TM1 (Table Manager 1) is a multidimensional, in-memory OLAP database with a cell-orientated structure–like spreadsheets–that allows users to create sophisticated financial models and perform advanced calculations while benefiting from control and governance.
TM1 is an example of a class of software products which implement the principles of the functional database model (link resides outside ibm.com).
The functional database model was developed from the need to perform “spreadsheet” analysis to large volumes of multidimensional data. This is done by applying database security and governance to overcome the data volume and complexity limitations of the spreadsheet. In TM1, data is stored as multidimensional arrays or "cubes," which can be easily manipulated and analyzed in real-time.
Cell-orientation is a key aspect of TM1. Data is stored and processed at the level of individual cells, rather than in pre-defined structures such as tables or columns. This allows for a high degree of flexibility in modeling and analyzing data, as cells can be easily manipulated and combined to create new views and analyses. Additionally, because cells can be easily linked to other cells or data sources, cell-oriented databases are highly dynamic and can be updated in real-time as new information becomes available.
Manny Perez invented TM1 (Table Manager 1) in 1983 to solve complex, forward-looking business modeling problems associated with budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting. In 1996, Applix purchased Sinper Corporation. Cognos bought Applix in 2007, which was soon after acquired by IBM branding it as IBM Cognos TM1.
In 2016, IBM rebranded the product name to Planning Analytics, reflecting its expanded capabilities beyond traditional business planning and analytics into business intelligence by introducing the web interface–a highly visual, self-service data exploration and dashboarding tool. Currently, TM1 is still used to define IBM Planning Analytics core component–the TM1 Server.
Use this model selection framework to choose the most appropriate model while balancing your performance requirements with cost, risks and deployment needs.
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TM1 provides the flexibility, interactivity and modeling power of spreadsheets, but retains the control, security and scalability of a database. Find the most important concepts, functions and benefits below.
Cubes, dimensions, hierarchies and rules are essential components of TM1. They provide a powerful framework for organizing and analyzing enterprise planning data and can help businesses gain valuable insights into their operations, performance and trends.
Cubes are the central building blocks of TM1. They are multi-dimensional arrays of data that allow users to analyze and explore data from different perspectives. For example, a company might wish to summarize financial data by product, by time-period and by city to compare actual and budget expenses.
Dimensions are the categories or attributes by which data is organized within a cube. Dimensions provide context and meaning to the data and allow users to slice and dice data along different axes. Typical dimensions a cube might contain are time, versions, regions, products, departments and metrics.
Hierarchies are the logical organization of dimension members into a parent-child relationship. They provide a structure or organization to a dimension, allowing users to navigate and analyze KPIs at different levels of granularity or detail. For example, a time dimension hierarchy might include levels such as year, quarter, month and day.
Rules are statements or instructions that govern the behavior of the database. Rules define how the database processes and calculates data, and how it responds to user queries and requests. Rules can be used to calculate purchase costs, exchange rates, inventory levels, inventory depletion and final production costs.
The storage of data is in computer memory instead of on disk or other external storage devices. This allows for faster access to the data, which is particularly useful for processing large amounts of data quickly and enables real-time data analysis and reporting. By storing data in memory, TM1 can perform calculations and generate reports much faster than traditional databases.
Write-back capability, a feature of cell-oriented databases, enables users to update and save changes made directly to cells in the database, rather than exporting and importing data for editing. In a cell-oriented database, data is stored and processed at the level of individual cells, rather than in pre-defined structures such as tables or columns.
TM1 optimizes calculations by performing them only on data that has actual values or changes, instead of recalculating everything in the cube. It saves time by reducing the amount of data processed during calculations and identifying only the cells that need to be recalculated based on updated or modified data.
Allows for a high degree of flexibility in data modeling and analysis, making it easier to accommodate changes in business requirements and adapt to evolving business needs. Can scale to handle large volumes of data, making it suitable for large enterprises and complex business environments.
Designed for high-speed, real-time data analysis and modeling, making it ideal for large, complex data sets. The in-memory database architecture allows for rapid data retrieval and processing, enabling users to analyze data quickly and make informed decisions.
Using TurboIntegrator, it can integrate data from a variety of data sources, including spreadsheets, leading EPM (such as Oracle, SAP), and other data management systems, making it easy to combine data from different sources for analysis and report authoring.
Provides a platform for collaborative planning, budgeting and forecasting, enabling multiple stakeholders to contribute to the workflows and share insights and feedback in real time.
Provides granular security capabilities, allowing for data access to be restricted to specific end users or user groups, ensuring that sensitive data is only accessible by authorized users, leading to increased trust and confidence in the data.
Can perform prospective analytics by using predictive modeling and forecasting techniques to analyze historical data, identify trends and patterns, and perform what-if scenario analysis and make predictions about future outcomes.
IBM Planning Analytics is an integrated business planning platform that unifies and synergizes organizational business data in a single platform that allows enterprise-wide collaboration and transparency. All users have access to real-time data to create more accurate, consistent and timely plans, budgets and forecasts–without requiring a data scientist.
Its intuitive front ends: the web interface, IBM Planning Analytics Workspace, and native Microsoft Excel add-in make IBM Planning Analytics for Excel incredibly user-friendly, ensuring a seamless adoption process.
IBM Planning Analytics is a versatile solution used by organizations ranging from the largest corporations and government agencies to small businesses for budgeting, planning, forecasting, management reporting, analysis and consolidations on demand. The solution is as flexible as a spreadsheet, but with better performance, detailed security, and no broken links.
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