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We are beyond thrilled to announce the release of Acterys’ latest version, 24.1.
The launch of Acterys 24.1 heralds a transformative era in business intelligence and planning, blending the power of AI with the robust functionality of Microsoft Power BI and Excel. This release marks a significant milestone, embodying our commitment to revolutionizing enterprise planning through cutting-edge technology, all underpinned by our strategic partnership with Microsoft.
A Visionary Leap Forward
Our CEO, Martin Kratky, has always envisioned Acterys as a catalyst for change that redefines the xP&A landscape. Before we jump into the details, a few words from our CEO:
“Today marks a monumental chapter in our journey at Acterys as we unveil groundbreaking advancements in business intelligence and planning. This innovation is not just an evolution; it’s a revolution, crafted at the intersection of the latest AI breakthroughs and Power BI technology, magnified by our strategic global partnership with Microsoft inked last year. We are setting new benchmarks for speed and cost efficiency in the industry.”
Unveiling Acterys 24.1: The Dawn of New Possibilities
The v24.1 release takes the 4 foundational pillars of Acterys – Fast, Effective, Smart, and Secure – to the next level, complementing each with new features and functionality upgrades.
Fast: Planning and Deployment at Unprecedented Speeds
The essence of Acterys 24.1 lies in its ability to deliver value in analytics and planning processes faster and more efficiently, allowing you to achieve more in less time. This release introduces significant enhancements to Acterys’ revolutionary planning engine and functionality upgrades to the Power BI and Excel front ends, enabling unmatched processing speeds in large-scale, complex operations.
Acterys Booster Engine
A key addition in Acterys 24.1, Booster Engine brings new parallel processing capabilities and AI-driven performance enhancements that foster transformative foresight and collaboration in large user scenarios. It harnesses advanced AI algorithms to optimize data processing speeds, empowering users to execute complex computations and transformations much faster. Users can leverage improved API writeback performance with several visual adjustments for a smoother experience.
All of this translates to faster analysis, quicker insights, and more efficient handling of large datasets, significantly improving your data analysis and business planning processes.
Enhanced Version Control Capabilities
Complementing the Acterys Booster Engine is the improved version control functionality designed to ensure meticulous management of planning iterations, allowing teams to navigate through various versions with ease. This capability not only safeguards the planning process against unintended changes but also provides a clear audit trail of modifications and simple rollback options.
Multi-Level Commenting for Improved Collaboration
Another key addition is the multi-level commenting feature enriched with rich text capabilities, which fosters dynamic collaboration among users. It enables detailed feedback and discussions directly within the planning framework, enhancing clarity and decision-making through formatted, in-depth commentary.
This feature is the first part of the upcoming new My Acterys environment that will add unparalleled new process management capabilities that will integrate all client aspects of the Acterys ecosystem no matter what frontend (Power BI, Excel, Office productivity, etc.) into a single interface.
Optimized Access Management in Acterys Power BI Visuals
In Acterys 24.1, new Microsoft Entra ID support options have been added to eliminate redundant access control requirements, speeding up the setup and ongoing management of the Acterys environment drastically. These options are now also available in all Acterys Power BI visuals, resulting in significant performance improvements and easier configuration.
Read more about support for Microsoft Entra ID.
Effective: Streamlining Efficiency Across Power BI and Excel
Acterys 24.1 redefines effectiveness in business intelligence and planning, introducing a suite of features that enhance both Power BI and Excel environments. This version focuses on seamless integration, advanced data governance, and dynamic reporting capabilities, ensuring users can achieve unparalleled efficiency and accuracy in their planning processes.
Dynamic and Flexible Reporting with Acterys Functions
What are Acterys Functions?
Introducing the new Acterys Excel Add-in’s in-cell formula capabilities, also known as Acterys Writeback Functions. With these formulas, users can easily copy and paste values within existing Excel sheets and ensure they are written back to the database, ensuring consistency in reporting.
Acterys Functions pulls data directly from the Acterys database into your Excel workbook, allowing users to edit data and write it back to the single source of truth. Additionally, you can retrieve values from another cell, and upon committing changes, the values are sent through the API for real-time writeback. This seamless integration ensures data accuracy and flexibility, keeping your data up to date across all Excel spreadsheets.
Acterys Functions also allows users to create custom functions to perform specific calculations, data manipulations, or tasks that go beyond Excel’s built-in capabilities. This feature empowers users to automate complex calculations, integrate external data sources, and leverage enhanced analysis options directly within Excel.
Acterys Functions also support smart writeback on calculations. For example, a user can change the desired relative profitability, and the Acterys Function will automatically update the relevant calculation components (increase revenues, adjust cost, etc.). You can now add advanced AI tasks that optimize aspects like production processes.
