Should Your Organization Invest in Oracle PBCS?

PBCS is an excellent cloud-based budgeting platform, offered by Oracle, one of the world’s leading providers of cloud-based enterprise software.

In this article, we’ll learn:

• What PBCS is
• Its pros and cons
• Whether PBCS is the right choice for your business

To start off, let’s take a quick look at the Oracle Cloud and then we’ll examine PBCS and its key features.

What Is Oracle Cloud?

Oracle Cloud is Oracle’s enterprise cloud computing solution, as well as its cloud-based suite of enterprise products. 

These tools are focused around a variety of business needs and functions, such as:

• Infrastructure and computing
• ERP
• CRM
• HCM

Like other cloud-based solutions, Oracle Cloud offers on-demand products that can be delivered over the internet and paid for as they are used. 

Two primary advantages of this model include scalability and portability – that is, client organizations can use Oracle from any location and only use as many services or resources as they need.

This model saves costs because organizations only pay for what they use, rather than investing heavily into infrastructure or equipment that can easily remain unused. 

Cloud services also improve business resilience under certain situations. In 2020, for instance, companies that leveraged cloud platforms had an easier time operating in the new work-from-home (WFH) paradigm.

PBCS: An Overview

PBCS is short for Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service.

This platform, based on Oracle Hyperion Planning, is offered by Oracle and is used by businesses both large and small to assist with business planning. 

This platform is designed to:

• Integrate budgeting and planning for business units across the organization. The platform makes it easy for different teams to collaborate using a single platform. This simplified digital workflow reduces the complexity and inefficiencies of using other tools for planning, such as spreadsheets. Yet PBCS does offer spreadsheet integration, as well as capabilities ideal for the planning process, such as reporting, modeling, planning, and approval features.
• Model with predictive analytics. PBCS is designed to update models and predictions based on changing data, an essential feature in today’s fast-paced business landscape. Multiple versions of these analytics-based models can then be built out and used to inform planning and decision-making.
• Be usable across devices. Usability and simplicity are necessary for minimizing complexity in today’s workplace. PBCS, despite is sophisticated feature set, allows users to access its dashboard from any device that supports HTML5, including both desktop and mobile devices.
• Integrate with Microsoft Office. Since Microsoft Office is the de facto office suite in the modern enterprise, PBCS has chosen to offer easy integration with MS Office products, such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. This means that Excel users can use the same formulas, formats, and functionality they are familiar with, integrate MS Office documents into PBCS reporting, and more.
• Speed up user adoption. Digital adoption is a top priority for today’s business user, and the faster an employee can get up and running with an application, the more productive they will be. PBCS has a number of cloud-based features that streamline the onboarding process and shorten time-to-productivity, such as tutorials, templates, guides. 

In short, PBCS is a cloud-based solution designed for enterprise-level planning, yet its user interface and cloud-based features make it easy to use, even for first-time users and remote workers.

Should Your Organization Invest in PBCS?

There are several reasons to invest in PBCS, a few of which were mentioned above.

For instance:

• Cloud-based solutions are more scalable and affordable than onsite solutions
• PBCS can be easily integrated with MS Office programs
• Real-time data can be used to update models on the fly
• Employees can use PBCS anytime, anywhere
• PBCS can be customized to fit one’s own work style and work environment
• Cloud companies like Oracle continually update and upgrade their software
• PBCS seamlessly integrates with other Oracle Cloud products

That being said, there may be reasons not to invest in PBCS.

Here are a few points to consider:

• PBCS costs more than $100 per user per month
• There are competitors to Oracle’s solutions that may be more suitable
• If a company already uses a different suite of enterprise products, Oracle may not fit well with their workflow
• PBCS may not offer the features needed for one’s own circumstances

In short, it is best to find a solution that best fits one’s own budget, workflow, and business needs. 

Alternatives to Oracle Cloud

Oracle’s suite is robust and sophisticated, which means that only the largest companies can offer a competitive product.

A few of these include:

• SAP SE. SAP SE is a world leader in enterprise products. Based out of Germany, their suite focuses on operations, ERP, customer relations, and more.
• IBM. IBM is a world leader in both hardware and software solutions. They primarily target enterprise customers and offer products that range from AI-powered automation to cloud computing. Their planning analytics solution is an alternative to Oracle Cloud’s planning solution.
• Microsoft. Microsoft also has its own cloud computing platform geared towards enterprise customers. Azure, for instance, is a cloud-based infrastructure solution, while Microsoft BI can be used for insights and planning.

As mentioned earlier, it is important to evaluate one’s own needs and circumstances before making a decision. Each platform, after all, has its own price and offers its own advantages and disadvantages.