6 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 9.6 out of 101
Based on 6 reviews and ratings
26 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.6 out of 101
Based on 26 reviews and ratings
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Likelihood to Recommend
arcplan
It is very suitable for complete corporate BI solutions. If you see BI as embedding information into your organization and business processes, and thus as more than just a few scattered dashboards and reports, arcplan is your platform. It's less suitable for ad-hoc reporting and data discovery. It can do it (everything is possible), but there is strong competition in this area.
arcplan BI architect
AccelerationInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
WebFOCUS
WebFOCUS is a good comprehensive tool for BI for companies. I feel that scenarios where you want the user to interact and be able to ingest data in different formats would be a good use of the tool. Performing data discovery is easier with InfoAssist, especially the most recent versions, and allows users to customize their views and provide comments.

Verified User
Analyst in Information Technology
Financial Services Company, 10,001+ employeesFeature Rating Comparison
BI Standard Reporting
arcplan
7.6
WebFOCUS
8.8
Pixel Perfect reports
arcplan
6.4
WebFOCUS
9.6
Customizable dashboards
arcplan
8.0
WebFOCUS
9.6
Report Formatting Templates
arcplan
8.5
WebFOCUS
7.4
Ad-hoc Reporting
arcplan
7.4
WebFOCUS
8.4
Drill-down analysis
arcplan
5.8
WebFOCUS
9.2
Formatting capabilities
arcplan
6.3
WebFOCUS
8.8
Integration with R or other statistical packages
arcplan
9.0
WebFOCUS
7.7
Report sharing and collaboration
arcplan
8.5
WebFOCUS
8.0
Report Output and Scheduling
arcplan
8.9
WebFOCUS
9.0
Publish to Web
arcplan
7.8
WebFOCUS
9.3
Publish to PDF
arcplan
10.0
WebFOCUS
9.3
Report Versioning
arcplan
10.0
WebFOCUS
8.5
Report Delivery Scheduling
arcplan
7.8
WebFOCUS
8.8
Delivery to Remote Servers
arcplan
—
WebFOCUS
9.3
Data Discovery and Visualization
arcplan
7.1
WebFOCUS
9.8
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
arcplan
6.7
WebFOCUS
9.9
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization
arcplan
6.7
WebFOCUS
9.9
Predictive Analytics
arcplan
7.7
WebFOCUS
9.6
Access Control and Security
arcplan
8.2
WebFOCUS
9.4
Multi-User Support (named login)
arcplan
9.0
WebFOCUS
9.6
Role-Based Security Model
arcplan
8.0
WebFOCUS
8.8
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
arcplan
7.5
WebFOCUS
9.6
Single Sign-On (SSO)
arcplan
—
WebFOCUS
9.6
Mobile Capabilities
arcplan
6.7
WebFOCUS
6.2
Responsive Design for Web Access
arcplan
8.5
WebFOCUS
9.5
Dedicated iOS Application
arcplan
5.0
WebFOCUS
3.3
Dedicated Android Application
arcplan
5.0
WebFOCUS
3.3
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile
arcplan
8.3
WebFOCUS
8.6
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
arcplan
—
WebFOCUS
9.3
REST API
arcplan
—
WebFOCUS
10.0
Javascript API
arcplan
—
WebFOCUS
10.0
iFrames
arcplan
—
WebFOCUS
8.0
Themeable User Interface (UI)
arcplan
—
WebFOCUS
9.7
Customizable Platform (Open Source)
arcplan
—
WebFOCUS
9.0
Pros
- Endless functionality. With arcplan, you're not limited to a certain set of functions (like with most competitors), but you can think up and add functionality. This includes things like business process management modules, so that your BI really gets embedded into business processes.
- One core, one skill-set needed, no coding. As an all-round arcplan developer, you can basically do everything. So, even when things get complex, there is no need for external scripts, macros, VBA code, etc. Even the most advanced corporate BI systems are built in arcplan with one skillset!
- No end user training needed. With arcplan, it's easy to build applications that work purely intuitively. It's also possible to show/hide advanced options, depending on the type of users you define.
- No data modelling required. Of course, if the business requires it, you can add semantic layers, but you are not forced to do it in all circumstances. I find this a huge advantage over other products, because most business data sources already are logically structured.
- Multiple data sources can be connected and you're completely free in combining the data in these sources: create your own, or create modules to associate data 'on the fly', whatever you want. You want ETL? No problem. You want to avoid ETL? No problem either.
- Write-back capabilities: this is critical if you want to really embed BI into your business processes. In BI, information should be actionable: arcplan allows the end user to really take that action.
- Great developer interface, which makes it also possible for someone with limited technical skills (but high business acumen) to take part in developments.
- Pricing and licensing. At first glance, arcplan seems not very cheap compared to competitors. However, the licensing model is logical, and there are no hidden costs. Compare that to 'free' products that become very costly as soon as you want to have an enterprise solution.
arcplan BI architect
AccelerationInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
- Webfocus reports all have the option to export to Excel. The excel spreadsheet is always very organized and clean, and the information is very easy to read.
- Webfocus is able to maintain data from years prior. We can look up what we featured in catalogs and all the sales history attached with it.
- Webfocus is able to provide support to a variety of departments. For example, our buying team uses it for planning in advance and our marketing team uses the tool to see how categories and products as the selling

