Skip to Main Content

Are you a current Hyperion Strategic Finance (HSF) owner considering migrating your application to the cloud? For years HSF was considered the leader for Finance organizations that wanted a feature-rich modeling tool to analyze both what-if scenarios as well as complex treasury capabilities.  With the move to the cloud, HSF has failed to keep pace and is quickly becoming obsolete.  But where HSF has fallen short, Anaplan, a business planning and performance management platform, has excelled. Anaplan is a single, cloud-based platform that streamlines the strategic planning processes and models for the office of the CFO, and also enables connected planning across other business functions like Supply Chain and Sales Performance.

Anaplan’s patented Hyperblock modeling technology was purpose-built for the cloud and provides users with a best-in-class in-memory calculation engine for all modeling needs.  With Hyperblock there is no need to run consolidations or lengthy scenario calculations; all results appear nearly instantaneously after inputs are updated.  All of this functionality is available while keeping the same features and analysis required for strategic planning such as: mix and matching scenarios, funding cash shortfalls or applying cash surpluses, M&A or divestiture analysis, and forex impact.

Key Benefits:

  • User-friendly interface, including business owned logic and reporting

  • Centralized platform in which all the same strategic planning and expanded operational budgeting and forecasting can be completed using the same user interface.  No additional modules to license or additional training to learn how to use

  • Improved user experience and performance gains compared to the HSF cloud offering

One specific pain point for early adopters of the Oracle cloud has been integration with Strategic Modeling. Not only is it difficult to load data from outside sources, Oracle’s segmented applications (PBCS, FCCS, etc.) also require customized technical scripting that is difficult to develop and harder to maintain, even within modules that reside on the cloud platform. One of Anaplan’s biggest differentiators is that it’s truly a platform from which any number of models can be developed and connected across your organization. For example, connecting your detailed budgeting and forecasting model to your LRP requires zero scripting or outside ETL tools and is seamlessly contained within Anaplan’s native platform. Anaplan also has an open API platform and numerous built in connectors allowing for easy integration with other systems across your business.

In closing, the importance of a strategic planning process is not going anywhere and is key in understanding and executing a corporate strategy. The problem arises when trying to complete this process in a legacy technology instead of technology built for the cloud, built to scale, and that is adapting with technological advancements.

If you are considering moving your existing HSF models to the cloud, let’s have a pragmatic conversation about the key considerations and opportunities. Spaulding Ridge had deep expertise with both Anaplan and HSF and can help you define the right plan to migrate your models and enhance your processes.

Founded in 2018, Spaulding Ridge is a top management consulting firm, dedicated to client success and helping organizations implement and adopt best-in-cloud technology to solve their most pressing challenges. We provide the office of the CFO financial clarity to Sales and Operational complexity by integrating financial and sales SaaS Platforms.

We help:
• Finance gain control ” Increasing financial effectiveness, insight and impact
• Sales increase Productivity ” Hitting quota more quickly, consistently and efficiently
• Operations increase Competitiveness ” Through productivity rates, customer service outcomes, and efficiency

Sam Kubek
Sam Kubek
Partner, Spaulding Ridge
About the Author

Sam Kubek is a consulting leader with 10 years of experience in helping clients plan across their organizations. Sam focuses helps organizations pragmatically and efficiently put in both planning process and technology to meet both short-term needs and long-term strategic goals. Sam’s journey to becoming a Partner at Spaulding Ridge began back in 2013 when he started as an analyst at Blue Stone International, Jay Laabs’ first company. He continued to Huron after the acquisition and, in March 2018, joined Spaulding Ridge as a Manager. Named a Partner in September 2019, Sam’s knowledge of the CFO office and cloud strategy leads the Anaplan Practice.