Planning is broken and Pigment is here to help you fix it
Rasagya Monga
May 2, 2024
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) tools have tried time and again to help companies plan better. We believe there is a clear gap that is starting to emerge in the EPM space - one that is exacerbated by the speed at which Pigment is moving, iterating and evolving. While other systems are still stuck in the 2000s, Pigment shines through as the clear leader in the EPM space. There are some early adopters of Pigment who have noticed this sea change and are realizing the transformational impact of Pigment on how organizations plan and forecast. However, a large population of the industry is still using older EPM tools like Anaplan, and is yet to experience the power of Pigment.
The purpose of this blog is to highlight the difference between Pigment and Anaplan. We will specifically dive into the technical details so that Model Builders, Solution Architects or Anaplanners can get a glimpse into what Pigment has to offer and to prove that this is not just all talk. If your organization is in the process of assessing EPM tools and you are evaluating between Pigment and Anaplan, we can tell you with certainty that the answer is Pigment (and it's not even close). But, how can we say that with so much confidence? Let's dig in.
Top 5 Reasons why Pigment outperforms Anaplan
1. Sparsity Management
This is Pigment's crown jewel. The system's calculation engine can handle extremely sparse data sets with ease making this Pigment's most powerful feature.
Pigment can tackle multiple trillions of cells (if not more) and still run calculations in milliseconds. On the other hand, Anaplan enforces workspace limitations on its users, effectively preventing them from creating flexible reports or building large modules. This, in turn, leads to Solution Architects having to incorporate workarounds into the model (concatenated lists, subsets etc.) which does not fix the sparsity issue permanently and causes the accumulation of tech debt over time.
But don't just take our word for it, here is an example of how sparsity management compares in Pigment vs. Anaplan:
Anaplan (left), Pigment (right)
In the example above, Anaplan maxes out on the workspace size limit while Pigment, in this instance, seamlessly tackles 7 Trillion cells (yes, you read that right) with an average execution time of 0.37 milliseconds. Now, that is impressive.
With Pigment, sparsity is not something your team needs to worry about. Some former Anaplanners at Amvent estimate that they spent around 10 hours a week trying to work around sparsity issues. Pigment's calculation engine handles sparsity for you, effectively leading to time savings and reducing weekly maintenance work.
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 10 hours (no more Sparsity Management)
2. Parallel Processing
Pigment processes and runs calculations in a parallel, rather than sequential, manner. This means users can continue modelling, adjusting inputs, importing data, writing formulas etc. all while the model is running calculations in the background. Anaplan, however, runs calculations sequentially which leads to a queue of updates ultimately slowing down the model and disrupting the end user experience.
Source: Anaplan (left), Pigment (right)
In Anaplan, the 'freeze time' (or 'toast time', as Anaplanners refer to it) increases with the size and complexity of your model. This usually leads to longer freeze times, leading to model builders and users being frozen out of the system for 10 - 20 mins in some instances. While this could be manageable as a one off, these freeze times can slowly add up to a sizeable amount. One error in your formula, and the model is frozen for another 20 minutes.
On the other hand, Pigment seamlessly continues to run multiple calculations in parallel, allowing for an uninterrupted modelling experience.
Additionally, a key differentiator between Pigment and Anaplan is formula writing. Pigment's Formula Playground lets users play with or test new formulas without breaking the underlying model. This ensures modellers are not penalized for making mistakes in formula writing. While an incorrect reference in an Anaplan formula can lead to multiple minutes of freeze time, Pigment users can easily test out different formulas in the playground and can either incorporate them back into the model or choose to discard changes altogether.
Source: Pigment
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more Model Freezing)
3. Data Integrations & Imports
In 2024, importing data to a system should not be complicated. Pigment's native integrations allow for seamless connections with source systems and a user friendly approach to integrations management.
However, there are times when teams need to manually upload files into the system and unlike Anaplan, Pigment makes this extremely easy with some key features:
Ability to upload flat or pivoted data: Users can upload non-flat data without needing to perform transformations in the source file.
