IBM is investing heavily in its analytics solutions, which means lots of things are changing for the better. At Revelwood, we see it as our job to help our clients interpret these changes to better understand how they might affect your organization in a practical way.

One critical component of IBM’s strategy has been the move to cloud. Not only has IBM acquired cloud-based companies like Softlayer to address the world’s infrastructure and platform needs, but it is migrating virtually all of its software solutions to the cloud, as well. TM1 moved to the cloud back in early 2014. Late last year, TM1 Cloud was reincarnated as IBM Planning Analytics (IPA), which includes TM1 and much more.

Here is a quick summary of the key components that are part of IPA:

• TM1 – Multidimensional database engine (same as on-prem)
• TM1 Web – Web environment, including Websheets, cube browsing, etc. (same as on-prem)
• CAFÉ for TM1 – Excel add-in for TM1, including new functionality not available in Perspectives (Perspectives is also supported in IPA, but only for administrators as a means to publish Websheets)
• Planning Analytics Workspace – a visual, self-service dashboard and lightweight reporting and data capture tool to interact with TM1 data (New!)
• Watson Analytics – self-service cognitive discovery and prediction (New!)
• Cognos BI – business intelligence and robust reporting against the TM1 data source (New!)

Moving to IPA on the cloud has its advantages, as well as some considerations to be aware of. For example, not all existing functionality in on-premise TM1 is ready for the cloud just yet. We’ll be covering more on IPA in upcoming blogs, so be sure to check back here often.

What we at Revelwood find most compelling about IBM’s direction is the dual “on-premise or in-the-cloud” strategy. Your organization can choose the right solution at the right time. We can help you understand the differences, develop a roadmap for migration, structure your renewal contract to include the cloud option and, of course, work with you on the migration itself. Just let us know and we’ll get the conversation started.

Who at Revelwood should I call, you ask? Great question. If you haven’t met him already, you should meet John Pra Sisto. John joined Revelwood last year as our first ever Client Success Manager. Yes, his entire purpose at Revelwood is to ensure that our clients are happy and successful. If you don’t know who to turn to, contact John. He can be reached at 201.984.3025 or jprasisto@revelwood.com.

Thanks for listening…we look forward to hearing from you.