Finding ways to save time with enhanced communication methods, better scheduling, and improved data storage and analysis can snowball to make your business more efficient than ever, allowing you and your employees to focus on making great products or services. One way many companies save time is by using corporate performance management software, or an CPM.
Many CPM options on the market make grand promises about what they can do for your company, from operational planning to scenario planning, audit trails, and more. Still, some CPMs are built better than others.
Workday Adaptive Planning software is one of the most popular CPMs on the market and for a good reason. Learn more about Workday Adaptive Planning processes below!
Workday Adaptive Use Cases
Adaptive Planning is a powerful and flexible software system which can be used to analyze all aspects of your business, enabling streamlined planning and empowering accurate and timely decision-making.
Workforce Planning
One of the biggest reasons companies work with Workday Adaptive Planning is its robust workforce planning systems. This software allows you to analyze where your current workforce stands in relation to budgeting and productivity targets.
You can also model hiring and transfer plans to see how different scenarios and team configurations impact your business. Additionally, you can keep track of gaps in your workforce and find better ways to recruit and hire top talent and retain current employees for the long haul.
These tools can save astounding amounts of time and money by slashing busy planning times and dramatically improving team productivity. Workday estimates a 70% decrease in planning cycle times and a 50% increase in productivity with this software.
Operational Planning
The operational planning features in Workday Adaptive Planning allow you to generate better and more reliable forecasting. This software’s advanced modeling platform helps your business predict revenue, gross margins, production, and many more metrics that can improve your decision-making. One of the most beneficial aspects of operational planning tools is the ability to link models among numerous sectors of your business, such as IT, marketing, and sales, to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Financial Planning
Workday Adaptive Planning provides an advanced platform to help businesses with financial planning. This includes tracking expenses, calculating full-time equivalents (FTEs), and monitoring cash flow.
With these financial planning tools, including robust modeling capabilities, your business can stay ahead and inform your business strategy. Gone are the days when data just sits idly by instead of actively improving your company’s planning processes with this software, which was truly designed to fit your business.
These are just a few of the many possible use cases of Workday Adaptive Planning that make the software well worth implementing. But is Workday’s software solution better than other CPMs on the market?
Workday Adaptive Comparisons
Workday Adaptive Planning is unique in many ways, but it’s hardly the only CPM available. Check out these comparisons of Workday Adaptive to other comparable CPM software solutions:
Oracle EPM vs. Workday Adaptive Planning
Oracle EPM and Workday Adaptive Planning have several features in common, and both can help a business better organize and analyze the available data. Both software solutions have many integration capabilities, though Workday’s solution offers significantly more integration options. Workday Adaptive Planning also has a more extensive set of features, which includes sales forecasting, strategic planning, budgeting, and more.
Workday also offers a freemium version of the software, allowing you to give it a shot before you decide to commit and pay for its services. It’s nearly impossible to get a solid idea of whether software, especially a CPM, will truly enhance your business until you try it yourself.
With Workday Adaptive Planning, you don’t have to pay to play around with the features and see whether it is easy to use. Unfortunately, Oracle does not offer a freemium version or free trial, so there is no way to know if the solution will work for you without paying for the services first.
Many reviewers also state that Oracle’s support system is inconsistent and often unhelpful, but Workday’s support is top-notch. You can also receive extensive training on how to use Workday Adaptive Planning via several different methods, but Oracle only provides documentation for how to use it.
SAP BPC vs. Workday Adaptive Planning
SAP’s Business and Planning Consolidation, or BPC, product offers many similar features and tools as Workday Adaptive Planning, though it simply doesn’t have as many features. SAP BPC, for example, lacks mobile capabilities, data discovery and visualization, and ad-hoc reporting software, all of which Workday Adaptive Planning offers.
Like Oracle’s software solution, SAP’s support team received lower ratings than Workday’s. Getting in touch with support and promptly getting the answers you need can be difficult.
SAP BPC offers an Android app, while Workday only offers an iPhone app. Companies relying on Android phones for communication may benefit more from SAP’s BPC.
BPC also doesn’t offer a free trial or free version, so companies will be unable to give it a try without paying for the service first. BPC is likely better suited for businesses that need more basic software and don’t desire the complex features that Workday Adaptive Planning can provide, such as forecasting and modeling.
What Do Users Think About Workday Adaptive Planning?
Regardless of how Workday’s software compares to other CPMs, what is most important is how users think about the software solution. On various software reviewing websites across the web, hundreds of ratings and reviews highlight the following about Workday Adaptive Planning:
Functionality
Clemson University opted to use Workday Adaptive Planning, and the Chief Business Officer had this to say about the choice. “Fiscal Year 2023 budget development has not only been easier, more efficient, and quicker than years past, but Adaptive has also made budget development more interactive and meaningful to all parties involved.” Clearly, Adaptive Planning works well for finance teams tasked with making complex budgets like those at Clemson.
Ease of Use
Software that offers all the features in the world doesn’t provide a worthwhile ROI if it is clunky and too complicated for those who plan to use it regularly. Many CPM software solutions are difficult to pick up and use as intended, potentially wasting thousands of company dollars and labor hours.
Overall, Workday Adaptive Planning is highly rated for ease of use. The software was designed to be intuitive for professionals of many backgrounds.
The University of Virginia Finance Department wrote, “Workday Financials and Adaptive Planning reduce administrative burden, make compliance easier and more consistent, strengthen our risk management framework, improve our reporting and analytics, and allow the University to better steward its resources.” The University recently switched from Oracle, and the staff can already see a difference in ease of use.
Integration
Workday Adaptive Planning received high marks across the board from users for its easy integration process. It can be integrated into regular use for large corporations within a few months, especially with training from a trusted integration and training partner.
Aside from integration in terms of beginning to use the software, it is also well regarded for seamlessly integrating data from other apps and third-party data sources. It works incredibly well with integrating data from Microsoft Excel. This gives users more insight and less interaction with Excel, a notoriously frustrating way to collect and organize data without the ability to analyze it.
Workday Adaptive Planning can integrate with over 300 different systems, including CRM, HR, and PSA software. You can use Workday Adaptive Planning with any other ERP or enterprise systems, even if you don’t have access to other Workday applications.
Get Started with Workday Adaptive Planning
Workday Adaptive Planning is an excellent choice for CPM software, especially for companies that want a more efficient way of managing data. It offers robust data analysis and forecasting tools and can better equip your company to make informed business decisions.
Changing to a new CPM solution, or using one for the first time, can be overwhelming. Fortunately, Capitalize Consulting can assist with Workday Adaptive Planning integration and training to make the transition as smooth and frictionless as possible. Contact us to learn more.