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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    MasterControl Quality Excellence

    Score8.4 out of 10
    N/AMasterControl Quality Excellence is a Quality Management System (QMS) for the life sciences. It enables life-sciences companies to enable flexible quality event management, simplified document management, and automated training management that work together to close the loop on quality.

    $25,000

    per year

    Microsoft Power BI

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Power BI is a visualization and data discovery tool from Microsoft. It allows users to convert data into visuals and graphics, visually explore and analyze data, collaborate on interactive dashboards and reports, and scale across their organization with built-in governance and security.

    $168

    per year per user

    Pricing
    MasterControl Quality ExcellenceMicrosoft Power BI
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Power BI Pro
    $14
    per month (billed annually) per user
    Power BI Premium
    $24
    per month (billed annually) per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    MasterControl Quality ExcellenceMicrosoft Power BI
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoYes
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Power BI Desktop is the data exploration and report authoring experience for Power BI, and is available as a free download.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    MasterControl Quality ExcellenceMicrosoft Power BI
    Considered Both Products
    MasterControl
    Chose MasterControl Quality Excellence
    We are still evaluating and the outcome will be based on a list of user requirements documented for various need across our organization.
    Incentivized
    Chose MasterControl Quality Excellence
    MasterControl is about 300% cheaper than Veevas compared solution. That is why we ae still with MasterControl, since Veeva is not 300% better
    Incentivized
    Chose MasterControl Quality Excellence
    MasterControl is amongst the very few options that allowed us to satisfy majority of our Quality Management System needs using a single system. The ability for the systems to interact with other QMS aspects was crucial for our decision making. Documents and Training modules are …
    Incentivized
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    158 Answers
    96%
    Would buy again
    110 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    95%
    Delivers good value for the price
    123 Answers
    97%
    Delivers good value for the price
    103 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    157 Answers
    97%
    Happy with the feature set
    112 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    90%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    72 Answers
    99%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    69 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    75%
    Implementation went as expected
    80 Answers
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    73 Answers
    Features
    MasterControl Quality ExcellenceMicrosoft Power BI
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of MasterControl Quality Excellence and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    MasterControl Quality Excellence
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.1
    198 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings8.1169 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards00 Ratings8.6197 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings7.7180 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of MasterControl Quality Excellence and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    MasterControl Quality Excellence
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    196 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Drill-down analysis00 Ratings8.4193 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities00 Ratings7.7193 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings7.4143 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings8.2191 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of MasterControl Quality Excellence and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    MasterControl Quality Excellence
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    189 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Publish to Web00 Ratings8.1179 Ratings
    Publish to PDF00 Ratings7.7174 Ratings
    Report Versioning00 Ratings7.7145 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings8.3148 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings7.9111 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of MasterControl Quality Excellence and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    MasterControl Quality Excellence
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.7
    189 Ratings
    4% below category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings8.3183 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings8.1168 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics00 Ratings7.2138 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings7.339 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of MasterControl Quality Excellence and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    MasterControl Quality Excellence
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Power BI
    8.3
    180 Ratings
    2% below category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings8.6169 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings8.1148 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings8.1160 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings8.149 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings8.5141 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of MasterControl Quality Excellence and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    MasterControl Quality Excellence
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.9
    162 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings7.6152 Ratings
    Mobile Application00 Ratings7.5133 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings7.8155 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of MasterControl Quality Excellence and Microsoft Power BI
    Feature
    MasterControl Quality Excellence
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Power BI
    7.6
    116 Ratings
    2% below category average
    REST API00 Ratings7.7104 Ratings
    Javascript API00 Ratings7.485 Ratings
    iFrames00 Ratings8.055 Ratings
    Java API00 Ratings6.769 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings7.291 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings8.444 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    MasterControl Quality ExcellenceMicrosoft Power BI
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    No answers on this topic
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    No answers on this topic
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    MasterControl Quality ExcellenceMicrosoft Power BI
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.9
    (166 ratings)
    8.6
    (199 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.2
    (11 ratings)
    9.6
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    7.2
    (161 ratings)
    8.3
    (115 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    6.3
    (6 ratings)
    10.0
    (52 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.5
    (82 ratings)
    Data Sources
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (81 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Professional Services
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    MasterControl Quality ExcellenceMicrosoft Power BI
    Likelihood to Recommend
    MasterControl
    The MasterControl Quality Excellence suite is well suited for the life sciences and biotechnology as well as manufacturing companies that could benefit from the regulatory compliance that this suite of products offer. This product is highly recommended for industries that want to reduce paper overhead and digitally transform their QMS into a singular location
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Has significantly improved collation of data and visualisation especially with business across Europe. Has given me the ability to see the Site availability at the click of a button to see which Site is in the "money" and seize opportunities based on Market data
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    MasterControl
    • Organization - the layout and idea behind how the website is displayed and functions.
    • Compliance - ensuring our documents are kept up to date and accurate.
    • Quality - by having a platform with all documents with all standards set out at once, quality standards are easily accessed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Options for data source connections are immense. Not just which sources, but your options for *how* the data is brought in.
    • Constant updates (this is both good and bad at times).
