Looker vs. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Looker
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Looker is a BI application with an analytics-oriented application server that sits on top of relational data stores. It includes an end-user interface for exploring data, a reusable development paradigm for data discovery, and an API for supporting data in other systems.N/A
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Score 7.6 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
LookerSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
LookerSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
Additional DetailsMust contact sales team for pricing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
LookerSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Considered Both Products
Looker

No answer on this topic

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Chose SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
MicroStrategy Analytics and IBM Cognos Analytics is costlier compared to SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) Platform stacks. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) Platform stacks is user friendly, easy to adapt, easy to train resources and get them …
Chose SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
On a different company level, we have been using the MS PowerBI platform, a package with a great usability - quickly deployable and easy to use from the beginning. Used the Azure cloud option (needless to say that in a paid version). The main difference would be a scale of …
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
LookerSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Looker
8.0
114 Ratings
2% below category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
8.0
51 Ratings
2% below category average
Pixel Perfect reports7.493 Ratings8.546 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.7113 Ratings7.547 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates7.997 Ratings8.047 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Looker
8.1
114 Ratings
1% above category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
7.6
48 Ratings
6% below category average
Drill-down analysis8.1110 Ratings7.047 Ratings
Formatting capabilities7.4112 Ratings8.047 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages8.147 Ratings7.033 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration8.7114 Ratings8.547 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Looker
8.5
110 Ratings
2% above category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
7.7
48 Ratings
7% below category average
Publish to Web8.292 Ratings9.040 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.898 Ratings7.046 Ratings
Report Versioning8.273 Ratings6.542 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.995 Ratings8.547 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings7.526 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Looker
6.7
111 Ratings
17% below category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
6.9
43 Ratings
14% below category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)7.9107 Ratings6.541 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization7.596 Ratings6.539 Ratings
Predictive Analytics4.66 Ratings7.538 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings7.02 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Looker
8.3
110 Ratings
2% below category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
9.2
48 Ratings
8% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)8.8104 Ratings9.048 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model8.092 Ratings9.546 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.2104 Ratings9.045 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control8.143 Ratings9.52 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings9.029 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Looker
5.8
83 Ratings
30% below category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
5.9
34 Ratings
29% below category average
Responsive Design for Web Access6.780 Ratings6.533 Ratings
Mobile Application5.01 Ratings4.028 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile6.574 Ratings4.030 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Looker
-
Ratings
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
6.8
24 Ratings
14% below category average
REST API00 Ratings6.521 Ratings
Javascript API00 Ratings7.019 Ratings
iFrames00 Ratings7.018 Ratings
Java API00 Ratings7.022 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings7.021 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings6.520 Ratings
Best Alternatives
LookerSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Small Businesses
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BrightGauge
Score 8.9 out of 10
BrightGauge
BrightGauge
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Reveal
Reveal
Score 10.0 out of 10
Reveal
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Score 10.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Jaspersoft Community Edition
Jaspersoft Community Edition
Score 9.7 out of 10
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Score 9.7 out of 10
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User Ratings
LookerSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(115 ratings)
7.5
(73 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.5
(6 ratings)
8.3
(24 ratings)
Usability
8.8
(12 ratings)
7.5
(16 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Performance
6.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(10 ratings)
Support Rating
8.8
(14 ratings)
8.6
(16 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(8 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Professional Services
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
LookerSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Likelihood to Recommend
Google
As a Sales, it suited me to use such well-developed software with a nice dashboard that could navigate between my prospects, visualize the numbers of clients, and check my achievements for each quarter. That would help me understand my performance and record the data I needed for myself as a salesperson.
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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.
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Pros
Google
  • Show visited pages - sessions, pageviews - which programs are viewed the most.
  • Displays session source/medium views to see where users are coming from.
  • It shows the video titles, URLs, and event counts so we can monitor the performance of our videos.
  • It gives a graphic face to the numbers, such as using bar charts, pie graphs, and other charts to show user trends or which channels are driving engagement.
  • Our clients like to see the top pages visited for a month.
  • I like the drop-and-drag approach, and building charts is a little easier than it was before.
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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
Google
  • I wish I could get more granular in the Google ad data, such as down to the campaign type, instead of having to see only all campaigns.
  • The setup can be time-consuming if you're not using the product regularly.
  • Editing the dashboard requires a few logins; I wish it was more seamless.
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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
Google
We are very haooy with Looker, it provides us with all the funciomalities we need for both the day to day oerformance tracking and longer periods reporting. It is easy to use for account managers, configurable and customizable for soecialists and what is most imoortant, our clinets generally really love it
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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.
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Usability
Google
Looker is relatively easy to use, even as it is set up. The customers for the front-end only have issues with the initial setup for looker ml creations. Other "looks" are relatively easy to set up, depending on the ETL and the data which is coming into Looker on a regular basis.
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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.
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Reliability and Availability
Google
No objections
Read full review
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
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Performance
Google
Somehow resources heavy, both on server and client. I recommned at least 50Mbs data rate and high performance desktop comouter to be abke to run comolex tasks and configure larger amount of data. On the other hand, the client does not need to worry when viewing, the performance is usually ok
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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).
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Support Rating
Google
Never had to work with support for issues. Any questions we had, they would respond promptly and clearly. The one-time setup was easy, by reading documentation. If the feature is not supported, they will add a feature request. In this case, LDAP support was requested over OKTA. They are looking into it.
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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.
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In-Person Training
Google
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
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Online Training
Google
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.
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Implementation Rating
Google
Very satisfied, easy to implement
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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.
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Alternatives Considered
Google
Looker gives you options to integrate external APIs with great ease. Our data analytics team is able to easily use multiple data sources as input to the Looker dashboard, and everything is consolidated in one single Dashboard. You also have an option for Shared folders to be accessed by multiple people. The reporting system is perfect and has a wide range of options/reporting options that can be implemented.
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
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Google
Perfect price to performance
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SAP
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Google
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
Google
  • Looker has a poignant impact on our business's ROI objectives. As an advertising exchange we have specific goals for daily requests and fill, and having premade Looks to monitor this is an integral piece of our operational capability
  • To facilitate an efficient monthly billing cycle in our organization, Looker is essential to track estimated revenue and impression delivery by publisher. Without the Looks we have set up, we would spend considerably more time and effort segmenting revenue by vertical.
  • Looker's unique value proposition is making analytical tools more digestible to people without conventional analytical experience. Other competing tools like Tableau require considerably more training and context to successfully use, and the ability to easily plot different visualizations is one of its greatest selling points.
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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.
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ScreenShots

Looker Screenshots

Screenshot of a Looker dashboard with a geo chart.