What users are saying about
Microsoft BI
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring#question3' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Customer Verified: Read more.</a>
629 Ratings
18 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 6.6 out of 101
Based on 18 reviews and ratings
Microsoft BI
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring#question3' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>Customer Verified: Read more.</a>
629 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 7.9 out of 101
Based on 629 reviews and ratings
Add comparison
Likelihood to Recommend
Aprimo
I would advise him/her to meet with an Aprimo consultant to understand all of the capabilities of the software. I have a feeling that Aprimo does have the planning capability we urgently desire, but the training platforms Aprimo offers are very limited. Perhaps a valuable proposition would be for certain employees to become power users who are constantly seeking out improvements within our company's use of Aprimo.
Senior Analyst, Shopper Marketing
Del Monte Foods5001-10,000 employees
Microsoft BI
Visualization of business data: it's good, fast, and cheap. What more can you ask? With more specialized visualization needs, use Tableau or write code. For complex scientific visualizations, write code.It's also so much easier communicating about the tool and its visuals to other people who don't spend their lives analyzing complex data. "It's Excel for Big Data!" is really quite simple.
Technical Leader for Modeling and Simulation
MITREManagement Consulting, 5001-10,000 employees
Feature Rating Comparison
BI Standard Reporting
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.0
Pixel Perfect reports
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
7.9
Customizable dashboards
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
7.9
Report Formatting Templates
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.2
Ad-hoc Reporting
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.4
Drill-down analysis
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.2
Formatting capabilities
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.4
Integration with R or other statistical packages
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.2
Report sharing and collaboration
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.9
Report Output and Scheduling
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.2
Publish to Web
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.3
Publish to PDF
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.8
Report Versioning
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.2
Report Delivery Scheduling
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
7.6
Delivery to Remote Servers
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.2
Data Discovery and Visualization
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.2
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.5
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.0
Predictive Analytics
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.1
Access Control and Security
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.4
Multi-User Support (named login)
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.4
Role-Based Security Model
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.2
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.6
Single Sign-On (SSO)
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.4
Mobile Capabilities
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.3
Responsive Design for Web Access
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.2
Dedicated iOS Application
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.4
Dedicated Android Application
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.1
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.2
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
7.9
REST API
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
7.9
Javascript API
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
8.3
iFrames
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
7.8
Java API
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
7.6
Themeable User Interface (UI)
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
7.9
Customizable Platform (Open Source)
Aprimo
—
Microsoft BI
7.6
Pros
- Enables the allocation across brands of various marketing activities, essential for multi-brand executions that we do freuently.
- Connects seamlessly to IBM Cognos to create comprehensive reports that allow analysts and managers to see their budgets at any given point in time.
- Interface is easy to navigate, with an ability to customize based on your usage needs.
Senior Analyst, Shopper Marketing
Del Monte Foods5001-10,000 employees
- Connecting andJoining Multiple Data Sources Together - Multi-Dimensional SSAS
- Usability in Report Creation for Business Analysts (Excel via Analysis Services specifically), Executives (Performance Point and Power BI) and Power Users (Report Builder)
- Collaboration (via SharePoint only, before the release of Power BI Designer)
- Speed of Analysis - Specifically when leveraging SSAS on databases up to 5 TB
- Speed of ETL processing - Multiple Parallel Sequential Jobs with SSIS/DTS
President
Northcraft AnalyticsComputer Software, 11-50 employees
Cons
- Improved forecasting and planning tools, currently Aprimo does not enable teams to easily delineate starting budgets, actual spend, planned spend, and remaining budget.
- Better filtering mechanisms - we rely on text lookups that can easily create problems if employees input misspellings.
- Needs a capability to show snapshots of given points in time, for example, what the budget and plan looks like at the outset of the year vs. halfway through vs. end of year.
Senior Analyst, Shopper Marketing
Del Monte Foods5001-10,000 employees
- SQL Server Data Integration (also knows as SSIS) seems to provide most functionality you would expect from an ETL tool. However, when you start using it you quickly find out that most transformations perform slower than equivalent functionality when coded directly in SQL. So you go ahead with creating joins, using case statements and data type conversions directly in SQL input statements and potentially end up with a huge piece of code that performs nicely but is hardly maintainable in the future.
- The development environment takes quite a while to get used to. Once you are all set up and doing your development work it is all fine but if you accidentally close some window or 'pane' just figuring out how to get it back can take quite some time.
BI Consultant
Altis ConsultingInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
Likelihood to Renew
Aprimo5.9
Based on 7 answers
While Aprimo provides the fundamental tools to track our actual spend, it has a major void when trying to plan for future programs. Our teams often have offline Excel spreadsheets to track actuals spend vs. our original budget, and lay out the future programs against which we plan to use budget funds. Would also appreciate reporting mechanisms which could splice data in non table format. For example, we often use marketing calendars to display programs/spend over time. This helps our team ensure that programs which are intended to run concurrent with in-store sales executions are happening in the correct time frame. The visual is simply easier to follow.
Senior Analyst, Shopper Marketing
Del Monte Foods5001-10,000 employees
Microsoft BI8.0
Based on 25 answers
Assuming that I will continue to have a need to monitor and report on the operational aspects of the organization using transactional data, Microsoft BI is a solid choice. Its kind of like how you still have legacy applications that serve a strong need that is critical to the day to day operations. The fact that the tools are similar to stuff the users have already been using makes the adoption and buy in that much easier.
Business Intelligence Specialist
Kaiser Foundation Health PlanTransportation/Trucking/Railroad, 501-1000 employees
Usability
Aprimo3.7
Based on 4 answers
Relatively easy to learn the basics, but there are a significant number of nuances. The system does not have user-friendly ways of allowing mass data manipulation in order to track large budgets over time. The only solution seems to be exporting into an Excel data dump and then performing analysis from there.
Senior Analyst, Shopper Marketing
Del Monte Foods5001-10,000 employees
Microsoft BI7.0
Based on 5 answers
The product is very usable compared to competitive solutions. I didn't give it a full 10 because Microsoft needs to improve their Report Builder module.
Director, Business Intelligence & Analytics
Georgetown University5001-10,000 employees
Reliability and Availability
Aprimo10.0
Based on 1 answer
We have not yet experienced any downtime

