Extended Planning & Analysis (xP&A): The Future of Performance Management
Extended Planning & Analysis (xP&A) transforms enterprise performance by integrating strategic, financial, and operational planning on a single, AI-driven platform. Building on traditional EPM, xP&A leverages advanced analytics, predictive capabilities, and seamless data integration to deliver real-time insights and competitive advantage. Column5 Consulting, a pioneer in EPM since our leadership at OutlookSoft (SAP BPC’s origin), is redefining xP&A through our partnership with Darwin Analytics and its emerging Dynamic Networked Analytics (DNA) approach to performance management, which surpasses stale legacy Serial Analytics processes with AI-powered planning paradigms.
Why Column5 for xP&A?
As Gartner emphasizes xP&A’s role in modern analytics, Column5 leads the way by connecting clients to vendor-agnostic solutions via Darwin Analytics’ marketplace, featuring prebuilt tools across EPM vendors. Darwin's orchestration platform integrates these solutions into a cohesive, scalable ecosystem, enabling:
- Unified Planning: Align financial, operational, and strategic goals with a single source of truth - across multiple products, even different versions.
- Information at the Speed of Business: Enable real time analytics with advanced data pipelines.
- AI-Driven Insights: Leverage predictive analytics and agentic automation for smarter decisions.
- Low TCO: Achieve rapid ROI with prebuilt, integrated solutions tailored to your needs.
Our xP&A Technology Approach
We deliver xP&A solutions that evolve with your business, drawing on:
- SAP's xP&A Portfolio:
- SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC): A cloud platform for planning, business intelligence, and predictive analytics, powering xP&A capabilities.
- Integrated Business Planning (IBP): Rich operational planning integrated with S/4HANA and SAC for a cohesive analytics stack.
- S/4HANA Group Reporting: Advanced consolidation for complex financial reporting.
- SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) - Robust AI enabled platform for analytics across xP&A domains
- Vena Solutions: Use familiar Excel client to address xP&A planning modules
- Darwin Analytics Marketplace: Access prebuilt xP&A solutions across multiple vendors, ensuring flexibility and fit.
- Darwin Analytics Orchestration Platform: Seamlessly integrate multiple tools for an AI-enhanced, unified process.
- Legacy SAP Expertise: Transition smoothly from SAP BPC, SSM, PCM, or BFC with our deep experience.
Discover the future of xP&A at upcoming events listed here. Contact us to craft your xP&A roadmap today.
