If you're staring down a stack of RFPs or a demo calendar full of “transformational” planning software pitches, you’re not alone. Picking a tool like Anaplan or any other enterprise planning solution can feel like a minefield of buzzwords and vague promises. This guide is for the operations folks, finance leads, and IT partners who have to cut through the noise to find something that actually works—and grows with you.
Let’s get practical. Here’s how to actually compare Anaplan with other enterprise planning tools and make a choice you won’t regret six months (or six years) from now.
1. Start With What Actually Needs Solving
Before you get dazzled by dashboards or “connected planning” pitches, nail down what problems you’re trying to solve.
- Where are your biggest planning headaches?
- Is it budgeting, forecasting, supply chain, sales ops, or something else?
- Who actually uses the tool every day?
- Finance? Sales managers? The folks in supply chain?
- What’s broken about your current process?
- Is it version control hell, too many spreadsheets, slow scenario planning, or something else?
- How fast do you need to scale, and what does “scale” really mean for you?
- More users? More data? More regions?
If you can’t answer these in plain language, pause before you look at features. The best planning software for a 200-person company with one product line is rarely the best for a multinational with 12 subsidiaries.
Pro tip: Vendors love to show off features you’ll never use. Don’t confuse a feature list with a solution to your actual problem.
2. Get Clear on What Makes Anaplan Different (and Where It’s the Same)
Let’s be blunt: Most enterprise planning tools promise flexibility, real-time data, and cloud scalability. Anaplan is no exception. So what’s really unique, and what’s just sales talk?
Where Anaplan Stands Out: - Modeling Flexibility: Anaplan’s spreadsheet-like modeling is powerful if you want to build and tweak business logic without IT bottlenecks. - Connected Planning: It does a good job linking plans across departments (finance, supply chain, sales) without needing a developer for every tweak. - Cloud-Native: No on-premises headaches, and you can scale users and models up or down.
Where It’s Like the Rest: - User Experience: It’s not dramatically different from other planning tools. Expect a learning curve, especially for non-finance folks. - Integration: Like most, it claims broad integration. In reality, there’s always some manual work—especially at the start. - Customization: Powerful, but not magic. Complex models still take time and expertise to build right.
What to Ignore: - Any claim that “anyone” can build complex models in hours. If your business is complicated, so is your Anaplan model. - Hype about “AI-driven insights.” These are usually glorified trend lines, not actual decision-makers.
3. Map Out the Alternatives (Don’t Just Google "Anaplan Competitors")
Don’t fall for the first “top 10” list you find. Focus on the real alternatives for your business size, industry, and needs.
Common Alternatives: - Oracle Cloud EPM: Strong for enterprise finance, but can get clunky and expensive. - SAP Analytics Cloud: Good if you’re already an SAP shop, but integration elsewhere is a pain. - Workday Adaptive Planning: Easier for mid-sized companies; less flexible for complex scenarios. - IBM Planning Analytics (TM1): Powerful for heavy-duty modeling, but has a steep learning curve. - OneStream: Focused on consolidation and financial planning for large enterprises. - Excel (yes, still): Ubiquitous, flexible, but not scalable or auditable for big organizations.
How to shortlist: - Are you deeply invested in a vendor’s ecosystem (Oracle, SAP, Microsoft)? - Is your planning mostly financial, or do you need operational/supply chain integration too? - Do you care more about self-service or IT-driven control?
4. Set Up a Fair, Real-World Comparison
Forget vendor checklists. Build a simple scorecard based on your actual workflows.
What to compare: - Ease of Use: Can your team build and update models, or will you need outside consultants? - Integration: How much pain will it take to connect your core systems (ERP, CRM, HR)? - Scalability: Can it handle more users, more data, more complexity as you grow? - Speed: Not just theoretical—how fast can users actually run scenarios or generate reports? - Change Management: How hard is it to update models when the business changes? - Total Cost: Include license fees, implementation, support, and ongoing admin costs.
Sample Scorecard:
| Criteria | Anaplan | Oracle Cloud EPM | Workday Adaptive | Excel | |--------------------|---------------|------------------|------------------|---------| | Ease of Use | Medium | Low-Medium | High | High | | Integration | Medium | High (Oracle) | Medium | Low | | Scalability | High | High | Medium | Low | | Speed | High | Medium | Medium | Medium | | Change Management | Medium | Low | Medium | High | | Total Cost | High | High | Medium | Low |
This is just an example—fill it in based on your actual demos and pilot projects.
5. Dig Into Implementation (This Is Where Most Projects Succeed or Fail)
Every vendor will say their software is easy to set up. Almost none actually are—especially in complex organizations.
Questions to ask: - How long does a typical implementation take for a company like yours? - Who actually does the heavy lifting—your team, the vendor, or a third-party consultant? - What skills do you need in-house to maintain and update the models? - How often do you need to call in expensive experts for changes? - Are there reference customers in your industry/size who can talk about their real experiences?
Watch out for: - Overly optimistic timelines. If the sales guy says “weeks,” the delivery team will say “months.” - “Citizen developer” hype. Some business users can handle tweaks, but major updates usually need expertise. - Ongoing costs. Maintenance and support can sneak up on you, especially if you rely on external partners.
6. Test for the Human Factor (Adoption Is Everything)
Even the fanciest planning tool fails if people hate using it or can’t trust the numbers.
What to do: - Run a pilot with a real team, not just power users or project champions. - Ask for honest feedback—what’s confusing, what’s slow, what would they still do in Excel? - Check how easy it is to audit changes and understand where numbers come from. - Look at training resources, user forums, and support responsiveness.
If your team is still emailing spreadsheets around after go-live, the tool hasn’t solved your problem.
7. Don’t Get Distracted by the Latest Buzzwords
AI, machine learning, predictive analytics—these get tossed around a lot. Here’s the reality:
- Most “AI” features today are glorified helpers, not magic wands.
- If you’re struggling with basic forecasting or data consolidation, AI won’t save you.
- Focus on the basics first: reliability, speed, transparency, and control.
8. Think About the Next 3 Years, Not Just the Next 3 Months
It’s easy to buy for your current pain. The real test is whether your planning platform grows with you.
Check: - How hard is it to add new business units, regions, or product lines? - Can the tool handle more data and users without slowing to a crawl? - What’s the vendor’s track record for product updates and support? - What’s the roadmap—are they investing in the features you’ll need?
If the answer to any of these is “call a consultant,” think twice.
9. Make the Call—Then Keep It Simple
After all the demos and debates, don’t overthink it. No tool is perfect, and most of your success will come from clear processes and good data, not the software itself.
Quick reminders: - Pick the tool that fits 80% of your needs and doesn’t box you in. - Don’t buy for hypothetical future needs that may never materialize. - Budget for training and process changes, not just software. - Make sure you can get out if things go sideways.
The Bottom Line
Enterprise planning tools like Anaplan can help you scale, but only if you stay grounded in your real needs and ignore the hype. Get clear on your problems, test with real users, and pick a platform you can actually grow with. Keep it simple, stay skeptical, and remember: it’s easier to iterate on a good-enough solution than to fix a perfect product nobody uses.