adding predefined templates could be beneficial."

"The CAFE Excel plug-in needs to be improved to handle all the features of older TM1 Perspectives plug-in for Excel."

"It would have been better if the solution was not just a tool kit."

"IBM Planning Analytics could be improved by avoiding frequent upgrades and planning a few limited upgrades throughout the year, so that bugs are not introduced and can be reduced."

"The tool should include features for prediction. It can also improve the scalability."

More IBM Planning Analytics cons

"We experienced severe performance issues when the models created are getting more details and becoming more complex."

"It could be made much more simpler. Most of the time it looks like a black box for developers."

"The interface is poorly designed and could really use an improvement to compete with other comparable software."

"The usability needs to be improved but bear in mind that we did not have the latest update."

"The data integration is very complex Visualization of the cost flow is not user-friendly It takes hours to build OLAP cubes to analyze the results of the model"

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 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."

"It is a bit expensive, but you get what you are paying for."

"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."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Retailer

Insurance Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	15

No data available

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 where all data are centralized.

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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...

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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...

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Comparisons

Microsoft Power BI vs IBM Planning Analytics

Compared 11% of the time

SAP Business Data Cloud vs IBM Planning Analytics

Compared 10% of the time

Anaplan vs IBM Planning Analytics

Compared 8% of the time

Jedox vs IBM Planning Analytics

Compared 5% of the time

Board vs IBM Planning Analytics

Compared 4% of the time

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Oracle HFM vs SAS Activity-Based Management

Compared 10% of the time

Oracle Hyperion vs SAS Activity-Based Management

Compared 9% of the time

NICE Merced vs SAS Activity-Based Management

Compared 8% of the time

CCH Tagetik vs SAS Activity-Based Management

Compared 7% of the time

Workiva Wdesk vs SAS Activity-Based Management

Compared 7% of the time

More SAS Activity-Based Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IBM Planning Analytics

March 2026

Download IBM Planning Analytics product report

Buyer's Guide

Business Performance Management

March 2026

Download SAS Activity-Based Management product report

Also Known As

Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos TM1

No data available

Overview

IBM Planning Analytics is an integrated planning solution that uses AI to automate planning, budgeting, and forecasting and drive more intelligent workflows.

Built on TM1, IBM’s powerful calculation engine, this enterprise performance management tool allows you to transcend the limits of manual planning and become the Analytics Hero your business needs. Quickly and easily drive faster, more accurate plans for FP&A, sales, supply chain and beyond.

IBM

SAS Activity-Based Management is an analytic application that models business processes to determine cost, profitability and drivers. With this solution, organizations can make informed decisions that streamline processes, deliver revenue growth and reduce costs across the organization.

SAS

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

Bank of Queensland, Barclays Bank, BioMar, Danske Bank, Danske Spil, DPPS, First Allied

Buyer's Guide

IBM Planning Analytics vs. SAS Activity-Based Management

March 2026

Free Report: IBM Planning Analytics vs. SAS Activity-Based Management

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