Las 5 mejores alternativas a SAP BPC para 2025

Durante décadas, organizaciones de todo el mundo han confiado en SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) para sus necesidades de consolidación y planificación financiera. Sin embargo, en el momento de redactar este artículo, el fin del soporte para SAP BPC se ha actualizado y fijado para 2030, pero ha sido un objetivo cambiante. Las organizaciones están explorando ahora de forma proactiva alternativas a SAP BPC que van más allá de simplemente igualar las capacidades de SAP BPC para cumplir finalmente la promesa de una única fuente de verdad. ¿Qué se necesita para cumplirlo? Unificar la consolidación completa y el ciclo de vida cercano, así como la planificación financiera y operativa, con paneles de control, informes y análisis integrados, desde el balance hasta el nivel de transacción.

¿Qué ofrece exactamente el panorama posterior a SAP BPC? Echemos un vistazo más de cerca a cinco de las principales alternativas y competidores de SAP BPC. En este artículo, analizaremos no solo las características y capacidades clave, sino también los posibles inconvenientes o limitaciones de cada alternativa, para proporcionarle la información necesaria para tomar una decisión informada sobre la alternativa correcta de SAP BPC para su organización.

¿Qué es SAP BPC?

SAP BPC es una solución desarrollada por antiguos empleados de Hyperion Solutions tras la adquisición/fusión de Hyperion Solutions y Arbor Software (Essbase). Por su diseño, la solución se desarrolló para reunir las consolidaciones y la planificación en una interfaz basada en Excel para garantizar la familiaridad entre los profesionales de las finanzas. SAP BPC tenía inteligencia financiera incorporada para agilizar las consolidaciones, de modo que Finanzas pudiera producir estados consolidados de pérdidas y ganancias, balance y flujo de caja.

Más concretamente, la inteligencia financiera significaba que la solución tenía conversiones de moneda, eliminaciones interempresariales y atributos de cuenta para garantizar que una cuenta se comportara correctamente al consolidar y a lo largo del tiempo.

A los clientes les gustaba SAP BPC por tres razones principales:

• Su inteligencia financiera incorporada.
• La familiaridad y flexibilidad de una interfaz basada en Excel.
• La promesa de tener todos los procesos de consolidación y planificación en una única solución.

Sin embargo, SAP BPC nunca cumplió la promesa de una solución única. La mayoría de los clientes necesitaban gestionar las diferencias a nivel empresarial en la granularidad de la consolidación y los diferentes niveles de granularidad para la planificación a partir de los datos reales (es decir, planes estratégicos a un nivel resumido, presupuestos y previsiones a un nivel inferior, y datos reales a un nivel detallado), pero aun así conciliar con los datos reales para el análisis y la presentación de informes. Para lograrlo, la mayoría de los clientes tendrían aplicaciones de consolidación y planificación independientes. Estas aplicaciones tendrían que integrarse y, a menudo, se necesitarían aplicaciones adicionales para unificar todo para el análisis y la elaboración de informes de desviaciones.

Con SAP BPC, SAP se alejó de la interfaz estándar basada en Excel para hacerla más compatible con la web. SAP migró BPC para que funcionara en SAP NetWeaver y S/4 Hana en las instalaciones, además de la plataforma original de Microsoft. ¿El resultado? Añadió complejidades en forma de múltiples back-ends, interfaces torpes e integraciones complejas, lo que resultó en costes y duplicación de datos y metadatos, procesos que consumen mucho tiempo y actualizaciones.

Con el fin del soporte de SAP BPC fijado para 2030, muchas organizaciones ya han seleccionado alternativas o se encuentran en diversas etapas de los procesos de selección para encontrar competidores de SAP BPC. ¿Qué alternativas debería considerar en función de sus necesidades empresariales? Repasemos las principales opciones para ayudarle a encontrar la solución adecuada.

Las 5 mejores alternativas a SAP BPC

Dada la fecha de finalización del soporte de SAP BPC en 2030, este artículo ofrece una visión general de las cinco mejores soluciones de gestión del rendimiento corporativo (CPM) y gestión del rendimiento empresarial (EPM). Las soluciones seleccionadas son ideales para las empresas que buscan sustituir SAP BPC por algo que cumpla la promesa de una plataforma unificada para la consolidación, el cierre y la planificación financiera y operativa.

Para elaborar esta lista, evaluamos numerosas reseñas e informes de analistas, que son el punto de partida habitual de los procesos de selección de CPM/EPM. A continuación, evaluamos las alternativas en función de cinco criterios clave:

• Gestión integral de la consolidación, el cierre y la planificación y previsión financiera y operativa de toda la empresa.
• Motor de calidad de datos integrado, en manos de Finanzas, que proporciona una base sólida y flexible en integración y calidad de datos.
• Agilidad máxima para adaptarse a los distintos niveles de granularidad en el negocio y en los procesos de consolidación, planificación y previsión.
• Experiencia del usuario final optimizada para impulsar la eficiencia y la eficacia, eliminando procesos manuales que consumen mucho tiempo y son propensos a errores.
• Información fiable: desde el balance hasta el nivel de transacción, para obtener transparencia, auditabilidad y detalles procesables detrás de cada número.