Verified User
Employee in Product Management
Retail Company, 201-500 employeesCons
- Positioning and marketing. Most BI vendors use a non-technical sales strategy and focus on shiny, sexy dashboards to sell the story. In order to position arcplan fairly and correctly, the technical and business advantages need to be part of a sales story. So, it is not really an easy product to sell to customers, if it has to compete with now-to-wow-five-minute products.
- Learning/training for developers. It's easy to learn the basics of arcplan, because the interface is logical. But nothing prevents a beginning developer from creating a monstrous application, because there is no prescribed architecture. It really takes some experience to become a good arcplan architect. It's a disadvantage resulting from one of arcplan's biggest advantages.
- Data connectors: arcplan standard comes with a connector of your choice. Additional connectors need to be purchased separately. Many other products come with a full range of connectors.
arcplan BI architect
AccelerationInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
- Bullet graphs and a few of the newer multi-variable graph types are not available that are very handy in specific situations. They are in the works, but not in the current version.
Sr. Manager - Business Intelligence
Brotherhood Mutual Insurance CompanyInsurance, 201-500 employees
Likelihood to Renew
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
WebFOCUS8.6
Based on 5 answers
This software is deeply engrained with my organization and has become a tool that would not easily be replaced without spending more money and resources to get the same results. License cost is comparable to other report writing tools and the capabilities are greater than the competition without having to buy multiple apps to do the same thing.

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Company, 10,001+ employeesUsability
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
WebFOCUS10.0
Based on 2 answers
Best BI tool/product I have used. The others don't compare overall. Some can look fancier, but when you actually use them with large data and data from numerous systems/sources that is where most of the competition falls away. I also don't like downtime. I have basically none for a large user base with WebFocus. Even SAP Crystal Reports went down for 4 days once - 4 days because the admin password got locked out due to a glitch and we had zero reports for 4 days. WebFocus has never had more than a few minutes of downtime. It's like a tank that just keeps rolling. There is no other choice for reliable BI.
Application Development Analyst and Software Engineer
Europa Sports ProductsConsumer Goods, 201-500 employees
Reliability and Availability
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
WebFOCUS9.0
Based on 1 answer
Tracking availability formally for almost two years and we are at 99.8%

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Company, 10,001+ employeesSupport
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
WebFOCUS10.0
Based on 2 answers
They have extremely knowledgeable techs that I have worked with over the years. Some have actually become really good friends of mine. I see them often at local user groups and when we show them how we are using their tools to save millions of dollars throughout the company
Application Development Analyst and Software Engineer
Europa Sports ProductsConsumer Goods, 201-500 employees
Online Training
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
WebFOCUS6.0
Based on 1 answer
It's hit and miss, the last class was overcrowded and people were having trouble connecting which took up much of the time. Instructors vary

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Company, 10,001+ employeesImplementation
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
WebFOCUS8.0
Based on 1 answer
Plan ahead on what data will be accessible and the type of security required on the database and if you will want to use security that is built into the software. It is worth consulting with the vendor on what your plan is and how they recommend you proceed in order to get results you are happy with.

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Company, 10,001+ employeesAlternatives Considered
acplan beats Qlik on basically everything, including price. It's technically far superior, provides far better security and unlike Qlik does not require coding when things get complex.arcplan beats Tableau and Yellowfin on capabilities. Tableau and Yellowfin are very good at what they do, but capabilities are limited, unless you call the programmers.arcplan beats SAP BO by being one product, instead of a suite with 10 components using 10 different skill sets. And, as a result, it beats SAP BO hands down on implementation costs and efforts
arcplan BI architect
AccelerationInformation Technology and Services, 51-200 employees
I've used a few other development frameworks, but the desition of the company to use WF was not mine. I came and WF is the tool that the company uses.I think that WF is a very important framework to achieve the goals of the company and I would like this technology to become the industry standard.

Verified User
Employee in Information Technology
Retail Company, 10,001+ employeesReturn on Investment
No answers on this topic
- We are not yet a success story. Though we've been implementing WebFOCUS for over a year, we have very few products in our Production portal. Of course, this is not all the responsibility of Information Builders, but we were ill-advised by our 'training coordinator' in our training of staff and coming up to speed with the tools has been very slow.
- Once skilled analysts and professional IT staff achieve a grasp of the products, they are able to very quickly create polished and well-received products.
- The DW/BI project has helped us to establish standards and protocols of communication that will allow us to more quickly meet knowledge transfer requirements
Business Intelligence Architect
Healthcare Partners of NevadaHealth, Wellness and Fitness, 1001-5000 employees
Pricing Details
arcplan
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Additional Pricing Details
—WebFOCUS
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No