An Overview of OVG Platform Planning

Two years ago we first started extensive research efforts on different planning software alternatives, prompted by clients who were looking for the next big thing. We evaluated them on the following criteria:

Solution Criteria:

• Data Platform: ability to integrate with other systems and manage all types of data in a scalable fashion

• Forecasting Engine: modeling capabilities that are both powerful and flexible

• Reporting & Analytics: ability to present data and tell a story effectively in multiple formats, including both web and mobile

• User Applications: a customizable and user-friendly interface

Ownership Criteria:

• Ease of Ownership: reasonable learning curve that does not require a technical expert to own and maintain

• Cost of Ownership: reasonable from a total cost of ownership perspective, including software, services, and administration

As we surveyed the crowded planning software field, we found that most had trade-offs. The more mature products cover more solution criteria but are expensive and have steep learning curves. Some of the new entrants have intuitive interfaces and are simpler to use but are not as scalable or performant from a data perspective. Most require learning some type of specialized formula syntax to adopt, and most want you to spend the most time in their proprietary app.

Without a clear winner, we also realized that the criteria we were seeking were not necessarily FP&A- or planning-specific. We started to wonder – what if the solution we were looking for was not a ‘planning’ or ‘FP&A’ software after all?

This is how we landed on Microsoft. Microsoft is vast and we initially did not understand the full extent of Power Platform, M365, or the newly released Fabric. We still, like most, thought of Microsoft as ‘old school’ and outmoded.

But as we delved deeper, we realized that Microsoft has evolved and integrated its products significantly, and that if we fit the pieces together in the right way, it is possible now to build a full-fledged planning solution on Microsoft alone. This is the OVG Platform Planning approach.

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Here is how OVG Platform Planning on Microsoft meets all the above criteria:

Data Platform: released in mid-2023, Fabric is the backbone of Platform Planning. Instead of building a ‘data hub’ in the planning software or only bringing in certain datasets, all the data that we could ever need can be staged in a data warehouse or data lake in Fabric. We use Fabric’s 200+ pre-built connectors and multiple options for ETL to connect to any upstream system, whether it’s a CRM, HRIS, ERP, or another cloud data platform. In some cases, Fabric can even mirror entire databases from other sources with no code required.

Data-centricity is going to be even more important in the age of AI so the Data Platform requirement was arguably the most important. Soon leaders will want to prompt an agent to answer questions or act based on the organization’s data. With all your forward-looking projections and assumptions in the same ecosystem as emails, chats, meeting recordings, and operational data, Platform Planning will support this ultimate vision.

Forecasting Engine: one of the biggest quality-of-life benefits from Platform Planning is that you can use Excel for modeling. Not just an ‘Excel-like’ interface or an Excel Add-in, but just good old Excel. By wrapping Excel with data tabs pulled directly from the Fabric data warehouse and export tabs that push forecast outputs back into Fabric, FP&A teams can build models in a universal language and plug and play them into Fabric as needed.

Need to overhaul your revenue model? Or throw out your plan after a black swan event? Need to run multiple scenarios simultaneously? No problem, create a new Excel model and upload it for the next scenario. Version control and other manual Excel tasks can be handled centrally to mitigate some of Excel’s pain points. We expect that AI agents will make Excel usage even more efficient in the future.

In addition to Excel, collaborative apps for collecting business inputs and machine learning models in Fabric can also be leveraged for forecasting. With Platform Planning, forecasting is dynamic, so you can take a ‘many-models’ approach and models change with the business vs. your business changing to fit your model.

Reporting & Analytics: Power BI is the solution for reporting and analytics with Platform Planning. Now that a) Power BI has been enabled on the cloud, b) Power BI has a real-time connection with Fabric, and c) Copilot is reducing the need to be a DAX expert, Power BI is a more complete solution for reporting and analytics than any other planning software out there (and most pure-play BI solutions too). In addition, advanced analytics can be handled in Fabric (aka Synapse) and Excel/PowerPoint are also options for reporting.

Power BI can handle all the slicing and dicing, visualization, and aggregation needed for reporting. Its drill-down functionality is also much more effective than most planning solutions, since it sits on an enterprise-wide data platform that contains data at its most granular.

User Applications: Power Platform gives you the ability to build completely custom web apps, mobile apps, and AI agents from scratch without coding. Microsoft’s top-rated low-code platform is the main reason why we are starting this platform-based approach with Microsoft instead of Google, which does not have a comparable option. While Excel provides the ability for FP&A teams to build exactly the model they want, Power Platform provides the ability to build exactly the interface and user experience that business operators want. Whether it’s web-based or mobile, sophisticated or simple, the apps can be tailored to fit your organization, and with low-code, they can be built in a matter of days.

Ease of Ownership: the learning curve for Platform Planning is much different than planning software. Platform Planning leverages well-known tools for the day-to-day – Excel and Power BI. Your team will not need to call a consultant to rebuild or adjust an Excel model. For power users, the technical skills required are also universal – SQL and Python. With millions of active users, there is a wealth of educational resources available to learn and be much more self-sufficient with Platform Planning than alternatives.

Cost of Ownership: the cost advantages of adopting Platform Planning are clear. Compared to SaaS alternatives, Platform Planning can generate 50%+ cost savings on software alone. Since Platform Planning is not proprietary, there is no additional subscription beyond the Microsoft platform, and services are also more cost-effective than a specialized software implementation.

Considering the potential to consolidate other software and lower services and administration costs, the value proposition for Platform Planning expands even further. In addition to lower costs, Microsoft is also lower risk, with free trials on all the above and no upfront commitment or multi-year contracts required on software.

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Is Platform Planning right for you?

All the reasons above are why we committed to figuring out how to fit the Microsoft pieces together for planning purposes, building a platform-based methodology with no proprietary software to deliver maximum value. While this approach won’t be for everyone, for those who value data-centricity, ownership, and flexibility, Platform Planning is an excellent choice. Several of our clients are already moving away from specialized planning software to this new world.

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If you’d like to learn more about the OVG Platform Planning approach, don’t hesitate to reach out for a demo and free evaluation.

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