In the competitive landscape of financial planning and analysis (FP&A) tools, selecting the right solution can make a significant difference in how efficiently your organization operates. The market for FP&A software and solutions is large. More than 150 vendors are competing globally. Out of this large market, there are only a handful vendors offering solutions fully integrated and based upon the Microsoft Power BI platform. Two notable contenders in this space are Power On and Acterys, each targeting different market segments and offering distinct capabilities. In this article, we’ll provide a detailed comparison between Power On and Acterys, exploring their strengths and weaknesses.
Target Markets
Power On primarily targets large enterprises with a technical focus, particularly those already using Power BI and looking to enhance it with advanced write-back capabilities. It is best suited for large enterprise organizations that require data management and have the technical expertise to manage its complex setup. Power On has historically focused on US based Fortune 500 companies.
Acterys, on the other hand, caters to mid-size organizations, but can also support larger enterprises seeking an all-in-one FP&A solution. It appeals to organizations that need an integrated platform for financial modeling, planning, and analytics, but it might not be the best fit for smaller businesses.
Introduction to Power On
Power On is a solution primarily focused on enhancing Power BI with write-back functionality, targeting a more technically inclined market segment. Owned by Insightsoftware, Power On is particularly appealing to large enterprises that need to extend Power BI beyond data visualization into interactive data management and real-time collaboration. The Power On ‘Table Editor’, and the ‘Matrix’ visuals are their top products. Insightsoftware do not position Power On as an FP&A solution for budgeting and forecasting, but instead as a “data management solution”. Insightsoftware has other budget and forecasting tools not based on Power BI such as Calumo and Bizview driving their FP&A offerings.
Pros of Power On:
Advanced Write-Back Capabilities: Power On is designed to empower users to input and modify data directly within Power BI. This capability is essential for enterprises that require real-time data editing within Power BI.
Multiple Power BI Custom Visuals: Power On delivers a comprehensive set of custom visuals that extends Power BI. Matrix visuals, data table visuals, interactive charts, spreadsheet-like visuals etc.
Integration with Power BI: As an extension of Power BI, Power On allows users to leverage the familiar interface of Power BI while adding powerful new functionalities, making it a natural choice for organizations already deeply embedded in the Power BI ecosystem.
Cons of Power On:
High Cost and Consulting Dependency: Power On is an expensive solution, both in terms of licensing and the significant consulting services often required for its implementation. This makes it less accessible for companies seeking cost-effective solutions. Before investing in Power On you should verify that there is training and documentation available that makes it possible for you to develop and maintain solutions created using Power On.
Complex Technical Requirements: Power On was built for on-premises installations. The solution is based on older server-back-end technologies that require complex infrastructure setups, including hosting a web server and other components. This not only adds to the cost but also increases the time and expertise needed to get the system running. Even if Insightsoftware now may offer Power On as a cloud solution, it’s not optimized for the cloud.
Risk of Obsolescence: Some of Power On’s older custom visuals use technologies that may soon be unsupported, posing a risk to the continuity of its services and forcing users to seek alternatives. Much of the server-side technology is also based on the old .NET framework, and not the new .NET core framework.
Uncertain Future: Following its acquisition by the private equity portfolio company Insightsoftware in February 2023, there are concerns about the long-term viability of Power On, particularly given the Insight software’s history of deprioritizing or discontinuing products not defined as flagship products. There are reports about a high turnover of personnel in the former Power On organization where the original founders and many other now has left the organization
Increased pricing: The last couple of years the pricing of Power On has dramatically increased. Both for new customers, but also for existing customers due to high yearly license fees uplifts. Before investing in Power On, make sure that you in agreements cap future price increases. A side effect of increased prices is also that the former network of sales and implementation partners are also searching for alternative products to implement.
Introduction to Acterys
Acterys, on the other hand, is more of a comprehensive FP&A solution, focusing on business modeling, reporting, planning, and analytics. They even call themselves an xP&A solution. Acterys provides a fully integrated platform that includes financial data warehousing, financial planning, and analytics, making it a great solution for organizations looking for an all-in-one FP&A tool. Acterys is primarily marketing their cloud offerings, but was originally developed for on-premise installations and can still today provide on-premises implementations.
Pros of Acterys:
Integrated FP&A Platform: Acterys offers a holistic approach to financial planning and analytics, combining data integration, data warehousing, reporting, and planning in one solution.
Ready-made Integrations: Acterys have prebuilt integrations to many accounting systems. These integrations are particularly useful for businesses looking to centralize their financial reporting and planning without any previous Power BI experience and models.
