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IBM Planning Analytics vs Oracle Essbase 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Planning Analytics
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (6th)
Oracle Essbase
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Database Development and Management (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

IBM Planning Analytics and Oracle Essbase aren’t in the same category and 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.
Oracle Essbase, on the other hand, focuses on Database Development and Management, holds 1.2% mindshare, up 1.2% 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
Database Development and Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Oracle Essbase1.2%
Redgate SQL Toolbelt Essentials4.5%
Spotlight4.0%
Other90.3%
Database Development and Management
 

Featured Reviews

Sai Tilak - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead Manager at Finlays
Unified planning has improved forecasting accuracy and supports faster, data-driven decisions
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. 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. Besides upgrade frequency and licensing cost, another improvement that IBM Planning Analytics needs is to enhance the inbuilt dashboard visualization tools, as they are not as impressive compared to other alternatives like Tableau. Regarding my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing, I believe the licensing cost could be reduced somewhat, and there should be more plans based on future usage level. In my case, I mainly use only the dashboard and sometimes visualization tools, but still end up paying a substantial amount. Therefore, the licensing cost could be reduced.
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's a very stable, robust product."
"The scenario modeling capabilities are frequently used to create different scenarios, compare them, and see which action leads to which result."
"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"
"The most valuable features of IBM Planning Analytics for streamlining planning processes include a unified database where all data are centralized."
"IBM Planning Analytics has positively impacted my organization since we started using this tool."
"IBM Planning Analytics can help us build scenarios through a sandbox environment, allowing us to test multiple variables and assess their impact on our budget and planning."
"IBM Planning Analytics is easy to use and deploy. It is quick to develop. The calculation machine is also very fast."
"A lot of the platform is in-memory, so Planning Analytics can run calculations quite fast. It also offers several user interfaces. And in the newest version of Planning Analytics, there is a new one called the Planning Analytics Workspace. Maybe it could be useful for the business side."
"I have found the most valuable aspect is the user-friendly environment and current features."
"With Oracle Essbase, everything is centralized in a comprehensive financial statement analysis, allowing for complete management of budget, actuals analysis, and forecast."
"Oracle's capability to define custom hierarchies and dimensions has helped my organization in performing nuanced data exploration and advanced modeling because we use Oracle Essbase for dimension definition and also to define the properties of these members, such as dynamic members, stored members, shared members."
"The solution is stable and reliable."
"The solution is scalable."
"Essbase is extremely stable and low-maintenance."
"It is highly efficient and easily scalable, particularly for handling large databases."
"The solution can handle a large volume of data."
 

Cons

"It would have been better if the solution was not just a tool kit."
"The workspace API should be improved and documented so we know better which objects are used."
"IBM Planning Analytics could be improved by simplifying the learning curve, as it requires a lot of time to learn and master it."
"If we talk only about the TM1 engine, it's quite rich and possibly too rich, making it complex to perform simple tasks."
"IBM is behind competitors like Tableau and Power BI in terms of visualization. Their visuals are less innovative and practical with fewer varieties."
"The dashboard is very poor and needs a lot of improvement."
"Planning Analytics could be improved by adding automation features."
"Extracting data is a little slow."
"It's an expensive product to use."
"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."
"A significant area for improvement in Oracle Essbase is that financial statement analysis, CAPEX and OPEX analysis, and financial consolidation must be done manually, as Oracle Essbase doesn't include the financial consolidation module that is available in EPM."
"The initial setup is pretty complex."
"The initial setup could be simplified."
"They should improve the solution's performance."
"The consolidation engine, which is HFM or FCCS, needs some room for improvement."
"The solution could enhance business analytics. I delved into the data using Oracle Essbase to create a new support tool."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 would rate the tool's pricing a nine out of ten since it's expensive."
"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."
"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."
"I believe the licensing is on a monthly base."
"It is a costly solution."
"The solution is expensive."
"Essbase is competitively priced."
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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
20%
Insurance Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise14
 

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 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, and financial consolidation must be done manually, as Oracle Essbase doesn't incl...
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 the type of information and once the type of cubes is defined, you need to define ...
 

Also Known As

Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos TM1
Essbase
 

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.
Find out what your peers are saying about Anaplan, Oracle, IBM and others in Business Performance Management. Updated: January 2026.
881,346 professionals have used our research since 2012.