Ahora vamos a profundizar en los detalles de las cinco mejores opciones para una alternativa a SAP BPC, incluyendo un vistazo rápido a los pros y los contras de cada una.

1. OneStream

OneStream is the only solution for CPM/EPM that delivers end-to-end management of enterprise-wide consolidation, close, and financial & operational planning and forecasting in a unified platform. This unified platform enables Finance and Operations teams to better collaborate and deliver a single source of truth. Having that single source eliminates the complexity of multiple solutions, interfaces and integrations; heavy cost and duplication of data and metadata; and time-consuming processes and upgrades.

With OneStream's built-in data quality engine and pre-built connectors, Finance is in control, providing a strong, flexible foundation in data quality that's ERP and source system agnostic, as real-time as needed, with drill down and drill back to any source. Those capabilities provide not only auditability across all close, planning, reporting and analysis processes, but also actionable insights behind every number.

Guided workflows and task management provide standard, defined and repeatable close, planning and operational processes. These capabilities simplify complexity for business users by guiding them through all data management, data collection, verification, approval, certification, locking, reporting and analysis processes. This ensures operational relevance and direct reconciliation for all processes, regardless of different levels of granularity across businesses and scenarios. OneStream also eliminates the need to implement and integrate multiple solutions, delivering confidence and reliability in all business user-driven processes.

Pros:

• One EPM solution owned by Finance for end-to-end management of enterprise-wide consolidation, close, financial & operational planning and forecasting, reporting, and analysis – eliminating the complexity of multiple solutions and ensuring direct reconciliation of actuals, plans and forecasts without the cost, complexity and duplication of data and metadata
• Built-in data quality engine, providing a strong flexible foundation in integration and data quality to deliver confidence, trust and, finally, a real one source of truth
• Ultimate agility to ensure direct reconciliation of actuals, plans and forecasts leveraging the unique innovation of Extensible Dimensionality®, to deliver both operational relevance and adaptability. This capability means lines of business and actuals and plans with different granularity can live and reconcile in the same application without complex administration or falling back to Excel for offline models
• Optimized end-user experience to drive consolidation, close, and financial & operational planning process efficiency and effectiveness, eliminating time-consuming and error-prone manual processes
• Built-in self-service reporting, dashboarding, ad-hoc analysis and deep integration with Microsoft Office in one platform, from balance to transactional details with seamless drill down and drill back to supporting details for transparency, auditability and actionable details behind every number

Cons:

• Best for enterprises looking for end-to-end management of enterprise-wide consolidation, close, financial & operational planning and forecasting, reporting, and analysis in a unified platform. For small to medium-sized organizations not looking for this unification, even though OneStream is user-friendly, mastering the design and advanced features may pose a slight learning curve
• Despite growing popularity and 100% customer success of over 1,300+ customers, OneStream may have a smaller market presence compared to other alternatives

2. SAP EPM

With the end of support for SAP BPC set for 2030, SAP's go-forward solutions for EPM are a combination of SAP Group Reporting embedded in S/4HANA for consolidations and SAP Analytics Cloud for financial and operational planning.

SAP S/4HANA Group Reporting is an enterprise solution for consolidations. As part of S/4HANA, the Group Reporting solution leverages a combination of features tied to Group Reporting for consolidations and S/4HANA for core close capabilities. SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) is a cloud-based platform for planning, business intelligence (BI) and predictive analytics that enables organizations to visualize, plan and make data-driven decisions.

Pros:

• Both Group Reporting and SAC solutions run on the same S/4HANA technology to streamline integration with SAP ERP systems, making them a good choice for organizations deeply embedded in the SAP ecosystem
• SAC offers flexibility in modeling and reporting, catering to diverse business needs
• SAP customers benefit from SAP's global footprint, ensuring access to a vast pool of skilled professionals and SAP domain knowledge

Cons:

• A lack of parity exists in Group Reporting for the consolidation capabilities customers were accustomed to in BPC, especially for complex global statutory consolidations
• Customers will need to implement S/4HANA and upgrades can be challenging with known impacts on the agility Finance needs to change to Group Reporting for close and consolidation processes
• Although both Group Reporting and SAC use the same underlying technology, they are still separate solutions. Each requiring its own implementation, ongoing maintenance, and multiple complex integrations across solutions to reconcile actuals with plans and to bring in non-SAP financial and operational data to support the end-to-end EPM processes

3. Oracle EPM

Oracle EPM is a suite of business applications designed for end-to-end management of enterprise-wide consolidation, close, financial planning & forecasting, and performance reporting. Oracle closely resembles SAP, with legacy solutions from the acquisition of Hyperion also ending support in 2031 for Hyperion HFM and Hyperion Planning. The Oracle suite of applications is being redeveloped on the Cloud, consisting of individual best-of-breed solutions for the following:

• Consolidation & Close
  • Financial Consolidation and Close (Formerly FCCS)
  • Account Reconciliations (Formerly ARCS)
• Planning & Profitability
  • Planning (Formerly EPBCS)
• Reporting & Analysis
  • Enterprise Performance Reporting & Narrative Reporting (Formerly EPRCS)
• Enterprise Data Management (Formerly EDMCS)

Pros:

• Oracle EPM is a comprehensive suite that covers budgeting, planning, forecasting and advanced analytics, providing a breadth of well-known capabilities for EPM based on the reputation of Hyperion Solutions
• Integration with Oracle solutions (ERP, HCM, CRM, etc.) and databases, and a robust solution for master data management, data integration and data quality
• Large customer base and global network ensuring access to a pool of skilled professionals, services, partners, and domain experts

Cons:

• Lack of parity in Financial Consolidation and Close, and Planning for consolidation and planning capabilities compared to Hyperion HFM and Planning
• Fragmented, multiple solutions that require multiple complex integrations across solutions to reconcile actuals with plans and to bring in financial and operational data to support the end-to-end consolidation, close, financial & operational planning, and reporting processes
• Limited live references and few peer reviews/insights for the cloud EPM solutions

4. Wolters Kluwer CCH Tagetik

Tagetik was originally developed in 2005 to deliver trusted, comprehensive and scalable CPM solutions globally and was acquired by Wolters Kluwer in 2017. Today, CCH Tagetik is marketed as an end-to-end financial close and consolidation solution for group and entity controllers. Tagetik is comprised of multiple solutions for financial consolidation and close, account reconciliation and transaction matching, financial and management reporting, disclosure management (via a partnership with CoreFiling), and ESG & sustainability performance management – available both on-premise and in the cloud.

Tagetik positions themselves as having a unified platform for CPM/EPM – at least at first glance. The details of how the solutions work together instead make it clear that the platform still suffers from some of the same integration and solution complexities as the multiple application approaches of other vendors in the CPM/EPM market.

Pros:

• Better platform approach than other multi-solution approaches in the CPM/EPM market, such as SAP and Oracle
• Prebuilt connectors for SAP and SAP S/4HANA and a data quality engine to integrate with ERPs and other data sources, both financial and operational
• Ability to combine balance and transactional data in the platform
• Deep knowledge in Finance and solution capabilities, especially for global statutory consolidations

Cons:

• General-purpose APIs for bidirectional integration with any open system, but a below average number of support APIs and certified connectors compared to the market
• Limited to one cube per application, affecting performance, scalability and, in most implementations, requires multiple applications to support CPM/EPM processes – resulting in the same integration and solution complexities as the multiple application approach of other vendors in this article
• Limitations on data quality, assurance and drill back result in additional steps, time and manual processes to resolve data issues, with no transparency to drill back to the source
• Strong European customer base but without the same North American footprint of the other top alternative vendors

5. Workday Adaptive Planning

Workday Adaptive Insight was founded in 2003 as a planning solution with limited consolidation capabilities and acquired by Workday in 2018. It was rebranded initially as Adaptive Planning, but it is now being marketed as Adaptive Planning and Consolidation, through a combination of their field level partnership with Fluence and a simplified version of their ERP, Workday Financials.

Workday Adaptive Planning covers planning, consolidation, analytics, and reporting functions. Built on a proprietary in-memory database, the solution enables collaboration and real time updates in a spreadsheet-like browser user interface and supports integration of data from ERP and other source systems.

Pros:

• Like SAP and Oracle, Workday offers a full-stack ERP, Human Capital Management, Peakon Employee Voice, Strategic Source and Adaptive Planning for business process support and CPM/EPM
• End-to-end financial planning process support that covers budgeting, forecasting and strategic planning
• Adaptable to changes in business requirements, by design, allowing organizations to adjust their plans and forecasts as business needs change
• Intuitive and user-friendly interface, reducing the learning curve for users and facilitating easier adoption across different departments

Cons:

• Best known as a planning solution, consolidation capabilities are weak, especially for complex global consolidations, and close capabilities are limited – other than what's built into Workday Financials. To get CPM/EPM capabilities comparable to the other top alternative vendors, Workday will either position its field-level partnership with Fluence or Adaptive Planning with a simplified version of Workday Financials ERP, which may only be logical for Workday customers
• Fragmented, multiple solutions and technologies require multiple complex integrations across solutions to reconcile actuals with plans
• While positioned as a comprehensive set of capabilities, Workday Adaptive has a limited data model for all CPM/EPM processes and has limited data integration capabilities for managing the multiple ERP and other source system data integrations needed for consolidation, close, and financial & operational planning, reporting, and analysis

Conclusion: Choose the Best SAP BPC Alternative

As organizations look for alternatives to SAP BPC, OneStream's Intelligent Finance Platform stands out as the best alternative. Why? To start, OneStream provides a modern, unified platform for consolidations, close, financial & operational planning, reporting and analysis. The platform also finally delivers on the elusive one source of truth.

With over 1,300+ customers, many successful migrations from SAP BPC to OneStream and a mission to ensure every customer is a reference, OneStream stands as the truly unified platform for CPM/EPM.

Want to know more? Check out OneStream's video about what comes after SAP BPC/BFC/BCS here.