{"id":3863,"date":"2016-10-06T04:00:46","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T09:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.planview.com\/?p=3863"},"modified":"2017-07-11T09:30:17","modified_gmt":"2017-07-11T14:30:17","slug":"top-4-capabilities-enterprise-planning-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.planview.com\/top-4-capabilities-enterprise-planning-software\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 4 Capabilities of Enterprise Planning Software"},"content":{"rendered":"

We first established you can achieve greater business agility through updated plans (see Part 1: Why Companies Want to Improve Plan Accuracy<\/a><\/em>). Then, we confirmed that technology is key into implementing continuous planning (Part 2: Thinking Beyond the Annual Plan<\/a><\/em>). What about\u00a0enterprise planning software?<\/p>\n

In Part 3, I want dive into what<\/em><\/strong> to look for in a dedicated planning software. Specifically, when it comes to enterprise planning, which is not the same as Finance\u2019s annual budget.\u00a0 An effective portfolio plan is not one built for Finance and its\u2019 annual process because portfolio management is not an annual activity.\u00a0 It\u2019s a continuous process that must support on-going incoming demand into the portfolio with updated plans from execution.\u00a0 If done properly, it can complement and feed annual processes.<\/p>\n

Ventana Research<\/a> findings tells us that organizations are looking for enterprise planning software capabilities specific to helping them manage a portfolio plan, continuously.<\/p>\n

\"Top<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Survey says:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Four out of five participants believe the following capabilities are important in their planning software \u2013 being able to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Assess the financial impact of operational changes<\/li>\n
  2. Review the current detailed plan<\/li>\n
  3. Perform quick analysis of actuals to plan<\/li>\n
  4. Understand the impact of changes to one or more parts of a plan on the full plan<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Effective portfolio management is being able to continuously iterate on a plan, updating it with new information, and being able to analyze it to drive decisions when things inevitably don\u2019t go as originally orchestrated. The findings from the new Ventana Research eBook<\/u><\/a> imply organizations need an intuitive user experience to help prioritize what is critical and consequentially what\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

    Let me explain the process as it relates to these findings:<\/p>\n