Infor Birst vs. SAP Analytics Cloud

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Infor Birst
Score 3.8 out of 10
N/A
Infor Birst offers multi-tenant cloud BI for deployment in a public or private cloud, or on-premises. It provides an in-memory columnar data store and a BI layer comprising a reporting engine, predictive analytics tools, mobile native apps, dashboards, discovery tools, and an open client interface.
$30,000
Per 20 Users Per Year
SAP Analytics Cloud
Score 8.5 out of 10
N/A
The SAP Analytics Cloud solution brings together analytics and planning with integration to SAP applications and access to heterogenous data sources. As the analytics and planning solution within SAP Business Technology Platform, SAP Analytics Cloud supports trusted insights and integrated planning processes enterprise-wide to help make decisions without doubt.
$36
per month per user
Pricing
Infor BirstSAP Analytics Cloud
Editions & Modules
Basic License
$30,000
Per 20 Users Per Year
SAP Analytics Cloud for Business Intelligence
$36.00
per month per user
SAP Analytics Cloud for Planning
Price upon request
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Infor BirstSAP Analytics Cloud
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsGet started on your 30-day trial with SAP Analytics Cloud, supporting analytics enterprise-wide. Extend it up to 90 days if you want to.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Infor BirstSAP Analytics Cloud
Considered Both Products
Infor Birst
Chose Infor Birst
Birst will help us with the direction we want to go with big data!
SAP Analytics Cloud

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Infor BirstSAP Analytics Cloud
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
7.4
77 Ratings
10% below category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.9
247 Ratings
1% below category average
Pixel Perfect reports7.068 Ratings7.8204 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.077 Ratings8.1242 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates7.159 Ratings7.9220 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
7.0
78 Ratings
14% below category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.9
257 Ratings
4% below category average
Drill-down analysis8.078 Ratings8.0248 Ratings
Formatting capabilities7.077 Ratings7.9245 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages6.127 Ratings7.8190 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration7.068 Ratings7.9235 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
8.0
75 Ratings
4% below category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.1
242 Ratings
1% below category average
Publish to Web8.052 Ratings8.1208 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.067 Ratings8.2233 Ratings
Report Versioning7.28 Ratings8.1202 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling9.066 Ratings7.9194 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
6.9
72 Ratings
15% below category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.8
250 Ratings
3% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.072 Ratings7.8239 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization7.058 Ratings7.8232 Ratings
Predictive Analytics5.833 Ratings7.9236 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings7.834 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
8.3
72 Ratings
3% below category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.2
256 Ratings
6% below category average
Multi-User Support (named login)9.070 Ratings8.1235 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model8.068 Ratings8.1242 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.069 Ratings8.0233 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings8.145 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings8.6236 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
5.0
54 Ratings
46% below category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.0
219 Ratings
0% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access7.052 Ratings7.9208 Ratings
Mobile Application3.034 Ratings7.8180 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile3.042 Ratings8.0203 Ratings
Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting
Comparison of Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
-
Ratings
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.8
274 Ratings
6% below category average
Long-term financial planning00 Ratings7.6233 Ratings
Financial budgeting00 Ratings7.8239 Ratings
Forecasting00 Ratings7.9246 Ratings
Scenario modeling00 Ratings7.5237 Ratings
Management reporting00 Ratings8.3265 Ratings
Consolidation and Close
Comparison of Consolidation and Close features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
-
Ratings
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.6
229 Ratings
5% below category average
Financial data consolidation00 Ratings7.4183 Ratings
Journal entries and reports00 Ratings7.7173 Ratings
Multi-currency management00 Ratings7.5188 Ratings
Intercompany Eliminations00 Ratings7.4143 Ratings
Minority Ownership00 Ratings7.5129 Ratings
Local and consolidated reporting00 Ratings8.0180 Ratings
Detailed Audit Trails00 Ratings7.6170 Ratings
Financial Reporting and Compliance
Comparison of Financial Reporting and Compliance features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
-
Ratings
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.0
254 Ratings
3% below category average
Financial Statement Reporting00 Ratings7.9213 Ratings
Management Reporting00 Ratings8.3244 Ratings
Excel-based Reporting00 Ratings8.0225 Ratings
Automated board and financial reporting00 Ratings8.1203 Ratings
XBRL support for regulatory filing00 Ratings7.6114 Ratings
Analytics and Reporting
Comparison of Analytics and Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
-
Ratings
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.2
277 Ratings
2% above category average
Personalized dashboards00 Ratings8.2270 Ratings
Color-coded scorecards00 Ratings8.1255 Ratings
KPIs00 Ratings8.3261 Ratings
Cost and profitability analysis00 Ratings8.3243 Ratings
Key Performance Indicator setting00 Ratings8.3246 Ratings
Benchmarking with external data00 Ratings7.6206 Ratings
Integration
Comparison of Integration features of Product A and Product B
Infor Birst
-
Ratings
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.6
258 Ratings