Source: Pigment
Automatically add list items: Unlike Anaplan, Pigment users do not need to set up multiple actions from the same source to update the raw data along with associated lists. Instead, Pigment allows users to update all lists associated with the source data upon import. This means new list items get automatically added ensuring all reports stay up to date regardless of changes in underlying data.
Source: Pigment
Import Summary: Pigment's import summary is an extremely handy tool for model builders in order to do a full import analysis. Users are able to download the source file as of a specific date / time and gain visibility into the movements in data over time.
Source: Pigment
On the other hand, with Anaplan, users are mostly left guessing on what changed and have little to no visibility on historical uploads.
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more guesswork on data integrations)
4. Connected Applications with Shareable Elements
Pigment's architecture design is extremely well thought out. This is especially evident through the use of cross-referenceable data elements. In simple terms, this means users can create lists, metrics, mappings etc. in one App or Model and have them be accessible to reference across all other Apps or Models. This prevents duplicate work and enables model builders to seamlessly leverage elements from other models without needing to recreate the set up each time.
In Anaplan, creating a new model meant re-creating all foundational elements such as lists, modules etc. A complex model structure usually meant users would spend multiple hours doing work they had already done in a different model, in order to setup a new model.
Source: Anaplan (left), Pigment (right)
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more duplicate work)
5. Reporting and User Experience
The first thing that will likely stand out to a new Pigment user is the clean and easy to follow user experience. This is truly one of the most visible differentiators between Pigment and Anaplan. The gap between the two systems seems even larger once organizations get used to the seamless and intuitive Pigment UX compared to the clunky nature of Anaplan's UX.
It is not just Pigment's design that sets it apart. Compared to Anaplan, Pigment offers some remarkable upgrades to reporting including:
Multi-Select Filters
Source: Pigment
Auto-Hide Empty Rows / Columns
Source: Pigment
Tabular & Tree view options for hierarchies
Source: Pigment
Impersonate reporting for other users
Source: Pigment
Typically, planning systems lack in reporting functionality compared to native BI tools like Tableau. We are not saying Pigment can replace Tableau entirely, but it definitely offers some of the best UX and Reporting features for a planning system and is continuing to bridge the gap and rolling out new updates consistently.
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more reporting workarounds)
With each of these 5 reasons grouped together, adopters of Pigment can potentially save 30 hours / week of model management work. This can be quite consequential over the long run, saving organizations time and costs along with a quick ROI realization.
Total Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 30 hours
With Pigment, the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts. A combination of the differentiating factors highlighted above creates a best in class solution like Pigment - one that makes planning fun for everyone involved.
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) tools have tried time and again to help companies plan better. We believe there is a clear gap that is starting to emerge in the EPM space - one that is exacerbated by the speed at which Pigment is moving, iterating and evolving. While other systems are still stuck in the 2000s, Pigment shines through as the clear leader in the EPM space. There are some early adopters of Pigment who have noticed this sea change and are realizing the transformational impact of Pigment on how organizations plan and forecast. However, a large population of the industry is still using older EPM tools like Anaplan, and is yet to experience the power of Pigment.
The purpose of this blog is to highlight the difference between Pigment and Anaplan. We will specifically dive into the technical details so that Model Builders, Solution Architects or Anaplanners can get a glimpse into what Pigment has to offer and to prove that this is not just all talk. If your organization is in the process of assessing EPM tools and you are evaluating between Pigment and Anaplan, we can tell you with certainty that the answer is Pigment (and it's not even close). But, how can we say that with so much confidence? Let's dig in.
Top 5 Reasons why Pigment outperforms Anaplan
1. Sparsity Management
This is Pigment's crown jewel. The system's calculation engine can handle extremely sparse data sets with ease making this Pigment's most powerful feature.
Pigment can tackle multiple trillions of cells (if not more) and still run calculations in milliseconds. On the other hand, Anaplan enforces workspace limitations on its users, effectively preventing them from creating flexible reports or building large modules. This, in turn, leads to Solution Architects having to incorporate workarounds into the model (concatenated lists, subsets etc.) which does not fix the sparsity issue permanently and causes the accumulation of tech debt over time.
