Anaplan Reviews & Product Details

Anaplan is a tool that is easy to use, not only for end users but also for developers building planning applications. The structure, building blocks, and user-friendly ("Excel-like") modeling interface make this tool suitable for a wide range of use cases, from financial forecasting and sales performance to supply chain. One tool enables the chaining of different areas, creating a unified environment with real-time collaboration that allows end users to view the latest updates made within the team or by other teams. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The tool lacks some essential features that could help developers and users build and utilize the tool more effectively and fully leverage its potential. Lack of versioning, partial promotions, multifilter, or long rollback times are some of the most missing features. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I've been using Anaplan for the past 10 years, and witnessed Anaplan ongoing product enhancements.

1.Regular updates ranging from modeling capabilities, user interface improvements, user management, machine learning based forecasting, workflow automation features makes Anaplan an increasingly powerful and user friendly platform.

2. Implementation time with Anaplan is notably shorter compared to other Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) tools, allowing organizations to deploy solutions faster and realize value more quickly Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Overall, I really enjoy modeling in Anaplan and its capabilities. However, I believe there’s still room for improvement in the user experience (UX) to enhance usability. Additionally, some Excel functionalities are not yet available in Anaplan, which occasionally requires workarounds Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

> As an long time implementation partner of Anaplan , can definitely vouch for its native cloud system where it is built for ease of implementing building of models as well as intuitive and collaborative UX features which make business users understand and use Anaplan efficiently

> Latest features like workflow and ADO have been incorporated which allows data management and loading in house leading to greater data quality loaded into models and also managing tasks like approvals and automation easily

> Vast customer support portal and community wherein there are new ideas as well as readily available solutions

> Integration to and from Anaplan for database and well as BI tools and also custom integrations possible using API.

> Excellent safety and security features to ensure role as well as granular access for users can be managed Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

> In initial phase can be a bit tricky to get around especially for users with new /limited experience

>Essentially a planning tool , not data and BI tool completely so for BI features , need to link to external tools for rich reports and charts although new UX provide great options

> Bulk adding of users in a workspace is not possible.

> Lesser use of AI features for now Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

- It's easy set-up - no dedicated server needed (no IT involvement needed)

- No coding skills are needed. Pretty much anyone that can build excel models can build models in Anaplan

- Granular read/write access control by user

- System of record

- Powerful and flexible

- Connected models Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

- Dashboard formatting

- Poor data visualization

- Slow to push community requested features

- When reaching the maximum size of the workspace, models tend to ger slower

- Poor reporting capabilities

- Poor customer support Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

With a solid foundation of data, integrations, financial models, the tool can be as flexible as the company needs. The code is easy to understand and easily built out with the proper talent (either in house or contracted). Users do not need extensive architecture knowledge to stand up models and then connect the pipes together. This allows teams to trial and error fairly quickly to build new use cases. The ability to manage a large portion of the infrastructure within the function and outside of IT is also very appealing. Typically, finance functions rely on IT to perform regular tasks and wait for results - with Anaplan, a lot of those activities can remain with the business. There are a variety of integration tools available as well as native tooling that can support an enterprise. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Without major talent, the models can quickly go awry and be poorly designed. Though the functionality may work, it might be less performant or create complexities when trying to adjust existing logic. Talent is also a large factor when considering this tool as it requires either building a team in house or contracting out. With contractors, you run the risk of knowledge gaps & lack of documentation for proprietary processes. To facilitate the implementation phase, business owners need to actively participate and devote a large number of hours to support the build. This is expensive to manage with larger organizations and could be less likely with smaller organizations. On the support side, you may contract out activities but there is a ramp up time that companies need to factor in (though this is true with most tools). The pricing model is quickly evolving to a subscription based model (again not uncommon amongst most SaaS platforms these days). Customer support is fairly basic and can be escalated, but is cumbersome during critical periods. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I love Anaplan's flexibility and ease of use, especially its cloud-based, low-code platform that allows for intuitive navigation. The customer support is fantastic and responsive. The advanced features and continuous updates keep up with market demands, ensuring seamless user experiences. Anaplan's ability to solve problems by providing real-time data integration and advanced security is exceptional. The scenario-based modeling for forecasting, budgeting, and planning is highly useful for clients. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I would like to see a place where I can test all the formulas before deploying them. This would make things more efficient for model builders. Additionally, I feel that the UX and other pages of Anaplan could be more intuitive. Another area for improvement is being able to model without worrying about model size and workspace size. Addressing these issues could enhance the overall user experience and make it easier to manage models. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The solution is Easy to Implement with Less dependency on IT.

