If you’ve been around the TM1 community for a while, you’ve no doubt seen how IBM Planning Analytics has grown and evolved. It’s a powerful tool that’s more critical than ever for businesses looking to make data-driven decisions. Although it certainly has competition, it remains as the preeminent planning tool for everyone from the largest organisations down to companies with just $20-$30m revenue. But where’s it headed next? Let’s take a look at the exciting trends shaping the future of TM1/Planning Analytics and what we can expect in the coming years.
1. AI-Driven Planning: The Next Big Thing
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are making waves in almost every industry, and corporate planning is no exception. TM1 is already tapping into these technologies with features like AI-based predictive forecasting.
But we’re only scratching the surface. Imagine having real-time scenario modelling that doesn’t just identify risks but suggests solutions before you even need to worry about them. As TM1 evolves, we’re likely to see “self-healing” models that keep themselves optimised, cutting down on those tedious manual updates.
AI will be at the core of the future of Planning Analytics. Imagine a time when you can use a Large Language Model to ask natural language questions and have Planning Analytics respond to your questions with commentary, tables and visualisations after digging through your entire model. So where you ask “Compare the current month to forecast and this month last year” and the model then assesses the P&L, the Balance Sheet and the Cashflow. Then it digs into the Gross Profit cube, the Inventory and Debtors cubes and so on and surfaces material analysis in your language and presents graphically suitable visualisations. It’d be pretty cool, huh?
2. Planning Analytics in the Cloud: Making Collaboration a Breeze
Cloud-based solutions are quickly becoming the norm, and IBM’s Planning Analytics on Cloud (PAoC) is leading the charge. The cloud isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a game changer for teams that need to collaborate from different locations.
With cloud-based TM1, everyone’s working from the same data set, in real-time, no matter where they are. It’s faster, more scalable, and opens the door to better integration with other tools. Plus, IBM is continually improving the security and performance of PAoC, so businesses can rest easy knowing they’re using a reliable, future-proof platform.
IBM are pushing the the deployment options of PAoC as well, with the ability to deploy onto an IBM Cloud server or onto a Cloud Pak for Data based server on AWS. In the future they will have deployment available on both Azure and then Google Cloud as well. These later options significantly lower the cost of delivery for IBM, making it more accessible for smaller organisations to play with this world leading solution.
3. A More User-Friendly Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW)
If you’ve been using Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW), you’ve probably noticed how much easier it makes things for non-technical users. That’s not a coincidence—IBM has been working hard to make the platform more intuitive, and there’s more to come. You’ve also probably noticed that with monthly cadence for releases, there has been huge change in PAW since its initial release some 100 versions ago. It is almost as good at visualisations and dashboards as leading tools like PowerBI or Cognos Analytics, but it comes with the ability to write back to the TM1 engine, making it a perfect tool for budgeting, planning and forecasting.
For the future of TM1, expect to see PAW get even better with features like drag-and-drop interfaces, built-in workflows, and helpful tutorials. Soon, everyone in the team will be able to create reports and forecasts without needing IT help. The focus is on making planning accessible to all, and we’re definitely here for it!
4. Even Tighter Integration with Analytics and Business Intelligence Tools
One of the reasons TM1 has become so essential is its ability to work well with other tools, and this is only going to improve. Planning Analytics already integrates with IBM’s Cognos Analytics, but we’re looking forward to stronger API based connections with platforms like Tableau, Power BI, and even Python.
With these integrations, you’ll be able to create even more detailed visualisations and reports, bringing insights from your planning models to life. It’s all about making sure you can easily move between your planning, analytics, and business intelligence workflows without any headaches.
5. Sustainability and TM1: Planning for a Greener Tomorrow
Sustainability is front and centre for businesses in Australia and across the globe, and TM1 is perfectly positioned to help. Whether it’s managing your company’s carbon footprint or streamlining resource allocation for more sustainable outcomes, TM1 can be a key tool for your sustainability efforts.
IBM is already working on sustainability reporting with Envizi, and we’re excited to see this functionality built right into Planning Analytics. Already we are seeing people not just managing finances—you’ll be monitoring and reducing your environmental impact in real-time.
6. Faster Performance and Greater Scalability
We all know TM1 is fast, thanks to its in-memory calculation engine. But with data volumes increasing every day, faster and more efficient processing will become even more important. IBM’s likely to continue enhancing TM1’s speed and scalability so it can keep up with the growing demands of modern businesses.
We’re talking better memory management, multi-threaded processing, and the ability to handle bigger data sets without breaking a sweat. No matter how complex your models get, TM1 will be ready to deliver.
7. The Rise of AI Augmented Planning
Augmented planning is about combining the best of traditional planning with automation and AI. This is where things get really exciting. In the future, tasks like data reconciliation, report generation, and data loading will be fully automated, freeing up your team to focus on the strategic side of things.
We already have predictive forecasting for both time series and multi variate forecasting. This will only become more deeply engrained, especially using statistical technology from SPSS and decision optimisation from CPLEX.
And we’re not far from a world where TM1 models adjust themselves in real-time, based on new data, without you having to lift a finger. It’s all about making planning smarter, faster, and less manual.
8. Secure
IBM have always had good security for TM1. Now that it is on the cloud, it is probably going to get a more complete security rating with things like Australian IRAP or US FedRamp certification on the cards. The base platforms of AWS and Azure are already there, Cloud Pak and then Planning Analytics will probably come soon. That will open Planning Analytics on Cloud to many Federal and State Governments and Critical Infrastructure providers.
9. High Availability
With the move towards using Cloud Pak for Data as the foundation layer for managing Planning Analytics will come greater High Availability and auto switching from one data centre to another when there is a problem – all done seamlessly without the client even knowing they have been switched.
Wrapping It Up: What’s Next for TM1?
So, what’s the takeaway on the future of TM1? TM1 and IBM Planning Analytics are on a thrilling trajectory, with innovations that will make the platform even more powerful, flexible, and intelligent. From AI-enhanced forecasting to deeper integration with your favourite analytics tools, there’s a lot to look forward to.
For businesses in Australia and around the world, now’s the time to embrace these changes. TM1 is ready to help you not just keep up, but stay ahead. As always, stay tuned to ExploringTM1.com for the latest updates, tips, and insights as we continue this exciting journey together.
If you would like to know more about IBM’s roadmap for TM1, please see this post as well.
Need More Info?
If you need more information about TM1 or how it can be used in your organisation, please get in touch. We have one of the largest Planning Analytics teams in Australia with literally many hundreds of combined years experience.