But don't just take our word for it, here is an example of how sparsity management compares in Pigment vs. Anaplan:
Anaplan (left), Pigment (right)
In the example above, Anaplan maxes out on the workspace size limit while Pigment, in this instance, seamlessly tackles 7 Trillion cells (yes, you read that right) with an average execution time of 0.37 milliseconds. Now, that is impressive.
With Pigment, sparsity is not something your team needs to worry about. Some former Anaplanners at Amvent estimate that they spent around 10 hours a week trying to work around sparsity issues. Pigment's calculation engine handles sparsity for you, effectively leading to time savings and reducing weekly maintenance work.
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 10 hours (no more Sparsity Management)
2. Parallel Processing
Pigment processes and runs calculations in a parallel, rather than sequential, manner. This means users can continue modelling, adjusting inputs, importing data, writing formulas etc. all while the model is running calculations in the background. Anaplan, however, runs calculations sequentially which leads to a queue of updates ultimately slowing down the model and disrupting the end user experience.
Source: Anaplan (left), Pigment (right)
In Anaplan, the 'freeze time' (or 'toast time', as Anaplanners refer to it) increases with the size and complexity of your model. This usually leads to longer freeze times, leading to model builders and users being frozen out of the system for 10 - 20 mins in some instances. While this could be manageable as a one off, these freeze times can slowly add up to a sizeable amount. One error in your formula, and the model is frozen for another 20 minutes.
On the other hand, Pigment seamlessly continues to run multiple calculations in parallel, allowing for an uninterrupted modelling experience.
Additionally, a key differentiator between Pigment and Anaplan is formula writing. Pigment's Formula Playground lets users play with or test new formulas without breaking the underlying model. This ensures modellers are not penalized for making mistakes in formula writing. While an incorrect reference in an Anaplan formula can lead to multiple minutes of freeze time, Pigment users can easily test out different formulas in the playground and can either incorporate them back into the model or choose to discard changes altogether.
Source: Pigment
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more Model Freezing)
3. Data Integrations & Imports
In 2024, importing data to a system should not be complicated. Pigment's native integrations allow for seamless connections with source systems and a user friendly approach to integrations management.
However, there are times when teams need to manually upload files into the system and unlike Anaplan, Pigment makes this extremely easy with some key features:
Ability to upload flat or pivoted data: Users can upload non-flat data without needing to perform transformations in the source file.
Source: Pigment
Automatically add list items: Unlike Anaplan, Pigment users do not need to set up multiple actions from the same source to update the raw data along with associated lists. Instead, Pigment allows users to update all lists associated with the source data upon import. This means new list items get automatically added ensuring all reports stay up to date regardless of changes in underlying data.
Source: Pigment
Import Summary: Pigment's import summary is an extremely handy tool for model builders in order to do a full import analysis. Users are able to download the source file as of a specific date / time and gain visibility into the movements in data over time.
Source: Pigment
On the other hand, with Anaplan, users are mostly left guessing on what changed and have little to no visibility on historical uploads.
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more guesswork on data integrations)
4. Connected Applications with Shareable Elements
Pigment's architecture design is extremely well thought out. This is especially evident through the use of cross-referenceable data elements. In simple terms, this means users can create lists, metrics, mappings etc. in one App or Model and have them be accessible to reference across all other Apps or Models. This prevents duplicate work and enables model builders to seamlessly leverage elements from other models without needing to recreate the set up each time.
In Anaplan, creating a new model meant re-creating all foundational elements such as lists, modules etc. A complex model structure usually meant users would spend multiple hours doing work they had already done in a different model, in order to setup a new model.
Source: Anaplan (left), Pigment (right)
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more duplicate work)
5. Reporting and User Experience
The first thing that will likely stand out to a new Pigment user is the clean and easy to follow user experience. This is truly one of the most visible differentiators between Pigment and Anaplan. The gap between the two systems seems even larger once organizations get used to the seamless and intuitive Pigment UX compared to the clunky nature of Anaplan's UX.
