Author: Miki Sato is a Product Manager, Product Management Team (Data Management) at Anaplan.
Legacy approaches to data integration — manual scripts, standalone hub models, or general-purpose ETL tools — often introduce complexity, delay, and governance risk in Anaplan environments. Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO) offers a modern, planning-aligned solution. This article outlines how ADO simplifies integration, centralizes data flows, and strengthens your foundation for planning at scale, while showing how it improves on and replaces traditional data hub practices with a planning-aware approach.
1. The legacy tradeoff: complexity, risk, and delays
Before ADO, many teams relied on custom scripts and hub models to move data across Anaplan. While functional for early implementations, these methods introduced challenges:
- Custom-code dependency: Scripts and iPaaS tools required technical expertise and ongoing maintenance.
- Duplicated staging models: Data had to be imported, staged, and stored multiple times—adding cost and delay.
- Pull-based architecture: Triggers often originated from within Anaplan, complicating coordination with external systems.
- Low observability: No centralized monitoring or unified audit trail.
- Disconnected logic: Business users had limited visibility into upstream processes, slowing resolution and trust.
2. From Data Hub to Data Orchestrator: ADO’s role
ADO builds on Anaplan’s best practices — like centralized staging and curated prep — but takes it further by introducing a governed, scalable orchestration layer. With ADO, IT teams push data into Anaplan when it’s validated and ready, using a clean, UI-driven pipeline instead of custom code or model-level API triggers.
ADO vs traditional Data Hub
Capability | Traditional Data Hub (Model-based) | Anaplan Data Orchestrator (ADO) |
|---|
Staging Logic | Stored in model formulas | Externalized in reusable pipelines |
Master Data Management | Duplicated across models | Managed centrally via ADO Catalog |
Scheduling | Pull-based, Anaplan model–triggered | Push-based, orchestrated via Workflow |
Transformation Logic | Inside models or external scripts | Built-in, UI-defined in ADO |
Integration Monitoring | Scattered across connectors/scripts | Centralized step-level job monitoring |
Governance | No audit trail or history | Viewable by integration admins |
Hub model to ADO
How ADO simplifies orchestration and governance across planning models and external systems.
3. Why ADO Is worth considering
Anaplan Data Orchestrator is not just another integration tool but a purpose-built orchestration platform for enterprise-grade connected planning — providing strategic benefits over traditional hubs and ETL solutions. Here is why:
- Purpose-built for planning: Pushes curated, validated data into Anaplan’s modeling engine.
- Centralized and reusable pipelines: Avoids duplicative logic; reuse pipelines across models.
- Governable and transparent: View step-level job status; resolve issues quickly.
- Reduces model size and duplication: Offloads staging, mapping, and catalog functions from models.
4. Looking ahead: From data prep to decision support
As organizations scale connected planning across finance, supply chain, HR, and sales, ADO becomes essential — not just for data movement, but for enabling governed, real-time decision-making.
What’s next for ADO?
Anaplan continues to invest in a long-term vision where integration is:
- Shared master data management
: ADO will centralize the orchestration of core business entities like Product, Customer, and Organization — ensuring consistency across models and business domains.
- Connected use case enablement
: ADO pipelines will support faster onboarding of new planning scenarios with less manual effort.
- Governed and scalable architecture
: Enhancements in lifecycle management, containerized storage, and regional support will improve security, compliance, and scale.
- Decision-making at scale
: ADO will align integration flows with Anaplan workflows, logic, and reports—ensuring data is timely, trusted, and decision-ready.
These capabilities reduce friction, enhance governance, and prepare your organization for intelligent automation.
5. Resources to learn more
Want to simplify your Anaplan data flows? Explore ADO in action:
Whether you’re modernizing from a hub model or reducing dependency on external tooling, ADO is ready to deliver model-aware, scalable orchestration — built for planning.
Questions? Leave a comment!
