Analyst Perspectives on Planful

We’re always excited when Planful is recognized by leading analysts for the hard work we put into our solutions and the value our customers receive.  But what should these reports mean to you? 

I’m going to pull back the curtain a bit and highlight the differences in how all of the various analyst firms view our market. This is our “state of the analyst market” streamlined for you.

Here’s a quick rundown of the five analysts we primarily work with and their different approaches and how they place Planful within their scoring framework.

BPM Partners

BPM Partners is focused exclusively on business performance management (BPM) solutions. That’s budgeting, consolidation, financial reporting, and more, which makes them a great resource for our customers. For their Vendor Landscape Matrix, BPM interviews customers on 15 key product attributes then provides a vendor ranking to help companies choose the best solution for their needs. Planful achieved an “excellent” rating (4.55/5.0)  and was named a Core Vendor in their most recent report, with noted strengths in finance self sufficiency, ease of use, and reporting. Recently, Planful was recognized as a Top Rated Mid-Market Performance Management Vendor.

Read more from Craig Schiff, President and CEO. 

Constellation Research

Constellation Research looks at technology solutions that help companies achieve their digital transformation goals. The prestigious Constellation ShortList for Cloud-Based Planning Platforms identifies the top vendors based on technology investment, use cases, strategic vision, customer value, executive leadership and price. There are no customer, geography or revenue requirements needed to land on the short list. The firm talks to customers and partners, and combines their own research to identify the four leading vendors. Their analysis is geared towards early technology adopters.  

Constellation Research doesn’t have a grid, matrix or any other ranking system.  They simply put vendors on their Shortlist.  Planful has been on the Constellation ShortList eight consecutive times.

You can learn more about the Constellation ShortList here.

Dresner Advisory Services

Dresner Advisory Services Their flagship report is the Wisdom of Crowds that is 100% based on customer input across 33 criteria. In 2020 Planful received an Industry Excellence Award from Dresner, and we’ve been a “leader” in both customer experience and vendor credibility categories in Wisdom of Crowds for five consecutive years, and Year over year, we’ve seen our scores consistently improve.  Dresner reports are directly related to customer satisfaction, so our perfect recommendation score validates our best of breed continuous planning platform. 

Get your copy of Dresner Research Wisdom Crowds Report, and don’t forget to watch Howard and I discuss the emerging trends on Being Planful.

Gartner

Gartner is, by far, the biggest and most recognizable firm, advising “enterprise leaders” with hundreds of reports and guides published each year. Their flagship reports are called Magic Quadrant’s.  Each Magic Quadrant evaluates many factors but they all roll up to the intersection of Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute. Gartner’s focus on large, global enterprise clients (77% of their customer base within the Global 500).

Gartner is predicting a major shift in the FP&A vendor landscape, and it is their belief that by 2023, 50% of enterprises will have implemented the FP&A solution of their ERP vendor.  As an independent FP&A vendor we don’t necessarily see it that way, and we hear many customers that are looking for their FP&A vendor to act as an abstraction layer for single and often multiple ERP solutions that they have. 

The 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Cloud Financial Planning and Analysis Solutions was just released and we’re proud to announce we’ve been named a Visionary. Gartner recognizes visionary providers as those that “understand where the market is going or have a vision for changing market rules.”  This is exactly what Planful is doing right now: changing the market. 

In the past year, we refined our go to market strategy towards underserved midsize companies. We infused new energy and excitement into our products, and we rebranded the company to reflect this sharper vision. Being named a Visionary shows that we’re changing this market for the better, and doing so precisely for the customers we serve. 

In the Gartner’s Critical Capabilities report, a companion to the Magic Quadrant, the Planful Platform shines. We’re excited that Gartner has given Planful top scores for ease of use, application governance, financial budgets and plans, and complex financial budgets and plans. Gartner scored Planful #1 for “upper midsize” organizations (annual revenue of $50 to $250 million) and in the top 3 for “lower midsize” companies ($250 million to $1 billion). This is further recognition of how Planful is changing the Continuous Planning market for the midsize customers we serve.

Download the Critical Capabilities for Cloud Financial Planning and Analysis Solutions report and read for yourself what else Gartner has to say about Planful.

Nucleus Research

Nucleus Research is focused on how technology drives ROI. Their Value Matrix specifically assesses software vendors, using customer feedback to rate solutions on usability and functionality. That usability angle helps you understand how fast solutions will be adopted by your teams, and the ROI angle puts a heavy weighting on tangible benefits. Planful shines in all of these areas, which is why we’ve been ranked a “leader” on their Value Matrix for seven consecutive years.

Read Planful’s blog post on the CPM Value Matrix.  

The New Analyst: You

A growing trend is the voice of the customer review platforms such as  G2 Crowd and Gartner Peer Insights. 

G2, the largest software marketplace and review platform, ranks the world’s best software companies and products based on authentic, timely reviews from real users for its annual Best Software Awards. Earlier this year, Planful earned a spot on G2’s Best Software Products 2020 list. Planful ranked #13 in the Best Products for Finance 2020 top 50 list, with recognition for its Financial Close capabilities.  

Gartner Peer Insights is a new platform for ratings and reviews of enterprise technology solutions by end-user professionals for end-user professionals. In 2019, Planful received a 2019 Customers choice award for Cloud Financial Planning and Analyst Solutions. With a current score of 4.6/5.0, we have plenty of happy customers leaving reviews like the one below.

“Planful #1… Real Game Changer!!”

The functionality of Planful which I like most is the ability to do continuous planning, Spotlight (for BOD and Management slides). HR module has reduced our cycle time. Lastly, the ability to distribute reports (Report Collection) within minutes after the consolidation with the click of a button is amazing. 

What It All Means

For you, decide what matters most to you. Ultimately, these analyst reports are the result of a highly valuable, continuous process between vendors, analysts and end-users. The result is an incredibly valuable view into our market, and from many different perspectives.

My job is to get you on your Continuous Planning journey as quickly and successfully as possible. We offer Planful Now to get you going in under 30 days. We have tons of mid-size/enterprise customers ready to tell you how they cut monthly close cycles by 80% or found a few million dollars in cost savings using Planful.  Check them out at planful.com/customers.