Integration with Backend Systems
Another utility of Acterys Functions is the ability to trigger API calls to backend systems. This functionality fetches and displays data in real-time within Excel, bridging the gap between static spreadsheets and live data sources. Businesses can now benefit from up-to-the-minute insights, enhancing decision-making with the most current information available.
Scenario Planning
Acterys 24.1 has improved Excel’s dynamic nature, making it easier to plan different scenarios. With the newly introduced dropdowns, users can select different years or scenarios, and the data automatically updates. This feature enables businesses to model various future states and assess the impact of different strategies and decisions with ease.
Experience Acterys 24.1 in Action
to see all the new features and enhancements live with our COO, Mike Zack. Happening on August 7 at 12 pm ET.
Register NowEnhanced Performance and User Experience
Better Performance for Pivot Grid and Acterys Functions
Acterys 24.1 introduces optimizations that significantly enhance the performance of Pivot Grids. Acterys’ unique technology combines the analytics power of the widely loved Excel Pivot Table with the flexibility of a cell-based approach. This enables users to create reports and planning forms with total layout flexibility, let’s say, for asymmetric reports, exactly the way needed.
Selective Zero Suppression
Enhancing the analytical capabilities of Excel, selective zero suppression allows users to display specific elements of a cube, even if empty, for targeted analysis. This feature enables more nuanced and precise data analysis, ensuring that users can focus on the data that matters most to their specific business context.
Integration and Writeback Capabilities
Writeback to Microsoft Fabric and other popular databases
Acterys 24.1 now supports writeback capabilities to a wide range of databases, including Oracle, MySQL, Snowflake, and most importantly, Microsoft Fabric. This feature ensures that data across systems is synchronized and up to date, enhancing the reliability of insights and business decisions.
Smart: Transform Your Business Planning and Intelligence with Acterys Copilot
v24.1 is the starting point for revolutionary new Acterys AI capabilities, where users can now use natural language prompts to get accurate real-time insights and recommendations for faster data analysis and decision-making.
Introducing Acterys Copilot, your dynamic AI assistant that will enable you to unlock unparalleled insights and streamline your financial planning processes. Leveraging advanced generative AI technology and seamless integration with Microsoft 365, Acterys Copilot transforms the way FP&A teams operate, making data-driven decisions faster and easier than ever.
Key Features
- Intuitive Conversational Interface: Interact with Acterys Copilot using natural language, enabling anyone to gather data, generate reports, analyze trends, optimize forecasts, and answer complex business questions effortlessly.
- Generative AI for FP&A: Create and train custom AI models tailored to your planning use cases and data sets, improving accuracy and efficiency over time.
- Native Integration with Microsoft 365: Use Acterys Copilot alongside Microsoft 365 Copilot for a seamless, automated workflow through Acterys’ native integrations.
- Enterprise-Ready Responsible AI: Benefit from industry-leading security, compliance, and privacy capabilities, with an easy setup process that requires no IT, data scientists, or AI engineers.
- Complete Planning AI Assistant: Enhance analysis, empower users to interact with data, and accelerate decision-making processes across your organization.
Acterys Copilot empowers FP&A teams to achieve strategic insights and improved organizational agility. By leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI and connecting to Acterys Modeller, this AI assistant delivers tailored training and customizable interfaces, allowing your team to go from data to decision in record time.
Secure: Building a Foundation of Trust and Security
Acterys ensures top-tier security and compliance, integrating SOC2 Type 1 and 2 compliance, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), and robust Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans. This foundation, rigorously tested and approved by Microsoft, guarantees the protection and integrity of your data, providing a secure and resilient environment for all your business planning needs.
Fortified Data Governance and Integrity with Modeller Log Table
The v24.1 release includes enhanced options for data integrity and compliance across all planning activities. These options include Cube Copy and the new Modeller Log Tables, which facilitate efficient management of data structures and audit trails, enhancing the governance of BI processes.
Microsoft-Tested Security
Acterys 24.1 further fortifies our platform’s security, featuring support for Microsoft Entra automation – backed by rigorous testing and approved by Microsoft. This ensures a secure, reliable environment for our users, safeguarding their data against the evolving landscape of cyber threats.
Embrace the Future of Business Planning & Intelligence with Acterys 24.1
Acterys 24.1 is not just a product release; it’s a revolution in business intelligence and planning. This version marks the beginning of a new era where AI-driven planning transforms how businesses operate, plan, and make decisions. As we unveil Acterys 24.1, we invite you to join us in this transformative journey, embracing a future where technology empowers businesses to achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency, insight, and security.
Thank you for being part of this journey. Together, with our strategic partnership with Microsoft, we’re not just adapting to the future; we’re shaping it. Welcome to the new era of AI-driven planning with Acterys 24.1.
Want to try out Acterys 24.1? Get your hands on the trial version.