9% below category average
Flat file integration00 Ratings7.7244 Ratings
Excel data integration00 Ratings7.9247 Ratings
Direct links to 3rd-party data sources00 Ratings7.1226 Ratings
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Infor BirstSAP Analytics Cloud
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BrightGauge
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Score 8.9 out of 10
IBM Planning Analytics
IBM Planning Analytics
Score 8.3 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Reveal
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Score 9.9 out of 10
Centage
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Score 9.6 out of 10
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Jaspersoft Community Edition
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Score 9.7 out of 10
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Score 8.0 out of 10
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User Ratings
Infor BirstSAP Analytics Cloud
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(96 ratings)
8.2
(298 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(35 ratings)
7.4
(7 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(12 ratings)
8.1
(219 ratings)
Availability
4.1
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.5
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
6.0
(19 ratings)
6.2
(75 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.1
(4 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
8.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.3
(6 ratings)
4.8
(6 ratings)
Configurability
7.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
6.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
5.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
7.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Infor BirstSAP Analytics Cloud
Likelihood to Recommend
Infor
Birst is well suited for an organization looking for a cloud-hosted analytics solution that is contained within one package. It is able to connect to a very wide variety of different data sources, and has options for either light or involved ETL procedures, depending on the users experience with preparing data. As with any BI project, it would not be suitable for an organization where there is no dedicated team to maintain and manage the project.
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SAP
SAP Analytics Cloud is great for big companies that want advanced data analysis and planning, especially when they need to work together in real-time or when people need to access data on their phones. It's like a super tool for predicting future trends in industries like retail or finance. SAC also works well for companies that use different types of computer systems because it can easily connect them. But, for small businesses that only need basic reports or don't have a lot of technical resources, a simpler tool might be better. If a company doesn't always have a good internet connection or if they're just starting with analytics, there might be other tools that work better.
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Pros
Infor
  • Birst is an platform that provides connectors to some of the applications we use, but also allows us to bring in data from disparate systems to perform ETL and integrate all of the data for analyses. It makes no assumptions about your data, which is good for us, as we have a lot of customizations to many of our systems.
  • Birst is making inroads towards a more modern UI.
Read full review
SAP
  • It makes it easier yo analyse order and related records easily.
  • We can easily maintain and track the performance of employees in organisation.
  • Can easily track various aspects for the growth of an organisation thus allowing real time analysis and tracking of organisation's growth and performance.
Read full review
Cons
Infor
  • Birst prices are fairly expensive. License plus cost of users can add up pretty quickly
  • Depending on the size of data, rendering of reports can take a little bit. Need faster processing of data
  • Takes a little time to understand how to build reports, not the most intuitive UI
Read full review
SAP
  • Complexity in Data Modeling
  • SAC supports various data sources, but improvements in the ease of connecting to and integrating with certain data repositories, especially non-SAP databases, would enhance the platform's versatility and integration capabilities.
  • An offline mode for SAC could be valuable for users who need to access and analyze data without an internet connection. Additionally, optimizing performance for large datasets and complex visualizations would contribute to a smoother user experience.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Infor
We have been able to overcome any of the drawbacks we've found with Birst easily and it has fulfilled almost all of our analytic needs to date. Having seen their roadmap it would be highly unlikely we would move away from this platform any time soon. You simply can't beat the functionality that Birst provides for the price and the things I see coming out of the company solidify that our decision to choose Birst was the best possible choice. We have never regretted the decision.
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SAP
There’s no doubt I will renew SAP Analytics Cloud. It is the most vital tool in our organization that makes it seamless to make rapid business decisions by collecting, modeling and visualizing data in real-time.
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Usability
Infor
I would like to see additional usability put into the ETL scripting. Recently, Birst added a nice function reference inline to formula creation which has kept me from having to return to documentation so much. The same in ETL would be very beneficial. The interface problems related to the Flex framework are being addressed in a rewrite to HTML 5, but for now they are still a hindrance to a higher usability rating.
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SAP
Considering the feedback and improvements made over time, users often rate SAP Analytics Cloud's usability in the range of 7 to 9 out of 10. Positive aspects include its integration capabilities, collaborative features, and the ability to create visually appealing dashboards. Some users, however, may note a learning curve or desire additional customization options.
