- Leading global provider of software solutions for the office of the CFO secured five top ranks and 23 leading positions in the BARC Planning Survey 26 based on feedback from over 800 software users worldwide.
- Users rated Lucanet exceptionally high in system connectivity, simulation modeling, functionality, and ease of use.
- Survey emphasizes that volatile market conditions are driving organizations away from manual spreadsheets and toward flexible, automated planning software to maintain data accuracy and speed.
In an increasingly volatile business environment, effective planning, budgeting, and forecasting have become critical for aligning day-to-day operations with long-term strategic goals. Organizations are under growing pressure to respond quickly to market shifts, requiring reliable forecasts, real-time insights, scenario modeling, and greater process automation. As forecasting cycles continue to shorten, finance teams must provide faster and more accurate decision support than ever before. Reflecting these growing demands, the twelfth edition of the annual Planning Survey by Business Application Research Center (BARC) evaluated 20 planning software products across 26 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), based on feedback from 804 software users worldwide.
Outstanding user ratings across core CPM disciplines
Lucanet’s top-tier placement spans four distinct peer groups (Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting; Integrated Products for Planning and Financial Consolidation; Midsize/Departmental Implementations; and Worldwide Implementations). Highlights from the evaluation include performance on the following KPIs:
- Simulation and Predefined Connectors: Lucanet secured top rankings for its simulation capabilities – noted by respondents for flexibility in modeling complex financial scenarios – as well as its predefined standard data interfaces and connectors for global deployments.
- Functionality: Lucanet was named a Leader in all four peer groups and ranked among the top three for overall Functionality, an aggregated metric evaluating predefined connectors, data integration, workflow management, forecasting, reporting, AI-powered planning, and more.
- Ease of use: Lucanet was named a Leader in three peer groups and ranked among the top three for Ease of Use, based on assessments by both end-user planners and system developers.
- Customer Satisfaction: 93% of surveyed users are satisfied with Lucanet
Manual spreadsheets are failing modern corporate planning
The study also highlights that while 84 percent of surveyed organizations utilize specialized software for planning, budgeting, and forecasting, 67 percent continue to rely on Excel sheets alongside or separate from dedicated tools. As market volatility accelerates the demand for rapid, data-driven decision-making, the findings clearly emphasize an increasing operational necessity for automated, flexible software to replace manual spreadsheet processes.
"A volatile market environment demands shorter forecasting cycles and highly adaptable decision-support systems," said Elias Apel, CEO of Lucanet. "Modern operational and financial planning requires intelligent, dedicated, and robust software infrastructure to maintain data accuracy and execution speed. Legacy systems and spreadsheets simply can no longer deliver on this."
About the BARC Planning Survey 26
The BARC Planning Survey 26 is based on a global survey of 804 planning software users conducted from November 2025 to February 2026. The study evaluated 20 products across 26 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), including Business Benefits, Project Success, and Customer Satisfaction. The survey categorizes the different planning, budgeting, and forecasting products into peer groups, based on three criteria: specialization, usage scenario, and global presence.
For more information on Lucanet’s results in the BARC Planning Survey 26 visit: Lucanet website
For more information about The Planning Survey 26 visit the BARC website: The Planning Survey by BARC.
