As businesses increasingly seek robust financial planning and analysis (FP&A) tools, Acterys has emerged as one of the major vendors in this area, offering integrated business modeling, planning, and analytics – based on Microsoft Power BI. However, while Acterys provides a comprehensive FP&A platform, it also comes with certain limitations that prompt many organizations to explore alternatives. In this blog post, we’ll explore why Aimplan may be a superior alternative to Acterys, offering enhanced flexibility, ease of use, and better value for money.
Introduction to Acterys
Acterys is a comprehensive FP&A solution designed to support business modeling, reporting, planning, and analytics. Often marketed as an xP&A (extended planning and analysis) solution, Acterys offers an integrated platform that includes financial data warehousing, financial reporting, planning, and analytics. This makes it a solid choice for organizations looking for an all-in-one FP&A tool that can handle complex financial models and reporting needs.
Pros of Acterys:
Integrated FP&A Platform: Acterys provides a holistic approach to financial planning and analytics, combining data integration, warehousing, reporting, and planning in one solution.
Ready-Made Integrations: Acterys offers pre-built integrations with various accounting systems, which can simplify the process of centralizing financial reporting and planning, especially for organizations without existing financial models.
Scalability and Flexibility: Acterys is designed to handle complex financial models, making it scalable and adaptable to the needs of growing organizations.
Why Consider Alternatives to Acterys?
Despite its strengths, Acterys has several significant limitations that might lead businesses to consider alternatives:
1. Acterys Data Warehouse Requirements: The Acterys solution requires hosting a dedicated data warehouse within the Acterys SaaS environment, where both dimensional and transactional (actuals) data must be stored. This means that organizations are often forced to upload their data into the Acterys warehouse, even if they already have an existing data warehouse or Power BI financial model. This approach can create redundancy and increase data management complexity. The requirement to store data in the Acterys environment may also limit the flexibility and control organizations have over their own data.
2. Complexity in Configuring Business Rules: While Acterys allows users to edit and save data within Power BI, configuring business rules—such as cost allocations or other complex calculations—typically requires SQL knowledge. These business rules are often implemented using SQL stored procedures within the Acterys database, making it difficult for non-technical users to create and maintain solutions independently. This reliance on SQL can increase the learning curve and limit accessibility for teams without deep technical expertise.
3. Enforced Data Model: The Acterys data model is based on a concept of “cubes,” which are essentially fact and dimensional tables within a relational database. However, these are not true OLAP cubes, and the model requires customer data to be inserted and stored in specific Acterys tables. This enforced data model can be limiting, particularly when key fields or IDs must be numerical values, which might not align with real-world data practices. For instance, article numbers must be numeric (e.g., "1234") rather than alphanumeric (e.g., "A1234"), complicating implementations that rely on more flexible data formats.
4. Limitations in Planning Visuals: For budgeting, forecasting, and write-back functionality, Acterys relies heavily on its Matrix visual, which operates similarly to a pivot table in Excel. While this may work for basic planning scenarios, more complex planning forms often require greater flexibility. The Matrix visual’s limitations can make it difficult to create the detailed, dynamic planning forms that many organizations need for accurate forecasting and scenario analysis.
5. User Friendliness: Although Acterys is designed with user-friendliness in mind, certain aspects of the interface are not fully optimized for ease of use. For example, users must enable edit mode on the Matrix visual by clicking a button before they can begin updating numbers. Additionally, the navigation within planning forms can be cumbersome, as users can only move left or right on the same row using the Tab key, rather than being able to navigate freely with arrow keys as in a spreadsheet. Many use cases also rely on the generic 'Acterys Table Edit' visual, which may not be ideal for specific tasks.
6. Performance Issues: There have been reports of slow performance during save operations, with some users experiencing delays of 60 seconds or more when trying to save updated data within the Acterys Matrix visual. This lag can disrupt workflows and reduce overall productivity, particularly in fast-paced environments where timely data updates are critical.
Aimplan: The Superior Alternative to Acterys
For organizations seeking a more flexible, user-friendly, and future-proof FP&A solution, Aimplan stands out as the superior alternative to Acterys. Aimplan offers advanced financial planning and analysis capabilities while addressing the limitations and challenges associated with Acterys.
Why Aimplan is the Best Acterys Alternative:
1. Cloud-Native and Easy to Implement: Aimplan is built as a cloud-native SaaS solution, simplifying implementation and ongoing maintenance. Unlike Acterys, which may require significant data migration to its dedicated warehouse, Aimplan allows you to work seamlessly with your existing data structures, reducing redundancy and complexity. For organizations that prefer to maintain control over their data, Aimplan also offers the option to store planning and write-back data within the customer’s own Azure environment.
2. Leverage Existing Datasets: Aimplan does not require you to move your financial data into a new warehouse. Instead, it leverages your existing financial datasets and models, enabling you to maximize your previous investments in Power BI. This approach reduces the time and effort needed to get started, allowing your organization to focus on planning and decision-making rather than data integration.
3. Deep and Comprehensive Capabilities: Aimplan includes Power BI custom visuals for reporting, planning, forecasting, commenting, data management, approval processes and more, all implements very deep functionality. Aimplan implement features such as; Driver based planning, Full audit-trail, In-visual calculations, Dynamic cell-locking, Splashing/top down allocation (using different drivers), Smart end-user suggestions, Live direct update mode, and more.
4. Enhanced User Experience: Aimplan is designed with the end-user in mind, offering a more intuitive and responsive interface compared to Acterys. Users can navigate planning forms freely, making data entry and updates more efficient. Aimplan’s custom visuals are built to support complex planning forms, giving you the flexibility to design detailed and dynamic planning and forecasting solutions.
5. Future-Proof Technology: Built on the latest Azure and Power BI technologies, Aimplan ensures compatibility and support for the long term. Note that Aimplan is more than a set of Power BI custom visuals. The heart of Aimplan is the Aimplan SaaS service with advanced business logic managed in the Aimplan admin portal. Aimplan also implements proprietary technologies to deliver fast saving operations. Aimplan continues to innovate and deliver new features.
6. Better Value for Money: Aimplan offers transparent and competitive pricing, delivering more features and superior support compared to Acterys. With Aimplan, you gain access to a comprehensive FP&A solution that adapts to your organization’s needs without the hidden costs or complexities associated with other platforms. This makes Aimplan a smarter, more cost-effective choice for businesses looking to enhance their financial planning and analysis capabilities.
Conclusion
While Acterys provides a solid FP&A solution, its limitations in data management, user experience, and performance may lead organizations to seek alternatives. Aimplan emerges as a superior choice, offering a cloud-native, customizable, and cost-effective solution that addresses the challenges associated with Acterys.
If you’re looking to enhance your financial planning and analysis processes with a modern and flexible solution, book a demo of Aimplan today and discover how it can transform your business operations while providing better value for your investment.