Verified User
Executive in Marketing
Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 10,001+ employeesMicrosoft BI9.5
Based on 2 answers
The product has been reliable.
Director, Business Intelligence & Analytics
Georgetown University5001-10,000 employees
Performance
Aprimo8.0
Based on 1 answer
We are struggling with it though I think it’s our firewall i.e. an internal issue. Accessing the software outside or on mobile is faster.
They have a multi-tenant and single tenant option (more expensive) . We bought the single tenant option in anticipation of using Campaign Management and based upon our scale. You get more capabilities with single tenant
They have a multi-tenant and single tenant option (more expensive) . We bought the single tenant option in anticipation of using Campaign Management and based upon our scale. You get more capabilities with single tenant

Verified User
Executive in Marketing
Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 10,001+ employeesMicrosoft BI7.0
Based on 2 answers
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) can drag at times. We created two report servers and placed them under an F5 load balancer. This configuration has worked well. We have seen sluggish performance at times due to the Windows Firewall.
Director, Business Intelligence & Analytics
Georgetown University5001-10,000 employees
Support
Aprimo8.0
Based on 1 answer
Customer service has been responsive and attentive in line with the service we have bought. However, any organization that wants to make investments in Aprimo should plan to make an investment in internal support headcount to serve as the first line of defense for user issues and inquiries otherwise it could become too expensive.
We are on a standard service plan. You get 8 hours/month of whatever you want to ask them. This has been good enough. Will be buying more when we implement campaign management
We are on a standard service plan. You get 8 hours/month of whatever you want to ask them. This has been good enough. Will be buying more when we implement campaign management

Verified User
Executive in Marketing
Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 10,001+ employeesMicrosoft BI7.1
Based on 6 answers
Microsoft support in general is good, did not have any issues.
Vice President, Application Systems
Penn Treaty Network AmericaInsurance, 51-200 employees
In-Person Training
Aprimo8.0
Based on 1 answer
Aprimo offered a number of hands on sessions customized for each group. As such, they address specific needs and configurations of each team. These sessions also offered another round of cross-functional collaboration in process design.

Verified User
Executive in Marketing
Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 10,001+ employeesMicrosoft BI6.9
Based on 3 answers
This training was more directed toward what the product was capable of rather than actual programming.
Business Intelligence Analyst
PraesesInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
Online Training
Aprimo6.0
Based on 1 answer
It was very generic and we took it prior to configuration. It was however adequate to educate our user in the basic capabilities that will have become available to them after deployment.

Verified User
Executive in Marketing
Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 10,001+ employeesMicrosoft BI8.5
Based on 2 answers
I have used on-line training from Microsoft and from Pragmatic Works. I would recommend Pragmatic Works as the best way to get up to speed quickly, and then use the Microsoft on-line training to deep dive into specific features that you need to get depth with.
Business Intelligence Architect
BAASS Business SolutionsTransportation/Trucking/Railroad, 5001-10,000 employees
Implementation
Aprimo10.0
Based on 1 answer
We were very well supported. TopRight who performed the process/requirements definition as well as project management functions came with ample experience with various marketing automation platforms. They also came with very good multi-channel marketing experience that allowed them to tackle this implementation as a marketing deployment and not a technology deployment. TopRight bring expertise in multi-channels strategy.
Aprimo performed the configuration and training functions. Their personnel were very well versed in their platform and brought much empathy to a deployment that required a great deal of change management.
I am stunned by how many people (from for-profit sector who work here) have not been exposed to these types of platforms. I want to make sure that folks are so accustomed to user interface. When I roll-out campaign management, teaching them the art and science of campaign management versus just learning the tool. TopRight are marketers. They are familiar with all these technologies. Their job has been to define processes, best practices and turn into training. Similar to training from Salesforce.com about funnel mgmt etc, vs. just the product. We will create training modules that are agnostic to the platform
Aprimo performed the configuration and training functions. Their personnel were very well versed in their platform and brought much empathy to a deployment that required a great deal of change management.
I am stunned by how many people (from for-profit sector who work here) have not been exposed to these types of platforms. I want to make sure that folks are so accustomed to user interface. When I roll-out campaign management, teaching them the art and science of campaign management versus just learning the tool. TopRight are marketers. They are familiar with all these technologies. Their job has been to define processes, best practices and turn into training. Similar to training from Salesforce.com about funnel mgmt etc, vs. just the product. We will create training modules that are agnostic to the platform

