Catalyst, by EBM Software vs. SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation)

Catalyst works well, when it works and is very well suited for an ABA environment. But the app development process and the continual list of bug fixes that are never-ending makes this product very hard to recommend.

Incentivized

For a large company trying to bring processes and functions together with one tool, SAP BPC is a great solution. It requires hours of effort to implement and configure, which would not be appropriate for smaller companies. SAP BPC also requires dedicated resources to maintain the system on a day to day basis, as well as an administrator type personnel who can troubleshoot slow performance or issues with the system. You also need users who are willing and exciting to use this system and actually trust that this is a solution.

Incentivized

• The GUI is easy to navigate on the iPad mini, which we use for charting.
• The options are simple so there is very little room for mistakes.
• Charting is easy and the setup allows for necessary fields that must be completed so charting stays uniform.

Incentivized

• Allows for full integration of data to be analyzed in real time. Although we still load actuals on a delayed basis (2 business days after month end), when developing the budget, we not longer have to do a full loading process from a different application into BPC prior to being able to report and analyze the current budget status to prior budget versions or actuals.
• It is easy to learn basic report building. The hardest part is learning the available dimensions and the different possible combinations and their results, but that will also vary from company to company depending on the complexity of the industry.

Incentivized

• The browser closes unexpectedly at times when refreshing the page and you get logged out
• The incorrect vendor is chosen by Catalyst a few times
• The Catalyst file is occasionally not placed on time in the folder

Incentivized

• When a change is needed in the EPM reports it is not very flexible and needs IT intervention
• Performance sometimes is an issue when consolidating more then 20 entities specially at quarter end
• Script logic complex to handle and always needs BPC consultant when changes are requiered even if minimal - has very high costs

Incentivized

Well.... when it works... it's good. When it doesn't it is very frustrating for our staff.

Incentivized

Unlike other SAP traditional products, SAP BPC was meant to be simple and familiar to financial users

Incentivized

The support for Catalyst is great and they are usually within the 48 hour response time. There could be a little quicker upload time for invoices that are submitted. They usually show up until the next day on the system and sometimes gives us a stress on time. Overall, the support is quite good

Incentivized

We need a big support team with various skillset like BPC, ABAP, BW, HANA, FICO etc

Incentivized

SAP BPC training content and trainers are very good. The training is structured and provides a very good understanding of the product features and functionalities. I attended 6 separate training sessions of week-long or more. I had very good experience in all the sessions. The training is organized very well.

Incentivized

SAP Training contents are very good, informative and exhaustive.

Incentivized

The implementation was carried out in two phases spread over a period of 4 years with 2 upgrades in between. We also had multiple upgrades to HANA.

Incentivized

[Catalyst, by EBM Software] is a very easy system to use and is very user friendly. It gives you different ways of researching an invoice and not just one. Catalyst also helps to allow us to research an invoice within seconds and eliminates a lengthy and confusing process. It is a great software for first time users to learn quickly and efficiently.

Incentivized

Sage BPC is very much ahead of Dimensions in multiple areas. The speed and ease of reporting with Sage is very good when compared (although the bank reconciliation task is one thing that i feel is much more effort on Sage and takes more time than previous). We selected SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) as we have multiple foreign entities and a team in India producing reports so needed one package that could reliably provide information in one currency and show it clearly.

Incentivized

• Helps to keep our vendors happy
• Helps to keep our systems updated
• Helps to manage our expenses

Incentivized

• When originally implemented (as the predecessor product Outlooksoft) BPC took ASU from trying to budget and forecast for a 2B enterprise out of spreadsheets and into a far more consolidated tool. It has saved us considerable time over the years and paid for itself several times over.
• BPC also allows us to present our budget in multiple different views to support management, board and departmental reporting.

Incentivized