Azure Blob Storage vs. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Azure Blob Storage
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft's Blob Storage system on Azure is designed to make unstructured data available to customers anywhere through REST-based object storage.
$0.01
per GB/per month
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
The SAP® BusinessObjects™ Business Intelligence Platform provides users with ad hoc queries, reporting, data visualizations, and analysis tools. Its integrated, unified infrastructure aims to offer scalability from one-to-many tools and interfaces on-premise, in the cloud, or as a hybrid approach.N/A
Pricing
Azure Blob StorageSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Editions & Modules
Block Blobs
$0.0081
per GB/per month
Azure Data Lake Storage
$0.0081
per GB/per month
Files
$0.058
per GB/per month
Managed Discs
$1.54
per month
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Azure Blob StorageSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Azure Blob StorageSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Features
Azure Blob StorageSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Azure Blob Storage
-
Ratings
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
7.7
56 Ratings
6% below category average
Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings8.550 Ratings
Customizable dashboards00 Ratings6.752 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings7.951 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Azure Blob Storage
-
Ratings
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
7.0
53 Ratings
14% below category average
Drill-down analysis00 Ratings6.352 Ratings
Formatting capabilities00 Ratings6.651 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings8.035 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings7.352 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Azure Blob Storage
-
Ratings
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
7.8
53 Ratings
5% below category average
Publish to Web00 Ratings8.444 Ratings
Publish to PDF00 Ratings8.051 Ratings
Report Versioning00 Ratings7.546 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings8.152 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings7.031 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Azure Blob Storage
-
Ratings
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
6.1
48 Ratings
27% below category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings5.846 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings6.243 Ratings
Predictive Analytics00 Ratings6.242 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings6.36 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Azure Blob Storage
-
Ratings
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
7.6
53 Ratings
11% below category average
Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings7.953 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings7.551 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings7.650 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings7.57 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings7.434 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Azure Blob Storage
-
Ratings
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
6.3
38 Ratings
20% below category average
Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings5.837 Ratings
Mobile Application00 Ratings5.132 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings5.334 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Azure Blob Storage
-
Ratings
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
7.7
28 Ratings
0% below category average
REST API00 Ratings7.824 Ratings
Javascript API00 Ratings7.523 Ratings
iFrames00 Ratings8.021 Ratings
Java API00 Ratings7.226 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings7.524 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings8.122 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Azure Blob StorageSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Small Businesses
Amazon S3 Glacier
Amazon S3 Glacier
Score 9.0 out of 10
Yellowfin
Yellowfin
Score 8.7 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Everpure FlashBlade
Everpure FlashBlade
Score 9.9 out of 10
Reveal
Reveal
Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Everpure FlashBlade
Everpure FlashBlade
Score 9.9 out of 10
Kyvos Semantic Layer
Kyvos Semantic Layer
Score 9.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Azure Blob StorageSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(9 ratings)
6.9
(74 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
8.3
(24 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(1 ratings)
6.5
(17 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(10 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(3 ratings)
8.6
(16 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(8 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
Azure Blob StorageSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
In Azure, it is the storage to use, and in my view, the Blob Storage offers more, or finer-grained configuration options, than S3. So my recommendation would be to check in detail what is offered. As the Blob Storage is more or less a Microsoft exclusive product, the "interoperability" is more limited than, for example, with S3. The S3 is more widely adopted, and if you cannot exclude a migration scenario from one cloud provider to another, additional effort is needed.
Read full review
SAP
As mentioned earlier reporting was a big headache for us and the tools we used didn't support large data sets and visualization Performing analytics with such data sets was cumbersome and later post using this SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence we were able to correlate different data sets and prepare the dashboard pretty easier which were helpful and easier to understand.
Read full review
Pros
Microsoft
  • Ease of use both through Azure Portal as well as API.
  • Cost-effective solution for storing a large amount of data compared to other storage solutions.
  • Scalability, Security, and Performance are the other key aspects of Azure Blob Storage that are easily manageable through Admin Console.
Read full review
SAP
  • This software is easy to initially learn, and very powerful in producing reusable reports.
  • It is much faster than my company's internal manual queries. The ability to build off of a saved query and share queries to other users is a great positive.
  • My favorite part is that you can run queries in the background and it does not interfere with your current work or slow your computer down.
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • Sometimes the behavior is nondeterministic (e.g. compare config via UI vs. terraform).
  • While it does some things better than S3, the interoperability in a migration scenario seems cumbersome.