It is not just Pigment's design that sets it apart. Compared to Anaplan, Pigment offers some remarkable upgrades to reporting including:
Multi-Select Filters
Source: Pigment
Auto-Hide Empty Rows / Columns
Source: Pigment
Tabular & Tree view options for hierarchies
Source: Pigment
Impersonate reporting for other users
Source: Pigment
Typically, planning systems lack in reporting functionality compared to native BI tools like Tableau. We are not saying Pigment can replace Tableau entirely, but it definitely offers some of the best UX and Reporting features for a planning system and is continuing to bridge the gap and rolling out new updates consistently.
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more reporting workarounds)
With each of these 5 reasons grouped together, adopters of Pigment can potentially save 30 hours / week of model management work. This can be quite consequential over the long run, saving organizations time and costs along with a quick ROI realization.
Total Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 30 hours
With Pigment, the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts. A combination of the differentiating factors highlighted above creates a best in class solution like Pigment - one that makes planning fun for everyone involved.
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) tools have tried time and again to help companies plan better. We believe there is a clear gap that is starting to emerge in the EPM space - one that is exacerbated by the speed at which Pigment is moving, iterating and evolving. While other systems are still stuck in the 2000s, Pigment shines through as the clear leader in the EPM space. There are some early adopters of Pigment who have noticed this sea change and are realizing the transformational impact of Pigment on how organizations plan and forecast. However, a large population of the industry is still using older EPM tools like Anaplan, and is yet to experience the power of Pigment.
The purpose of this blog is to highlight the difference between Pigment and Anaplan. We will specifically dive into the technical details so that Model Builders, Solution Architects or Anaplanners can get a glimpse into what Pigment has to offer and to prove that this is not just all talk. If your organization is in the process of assessing EPM tools and you are evaluating between Pigment and Anaplan, we can tell you with certainty that the answer is Pigment (and it's not even close). But, how can we say that with so much confidence? Let's dig in.
Top 5 Reasons why Pigment outperforms Anaplan
1. Sparsity Management
This is Pigment's crown jewel. The system's calculation engine can handle extremely sparse data sets with ease making this Pigment's most powerful feature.
Pigment can tackle multiple trillions of cells (if not more) and still run calculations in milliseconds. On the other hand, Anaplan enforces workspace limitations on its users, effectively preventing them from creating flexible reports or building large modules. This, in turn, leads to Solution Architects having to incorporate workarounds into the model (concatenated lists, subsets etc.) which does not fix the sparsity issue permanently and causes the accumulation of tech debt over time.
But don't just take our word for it, here is an example of how sparsity management compares in Pigment vs. Anaplan:
Anaplan (left), Pigment (right)
In the example above, Anaplan maxes out on the workspace size limit while Pigment, in this instance, seamlessly tackles 7 Trillion cells (yes, you read that right) with an average execution time of 0.37 milliseconds. Now, that is impressive.
With Pigment, sparsity is not something your team needs to worry about. Some former Anaplanners at Amvent estimate that they spent around 10 hours a week trying to work around sparsity issues. Pigment's calculation engine handles sparsity for you, effectively leading to time savings and reducing weekly maintenance work.
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 10 hours (no more Sparsity Management)
2. Parallel Processing
Pigment processes and runs calculations in a parallel, rather than sequential, manner. This means users can continue modelling, adjusting inputs, importing data, writing formulas etc. all while the model is running calculations in the background. Anaplan, however, runs calculations sequentially which leads to a queue of updates ultimately slowing down the model and disrupting the end user experience.
Source: Anaplan (left), Pigment (right)
In Anaplan, the 'freeze time' (or 'toast time', as Anaplanners refer to it) increases with the size and complexity of your model. This usually leads to longer freeze times, leading to model builders and users being frozen out of the system for 10 - 20 mins in some instances. While this could be manageable as a one off, these freeze times can slowly add up to a sizeable amount. One error in your formula, and the model is frozen for another 20 minutes.
On the other hand, Pigment seamlessly continues to run multiple calculations in parallel, allowing for an uninterrupted modelling experience.
