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Overview

IBM Planning Analytics

IBM Planning Analytics is IBM's planning solution, built on the TM1 engine. Finance and operations teams use it for budgets, forecasts and what-if scenarios, either in a web browser or directly in Excel. AEXIS, an IBM partner, designs, migrates and supports Planning Analytics models for organisations in Belgium, the Netherlands and France.

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On this pageWhat is IBM Planning Analytics?

What is IBM Planning Analytics?

IBM Planning Analytics is financial and operational planning software. Its engine, TM1, is a multidimensional database that works in memory. When a controller changes a price, volume or headcount assumption, every total, allocation and KPI that depends on it is recalculated straight away, with no overnight consolidation run.

Many teams still call it "TM1", and for good reason. The engine was designed in the 1980s and passed through Applix and then Cognos before IBM acquired Cognos in 2008. Since 2016, IBM has sold it as Planning Analytics, adding a web interface, Planning Analytics Workspace, and an Excel add-in, Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel.

Day to day, the platform is used to build budgets and forecasts, compare scenarios and plan sales, workforce or production. It also feeds management reporting. It can run on your own servers (Planning Analytics Local) or be hosted by IBM (Planning Analytics as a Service).

Architecture

Platform components

TM1, the calculation engine

In-memory database

TM1 cubes store the data and apply calculation rules, consolidations and allocations. Users can write data back into the model.

Planning Analytics Workspace

Web interface

PAW is where users enter, analyse and present data in the browser. It is also used to build dashboards, contribution workflows and part of the administration.

Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel

Excel add-in

PAfE connects Excel to TM1 cubes: dynamic reports, input forms and TM1 formulas, with current data secured on the server.

TurboIntegrator and TM1 rules

Integration and calculation

TurboIntegrator processes load and transform data from the ERP, payroll or CRM. TM1 rules hold the company's own business logic.

Use cases

What Planning Analytics changes for finance and business teams

A planning tool should be judged by what it changes in the budget cycle. With Planning Analytics, most of the gain comes from three things: one shared model instead of dozens of workbooks, instant calculation that makes scenario work practical, and the option to keep Excel wherever it is still the best tool for the job.

Starting pointA budget spread across dozens of files
What Planning Analytics doesA TM1 model holds the data, calculation rules, access rights and versions. Contributors enter figures in Excel through PAfE or in the browser through PAW.
Impact for teamsNo more manual consolidation, and no more doubt about which file is the right one.
Starting pointScenarios that take too long to produce
What Planning Analytics doesIn-memory cubes recalculate price, volume, headcount, capacity or currency assumptions immediately, including across linked models.
Impact for teamsFinance and business teams compare several scenarios using the same rules, live in a meeting if needed.
Starting pointUsers who rely heavily on Excel
What Planning Analytics doesPlanning Analytics for Microsoft Excel keeps Excel layouts and formulas, with live TM1 data and the ability to write back to the model.
Impact for teamsAdoption happens without disruption, while the data stays controlled on the server.
Starting pointAn ageing platform that needs to move on
What Planning Analytics doesPlanning Analytics Local 2.1 runs on TM1 v11. TM1 Database 12 is available on Planning Analytics as a Service and IBM Cloud Pak Software Hub.
Impact for teamsMoving to v12 is planned as an architecture project, with testing, rather than a routine upgrade.
Starting pointBusiness teams left out of planning
What Planning Analytics doesPlanning Analytics Workspace offers input views, dashboards and guided workflows built on the same cubes.
Impact for teamsEach role gets a suitable interface without duplicating calculation logic.
Use cases

The most common use cases

One model can connect financial and operational planning. Sales, HR and production assumptions flow straight into the income statement without re-keying.

Budgeting, forecasting and management control

Build the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow from explicit assumptions, with contribution and approval cycles.

  • Comparable versions and scenarios
  • Automated allocations and consolidation
  • Variance analysis down to the level that matters
Sales, margin and demand

Connect volume, price, mix, promotions, capacity and cost to see how a commercial decision affects margin.

  • Forecasts shared between sales and finance
  • Price-volume-mix simulation
  • Visibility on future margin
Workforce and payroll

Plan positions, hiring, pay and staff movements using the company's own rules.

