Inforiver vs. Acterys: A detailed comparison

There are huge differences between Inforiver and Acterys when it comes to planning. These differences manifest not only in the features & capabilities supported, but also in the underlying philosophy and approach to planning.  

Understanding the philosophical differences first will help us relate better to the differences in features & capabilities. 

Acterys, like many other planning software (such as PowerOn, Aimplan, Anaplan, OneStream, and Pigment), follows a legacy, model-first approach to planning. This approach - which came into existence three decades ago - has several disadvantages, including the following: 

• You need to predefine database structures, writeback tables and cubes / facts / dimensions before you start planning. This requires involvement of IT or consultants.  
• This legacy approach supports well-defined planning needs, where you have created detailed specifications ahead of time. However, this approach fails to work for ad-hoc planning requirements – a reason why many users choose Excel.  
• This approach creates a data silo that is separate from your enterprise data store. Replicating your actuals data into the Acterys platform is a pre-requisite for planning. 
• Under this legacy approach, your plans and data exist in a ‘walled garden’. This introduces complexity and reduces ROI due to data migration, transformation and integration with downstream systems.  
• With multiple moving parts, change management (e.g., add a new dimension to an existing model and report) is effort-intensive and tedious. 
• There is a heavy reliance on consultants and IT to build models and Power BI applications.  
• You often end up using multiple Acterys visuals, each with a specific set of features and user experiences (e.g., for copying data).  
• Practically, going live with your first planning application typically takes several days.  

Inforiver, on the other-hand, follows a modern, user-first approach to planning. The modern and futuristic approach has several advantages, including the following: 

• Users can start planning right on top of any existing report in Power BI. There is no need to create database structures, writeback tables or cubes / facts / dimensions ahead of time. When you write back or save plan data, Inforiver automatically creates the backend table on-the-fly, during runtime. This approach supports 100% self-service planning by casual users. 
• Inforiver supports both well-defined planning need as well as ad-hoc planning. A sales manager can instantly perform a what-if simulation, or create two versions of sales projections, and run variances without having to create anything in the backend. 
• There is no data silo created here. If your report gets its data from, say, Microsoft Fabric, you can plan right on top of Power BI, and save the plans back to Fabric, or in multiple other destinations. Note that Inforiver does not maintain its own data store. There is no need to maintain dimensions or cubes. 
• Change management of existing plans is effortless. The writeback mechanism also detects new fields and reconfigures your writeback destinations without any manual effort. 
• There is minimal dependency on consultants or IT. (Note that Inforiver supports 40+ no-code planning actions).
• Inforiver delivers ONE visual where all features & capabilities are integrated. This ensures you are not forced to spend time building planning applications with complex interactions.
• Due to the modern approach and simplified steps, you can go live with your first planning application in minutes. 

Let us review some of the other differences below. 

Inforiver Architecture

The above innovations are possible through Inforiver's modular cloud architecture that decouples the front-end, middleware, and data store. This allows you to: 

• Plan right on top of your data platform without having to move, relocate or transform your underlying data
• Easily upgrade to or change cloud data platforms in the future without any impact on your planning applications
• Run middleware on our public cloud or private tenant
• Manage applications independent of middleware and backend considerations

References

• Enterprise Planning and Performance Management: [Watch video]
• Real-Time Integrated Planning in Power BI: [Watch video]

• Top 5 Driver-Based Planning Techniques in Power BI: [Watch video]

• Power BI + Databricks: Planning & Data Writeback: [Watch video]
• Distributions, cell-level commenting: [Watch video] 
• Column hierarchies: [Watch video]
• Access control: [Watch video] 
• Comments: [Watch video]
• Audit: [Watch video]

Enterprise Case Studies

• Merck (1000+ Sales Forecasting users): Read the case study
• Adapa (300+ Planning users): Read the case study
• IBEX (500+ Concurrent writeback users): Read the case study

Learn more about Inforiver  

To learn more about the latest from Inforiver and why we are garnering recognition from industry experts, check out our newest brochure.

Inforiver and all our planning and analytics products continue to be updated to provide a diverse range of users with optimal performance. With continual improvements and innovations planned, we welcome your feedback.      

If you’re ready to level up your planning, reporting, and analytics, try our products for free today.   

Note: This page has been made available for general information purposes only. While we strive to ensure accuracy of information, product capabilities & features are subject to change over time. If you notice any inaccuracies or outdated information, please report them to us at support@inforiver.com so we can correct them.