Howard,

Coincidentally, Applix released spreading for TM1 in January 2003
also. One advantage of having it in the engine is that it is
available through all Applix client interfaces and the API. Therefore
our partners can and do leverage this capability too.

Dave

"Howard Taylor [o2olap]" <a (AT) aa (DOT) com> wrote

Spreading and data entry, including spreading is also available through a
web front-end browser. Saying this, you could also be using Reporting
Services for some of the reporting as well.

Howard.Taylor@ domain below
www.o2olap.com

"Dave Menninger" <dmenninger (AT) applix (DOT) com> wrote

Howard,

I'm not sure how we got from spreading to Reporting Services, but TM1
supports Reporting Services also. Just to clarify (in case you didn't
understand my previous posting), data entry and spreading is available
via a web browser with TM1 too.

Dave

"Howard Taylor [o2olap]" <a (AT) aa (DOT) com> wrote

Dave Menninger wrote:

And don't forget the speed advantage that TM1 offers too! This is
highly relevant in a planning scenario. You may be able to argue that
it doesn't matter if a daily data update takes 60 minutes or 1 minute
if it is taking place overnight, but try putting that argument to a
planner with a deadline to meet!

In fact it seems to me that the main differences between spreading in
AS and TM1 are around flexibility, robustness and speed.

With TM1 spreading comes right out of the box.

With all the MSAS add-ins I have looked at there have been issues with
the way in which spreading has been implemented, and although other
vendors (I won't name them here) have tried valiantly, and sometimes
over long periods, to show that their products can meet my clients'
(not overcomplex) planning requirements, TM1 is the only one I have
found so far that can.

With TM1's spreading there is no need to worry about things like MSAS's
system generated non-leaf members, and it automatically works on any
cube where data is writable. It requires no set up, programming or
configuration at all.

Also, TM1's spreading is INCREDIBLY fast. I can spread a sales value
down accross 52 weeks and 200 categories and recalculate the effects on
20 other related variables so fast that the "delay" is effectively
imperceptible.

Robust and fast spreading is so important to effective budgeting from a
business perspective, that it really should be very high on the
assessment list of anybody who is looking to implement any kind of
planning or budgeting system.

Many MSAS add-in vendors have claimed to me that write back and
spreading are no brainers. I have yet to see any of them successfully
prove this once requirements go beyond the simple "plan sales" idea and
get into the more complex, but more real, world of driver based, top
down, planning.

I would seriously advise anyone looking to use write back and spreading
to insist that a proof of concept is shown before accepting from
vendors that this is easily accomplished with their tool. Make them
show you that it can do the sort of planning you need on a
realistically sized data set. Remember it is not just spreading the
data that takes time, but also recalculating the effects of those plan
changes on other variables. Don't accept oversimplified demos as proof
that things work acceptably in the real world!

Applix TM1 is the only product that meets all my clients' planning
requirements, which is why I recommend it. (Well OK nearly all - it's
not perfect of course)

If any UK based businesses would like to evaluate TM1 for a month to
see this for themselves, then feel free to contact me at the e-mail
address below (dropping the nospam) and I will organise it.

(And if any MSAS add-in vendors have products that really can do what
TM1 can in terms of easy and foolproof planning and spreading, then I'd
be very interested to hear from you too!)

Regards

John

--
John Hobson
The Planning Factory Ltd
www.planfact.co.uk
jhobson (AT) nospamplanfact (DOT) co.uk