Guest Blog Post:  Anaplan -Simplifying The Complex

Kymberly Ayodeji is graduate  of DS4A/ Empowerment and the Anaplan for All program. She loves to solve problems by utilizing the communication, analytical, and organizational skills that she has honed through her years of experience as a secondary and post secondary educator, conference presenter, workshop trainer, and leader in both international and national settings. A native of South Florida and a world traveler who has visited over 20 countries, Kymberly loves meeting new people and learning about different languages, cultures and experiences. Kymberly has accepted a position with Anaplan and is excited about her new role helping and supporting Anaplan customers.

(Note, however, that since this piece was originally published on the Correlation One blog, the Anaplan for All program has grown and changed considerably. To learn more about it today—including how to apply, please visit the official Anaplan for All page.)

There was a time in my life when I would walk around with four electronic devices in my bag while we were traveling on vacation. I would lug my current cell phone, my old cell phone, my tablet, and my SLR camera to every tourist site we visited. (My laptop was left in the hotel room.) My husband would complain about how heavy my bag was (as I expected him to carry it 90% of the time) and say that I didn’t need all of those devices. He thought that any one of  the devices could do all of the same things that the other devices did. Although I did not disagree with him, my rationale for carrying them all is that I was used to doing different things on each one of them. Eventually, the futility of it all was clear, and I slowly but surely, transitioned to using one just cell phone to do all of the things that I needed.

That is what Anaplan is - a tool to do multiple things using one platform. Instead of utilizing many other platforms to do different things, Anaplan allows companies to use one tool to limit the need for many other tools. As more and more businesses discover the flexibility of Anaplan, they will (like I did with all my devices) slowly start to get rid of the extra devices and simplify their processes by using Anaplan.

I saw this idea work in practice years ago when I was working in Admissions at a selective college. The college had decided to transition the school from storing and managing data using a variety of software (depending on the department), and instead use only one software. At first I thought that it was a great idea, but as I sat in the implementation meetings representing the needs of the Admissions office, I realized that in order to utilize this new all-in-one inclusive software, every office on campus would have to severely modify the majority of their processes in order to mesh with the software. As upset as I was about the inefficiency of it all and the work that it would take to make and implement all those changes, I had to follow the wishes of the administration and get it done. Needless to say it was not a pleasant experience, and I left that job soon thereafter.

With Anaplan (and the Anaplan Way), implementation of its tool is not a “fitting a square peg into a round hole” scenario, but instead it is a “designing a hole to fit the square” scenario. With Anaplan’s core use of multi-dimensionality and their ability to restrict access to certain data based on a user’s role, companies don’t have to severely modify their process in order to work with Anaplan. 

Hear from Kymberly in this short video about her experience at Anaplan for All:

Kymberly Ayodeji is graduate  of DS4A/ Empowerment and the Anaplan for All program. She loves to solve problems by utilizing the communication, analytical, and organizational skills that she has honed through her years of experience as a secondary and post secondary educator, conference presenter, workshop trainer, and leader in both international and national settings. A native of South Florida and a world traveler who has visited over 20 countries, Kymberly loves meeting new people and learning about different languages, cultures and experiences. Kymberly has accepted a position with Anaplan and is excited about her new role helping and supporting Anaplan customers.