Oracle Essbase is an Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) database that collects and analyzes data from files and spreadsheets. It's employed to build analytic applications and can operate via a web browser interface or Microsoft Office.
The platform is used for enterprise performance management (EPM) and offers real-time forecasting, variance analysis, root cause identification, scenario planning, cross-dimensional queries, and more.
While customers appreciate Oracle Essbase’s business insights, others find the platform limited. Some typical customer issues include:
Essbase does not have straightforward pricing plans. Pricing is based on the custom needs of the user and varies by unit price.
If you’ve been using Essbase databases and looking for an alternative–or are just conducting thorough FP&A software research–here are some of the best platform options to consider.
Cube is a comprehensive FP&A solution that helps businesses drive efficiency and accuracy in their financial forecasting, budgeting, and financial consolidation operations. The spreadsheet-native platform assists finance teams in analyzing, planning, and collaborating in real time. FP&A teams can make smarter business decisions by automating laborious manual processes while reducing errors. Put another way, Cube helps you automate complex data analysis in Excel.
Cube further empowers accounting teams to streamline audit processes and acquire meaningful data insights through robust reporting alongside seamless integrations with other HR, CRM, and ERP tools.
Like Essbase, Cube is also an OLAP database. To oversimplify, you can think of it as a faster, more modern take on the legacy software from Oracle.
Features & Benefits:
Pricing:
See detailed pricing for customizable plans
Oracle Analytics Cloud allows businesses to infuse AI and machine learning analytic capabilities into integrated applications. The platform offers data insights from different sources in the cloud, offline, or hybrid implementation. It empowers businesses and data professionals to aggregate and analyze data, model scenarios, and make informed decisions.
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Pricing:
Oracle Analytics Cloud has seven pricing levels in its Analytics suite:
Oracle Database is a cloud service that has relational databases and provides a central database engine using blockchain to run analytics and implement machine learning. Oracle’s platform also offers MySQL and NoSQL features to process heavy workloads using relational databases and cloud applications.
The Oracle Database software allows businesses to run hardware and local NVMe storage on a low-latency platform. The portfolio of data services includes Oracle Data Safe, a control center for risk detection, user activity tracking, and security compliance implementation.
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Pricing:
Oracle Database’s pricing depends on the licensing model the users need, so specific details are not available online.
Anaplan is a cloud-based platform that provides businesses with tools to manage and analyze their data. It’s designed to help businesses plan, budget, and forecast their operations and connect and align their plans across departments and functions.
Anaplan offers a range of features including financial planning, sales forecasting, supply chain management, and workforce planning. It’s used by various businesses and organizations, including financial institutions, retail companies, and manufacturing firms.
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Pricing:
Anaplan’s pricing suite has three levels: Basic, Professional, and Enterprise. While exact prices aren’t listed on their website, sources put the figure between $30,000 and $50,000.
Vena Solutions is a software platform that provides process automation for Corporate Performance Management, accounting and budgeting, regulatory and compliance support, and other finance-related processes.
Vena Solutions’s interface displays projects assigned to users and offers a review pane for monitoring. It also includes a workspace for sharing instructions and documentation.
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Pricing:
Vena Solutions's pricing isn't available on its website but sources note it’s more than the average market price.
Jirav is a financial planning and analysis platform that helps businesses create and manage financial models, budgets, and forecasts. The tool was designed for finance professionals including CFOs, controllers, analysts, and business owners and executives.
Jirav can build help build complex business scenarios and financial models, collaborate with team members, and accept data inputs in real time and integrate with other business tools like QuickBooks and NetSuite.
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Pricing:
Jirav offers two pricing tiers:
Jedox is a planning and performance management platform for finance, sales, and operations. Jedox uses artificial intelligence to offer integrated business planning. Jedox enables users to create financial models, budgeting solutions, and forecasting models.
It was designed to help further business understanding so organizations can assess performance and business issues then make decisions on how to optimize operations.
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Pricing:
Jedox’s price list is unavailable on its website but sources estimate that a basic plan costs $160/month.
Limelight is a cloud-based FP&A software that automates budgeting. It eliminates manual processes for finance teams to enable them to focus on analyzing data. Limelight integrates with other ERPs to sync and update data in real time. It also offers drill-down and roll-up features in data analysis, enabling teams to make decisions.
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Pricing:
Limelight software operates on a quote-based pricing model and wants users to contact them directly for a quote.
Phocas Software is aggregates, analyzes, and presents organizations’ data for finance, sales, and operations to support business model development. Phocas pulls data from spreadsheets, ERPs, and third-party systems and presents them in dashboards and reports for greater visibility.
Users can track and create reports on KPIs and metrics which they customize their reports using various templates.
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Pricing:
Phocas Software wants business users to contact them for a custom quote, but sources say the tool costs more than the average market price.
Causal allows users to build financial models and share them through visual and interactive dashboards. Users can build models from variables that they can report in plain language for a non-technical audience.
Causal helps business users include scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis, data values, and uncertainty parameters in their mathematical calculations. It also combines data sources from other spreadsheet software like Sheets and Excel into accounting platforms like Xero and Quickbooks.
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Pricing:
Casual offers a free trial for users and a $250 Starter plan. Business plans come with a custom price.
Fathom is a management reporting and financial analysis tool that helps businesses assess performance, monitor trends, and identify areas for improvement. It provides financial insights (profitability, cash flow, growth), analysis, forecasts, and reporting.
Fathom also integrates with business and accounting tools like QuickBooks, Xero, and MYOB.
Features & Benefits:
Pricing:
Business report that Fathom offers six pricing levels:
Essbase databases work for business users at large enterprises with deep IT resources that already have a robust FP&A solution, have analysis teams seeking targeted analytics and modeling tools for complex business situations, and are already invested in Oracle back-office solutions.
But look no further than Cube for FP&A teams looking for an easily implemented and scalable solution.
Cube is an easy-to-use tool that offers lightning-fast processing speeds, reliable system performance, and native integrations with Excel and Google Sheets. The platform is an excellent fit for all sizes of businesses, from growing SMBs to large enterprises.