The 5 Capabilities Modern EPM Platforms Must Deliver to Stay Competitive
June 09, 2025
The business world is no longer operating on predictable cycles. Whether it is private equity firms reacting to volatile markets, real estate investors reforecasting due to interest rate shifts, enterprises adapting to geopolitical developments like the U.S. doubling tariffs on imported steel and aluminium to 50%, or manufacturers grappling with supply chain disruptions from the Red Sea crisis, agility has become the new benchmark for success. Yet many organisations still rely on outdated planning methods – manual spreadsheets, siloed data, and legacy systems that can’t keep pace.
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) platforms have evolved significantly in recent years, transforming from financial planning tools into strategic enablers that unify data, accelerate decision-making, and scale with business growth. This article explores five essential capabilities that modern EPM platforms must deliver and why they matter now more than ever.
Why EPM Needs a Modern Foundation
Traditional planning approaches were never built for today’s speed and complexity. Companies now face an overwhelming combination of macroeconomic uncertainty, regulatory demands, and an explosion of operational data. Attempting to plan in quarterly cycles with disconnected tools often results in missed opportunities, inconsistent strategies, and an overreliance on IT for answers that should be accessible to business leaders in real time.
This is especially evident in sectors like Private Equity and Real Estate, where delayed insights can directly impact capital deployment or asset performance. These industries demand tools that not only keep up but actively help anticipate, adapt, and respond. The value of modern EPM platforms lies in their ability to make this responsiveness both intuitive and repeatable.
Figure 1
5 Must-Haves for Today’s EPM Solutions
Vendor Overview Snapshot
To thrive in today’s dynamic business landscape, organisations need EPM platforms that are agile, intelligent, and future-ready. The five key capabilities are no longer optional but essential. The table below highlights leading EPM vendors that excel in delivering these capabilities, helping businesses stay ahead of the curve.
Vendor Summary
Figure 2
Planning as a Strategic Enabler
Legacy systems often hinder more than they help. They’re prone to errors, hard to maintain, and struggle with transparency. Planning becomes reactive, fragmented, and inefficient. Modern EPM platforms solve these challenges – not just with technology, but by fundamentally shifting how organisations collaborate and decide.
The shift from static spreadsheets to agile platforms means that planning is no longer a back-office function – it is a boardroom imperative. Tools like Pigment, Anaplan, Oracle EPBCS, and Workday Adaptive offer varying strengths, but what unites them is a vision for connected, real-time, insight-led planning that supports the pace of modern business.
Final Thoughts
Choosing the right EPM platform is not about chasing features. It’s about selecting a solution that aligns with your organisation’s structure, industry needs, and growth trajectory. The platforms that deliver intuitive access, real-time flexibility, cross-functional integration, strong governance, and scalable architecture are the ones that will enable future-ready planning.
If your current planning process feels slow, disconnected, or overly manual, it might be time to rethink your foundation. The right EPM investment won’t just improve forecasting—it will transform how your business sees, responds to, and capitalises on change. If you are exploring the right EPM solution for your business, our team at Alpha Alternatives can help you assess, select, and implement a platform that aligns with your goals – reach out to start the conversation.