January Q&A Challenge — share your reflections for a chance to win!

becky.leung
becky.leung
edited January 28 in Blog
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In the Anaplan Community, we believe that growth comes from connecting, collaborating, and sharing knowledge. Every day we see our members coming together to share ideas, solve problems, and support one another in forum discussions, blog posts, and beyond. As we start the new year, we’re taking a moment to reflect on the amazing milestones we achieved in 2024 and continue to celebrate the incredible contributions of our Community members.

This past November, the Anaplan Community reached a major milestone: 100,000 members! This accomplishment reflects the energy, growth, and dedication of everyone here. Let’s keep that momentum going in 2025 as we look back on our favorite features from the past year and recognize the individuals who have made a difference.

Introducing our January Reflection & Appreciation Q&A Challenge! This challenge is your chance to look back on 2024 and share your favorite feature, while also taking a moment to recognize a fellow Community member who has made an impact on you.

Questions for the Q&A Challenge:

  1. What was your favorite Anaplan feature released in 2024 and why? Please keep your response focused on one feature.
  2. Nominate a fellow Community member you want to recognize — whether for solving a tough issue or offering support or knowledge in the Community, we want to hear who has made an impact on you!

We can’t wait to hear your reflections and see your nominations!

How to participate:

  • The challenge begins on January 7, 2025 and concludes January 20, 2025.
  • Provide a response to the Q&A Challenge questions by commenting below: 1) What was your favorite Anaplan feature released in 2024 and why, 2) Nominate a fellow Community member you want to recognize — whether for solving a tough issue or offering support in the Community.

What’s in it for you? 

  • Community badge: All Community members who contribute a response will receive a special participant badge to highlight your involvement. 
  • Community swag: Participants will have a chance to win a fun Community water bottle not only for themselves but also for the Community member they nominate!
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Community swag winners:

For those who participate in this Challenge, we’ll be randomly selecting multiple participants and their nominations to receive a Community water bottle. Those who get selected will hear from our team by the end of the month. 

Are you ready to reflect on the past year and show your appreciation for your peers? We hope you’ll participate in the January Reflection & Appreciation Q&A Challenge by commenting below and supporting your favorite nominations. Let’s continue building on the positive energy and growth in our Community!

For a full outline of our challenge rules and restrictions, read our full Terms & Conditions here.

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Comments

  • matthewreed
    matthewreed

    My favourite feature for 24' is a golden oldie back from January, and an example that it's the 'little things' that can make a big difference. Action Button Icon Alignment might sound simple to some, but the amount of queries I had from users when navigating dashboards was greatly reduced by the simple relocation of an arrow icon on my nav buttons. So while this is a 'little thing', it's easily my favourite change from the year!

    My shoutout goes to @jan_sypkens for always keeping me up to date over with the new and fancy things that are coming to the platform, and dealing with my random questions.

    Happy New Year all & all the best for 2025.

  • Salini
    Salini

    My favorite Anaplan feature released in 2024 is the Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO). The ADO has revolutionized the way we manage and integrate data by simplifying and accelerating the entire process. The ability to connect seamlessly with third-party applications using a no-code interface is a game-changer, especially for someone like me who values efficiency in data integration.

    What I find particularly valuable is the ability to store source data in a centralized location, which eliminates redundancy and ensures consistency when distributing data across multiple models. Transformations within ADO are intuitive, reusable, and automated, saving significant time while preparing data for Anaplan models. The visual data lineage feature is another standout—it offers a clear, end-to-end map of the data journey from source to Anaplan, including all transformations. This not only enhances transparency but also makes troubleshooting and optimization much easier. Overall, ADO empowers users to streamline complex data workflows, enabling faster and more reliable decision-making within the Anaplan ecosystem. I would like to nominate @Taryn for sharing her views.

  • AdamSayyad
    AdamSayyad
    edited January 10

    Hello Community,

    Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

    ADO is likely the biggest update of 2024, and it’s my favourite feature. I have completed six out of nine lessons in the Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO) course. Unfortunately, due to access restrictions, I could not complete hands-on practice, but I believe it will be a game changer.

    I would like to nominate @rob_marshall, @Arnab116 , @Dikshant and @PulkitChawla for offering their support.

    Regards,
    Adam S.

  • Dikshant
    Dikshant

    Favorite Anaplan feature released in 2024

    I firmly believe that small things can create a big impact. This is a great opportunity to highlight features that may seem small but have created a big impact in my opinion.

    • Commenting on worksheet pages
    • Conditional navigation actions
    • End user Show/Hide enhancements
    • Top-level and subsets for the users list
    • Dynamic bulk copy action
    • Reordering categories and pages in an app
    • Manage Access page has been updated to be more intuitive
    • Role-based landing pages
    • Model switch update: The selected model in pages that support multiple models is now persisted when you navigate across pages
    • Restore a deleted App page
    • Fine Grain History Search

    I would like to nominate @AryaGupta098

  • TristanS
    TristanS

    My favourite releases has to be

    • Context-shifting functions over non-Time dimensions - You can use Previous, Next, Offset functions on non Time dimensions now. Only on Polaris though
    • ADO
    • The continuous incremental updates to the Formula editor that seems to fail being called out in the release notes sometimes

  • PulkitChawla
    PulkitChawla

    Happy New Year Anaplanners,

    My favorite release of 2024 includes ADO (Anaplan Data Orchestrator) and User List Enhancement. The release of ADO has significantly improved the efficiency of data storage and flow for model builders, removing the dependency on the Data Integration team to run specific jobs via integration tools.