    • User friendliness. I can get the data connections set up and draft some quick visuals, then release to the target audience and let them expand on it how they want to.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    MasterControl
    • License model can become very expensive for small startup businesses.
    • More development with validation and more transparent information on how the improvements and or fixes may impact the current configuration. Currently, everything is listed, but it is not tailored to my system.
    • More information regarding the transition of previous processes to new processes. i.e., FBS to AQEM. I am currently working on the ADV/FBS forms and will eventually transition to AQEM/ADAPT. Still, I would like more information regarding the transition to inform current stakeholders about the improvements on the horizon.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • It would be easier for users could Microsoft Power BI and Excel used the same programming languages.
    • Would like to see the online version of Microsoft Power BI be as powerful as the desktop version.
    • Publishing a Microsoft Power BI file online and then having to save the file is somewhat redundant.
    • Would like to export each page or chart as an image.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    MasterControl
    would rate MasterControl Quality Excellence a 7 out of 10 because, while it offers strong compliance tools, centralized document control, and effective audit readiness features, there are still areas that could be improved to enhance the overall user experience. The platform can sometimes feel complex and unintuitive, especially for new users, and customizing workflows to fit specific organizational needs can be challenging. Additionally, integration with other enterprise systems isn't always seamless, which can slow down processes. Despite these drawbacks, the system remains a reliable and valuable tool for maintaining quality and regulatory compliance.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Power BI is an excellent and scalable tool. It has a learning curve, but once you get past that, the sky is the limit and you can build from the most simple to the most complex dashboards. I have built everything from simple reports with only a few data points to complex reports with many pages and advanced filtering.
    Read full review
    Usability
    MasterControl
    Some tasks require the users and SysAdmin to access multiple modules at a time. For example: to create a training course and an exam for a document in the system, the user needs to finish creating the document in the doc module, then go to the training module to create a course and an exam separately. Ideally, from the document page we should be able to access the training course, which could have some fields auto-populated. And from there, also create and link an exam, all without leaving the document page.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Automating reporting has reduced manual data processing by 50-70%, freeing up analysts for higher-value tasks. A finance team that previously spent 20+ hours per week on Excel-based reports now does it in minutes with Microsoft Power BI's automated Real-time dashboards have shortened decision cycles by 30-40%, enabling leadership to react quickly to sales trends, operational bottlenecks, and customer behavior.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    MasterControl
    they are good about keeping it running
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    MasterControl
    some reports take time to filter and to get them to give the correct information. This is usually because of inputs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    MasterControl
    The Technical Support team has grown exponentially over the last couple years. Some front line support staff are new to the system and so know less than the clients do. Back line staff are more seasoned and provide immediate assistance to the front line staff. They have an extensive knowledge bank to assist them as well as client access to most KB articles. Annual user group conference gives us chance to meet the support staff an also to resolve any outstanding issues. Any critical vendor notices are emailed immediately when found and a patch offered at the same time. These are rare, but quickly resolved.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    It is a fantastic tool, you can do almost everything related with data and reports, it is a perfect substitutive of Power Point and Excel with a high evolution and flexibility, and also it is very friendly and easy to share. I think all companies should have Power BI (or other BI tool) in their software package and if they are in the MS Suite, for sure Power BI should be the one due to all the benefits of the MS ecosystem.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    MasterControl
    I rated the MasterControl in-person training a 10 because it was clear, practical, and well-paced. The trainer explained concepts thoroughly and answered questions effectively. I appreciated the hands-on walkthroughs, which made it easier to understand how to apply the system in real scenarios. Overall, it was a valuable learning experience that boosted my confidence in using MasterControl.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    MasterControl
    transparent and immediate when the documents are updated. Easy to check on training and customizable to the company's expectations. Allows easy exam creation with GXP assist and the correlation between job codes and courses has proven reliable. What i would advocate is that you see who has trained on the course in the Course Infocard, to the document infocard
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    MasterControl
    The implementation of MasterControl Quality Excellence was largely successful, earning an 8 out of 10. The project was well-structured, and the implementation team provided solid guidance throughout the process. Key milestones were met on time, and the system was configured to meet most of our core requirements. One of the most valuable aspects was the hands-on training and support during go-live, which helped ensure user adoption. However, there were some challenges around data migration and aligning the system’s capabilities with our existing workflows, which required more time and effort than anticipated. Overall, the experience was positive, and the lessons learned have positioned us well for future system enhancements.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    It was integrated with our erp easily and was accessible on cloud.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    MasterControl
    The products we evaluated were considered as potential replacements for MasterControl Quality Excellence. At this time, we continue using MasterControl Quality Excellence primarily due to the significant volume of data in our system and the operational impact of a platform transition. Intellect QMS emerged as a strong alternative, offering extensive, intuitive business process development tools and a wide range of built-in QMS processes out of the box. MasterControl Quality Excellence currently maintains the advantage solely because of the logistical and business burden associated with migrating to a new system.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Power BI is free. If I didn't want to create a custom platform (i.e. my organization insisted on an existing platform that I *had* to use), I'd use Microsoft Power BI. For any start-up or SMB, I'd just use Claude & Grok to build it quickly, also for free. Would not pay for Tableau or Sigma anymore. Not worth it at all.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    MasterControl
    there are many updates
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Professional Services
    MasterControl
    they are excellent
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    MasterControl
    • Helped me keep up to date on any knowledge pertaining to my workflow.
    • Sometimes, using it for lesson plans with minor adjustments to review it again can be repetitive.
    • Helped with scheduling classes and keeping up to date with when they occur.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Power BI usage reduced the effort of analytical reports creation by about 80%
    • Empowered all the level of employee to be more vigilant of the data and business insights, gained the profit of 8% overall.
    • AI-powered predictive analytics improved forecasting accuracy by 17%, that topped the overall sales.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Microsoft Power BI Screenshots

    Screenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Turns insights into impact for business usersScreenshot of Power BI integrates easily with Microsoft 365Screenshot of Microsoft Power BI - AI-Powered CapabilitiesScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Copilot can be used to create reportsScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Data HubScreenshot of Microsoft Power BI - Scales as organizational needs grow