Oracle EPM & BI Blog

PBCS vs. EPBCS: Comparing Oracle's Cloud Planning Applications

If you’re thinking about migrating on-prem Hyperion Planning to the cloud, you have to make a big decision: Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS) or Oracle Enterprise Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service (EPBCS)?

Whether you choose PBCS or EPBCS, the overall benefits of an Oracle cloud application are the same: no upfront cost for hardware or software, less IT involvement, and no annual maintenance costs.

In this blog post, you'll get a high-level comparison of Oracle’s cloud planning applications to help you navigate your options. 

Note: Oracle has made changes to the EPM Cloud structure and pricing. This includes how Planning is set up in the cloud. To learn more, read this blog post.

Canned Reports vs. Ad-hoc Analysis: Which to Use and When [Infographic]

Different stakeholders demand different information in different formats and with different delivery requirements — a reality that can translate into a nightmare if you’ve been tasked with preparing reports to distribute the information.

So how can you keep up with increasing demands (and stay sane)? The key to saving your time and energy is determining which reports can be "canned," or automatically generated based on pre-set specifications. 

Either way, you can maximize efficiency:

• For insights that can be canned, you can automate pre-built reports.

• For all other use cases, give business users the ability to perform quick and easy ad-hoc analysis.

So, how do you know which reporting requests are good candidates for canned reports? And which requests are better suited for spontaneous ad-hoc analysis? You can view the flow chart to get a quick answer! In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at each type of reporting and how to maximize efficiency.

Cheat Sheet: Migrating On-Prem Hyperion Planning to the Cloud

You’ve heard it since the advent of Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS). Migrating your Hyperion Planning environment to the cloud means no initial upfront cost for hardware or software, less IT involvement, and no annual maintenance costs. It’s an attractive offer — but, for many, migrating to the cloud is an unknown process.

The migration may not be as tasking as you think, and it gives you a great opportunity to clean your environment and streamline your processes. In this blog post, we’ll go over what needs to be consolidated and streamlined versus what stays the same during your migration. (For a deeper dive into cloud migration best practices, you can jump straight to the video.)

FAQ: Essbase in the Cloud

Any time Oracle decides to develop one of your favorite on-premises tools in the cloud, you’re sure to have questions. Of course, this is also true for everyone’s favorite MOLAP engine — Essbase.

Now that Essbase is available as part of Oracle Analytics Cloud (OAC), customers are curious and we've gotten a lot of questions about the product. Here are answers to the most common ones...

FAQ: Oracle Planning and Budgeting in the Cloud

Long-time Hyperion users as well as new faces tuned in to our webcast on Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS), where we talked about common budgeting challenges — long planning cycles, data integrity issues, and lack of transparency, and more. We also explained why 70 percent of CFOs are currently moving their core finance and forecasting processes to the cloud.

The cloud makes world-class planning affordable for organizations of all sizes — especially large, global enterprises wanting to bring their worldwide offices together. Oracle PBCS is based on the market-leading Hyperion Planning application but is optimized for the cloud — meaning there is no up-front capital investment, implementations take weeks instead of months, and automatic upgrades ensure that users always have the latest features. 

3 Money-Saving Steps for Any Planning or PBCS Implementation

Whether it’s an on-premises Hyperion Planning application or Oracle PBCS cloud application, implementing a sophisticated planning, budgeting, and forecasting solution can be exciting and sometimes daunting. How do you start preparing?

3 Steps to Faster Financial Forecasting with Oracle Planning Tools

In today’s fast-paced environment, organizations can no longer rely on outdated financial data systems — quick responses to changes in the market and business are integral to success. Plus, relying on Excel is a headache.

Instead, companies need to understand what their data tells them and how to react accordingly and quickly. One way this can be achieved is through an agile planning, budgeting, and forecasting system. This advanced technology saves time and yields more accurate results to keep pace with the speed of business.

The fast track to better financial forecasting involves three basic steps...

What Drives Your Business? Planning Software Can Reveal Surprising Answers

Do you know what drives your business? You may think you do, but often the numbers tell a different story. We encounter this scenario frequently when implementing planning, budgeting, and forecasting systems at some of the world’s largest companies. It can be a humbling revelation, but one that is essential to confront for business success.

For example, we recently worked with a billion-dollar healthcare company focused on pharmaceuticals and long-term care for individuals with chronic illness. Their planning systems were largely Excel-based — a common setup that creates a decentralized view of data, one where analysts churn through budgeting and forecasting without much visibility into what financials reveal about business.

All of Our Systems Are On-Premises — Does It Make Sense to Send Everything to the Cloud?

Everyone is moving to the cloud these days, and Oracle is no exception. In fact, as the leader of the Enterprise Performance Management vendors, they were the first to begin migrating their suite of products to the exciting realm of software-as-a-service with their Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service (PBCS) offering. Even more compelling, Oracle recently announced that all updates will be applied to cloud-based applications first, giving them priority over on-premises solutions.

All of this begs the question — if the cloud is the future, does it make sense to forgo an on-premises application? It depends on your corporate direction.

How to Get Buy-In for Planning Software

You know enterprise planning software will make your life easier, but you don’t have buy-in from management — what do you do? Here are some tips for getting the green light.

The "Issue Sell"

Companies thrive when everyone in the organization feels they can speak up, especially highly valuable employees that are acutely aware of day-to-day operations. So, speak up!

Researchers Jane Dutton and Susan Ashford pioneered the concept of “issue selling” decades ago as an effective method to gain buy-in. Outline specific pain points you have witnessed and their impact on overall business goals, involve your peers and their experiences, and don’t forget to anticipate questions that may arise regarding timing of implementation or product capabilities.