Are you a seasoned Anaplanner ready to harness the power of Polaris? You’re in the right place.
Polaris, Anaplan’s next-generation calculation engine, is designed for fast, highly dimensioned calculation at scale.
While the model building experience remains fundamentally similar to Classic, Polaris introduces key differences that open new possibilities, and require a mindset shift and some new modeling techniques.
To accelerate your transition, we’ve outlined a learning path below to help you start strong. Stay tuned for future Polaris-specific coursework in Anaplan Academy and use this article and the content linked within to kick-start your Polaris journey.
Start here
Unlocking the Power of Polaris: A Guide to Efficient Model Building
This foundational article includes a downloadable PDF outlining the basics of Polaris, and links to articles outlining key concepts to think about when model building in Polaris such as building at natural dimensionality, only doing math when you need to and using the Polaris only blueprint columns as you build. Many of these articles also include a video demo if that is your preferred learning format.
Iterative Development in Polaris
Next, dive into this guide on how to develop Polaris models in stages. It explores a practical, iterative approach to building efficiently in Polaris which is especially useful for teams managing large-scale use cases. This article emphasizes flexible thinking and adapting your development practices to Polaris’s unique characteristics.
Dive in deeper
The Polaris Best Practices collection also contains advanced topics and hands-on guidance, and is being updated frequently.
There you’ll find additional articles on formula optimization, import and export guidance, as well as deeper technical dives on the Polaris blueprint insights columns of calculation complexity, calculation effort, populated cell count, and memory use.
These resources are especially valuable as you start applying Polaris to live business scenarios or converting existing models.
Other resources
- Anapedia for detailed technical guidance and differences between the two engines.
- Polaris in Planual for Polaris-specific Planual rules (although don’t forget to still follow all the Classic rules… in most cases they’re even more important).
- Academy training resources which are actively being updated.
Final thoughts
Getting started with Polaris isn’t just about learning a new engine, it’s about evolving your model-building mindset. With the right guidance, you’ll be equipped to build models that are leaner, faster, and more scalable than ever before.
Ready to dive in? Start with the two core articles above, review the list of more detailed articles to reference as you build… then start building!
As well, consider following the Best Practices section in the community, and signing up for either a weekly digest or new content notifications — this is a great way to get alerts on new content in community.
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Author: Anaplan’s Theresa Reid (@TheresaR)