Additionally, a key differentiator between Pigment and Anaplan is formula writing. Pigment's Formula Playground lets users play with or test new formulas without breaking the underlying model. This ensures modellers are not penalized for making mistakes in formula writing. While an incorrect reference in an Anaplan formula can lead to multiple minutes of freeze time, Pigment users can easily test out different formulas in the playground and can either incorporate them back into the model or choose to discard changes altogether.
Source: Pigment
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more Model Freezing)
3. Data Integrations & Imports
In 2024, importing data to a system should not be complicated. Pigment's native integrations allow for seamless connections with source systems and a user friendly approach to integrations management.
However, there are times when teams need to manually upload files into the system and unlike Anaplan, Pigment makes this extremely easy with some key features:
Ability to upload flat or pivoted data: Users can upload non-flat data without needing to perform transformations in the source file.
Source: Pigment
Automatically add list items: Unlike Anaplan, Pigment users do not need to set up multiple actions from the same source to update the raw data along with associated lists. Instead, Pigment allows users to update all lists associated with the source data upon import. This means new list items get automatically added ensuring all reports stay up to date regardless of changes in underlying data.
Source: Pigment
Import Summary: Pigment's import summary is an extremely handy tool for model builders in order to do a full import analysis. Users are able to download the source file as of a specific date / time and gain visibility into the movements in data over time.
Source: Pigment
On the other hand, with Anaplan, users are mostly left guessing on what changed and have little to no visibility on historical uploads.
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more guesswork on data integrations)
4. Connected Applications with Shareable Elements
Pigment's architecture design is extremely well thought out. This is especially evident through the use of cross-referenceable data elements. In simple terms, this means users can create lists, metrics, mappings etc. in one App or Model and have them be accessible to reference across all other Apps or Models. This prevents duplicate work and enables model builders to seamlessly leverage elements from other models without needing to recreate the set up each time.
In Anaplan, creating a new model meant re-creating all foundational elements such as lists, modules etc. A complex model structure usually meant users would spend multiple hours doing work they had already done in a different model, in order to setup a new model.
Source: Anaplan (left), Pigment (right)
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more duplicate work)
5. Reporting and User Experience
The first thing that will likely stand out to a new Pigment user is the clean and easy to follow user experience. This is truly one of the most visible differentiators between Pigment and Anaplan. The gap between the two systems seems even larger once organizations get used to the seamless and intuitive Pigment UX compared to the clunky nature of Anaplan's UX.
It is not just Pigment's design that sets it apart. Compared to Anaplan, Pigment offers some remarkable upgrades to reporting including:
Multi-Select Filters
Source: Pigment
Auto-Hide Empty Rows / Columns
Source: Pigment
Tabular & Tree view options for hierarchies
Source: Pigment
Impersonate reporting for other users
Source: Pigment
Typically, planning systems lack in reporting functionality compared to native BI tools like Tableau. We are not saying Pigment can replace Tableau entirely, but it definitely offers some of the best UX and Reporting features for a planning system and is continuing to bridge the gap and rolling out new updates consistently.
Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 5 hours (no more reporting workarounds)
With each of these 5 reasons grouped together, adopters of Pigment can potentially save 30 hours / week of model management work. This can be quite consequential over the long run, saving organizations time and costs along with a quick ROI realization.
Total Weekly Time Savings - Pigment vs. Anaplan: 30 hours
With Pigment, the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts. A combination of the differentiating factors highlighted above creates a best in class solution like Pigment - one that makes planning fun for everyone involved.
About the Author
Rasagya is an experienced EPM systems advisor and solution architect, with a background in Corporate Finance and Consulting. Prior to founding Amvent, Rasagya led the EPM transformation journey at Gusto, helping the business transition successfully from Anaplan to Pigment, with 200+ users and an incredibly positive system adoption. Before Gusto, Rasagya was a Senior Consultant at Spaulding Ridge, a leading Anaplan partner. Having worked in Finance and Consulting, Rasagya is able to combine business operations knowledge with systems expertise to help customers in the best way possible.
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Copyright © 2024 Amvent. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2024 Amvent. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2024 Amvent. All Rights Reserved.