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IBM Planning Analytics vs SAS Visual Analytics 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.3
IBM Planning Analytics enhances budgeting efficiency and decision-making, providing cost savings and business insights despite pricing concerns.
Sentiment score
6.3
Organizations saw varied ROI from SAS Visual Analytics, noting improved efficiency and financial tracking despite initial cost challenges.
Since using this tool, I can now make decisions faster, even when there is just a small change in the data.
Key Account Manager at DHL
We have been able to save a lot of time and costs since automation works very effectively.
Team Lead Manager at Finlays
The enterprise subscription offers more benefits, ensuring valuable outcomes.
Senior Manager: ICT Compliance at DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
IBM Planning Analytics support is generally rated well, though some users report slow response times and seek third-party help.
Sentiment score
6.8
SAS Visual Analytics customer service is mixed, with praise for technical support but noted gaps in business needs and regional availability.
We have a multi-level support system, with the initial level handled by the company we bought the license from and subsequent support from IBM.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Instead, we rely on third-party partners recognized by IBM, who provide cost-effective support.
Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
They have been very dedicated and provided top-notch solutions.
Senior Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
They provide callbacks to ensure clarity and resolution of any queries.
Senior Manager: ICT Compliance at DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
IBM Planning Analytics is highly scalable, efficiently handling large data sizes and users, despite potential SaaS costs per user.
Sentiment score
7.8
SAS Visual Analytics effectively scales for large datasets and users, though high resource demands and expenses may concern some.
IBM Planning Analytics' scalability is impressive, as it is able to gather data from multiple sources and handle huge amounts of data without any lagging or downtime.
Team Lead Manager at Finlays
Scalability is quite hard to implement in TM1, largely since the on-premise installation chosen back in 2014.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Scalability is straightforward but it is pricey since it's a SaaS model priced per user.
Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
IBM Planning Analytics is highly stable, reliable, favored for forecasting, with minor issues related to configuration changes or server shutdowns.
Sentiment score
7.1
SAS Visual Analytics is generally reliable but can face performance issues with large data, often due to user practices.
The performance of IBM Planning Analytics has always been fast and reliable for my needs, even when dealing with huge volumes of data.
Key Account Manager at DHL
IBM Planning Analytics is stable because the reason we switched from IBM Cognos is that IBM Planning Analytics capability allows us to connect to multiple tools, which we could not do before.
Senior Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
A stable platform prevents loss of time during this process.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
SAS Visual Analytics is stable and manages data effectively without crashing.
Senior Manager: ICT Compliance at DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Planning Analytics needs better integration, enhanced visuals, simplified interface, stable data extraction, and improved pricing and release management.
SAS Visual Analytics is complex and costly, with challenges in integration, performance, user-friendliness, and external language support.
Additionally, the licensing cost could be reduced a little, and there should be more plans based on feature usage level, as some small organizations or small teams may not afford the current pricing.
Team Lead Manager at Finlays
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.
Key Account Manager at DHL
The abundance of features results in complexity, requiring strict guidelines for developers to ensure simplistic approaches are adhered to.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
In terms of configuration, I would like to see AI capabilities since many applications are now integrating AI.
Senior Manager: ICT Compliance at DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION
 

Setup Cost

IBM Planning Analytics is considered fairly priced, though setup costs are high, with potentially advantageous negotiation options for larger projects.
SAS Visual Analytics is costly for small enterprises, but offers strong analytics and simplicity, though consulting and scaling add expenses.
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.
Senior Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
TM1 is quite expensive, and I'd rate the pricing as an eight out of ten.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
While IBM's solutions were costly before, the introduction of SaaS models has reduced prices significantly.
Financial Performance Manager at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Valuable Features

IBM Planning Analytics enhances decision-making with flexibility, real-time calculations, Excel integration, and AI-driven scenario analysis and automation.
SAS Visual Analytics excels in data visualization, advanced analytics, and user-friendly interface with rapid processing and seamless integration.
Its stability helps controllers win time in their planning processes.
Responsable B.I at a retailer with 51-200 employees
Some of the valuable features of IBM Planning Analytics are its intuitive and user-friendly interface, reporting output and scheduling, access control and security, and mobile capabilities.
Senior Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
The scenario modeling feature in IBM Planning Analytics is probably the most robust planning and forecasting solution we use, especially for what-if scenarios.
Key Account Manager at DHL
The ability to query information from our Excel data into SAS to view specific data is invaluable.
Senior Manager: ICT Compliance at DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Planning Analytics
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (4th)
SAS Visual Analytics
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Data Visualization (10th)
 

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 4.5%, down 9.1% compared to last year.
SAS Visual Analytics, on the other hand, focuses on Data Visualization, holds 1.9% mindshare, down 4.7% since last year.
Business Performance Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IBM Planning Analytics4.5%
Anaplan6.9%
CCH Tagetik5.1%
Other83.5%
Business Performance Management
Data Visualization Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAS Visual Analytics1.9%
Tableau Enterprise10.1%
Qlik Sense5.3%
Other82.7%
Data Visualization
 

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.
AN
Senior Manager: ICT Compliance at DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION
Enables effective data management and reporting with a straightforward setup
SAS Visual Analytics is helpful as it allows us to perform any queries we need. The ability to query information from our Excel data into SAS to view specific data is invaluable. In terms of reporting, it is easy to extract quick reports and provides graphical representations of the data, which is a great feature.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Retailer
9%
Insurance Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
University
7%
 

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 Business13
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise19
 

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?
While IBM's solutions were costly before, the introduction of SaaS models has reduced prices significantly. Comparatively, IBM rates may be better than those of competitors, such as Hyperion ( /pro...
What needs improvement with IBM Planning Analytics?
IBM is behind competitors like Tableau ( /products/tableau-reviews ) and Power BI in terms of visualization. Their visuals are less innovative and practical with fewer varieties. IBM's visualizatio...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAS Visual Analytics?
It's about an average of five. It's easy to scale, but it comes with cost.
What needs improvement with SAS Visual Analytics?
In terms of configuration, I would like to see AI capabilities since many applications are now integrating AI. It may be that our current subscription does not include AI-enabled features, but I wo...
What is your primary use case for SAS Visual Analytics?
I started to work with SAS Visual Analytics ( /products/sas-visual-analytics-reviews ) in 2015. We use it for analysis on ICT expenditure information and ICT personnel information. The analytics ar...
 

Also Known As

Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos TM1
SAS BI
 

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
Staples, Ausgrid, Scotiabank, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, Xcel Energy, and Triad Analytics Solutions.
Find out what your peers are saying about Anaplan, Oracle, IBM and others in Business Performance Management. Updated: January 2026.
881,665 professionals have used our research since 2012.