  • The number of features/config options is overwhelming; we found the docs, etc., a bit hard to read.
Read full review
SAP
  • The installation can be very complex and time-consuming, it requires a lot of planning and foresight as to what role the software will play in the organization.
  • The software has a relatively large learning curve that takes dedicated users months to get comfortable with, the UI is a bit intimidating for new users.
  • SAP could organize their help better, it can be difficult to find dependable solutions to issues via their website and support channels.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
The institution has decided to move in a different direction, and will be using MSBI for reporting. I have been very happy with the Business Objects suite of tools, and will continue to use them heavily until we make the transition.
Read full review
Usability
Microsoft
Blob storage is fairly simple, with several different options/settings that can be configured. The file explorer has enhanced its usability. Some areas could be improved, such as providing more details or stats on how many times a file has been accessed. It is an obvious choice if you're already using Azure/Entra.
Read full review
SAP
From a server and client side perspective. the Business Intelligence Platform provides a foundation for all aspects of content development, distribution, analysis, collaboration and self service. Ease of use from targeted content delivery through controlled accessibility. Content exporting in the format of the users choice. Scheduling for internal or external delivery. Public and private folders for secure content access when requied. Web based for viewing on the users device of choice without the need to download additional applications.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
When we implemented 3.1, we had a tough time managing the system: It took almost a year to stabilize.

With 4.0, we want to roll out to more users, and are holding back because of fears about the performance issue
Read full review
Performance
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
Overall, the tool (Web Intelligence 4.2) is fast and solid. One issue is a dependability on JAVA for a full feature report creation/edit capabilities (as opposed to limited HTML option). Second, planned end of JAVA support by major browsers (Chrome is already not supporting JAVA applet).
Read full review
Support Rating
Microsoft
Microsoft has improved its customer service standpoint over the years. The ability to chat with an issue, get a callback, schedule a call or work with an architecture team(for free) is a huge plus. I can get mentorship and guidance on where to go with my environment without pushy sales tactics. This is very refreshing. Typically support can get me to where I need to be on the first contact, which is also nice.
Read full review
SAP
SAP has released various versions of SAP BO BI. starting from 3.1 and going to 4.0,4.1,4.2 and latest being 4.3. SAP provides support to these new versions. As new versions keep on coming, support for the very old software goes out of scope from SAP. it is when the different organization plans to get their BO content migrated from a lower version to a newer version. The newer version had definitely added functionality and features which ease the work of users.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
SAP authorized training is best, Please go ahead with it. Even lot of online training options/videos available for self learning
Read full review
Online Training
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
I haven't used it or got feedback from the end user.

Content looks to be pretty detailed. Focused on SQL but not BW.
Read full review
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
Hire specialists and experienced staff. Mix some beginners so that everyone is not a leader but a learner too. Plan well; architect well; break down implementation in small steps and move towards larger steps. Create a centralized and authorized SAP Business Objects implementation team.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
Azure Premium Blob offers better latency than competitors. It works best with the Azure ecosystem, and competitors lack it. Azure Blob even stands out in storage durability, providing up to 16 nines. It can have various use cases that can suit all the organisation's needs. The Azure Blob solution can also be deployed on-premises.
Read full review
SAP
We selected SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) based on price. It can stack up against others in terms of price and honestly, that's about it. Salesforce Commerce does a hell of a better job at handling it. However, in the space of Business Intelligence, SAP can do more, and that's why at the end we went with it
Read full review
Scalability
Microsoft
No answers on this topic
SAP
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) Platform supports SOA Service Oriented Architecture. You can start/restart/enable/disable all the servers. You can seamless do load balancing and clustering. It supports all leading application and web server. Supports LDAP SSO integration. People who can work on excel with training they can work on SAP Business Objects Web Intelligence, dashboard, Lumira, Information design tool product suite. Tool is very user friendly and easy to learn and implement
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Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • Azure Blob has reduced our overall infrastructure cost.
  • With Azure Blob Storage, we don't need dedicated personnel to maintain storage and its related infrastructure.
  • Azure Blob Storage provides a one-stop storage solution for most of our business needs, allowing us to focus solely on the business.
Read full review
SAP
  • By generating and distributing reports in a timely manner, we were able to save millions of dollars for the company which otherwise would not have been visible.
  • Almost realtime dashboard, saved the company a huge amount by showing the outages and kept the company from buying a tool to do just that.
  • It showed the customers who were not paying the bills and were missing in the system due to some loophole. This was visible by doing reporting on the theft usage of electricity.
Read full review
ScreenShots