  • Workforce plan linked to the budget
  • Organisation scenarios
  • Recalculated financial impact

Evolving an existing platform: Local or SaaS, v11 or v12

  1. 01 — Assess
    Versions, models and dependencies

    List the TM1, PAW, PAfE and TM1 Web versions, data volumes, rules, integrations, Excel usage and availability constraints.

  2. 02 — Decide
    The target architecture

    Compare operations, security, high availability and migration effort between Local and SaaS, v11 and v12, before making the call.

  3. 03 — Modernise
    In stages, starting with value

    Secure critical models, simplify processing, update PAW and PAfE workflows, then deliver in successive releases.

Our consultants work on TM1 models and business rules just as much as on architecture, performance and interfaces. A purely technical migration often leaves users' everyday frustrations untouched; we deal with both at the same time.

IBM Planning AnalyticsIBM — TM1 Database 12IBM — Planning Analytics Local 2.1 component versions
Capabilities

Features and industries

Strengths

Multidimensional modelling

Detail and aggregation

Dimensions, hierarchies and rules describe how the business actually works, from item-level detail up to group totals.

Linked models

Finance and operations

Sales, HR and operational plans feed the financial statements without re-keying.

Several interfaces, one model

PAW, PAfE and TM1 Web

Contributors, analysts, controllers and administrators each work in the tool that suits them, on the same data.

Governance and security

One shared reference

Rights, rules, data and versions are held on the server rather than scattered across users' files.

Resources

Further reading

Comparisons, practical insights and related services to help you prepare a Planning Analytics project.

Planning Analytics assessment

Take stock of your Planning Analytics environment

Preparing a migration, an upgrade or the redesign of a model that has become business-critical? We start from your actual architecture and usage to identify the decisions that matter most, with no target set in advance.

Clarify the target

Local or SaaS, TM1 v11 or v12, PAW and PAfE: separate what is a requirement, a risk or an opportunity.

Protect what works

Review the models, rules, processes, interfaces and dependencies behind your critical processes.

Prioritise

Pick the improvements that genuinely remove manual work for your teams.

Frequently asked questions about IBM Planning Analytics

IBM Planning Analytics is planning and analysis software. It is used to build budgets, forecasts and scenarios, and to plan sales, workforce or production. It runs on TM1, an in-memory multidimensional database that recalculates results instantly when an assumption changes. Users work in it through the web (Planning Analytics Workspace) or through Excel (Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel).

TM1 is the engine: the database and its calculation rules. Planning Analytics has been the name of the full product since 2016, covering the TM1 engine plus the PAW and PAfE interfaces, TM1 Web and the administration tools. Technical teams often still say "TM1" when they mean the whole platform.

Not necessarily. Planning Analytics for Microsoft Excel links workbooks to the TM1 model: users keep their layouts and habits, while data, access rights and calculation rules are centralised on the server. What goes away is the file copying and manual consolidation.

Planning Analytics Local is installed on your own servers, on premises or with your hosting provider, and your team runs it. Planning Analytics as a Service is hosted and maintained by IBM, which lightens operations and gives access to TM1 Database 12. The choice depends on your security constraints, integrations, in-house skills and migration timeline.

TM1 Database 12 is a new generation of the engine, designed for cloud and containerised deployments. It is available on Planning Analytics as a Service and IBM Cloud Pak Software Hub, while Planning Analytics Local 2.1 stays on TM1 v11. Moving to v12 is not a routine upgrade: some legacy features and integrations change, so models, TurboIntegrator processes and connections need testing before migration.

It depends on the number of processes in scope, the data sources, the complexity of the rules and the interfaces required. We start with a scoping phase, split the target into business increments and put a first useful scope into production before extending the platform.

Power BI is a reporting tool: it analyses and presents data, but it is not designed for data entry, plan calculation or version management. Anaplan, like Planning Analytics, is a planning platform, but it is only available as SaaS. Planning Analytics stands out for its TM1 engine, modelling flexibility, Excel integration and the choice between local installation and SaaS.

We are involved at every stage:

• analysis of current planning processes and project scoping;

• design and development of TM1 models, TurboIntegrator processes and PAW and PAfE interfaces;

• version upgrades, moves to SaaS or to TM1 Database 12;

• training for end users, modellers and administrators;

• application management and support after go-live;

• sale and renewal of IBM licences.

Last updated on Sep 29, 2026