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Reliability and Availability
Infor
We frequently experience -103 errors due to us using the Live Connect functionality, which does not seem to handle even minor interruptions in connectivity, and treats all future connection attempts or data requests as errors, even if the issue does not exist any longer
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SAP
No answers on this topic
Performance
Infor
Everything runs very fast and smoothly. The only process that I wish was faster would be processing the data after uploading new data or making changes to the existing data model. It can take 15-20 minutes (roughly) to upload and process new data once you start getting into 10's of millions of rows. Given my experience with how long it takes me to pull the same data using SQL Server Management Studio, I don't think Birst is unreasonably slow - but for me to give a higher rating, I would want it to be unreasonably fast
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SAP
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Infor
When we have an issue that is stopping our business from proceeding, I want answers sooner than later. While Birst does have a published response time for each case level, we always wish it could be quicker. What response improvement could there be with a larger support team? In response to first question: Blackhole of issues - Birst needs to improve upon closing issues that resolution was dependent upon code fixes or enhancements, perhaps someone to add a comment on all case tickets at least every 60 days. Escalation - I always have the ability to electronically or via phone escalate a ticket. I also have my Customer Success Manager through whom I can escalate topics.
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SAP
Since the implementation stage, the support team has been very helpful and assisting. Even in the later stages, the tech team had quite a rapid response. In general, SAP has provided us with great customer support, let it be for a specific product of SAP or for integration of different modules.
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In-Person Training
Infor
I have attended two different training sessions. The first one was my initial training on the system. It was well paced, clear and concise. If there were questions that were not able to be answered by the instructor, he took down the question and actually followed up and provided us a response quickly. The second session was specific to the dashboard and report design components. This training was very good though there were some attendants who had little or no experience and their questions slowed the class.
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SAP
Good videos and reference material available in SAP Portal.
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Online Training
Infor
Although I found the online resources helpful, a lack of appropriate examples for certain tasks key to report creation and advanced modeling make the online training/documentation less than perfect. For an inexperienced BI professional, the online training would not enable a streamlined launch of the product.
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SAP
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Infor
Have clean data! Birst flexibility allows - Start small, then introduce functionality and complexity along the way. If you try to present all the functionality [bells and whistles] and wow them, but bad data is uncovered, the end user blames the new application and turns away.
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SAP
SAC is a simple solution ad it works fine when connecting it to other SAP tools. On the other hand, connecting it to third party solutions brings difficulties when there's no previous design and the objetives are not clear. It is really important to integrate Business users from the start to provide with valuable business insights
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Alternatives Considered
Infor
During the vetting process, we looked at 14 different products (one of them internal) to see if they would fit our needs and whittled it down to this one over a three month period. We did not contact sales for all of them (sales sites were enough to rule out some), but did have a lot of demos with a significant portion of them and reviewed several of the major industry studies as well. We had representatives of both user interests/design and the technical backend on the evaluation process.
The major features we were looking for a product that we could embed inside our own SaaS application, connect to a sharded Postgres database, had multitenancy and allowed for customer generated reports/ self-reporting. Some of the minor "nice to have" features we were looking at was scheduled reports, especially if we could plug it into our own scheduling system (for CAN-SPAM compliance), internationalization, and support.
In the evaluation, Birst hit all of the must-haves and enough of the nice to haves that they made it down to our final two and the trial was the clincher to make it our final choice.
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SAP
SAP is a product/solution that contains extra capabilities that might be considered an enhancement; SAP Analytics Cloud models are based on a huge data collection, and numerous models can be integrated. When coupled with different SAP systems, Analytics Cloud has a common dataset architecture; this software also includes improved analytics capabilities.
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Scalability
Infor
we can see that loading a lot of data can cause a noticable slow down in performance. Birst support indicated that they don't really consider anything less than 30 seconds to be an issue, but that is not the case for our customers, so we have had to change some of implementation to address this
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SAP
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Infor
  • Being a manufacturing company we tend to lag behind technologically. But having all the data for different ERP systems in one place has been an eye opener for the executives. It has lessened the need to convert some legacy ERP systems.
  • Having such a simple reporting tool is a great asset to some of our sites that have traditionally had trouble gathering data from AS400 systems.
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SAP
  • In general, SAC is a comprehensive analytics platform that offers a range of capabilities for data visualization, reporting, planning, and predictive analytics. It is particularly well-suited for businesses that use SAP systems and are looking to gain insight into their data in a single, integrated platform.
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ScreenShots

Infor Birst Screenshots

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