    The User List Enhancement release has addressed the issues model builders faced with assigning top levels and subsets, eliminating the need for workarounds such as creating fake user lists.

    I would like to nominate @rob_marshall, whose comments provide the best possible solutions and inspire other model builders to learn from him.

    I look forward to seeing many enhancements from Anaplan in 2025 that will positively impact model builders worldwide.

  • Navink
    Navink

    Hello Anaplanners

    Thank you for the opportunity, what else could be the best way to start the New Year.

    Speaking about the best releases in 2024,

    1. I am mostly focused on data integration - Anaplan Data Orchestrator.
    2. But "backend" is not everything — there is so much more that came this year to New UX, I still need to experiment more. So, Hierarchy Chart and Workflow.
    3. And also, Fluence XL !!

    Looking forward for many more enhancements from Anaplan in 2025

    Thanks


  • SaiPrasanthK
    SaiPrasanthK

    Hi Team, in my opinion, Anaplan Workflow is the most impactful feature released in 2024.

    Here's why:

    * Streamlined Processes: Workflow automates complex business processes, significantly reducing manual effort and eliminating bottlenecks. We've seen a dramatic improvement in the efficiency of our financial close process, with automated journal entries and reconciliations accelerating the entire cycle.

    * Enhanced Collaboration: Workflow fosters seamless collaboration across departments. By clearly defining roles and responsibilities within the workflow, we've improved communication and ensured everyone is aligned on key objectives.

    * Increased Accuracy: Automation minimizes human error, leading to more accurate and reliable results. This is particularly valuable for critical processes like financial forecasting and supply chain management.

    * Improved Decision-Making: Workflow provides real-time visibility into the progress of key initiatives. This allows us to proactively identify and address potential roadblocks, enabling faster and more informed decision-making.

    Specific Example:

    Before Workflow, our S&OP process was a cumbersome manual affair, involving numerous emails, spreadsheets, and meetings. With Workflow, we've automated key steps like demand forecasting, inventory planning, and production scheduling. This has resulted in:

    * Reduced cycle time: The entire S&OP process is now completed much faster, allowing us to respond more quickly to market changes.

    * Improved forecast accuracy: Automated data analysis and scenario planning have led to more accurate demand forecasts, minimizing stockouts and overstocking.

    * Enhanced collaboration: All stakeholders are now connected within the workflow, ensuring everyone is aligned on the plan and any necessary adjustments are made quickly.

    In conclusion, Anaplan Workflow has been a game-changer for our organization. By automating key processes, improving collaboration, and enhancing accuracy, it has delivered significant value and positioned us for continued success.

    I would like to nominate @CLAKSHMIGAYATHRI for her amazing ability to come up with new ideas.

    Thanks to the entire Product team for continuously making meaningful improvements to the platform.

    I look forward to seeing many enhancements from Anaplan in 2025 that will positively impact model builders worldwide.

  • muratakkas
    muratakkas

    Hello Anaplan Community,


    As we reflect on the incredible features introduced in 2024, I’d like to highlight two that have had the greatest impact: Hierarchy Cards and Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO).

    The Hierarchy Cards have simplified the way we visualize and communicate complex hierarchies. It will be much easier to present and understand structures via the Hierarchy Cards. I’m already seeing how these cards will significantly streamline future implementations.

    On the other hand, ADO is a truly been a game-changer set to completely transform our approach to data management and integration. With its intuitive interface and robust capabilities, ADO will undoubtedly remove much of the complexity from data orchestration. Its ability to manage data flows more efficiently and integrate seamlessly with third-party applications will have a major impact on our implementations.

    Both of these features have already elevated our work, and I’m excited to see how they continue to evolve! A huge shout-out to the Anaplan team for these impactful releases—your innovation is making a real difference! 👏

    I’d also like to take a moment to recognize @rob_marshall, @JaredDolich, @Misbah, and @seymatas1 for their outstanding contributions to the community. Whether it’s troubleshooting complex issues or sharing thoughtful solutions, their expertise and willingness to help others have made a lasting impact. A big thank you to them for consistently raising the bar and for being incredible sources of support and inspiration to the Anaplan community! 🏆️

    Happy Planning!

    Thanks,

    Murat

  • M.Kierepka
    M.Kierepka

    In my opinion, the best release in the Anaplan ecosystem in the past year was the public rollout of Anaplan Data Orchestrator.

    ADO allows our clients to integrate easily with various data sources (with more hopefully coming soon!), and then to transform this data in a way that is most suitable to use in Anaplan models — without all the workarounds and complications of Data Hub.

    One of the best features in ADO is pushing the lists and metadata directly to many models at once, which really makes the planning in Anaplan connected.

    And the second one is HASH() function, that finally allows us to overcome issues with long codes and get rid of numbered lists in many situations.

    My champion is @alexpavel for helping me with challenging Anaplan riddles and letting me know when something nice is added to Anaplan ecosystem 😀.

  • Darin_Seibel
    Darin_Seibel

    To pick just one I'd have to go with one that I've had regular use of since released. Sometimes it's the smaller things that can make a big difference!
    Fine-grain history: It's now much easier to look up the history of what happened within a model if you already have a general idea of when something occurred. Before this often required running a much larger export of history and searching through in Excel.

    A close second would be font color conditional formatting: now there are more options to draw attention to certain values and do so in a consistent way for an organization.

    That being said, I am looking forward to better exploring and understanding ADO as that matures this year!

    Special thanks to @JaredDolich as his contributions in Community are invaluable, esp. his ability to break down complex subjects into bite-sized pieces.

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