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Anaplan vs Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Anaplan
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (1st), Production Planning (5th), Predictive Analytics (4th)
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Busi...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
63
Ranking in other categories
ERP (3rd), Activity Based Costing Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Anaplan and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Anaplan is designed for Business Performance Management and holds a mindshare of 13.7%, down 16.1% compared to last year.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central, on the other hand, focuses on ERP, holds 6.4% mindshare, down 6.9% since last year.
Business Performance Management
ERP
 

Featured Reviews

Antonio Flor - PeerSpot reviewer
Real-time data integration enhances operational efficiency and flexibility
As a client developer and solutions architect, I use Anaplan for building modules and deploying logic end-to-end. I work closely with the business in an agile manner to ensure the model aligns with business needs Anaplan offers flexibility in building different options within the platform. The…
StefaanVandesompele - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides end-to-end accounting and finance module at reasonable pricing
365 Business Central integrates with Office 365 to streamline the invoice approval process. This allows businesses to manage and approve invoices efficiently within a unified system. Our organization plans to transition to the Dynamics 365 environment, where various functions will be centralized. We will consolidate everything into one system instead of maintaining multiple databases for each country with local data. Dynamics 365 is fully integrated, which should address many of our challenges when we migrate to this new environment. We look forward to seeing how it performs in practice. The project is progressing well overall, though integrating it with other tools and ensuring Dynamics 365 operates smoothly can be challenging. Dynamics 365 is user-friendly and effective. However, a deeper understanding of its technical capabilities and architecture might be necessary to optimize its use fully. The software landscape is evolving, and achieving the best reporting and functionality with just a click can be complex. A clear vision of what you want to achieve with Dynamics 365 is essential. Proper preparation and configuration are crucial to achieving the desired outcomes. This principle applies not only to Dynamics 365 but to all software packages. Understanding the system's flexibility and adaptability based on your specific business needs is key to its successful implementation. Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Anaplan's scalability stands out compared to other platforms, especially for scenario planning and what-if analysis."
"Anaplan offers flexibility in building different options within the platform."
"The most valuable feature of Anaplan is machine learning. The solution is constantly evolving from feedback. Additionally, there is a wide range of training material online."
"It's highly flexible. If you've got a complex environment with complex calculations, you can build that out. So that's a really good positive."
"The best thing is that it's very intuitive and user-friendly. You don't need coding skills to manipulate the platform."
"Anaplan's most valuable features are that it's a no-coding platform, everything can be scaled to your other functions, and it's easy to learn and use (especially because Anaplan provides excellent interactive training)."
"Where we're seeing the opportunity in the market is at the Fortune 100 companies that have far more complex modeling type scenarios where you need to be able to have a lot of people collaborating together, and you need a lot of information all at everyone's fingertips. This is where you see the big advantage of a solution like Anaplan."
"You don't need to have a programming language to use Anaplan."
"It's quite reliable, and there's a good local provider who can adapt the solution for tax issues."
"We are getting more features after switching to Microsoft 365."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV is brilliant and it's a different segment when comparing it with Dynamics AX. Dynamics AX is a larger product with much more features and it's aimed at a different segment of the market."
"The audit trails, which include any IP system, are very useful."
"The solution is easy to use, flexible, and customizable."
"The solution's integration between Teams, SharePoint, and Exchange Online is really helpful."
"The initial setup is pretty straightforward."
"Has good integration with Power BI."
 

Cons

"Space and integration are a problem."
"There are workspace issues, like the limitation on model sizes."
"There are so many business rules to set up in the system that as a business user it's hard to gauge what they're doing and it's possible to get lost."
"The price of the solution can improve."
"Anaplan is a relatively expensive piece of software."
"Anaplan's workflow component is probably the biggest area for improvement. I'd also like to see Anaplan add an ad hoc reporting tool that allows users to query things. It's going to factor into how you design your data set and your models, but I'd like the ability to create ad hoc queries against the data that's in there."
"The solution can improve by providing an easier form of integration to different platforms, such as receiving data from different Salesforce. There is a process to do it through the use of some APIs but it could be made much easier. This would be a large help to us."
"Anaplan could be improved with a stronger consolidation module."
"I would like to improve the tool’s reporting and coding part."
"I would like to have more frequent updates."
"Implementing localizations when we use the system for multiple countries can be quite complex."
"The solution is not best suited for larger-scale businesses."
"The tool needs to work on reporting issues and user interface."
"The Power BI integration could be more seamless."
"In Thailand, the support here could be better. The process to get an answer is too long."
"There are some aspects of the solution that is complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"A value-for-money product and a very reasonable price compared to competitors like SAP or IBM."
"Anaplan is a bit pricier compared to its competitors - the license costs about $4,000 per user annually."
"The price of the solution is expensive."
"The license is a yearly subscription. There are three licensing tiers: the model builder, planner, and the reporting."
"The cost of Anaplan is a challenge for clients, especially if they don't have an ongoing long-term use case for it. It's a $50,000 licensing fee just to get started. Clients need a strong business case to switch from Excel to Anaplan. But if clients have used something similar in the past, such as Hyperion or other solutions, that's not a factor because they know what to expect."
"We are currently using a free workspace license for 90 days. We are satisfied with the price of the solution. There are additional costs if you want more storage, the default limit is 250 GB."
"The entry-level is anywhere from about $30,000 to $50,000 a year, however, it does go up significantly after that depending on the complexity and how much space you're using."
"The tool’s pricing is reasonable and competitive with other solutions."
"You have to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"Microsoft Dynamics NAV has a pay-as-you-use payment model."
"The on-premises model of Dynamics NAV is very expensive, hence our plan to migrate to Dynamics 365 Business Central, which appears to fit our needs better in terms of pricing. Compared to competitors, the cloud version of Dynamics is in the middle; not too high and not too low."
"We have a perpetual license to use Microsoft Dynamics NAV."
"I think the pricing is the best; it's cost effective for sure."
"Business Central charges a monthly fee of $70 to $100 per user."
"The first time we tried to buy the newest version, it was expensive."
"$80-$100 per license, per month."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
30%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What are your main use cases for Anaplan?
Anaplan is an industry-leading cloud-based corporate performance management (CPM) platform that combines business planning and analytics in a single solution. It is designed to assist organizations...
Is Board better than Anaplan as a Business Intelligence (BI) solution?
We've had several FP&A departments include Anaplan in their analytics discussions, and while BI information IS generated, the focus is generally on compiling input from various sources and simu...
Is Anaplan better than SAP ERP?
There are different aspects of both Anaplan and SAP ERP that I like and dislike. Anaplan improves forecast accuracy and drives up the quality of analytics. Rather than spending all of their time co...
What do you like most about Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
The platform offers a robust and comprehensive cycle for supply chain and inventory management, with features like minimum and maximum settings, dynamic monitoring of inventory levels, and integrat...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
Implementing localizations when we use the system for multiple countries can be quite complex. There isn't a single solution available for all countries, and managing these localizations can be cha...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Dynamics NAV, MS Dynamics NAV
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

HP, ForeScout, DocuSign, EAT, Pandora, Aviva, Intel Security, Zalora
Harris Farm Markets, Mister Spex GmbH, Bounce Foods, Eurofin Services SA, Medica Medizintechnik, Associated Gaskets, Onduline, Sitka Surfboard Corporation, World Animal Protection
Find out what your peers are saying about Anaplan, Oracle, IBM and others in Business Performance Management. Updated: November 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.