The special structure of IBM Planning Analytics offers everything that companies need to design their data processes flexibly and efficiently. But how exactly is Planning Analytics (TM1) structured and which components make it an indispensable tool for business intelligence?
Note: For historical reasons, the term “TM1” is often still used synonymously for “IBM Planning Analytics”, but today it officially only refers to the database engine.
The server and database architecture of TM1
The core of Planning Analytics is the TM1 Server, a powerful in-memory system that stores and processes data. This architecture enables very fast calculations and a high processing speed.
This means that companies are able to analyze their data almost in real time, which in turn leads to faster decision-making processes. The data is stored in cubes, allowing companies to efficiently map and analyze complex relationships.
Cubes and dimensions – The building blocks of the TM1 structure
Cubes are the heart of TM1. They consist of dimensions, each of which represents a specific data category, such as time, products or cost centers. There are individual elements within a dimension – for example, the months could be represented as elements within the time dimension.
This structure enables flexible data analysis in which the data can be summarized and viewed at different hierarchical levels. This means you always have an overview – regardless of whether you need a detailed analysis or a higher-level perspective.
Rules and calculations: Flexibility through business logic
TM1 offers two essential functions for data calculation: Rules and TurboIntegrator (TI processes).
- Rules are user-defined calculations within the cubes. They can be used to automatically perform standard calculations, such as currency conversion, driver-based cost calculations or allocations. Changes to the data are taken into account immediately so that up-to-date results are always available.
- TurboIntegrator is the ETL tool (extraction, transformation, loading) of TM1. TI processes can be used to load data, create cubes and dimensions and transform existing data. These processes can be automated and repeated – which increases the efficiency and reliability of data integration.

Security and user rights in Planning Analytics
To ensure that only authorized users can access certain data, TM1 offers a comprehensive security model. With the help of user rights, access can be controlled down to cell level. This not only ensures a high level of data security, but also provides transparency as to who is allowed to process which data.
Another important component is the workflow and planning control via “Applications and Plans” from Planning Analytics Workspace. With this component, users can seamlessly control and participate in planning processes. The integration enables seamless collaboration between stakeholders, making the entire planning process more secure, efficient and traceable.
User interfaces: Excel, web and modern dashboards
IBM Planning Analytics offers a wide range of options for accessing and analyzing data:
- Planning Analytics for Excel (PAfE) is an Excel add-in that uses the familiar Excel interface to establish a direct connection to the TM1 database.
- Planning Analytics Spreadsheet Services enables users to access their data via the browser – a platform-independent solution that is particularly advantageous when working from home.
- Planning Analytics Workspace (PAW) offers interactive dashboards and visualizations to make data analysis even clearer and more intuitive. The latest version also offers free integration of AI-supported forecasting.

Conclusion: A flexible and powerful architecture for your BI requirements
IBM Planning Analytics combines a powerful architecture with versatile options to provide a comprehensive solution. This enables companies to analyze data faster, make informed decisions and respond flexibly to complex business requirements.
This flexibility extends to data integration as well as to calculations and security aspects, so that analysis and planning processes can be implemented efficiently.
Contact us to find out more about how IBM Planning Analytics can help your business!