Written by Heather Cole, 11/20/2025

You know that uneasy feeling when the tools your team depends on start to feel… fragile?
Maybe the reports take longer. Maybe the models are held together by tribal knowledge.
And then the email comes: “Your version of IBM Planning Analytics will soon be out of support.”

That’s not just a warning.  It’s a fact.

Support for Planning Analytics 2.0 officially ended in October 2024, https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-planning-analytics-20-end-support

and with it, Architect, Perspectives, and Performance Modeler were deprecated. (For more detail, IBM’s announcement on Planning Analytics Workspace updates and version lifecycle explains what this means for clients.) https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/release-information-ibm-planning-analytics

That’s exactly where one global, for-profit educational institution found itself.
Twice.

Round One: A Costly Detour

The organization had used IBM Planning Analytics (and its predecessor, TM1) for years to manage complex forecasting across multiple programs and entities. But over time, the models aged and they didn’t upgrade their software with new releases. Leadership changed. Processes evolved. And their old environment didn’t seem to fit the new structure.

Executives, frustrated by the rigidity, decided it was time to move on.
They purchased and implemented a competitive planning platform, investing eight months of time, energy, and capital.

But weeks before go-live, the team discovered the truth:  the new system couldn’t handle the same modeling sophistication they had in IBM Planning Analytics.  IBM Planning Analytics leads the industry in its ability to handle complex, bespoke models and what if scenario modeling.

The new system they were trying to implement, to replace IBM Planning Analytics, had critical capabilities missing. Allocations didn’t roll up correctly. Integrations broke.

The promise of innovation became a crisis of confidence.

With budget season approaching, the finance team made a desperate call to their long-time IBM partner, Lodestar Solutions:

“Can we just deploy last year’s model?   We are open to anything to get us through budget?”

The Turning Point: Back to IBM, Smarter

Our answer was simple: yes, but let’s do it right.

Lodestar recommended upgrading to a supported version of IBM Planning Analytics, to ensure continuity and access to IBM support during the critical budgeting window. Then they adjusted their existing models for the new fiscal year and saving the larger functionality rollout for a later phase.

It worked.

They delivered their budget on time, maintained business continuity, and learned an invaluable lesson: sometimes the problem isn’t the software.  It’s that you are running an old version and haven’t updated your models to reflect your current business needs.

Round Two: History (Almost) Repeats Itself

A couple of years later, in 2024, the organization found itself in familiar territory.
Their upgraded version was again approaching end of support in Oct 2025, and the team knew the risks firsthand.  This time they saw the warning signs.

Staying on an unsupported version meant exposure – not just to downtime and security issues, but to being left behind as IBM rolled out major enhancements like Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW), the AI-powered Planning Analytics Assistant, and Modeling Workbench.

This client recognized the cycle and decided to break it.

The Leap: Moving to the Cloud

After attending the Lodestar Solutions’ private user group for their clients, the finance and IT teams explored their options.

Lodestar helped them compare the costs and benefits of remaining on-premise versus moving to IBM Planning Analytics SaaS, including IBM’s dual-entitlement licensing program, which gives clients one year of overlap to use on-prem and the cloud environment to migrate safely.

Armed with clear numbers and strategy, leadership approved the move to the cloud and in 2025 the migration began.

The migration wasn’t without challenges.  Third-party configurations created some bumps but with Lodestar, their IT team, and IBM support collaborating closely, they overcame each obstacle.

They didn’t need to rebuild their models from scratch.
Instead, they updated and optimized them to be able to leverage new features like:

• Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) for modern, browser-based modeling
• Modeling Workbench for faster, tab-based development and maintenance
• AI Forecasting and Explain Cell capabilities to analyze data and provide insights with natural language
• Tasks and Workflows to streamline collaboration

Empowering the People Behind the Plan

While the infrastructure moved to the cloud, the finance team transformed how they worked.
They engaged Lodestar Solutions for virtual training, focusing on hands-on adoption, not just technical configuration.

To ensure sustainability, the team introduced a SME model: each department has a subject-matter expert as their internal go-to resource.

This simple move, built accountability, confidence, and continuity- turning the migration into a company-wide success story.

Today: Confidence, Clarity, and Continuous Growth

Today, this institution’s planning process runs on a secure, scalable cloud platform.
They’re no longer reacting to end-of-support notices.  They are planning strategically.   They are standardizing models, rolling out new features intentionally and empower their people to lead the evolution.

Their finance and IT teams speak a common language.
Executives trust the data.
And upgrades aren’t dreaded anymore.  They’re part of a continuous improvement rhythm.

Your Turn: Don’t Wait Until the Clock Runs Out

If you’re still on Planning Analytics 2.0, Architect, or Perspectives, time is running out.
Extended support is costly (up to 30% more than standard maintenance) and only delays the inevitable. Learn more in IBM’s Planning Analytics End of Support notice. https://www.ibm.com/support/pages/ibm-planning-analytics-20-end-support 

Let Lodestar Guide You

At Lodestar Solutions, we’ve helped hundreds of clients modernize their Planning Analytics environments – upgrading licenses, migrating infrastructure, and training teams for long-term success.

We don’t just move systems.

We move people – from uncertainty to alignment, from firefighting to forward-thinking.

If your finance team is staring down another unsupported version, it’s time to talk.

Schedule your complimentary Planning Analytics Health Check
We’ll help you assess where you are, define your unique roadmap, and turn your next upgrade into a strategic advantage.