Solutions can be implemented as quickly as 1 week and can be done by existing Business user with Technical know-how.

Huge Time and Cost benefit to companies.

Cloud based technology, so does not require installing or maintaining software.

Upgrades come with zero cost and no IT involvement.

Excel Add-In has been improved and is an advantage to users who are not willing to move away from Excel.

Many Planning Formulas are included which are hard to create or not available in Excel. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Reporting can be improved

Would like to see more frequent Product updates

Free API connectivity is limited and not end user friendly.

Model sizing is another limitation, any solution has to be developed with size in mind.

No single way to solve a problem, which leads to inconsistent model building.

Need to improve connectivity to many widely used platforms. ex. Power BI Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

From a model builder’s perspective, what I like best about Anaplan is its flexibility and the control it provides over building complex planning models without needing traditional coding skills. The platform’s intuitive interface allows me to design and customize models that fit unique business requirements, combining data from multiple sources into a single, connected planning environment.

Anaplan’s in-memory engine is powerful and supports real-time calculations, which means changes in one part of the model immediately update all related calculations. This instant feedback is invaluable for testing scenarios and ensuring data accuracy. The drag-and-drop functionality and modular structure make it easy to organize data and logic logically, improving maintainability and scalability.

Another key advantage is the ability to create reusable components like lists, modules, and line items, which saves time and helps maintain consistency across models. The platform also encourages collaboration by allowing multiple users to work on the same model simultaneously, with role-based access controls ensuring data security.

While there is a learning curve, especially with complex formula building and model optimization, the extensive community support and training resources make it manageable. Overall, Anaplan empowers model builders to deliver agile, robust planning solutions that can quickly adapt to changing business needs, which is highly rewarding. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I don’t like about Anaplan is the performance slowdown when working with large or highly complex models. As the size of the model grows—especially with millions of cells, multiple dimensions, or intricate formula logic—calculations can take much longer to complete. This lag impacts day-to-day usability, causing delays when entering data, refreshing dashboards, or running scenario analyses. This becomes more noticeable when multiple users are collaborating simultaneously, sometimes leading to timeouts or frustration during critical planning cycles. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The most helpful aspect of Anaplan is that it gives business users the ability to build models, i.e. planning, budgeting, and forecasting models, that are customized to their business needs. Models can also be built to incorporate data from almost any source, into the hundreds of millions of data points (rows/columns/cells), without compromising on performance or detail. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Anaplan's customizability can also be a double-edged sword. Although there are more and more out-of-the-box solutions being built and provided by Anaplan and 3rd parties, an organization will most likely have to expend significant resources to implement. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Anaplan is extremely flexible in solutioning, provides a great stream-lined connection between calculations and reporting, and is highly auditable.

Anaplan is also very scalable within a business, and the extremely powerful calculation engine provides ability to connect and aggregate data from various sources within one dynamic model.

Finally, the Anaplan team is evidently committed to continuous improvement of the platform, and they do truly take developer feedback into account. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Anaplan's Reporting Suite has vastly improved over the last year, however when compared to reporting centric systems such as Tableau, it still leaves much to be desired. Specifically, the Management Reporting suite needs work to become an operable alternative to standard reporting methods. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.