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IBM Planning Analytics vs SAS Activity-Based Management comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

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
28
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
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Business Performance Management category, the mindshare of IBM Planning Analytics is 4.4%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAS Activity-Based Management is 2.5%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Business Performance Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IBM Planning Analytics4.4%
SAS Activity-Based Management2.5%
Other93.1%
Business Performance Management
 

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_user530763 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Planning Analytics' best features include automatic updates and slicing."
"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"
"For most clients, they evaluate other similar software, but in general this software has more flexibility to make changes and adapt their business rules to the tool."
"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."
"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."
"All the different platforms are well integrated."
"Its stability helps controllers win time in their planning processes."
"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."
"The product allows us to calculate the distributed cost across activities."
"Cube generation is a valuable feature."
"The product helped determine the organization's true cost of providing its products and services to customers."
 

Cons

"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 is a bit expensive, but it does the job."
"Planning Analytics could be improved by adding automation features."
"I think the software front-end on Cognos Contributor should be developed further to provide the final user with a better and clear design."
"If we talk only about the TM1 engine, it's quite rich and possibly too rich, making it complex to perform simple tasks."
"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."
"The tool should include features for prediction. It can also improve the scalability."
"The local authentication part is difficult to manage in the product, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The usability needs to be improved but bear in mind that we did not have the latest update."
"We experienced severe performance issues when the models created are getting more details and becoming more complex."
"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"
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our licensing cost is approximately $50,000.00 per year."
"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."
"Compared with the other tools in the market, IBM Planning Analytics is a bit expensive."
"It is a bit expensive, but you get what you are paying for."
"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."
"I would rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten since it's expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Retailer
9%
Insurance Company
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise16
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.
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...
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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
Bank of Queensland, Barclays Bank, BioMar, Danske Bank, Danske Spil, DPPS, First Allied
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Planning Analytics vs. SAS Activity-Based Management and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.