Defined as a “key tool that enables organizations to manage their enterprise-wide financial planning, forecasting, and budgeting processes,” Financial Planning Software is critical in supporting planning and analysis across the finance function. With such importance placed on this type of software, knowing who the recognized vendors are in the market can prove the difference in evolving the Office of Finance to be a vital part of the enterprise setup.

The Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Financial Planning Software is the report finance leaders should refer to for identifying the vendor most suited to support their financial operations. This article considers the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Financial Planning Software and why we believe it is an important document.

What is the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Financial Planning Software?

The Magic Quadrant™ for Financial Planning Software is a market research report produced by Gartner®, a firm that delivers actionable, objective insight to executives and their teams. It explores the current state of the financial planning software market and evaluates vendors with FP&A solutions against a range of capabilities. This includes:

• configurable models
• scenario modeling
• workflow automation
• data integration
• user experience.

These capabilities are examined for their efficiency, visibility and management, and ability to support a complex business environment. Financial planning and Analysis (FP&A) solutions aim to support the Office of Finance and the activities it provides across financial planning, budgeting, modeling, and performance reporting. Based on the evaluations above, vendors are positioned on a grid (the Magic Quadrant™) against two axes – “Ability to execute” and “Completeness of vision”. A vendor’s position on the grid determines which of the four categories they are recognized as, out of: Leader, Challenger, Visionary, or Niche Player.

Who is the Magic Quadrant™ for Financial Planning Software for?

The Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Financial Planning Software is a useful tool for organizations looking to upgrade or benchmark their current FP&A software against the latest industry offerings.

For CFOs and senior finance leaders, this Magic Quadrant™ offers insight into the latest trends and benchmarks best-practice approaches. The report can be used to identify vendors and empower finance application leaders to transform the finance function by adopting the right solutions, reduce application support costs, increase application flexibility, and shorten the time to value.

What are the benefits of using the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™?

The current marketplace is saturated with vendors offering Financial Planning Software capabilities. It can be a lengthy and arduous process shifting through each one and seeing which suits your business best.

The Magic Quadrant™ addresses this concern by providing clear and unbiased guidance in recognizing vendors based on their ability to execute and completeness of vision. With it, organizations, CFOs, and senior finance leaders can:  

• review the latest insights on the financial planning software market
• discover best practice approaches and practical advice for implementing a modern financial planning solution
• explore recognized vendors when considering a new financial planning solution or looking to benchmark existing planning software.

Who are the Leaders in the 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Financial Planning Software? 

The vendors recognized as a Leader in this year’s Magic Quadrant™ report are:

• Board
• OneStream
• Workday
• Wolters Kluwer
• Anaplan
• Oracle

To discover more about the state of the financial planning software market, download the 2022 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Financial Planning Software. 

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Financial Planning Software, By Regina Crowder, Matthew Mowrey, Farrah Watson, 14 December 2022

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