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As part of broad digital transformation efforts over the past decade (or more), many organizations have invested in a suite of technologies from a single provider. While going all-in on an ecosystem sounds great in theory, in reality these systems often rely on significant investment to maintain, and require a high level of technical expertise to optimize.
In the case of business planning, what we see in these organizations is that teams across the business inevitably head back to their spreadsheets for the flexibility the ecosystem they’re committed to just can’t quite provide.
This is because these technologies usually consist of separate modules or products targeted for different departments and their use cases. With so many focuses, these tools may not necessarily be optimized for the nuances of planning in today’s world, failing to accommodate a dynamic or collaborative approach to planning.
The end result of this is that these platforms are used as a system of record - teams revert to spreadsheets for the actual planning, and discussions happen offline in the silos that the tool was meant to eliminate, with the final results imported into the EPM system retroactively for presentation to executives and to save for posterity.
How Pigment fits in
Pigment is a dedicated solution for planning within enterprises designed specifically to solve these issues. It turns planning into a collaborative and dynamic experience that can drive better decision making across organizations.
But to be truly successful within an established organization, any planning solution must seamlessly coexist with systems already in place - to benefit from existing data, and to maintain positive ways of working that are familiar to stakeholders across the business.
Pigment offers a range of options to bring in the data that is crucial to planning processes across every aspect of a successful business; either via native integrations, APIs, or via built-in connections to popular iPaaS and ETL providers. That means teams who use Pigment are best placed to maximize their effectiveness from day 1, providing a solid foundation for the tailored experience that can only be accomplished with a modern approach to planning.
A big consideration when adding a dedicated planning tool to an existing ecosystem is ensuring that data can flow properly between the two, particularly to take in transactional data from existing ERP systems. Pigment’s native NetSuite and SAP 4/HANA connectors mean the integration of source data is straightforward and easy to maintain going forward.
IT teams
Pigment is designed so that the teams using it for planning day to day can keep in sync with changes across the business and make the changes to the tool that they need to meet their latest requirements, without needing to rely on IT teams for BAU operations. No matter the size of the organization, IT teams remain dedicated to the smooth running of software across the business, and Pigment means IT teams remain well equipped to focus on their top priorities.
Pigment provides the transparency and governance required by enterprise organizations with comprehensive user management, audit and security controls, including compliance with data privacy and alignment with industry security standards so that IT teams maintain oversight of the tool within the technical ecosystem of the wider organization.
By embedding Pigment within a well-governed ecosystem of existing tools and data, both IT and Business teams can benefit from operational best practices, as well as fully leverage the power that comes from tailoring activities for those conducting planning. And once everyone is aligned on the plan, outcomes of decisions can be seamlessly recorded in the downstream systems, with data sent to HRIS, Accounting, CRM and ERP systems. This is what marks the transition towards an active planning process that means data driven decisions become a matter of course, rather than a one time effort per year.
In summary - why Pigment?
A dedicated planning tool
Tailored specifically to each organization’s needs, and specifically designed to eliminate the silos and data discrepancies that hamper well-informed planning. Ultimately this means less time is spent gathering data and checking its integrity, and more time spent on actively making decisions that drive the organization towards its goals.
Reduced reliance on 3rd parties or internal IT teams
Business users are empowered to make the changes they need to meet evolving analysis and reporting requests; new product launches, changes in sales team reporting lines, or expansion into new regions no longer means setting aside a project team to update the planning tool. These changes become a natural extension of the process, instead of milestones that need to be managed as their own efforts.
Transformative user experience
Pigment is designed to bring together everyone who needs to contribute to decision making; from analysts to CEOs. Planning and reporting no longer happen linearly, so transparency is crucial for buy-in as plans evolve - compared to systems of the past where analysis would need to be completed before being transitioned into a format that can be presented for review - by which time it’s too late to change the plan for the better.
Pigment helps global enterprises prepare for anything. Interested to learn more? Book a demo of Pigment today.
