Financial planning and analysis (FP&A) teams often struggle with outdated tools that are expensive, rigid, and disconnected from real-time data. Modern enterprises need instantly available, governed, and predictive insights something legacy architectures cannot provide. A lakehouse-based planning architecture bridges this gap. At Celebal Technologies, CT Plan Apps combines the Databricks Lakehouse and Sigma Computing to deliver integrated, scalable, and collaborative planning for modern enterprises.
The Challenge with Legacy Planning Systems
Most enterprises still depend on aging planning tools built before the age of real-time analytics and cloud data. These systems create operational drag, delay insights, and restrict agility.
Key Limitations
- High licensing costs: User-based pricing that increases steeply with scale
- Rigid models: Specialized expertise and lengthy implementations slow execution.
- Data silos: Planning data kept separate from source systems.
- Batch updates: Data refreshes occur periodically, not continuously.
These factors extend planning cycles, introduce manual errors, and prevent FP&A teams from fully modernizing their workflows.
Why Modern Planning Needs a New Architecture
Finance teams today are expected to:
- Support continuous and scenario-based planning.
- Collaborate across departments using shared data.
- Integrate AI-driven forecasting.
- Provide on-demand insight for decision-making
This requires rethinking both the planning technology and architecture, aligning it closer to operational and analytical data sources.
The Lakehouse: Foundation for Modern FP&A
A lakehouse architecture merges the best of data lakes and data warehouses to offer:
- Unified storage for all data types.
- Centralized governance and data consistency
- Native support for analytics, AI, and planning workloads.
- ACID transactions ensuring reliability.
This foundation eliminates duplication and enables finance teams to run planning models directly on governed, up-to-date data.
Benefits of Planning on the Lakehouse
- Real-time calculations on operational data.
- Continuous, event-based planning cycles.
- Simplified governance with traceable changes.
- A single, auditable data foundation.
Making the Business Case
1. Live Data for Faster Decisions
Lakehouse planning ensures finance teams always work with live data — shortening decision cycles and improving responsiveness
2.Reduced Total Cost of Ownership
With planning built on the lakehouse:
- Duplicate data storage is eliminated.
- Specialized maintenance resources are minimized.
- Investments in existing infrastructure are utilized effectively.
The result: lower cost, faster deployment, and an easier path to scale.
3.Scalable by Design
The lakehouse grows naturally with enterprise data. It supports:
- Larger data volumes and user concurrency.
- Advanced simulations and complex models.
- Cross-departmental extensions, such as HR and supply chain planning.
The result: lower cost, faster deployment, and an easier path to scale.
Modern Capabilities Powered by the Lakehouse
1. AI-Powered Forecasting
Integrate predictive models that improve forecast accuracy, detect anomalies, and enable more strategic decisions.
2. Cross-Department Collaboration
By planning from a unified dataset, finance, sales, and operations teams stay aligned with consistent insights and shared metrics
3. Governed and Secure Data
With centralized governance, planners access verified data consistently while meeting audit and compliance requirements.
Introducing CT Plan Apps: Built for the Lakehouse
CT Plan Apps redefines enterprise planning by integrating modern technologies that work together seamlessly.
1. Technology Foundations
With centralized governance, planners access verified data consistently while meeting audit and compliance requirements.
- Databricks Lakehouse: Serves as the shared data backbone.
- Sigma Computing: Provides a familiar, spreadsheet-based interface for self-service planning.
- Unity Catalog: Ensures governed and secure workflows across teams.
2. Capabilities Overview
Proven Outcomes of Lakehouse Planning
1. Faster Planning Cycles
Shift from quarterly updates to rolling forecasts and monthly recalibrations — improving precision and adaptability.
2. Unified Collaboration
Finance teams can model workforce costs with HR, align targets with sales, and coordinate with operations in real time all from one governed dataset.
Transitioning to Lakehouse-Native FP&A
Step 1: Conduct a Planning Assessment
Analyze current planning processes and data dependencies.
Step 2: Identify High-Impact Use Cases
Start with high-value areas such as demand forecasting or workforce planning.
Step 3: Migrate Gradually
Move planning workloads to the lakehouse in phases to speed up value realization.
Step 4: Enable End Users
Leverage Sigma’s intuitive interface to empower finance and planning teams for self-service adoption.
Enterprise planning needs to keep pace with real-time operations. A lakehouse-native approach enables FP&A teams to plan faster, collaborate better, and forecast with precision using governed, AI-powered insights on a unified data platform.
CT Plan Apps makes this evolution achievable, combining agility with accuracy to redefine enterprise planning.