Verified User
Executive in Marketing
Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 10,001+ employeesMicrosoft BI9.6
Based on 7 answers
Be prepared to help business users define their data. We found that different campuses had different definitions for the same thing. This took some change management and negotiating to get each team to come to a common understanding.
Director, Business Intelligence & Analytics
Georgetown University5001-10,000 employees
Alternatives Considered
Unica - Both platforms (i.e. Unica and Aprimo) delivered comparable capabilities. However, due to internal limitations around technical support and technical maturity of the organization we selected Aprimo as it delivered the more user friendly user interface. Unica requires more technical saviness. With Aprimo you can be completely non-technical.
We evaluated Epsilon, but they were too expensive and don’t compete on price.
We evaluated Axciom. They offered an outsourced full service and were very powerful, but we wanted to bring capabilities more in-house. The capabilities were more advanced that we needed today. We felt Aprimo or Unica could both carry us a long way.
We did not look at marketing automation vendors like Eloqua, Marketo. From a scale standpoint, we were looking for campaign management and not just marketing automation. Also wanted MRM (Marketing Resource Management) or internal workflow management capabilities. We did not take a deep dive as they didn’t have the full suite solution
We evaluated Epsilon, but they were too expensive and don’t compete on price.
We evaluated Axciom. They offered an outsourced full service and were very powerful, but we wanted to bring capabilities more in-house. The capabilities were more advanced that we needed today. We felt Aprimo or Unica could both carry us a long way.
We did not look at marketing automation vendors like Eloqua, Marketo. From a scale standpoint, we were looking for campaign management and not just marketing automation. Also wanted MRM (Marketing Resource Management) or internal workflow management capabilities. We did not take a deep dive as they didn’t have the full suite solution

Verified User
Executive in Marketing
Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 10,001+ employeesWith over 20 years in IT, I have experienced a full range of relational and non-relational data solutions, from Oracle and Informix to MongoDB and Hadoop. In my opinion, the Microsoft BI stack is the most complete, well-rounded, high performing data management system on the planet right now. More and more, the ability to make data-driven decisions sets organizations apart from their competitors, and no one offers a better solution than Microsoft and its partners. As more and more of what we do in business life moves to the cloud, Microsoft is again leading the way with its Azure platforms.
Regional BI Practice Director
NeudesicInformation Technology and Services, 201-500 employees
Return on Investment
- We are early users of the tool so it's hard to quantify actual benefits yet, but the following metrics have been established per business function:
- Brand & Creative - Cycle time from creative brief intake to delivering the final design; Number of reviews/re-works per creative request
- Field Marketing - Time to consolidate a field marketing forecast
- Digital Engagement - Cycle time to complete a website request
- PHSS - Time to complete a marketing plan for a specific PHSS campaign
- CEOP - # of emails and phone calls required to get a CEOP request through the cycle; Time to develop a consolidate quarterly report on CEOP requests/status
- Email Marketing - End-to-end email production process, through to launch date (# of launches that don't stay on schedule; # of email launches that have mistakes - audience, sender line, grammar; # of email launches that involve internal complaints, miscommunications)
- On-boarding/CDRP - Time to generate a quarterly client status regionalization report; Errors in data capture and missed deadlines; Capacity to handle on-boarding requests
- Direct Mail - % of mail campaign requests that miss 15-day approval service level, Involvement of LOB/ Stakeholders in the review process while maintaining response time.

Verified User
Executive in Marketing
Non-Profit Organization Management Company, 10,001+ employees- Greatly reduced reporting project development time (and associated costs).
- Significantly larger pool of experts to assist on large / ad-hoc projects.
- Faster availability of critical business data to our users (due to decreased development time as well as performance of overall system - we are able to keep the data very fresh).
- Significantly increased ETL / data integration capabilities means that more legacy and external system data is making it into the data warehouse.
Business Intelligence Architect
BAASS Business SolutionsTransportation/Trucking/Railroad, 5001-10,000 employees
Screenshots
Microsoft BI—
Pricing Details
Aprimo
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Aprimo Editions & Modules
Aprimo
—
Additional Pricing Details
—Microsoft BI
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
Yes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Microsoft BI Editions & Modules
Microsoft BI
Edition
Power BI
$0
Power BI Pro
$102
2. per user per month