Scalability and Flexibility: Built to handle complex financial models, Acterys is scalable and can grow with your organization. It’s possible to configure different dimensional models based on the customer requirements.
Cons of Acterys:
Acterys Data Warehouse: The Acterys solution is designed in such a way that it requires hosting a dedicated data warehouse to store your financial data in the Acterys SaaS environment. This includes both dimensional and transactional (actuals) data. This means that actuals and dimensional data must be uploaded from the customer’s data sources to the Acterys data warehouse. Customers are effectively forced to route their data into the Acterys warehouse, even if they already have an existing data warehouse or Power BI models with datasets containing their data. The reason Acterys has developed pre-built integrations to different accounting systems is to make it a bit easier to get data transferred into their Acterys database; they cannot rely solely on actuals and dimensional data being stored in Power BI datasets.
Configuring Business Rules requires SQL-knowledge: The Acterys visuals allow users to edit and save data within Power BI, but configuring business rules (such as 'splashing' of costs etc) and performing calculations typically requires coding of SQL stored procedures in the Acterys database. This complexity can make it challenging for non-technical users to create and maintain solutions.
Enforced Data Model: The Acterys data model in their data warehouse is based on a concept of “cubes,” which are not real OLAP cubes (like SSAS models) but are instead just fact and dimensional tables in a relational database. The customer data must be inserted and stored in these Acterys tables. One limitation is for example that key fields or IDs must be numerical values. I.e. an article number can not be “A1234”, but must be only numeric values such as "1234". This may complicate real-world implementations.
Matrix-only visual: For budgeting, forecasting, and number write-back, Acterys relies on its Matrix visual. This visual operates similarly to a pivot table in Excel, where rows and columns are configured and in the intersection of rows and columns you display measures. However, in budgeting and forecasting scenarios, more complex planning forms are often needed. For example, Power On offers a more advanced spreadsheet-like custom visual, and Aimplan features the concept of Row and Column Sections to enable more granular control over form design.
User Friendliness: Although Acterys is designed to be user-friendly, some aspects of the end-user interface in Power BI are not fully optimized. For instance, users must enable edit mode on the Matrix visual by clicking a button before they can begin updating numbers. Another example is that end-users can only navigate left/right with the Tab-button on the same row in a planning form. It’s not possible to using the arrow-keys to navigate in all directions like in a spreadsheet. Additionally, many use cases rely on the generic 'Acterys Table Edit' visual, which may not be ideal for specific tasks.
Performance: There have been reports of slow performance during saving operations. When end-users try to save updated data in the Acterys Matrix visual within Power BI, it can take 60 seconds or more to complete the save and update process.
Alternatives to Power On and Acterys
For organizations seeking a modern, cloud-native solution that combines the strengths of both Power On and Acterys without their respective drawbacks, Aimplan is the ideal choice. Aimplan offers a balanced solution that delivers exceptional value for money, making it accessible to a broad range of businesses.
Aimplan Pros and Cons:
Cloud-Native and Easy to Implement: Unlike Power On, Aimplan is built as a cloud-native SaaS solution, which simplifies implementation and maintenance. There’s no need for complex infrastructure setups, and users can get started quickly with minimal IT intervention. But Aimplan also offers customers the chance to store the planning/write-back data in the customer’s Azure tenant if required.
Leverage Existing Datasets: Aimplan provides advanced FP&A capabilities similar to Acterys, but without the need to load dimensional and transactional data to the Aimplan SaaS service. Instead Aimplan leverage your existing Power BI datasets and sematic models. If you already built Power BI models with tables, relations, calculated measures etc, with Aimplan you can leverage your existing investments you already made in Power BI.
Deep and Comprehensive Capabilities: Aimplan includs 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.
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.
Value for Money: Aimplan offers transparent pricing that provides better value compared to both Power On’s expensive setup and Acterys’ lower, but still substantial costs. With Aimplan, you get more features, better support, and a future-proof platform without breaking the bank.
Conclusion
While Power On and Acterys offer distinct advantages in Data Management and FP&A space, they also come with significant drawbacks, particularly in terms of implementation complexity, , technology, user friendliness and costs. Aimplan stands out as a superior alternative, offering a cloud-native, customizable, and cost-effective solution.
If you’re looking to extend Power BI with Data Management capabilities, or optimize your financial planning and analysis processes leveraging Power BI, book a demo of Aimplan today!