Microsoft BI (MSBI) vs. Sage 300

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Microsoft BI is a business intelligence product used for data analysis and generating reports on server-based data. It features unlimited data analysis capacity with its reporting engine, SQL Server Reporting Services alongside ETL, master data management, and data cleansing.
$14
per month per user
Sage 300
Score 6.9 out of 10
N/A
Sage 300 (formerly Sage 300 ERP) is a business management solution that includes strong accounting and financials, as well as multi-currency and multi-language capabilities. Built on accounting best practices, users will be able to track, control, and plan the financial health of their business.
$1,655
Lifetime License per Seat
Pricing
Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sage 300
Editions & Modules
Power BI Pro
$14
per month per user
Power BI Premium
$24
per month per user
Sage 300 ERP Standard
$1,655
Lifetime License per Seat
Sage 300 ERP Advanced
$1,665
Lifetime License per Seat
Sage 300 ERP Premium
$1,665
Lifetime License (unlimited seats)
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sage 300
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsOur pricing is by module and by license and can range depending on what the customers requirements are. Most of our financial and operational modules are $1655.00 each, plus user license, plus an annual business care of 24%.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sage 300
Features
Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sage 300
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
9.5
50 Ratings
15% above category average
Sage 300
-
Ratings
Pixel Perfect reports9.543 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable dashboards9.450 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates9.548 Ratings00 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
9.6
50 Ratings
18% above category average
Sage 300
-
Ratings
Drill-down analysis9.545 Ratings00 Ratings
Formatting capabilities9.450 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages9.939 Ratings00 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration9.550 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
9.6
49 Ratings
15% above category average
Sage 300
-
Ratings
Publish to Web9.545 Ratings00 Ratings
Publish to PDF9.545 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Versioning9.541 Ratings00 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling9.544 Ratings00 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers9.924 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
9.6
49 Ratings
18% above category average
Sage 300
-
Ratings
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.548 Ratings00 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization9.545 Ratings00 Ratings
Predictive Analytics9.942 Ratings00 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining9.53 Ratings00 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
9.5
50 Ratings
11% above category average
Sage 300
-
Ratings
Multi-User Support (named login)9.547 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model9.544 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)9.547 Ratings00 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control9.53 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)9.529 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
8.8
39 Ratings
12% above category average
Sage 300
-
Ratings
Responsive Design for Web Access8.936 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile Application8.027 Ratings00 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile10.036 Ratings00 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
9.3
22 Ratings
18% above category average
Sage 300
-
Ratings
REST API9.919 Ratings00 Ratings
Javascript API9.919 Ratings00 Ratings
iFrames9.918 Ratings00 Ratings
Java API9.917 Ratings00 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)9.519 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)6.918 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
Ratings
Sage 300
8.1
11 Ratings
7% above category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings8.311 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings8.36 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings8.111 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings8.19 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings8.18 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
Ratings
Sage 300
5.5
11 Ratings
32% below category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings8.19 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings3.010 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
Ratings
Sage 300
8.6
18 Ratings
5% above category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings8.514 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.718 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
Ratings
Sage 300
8.1
20 Ratings
4% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings8.19 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings8.120 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings8.118 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
Ratings
Sage 300
6.3
21 Ratings
19% below category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings8.721 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings8.720 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings8.113 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings5.920 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings8.112 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings1.05 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings3.06 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings1.010 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings8.510 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings8.19 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings4.07 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings8.14 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings8.15 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings8.37 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings8.79 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings8.16 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings8.17 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings8.15 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings8.17 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
Ratings
Sage 300
4.5
13 Ratings
48% below category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings1.012 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings8.17 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings8.111 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
Ratings
Sage 300
1.0
12 Ratings
153% below category average
Pricing00 Ratings1.010 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings1.012 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings1.011 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings1.02 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings1.03 Ratings
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Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sage 300
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Score 8.7 out of 10
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Reveal
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Score 10.0 out of 10
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Score 9.1 out of 10
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Score 9.5 out of 10
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User Ratings
Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sage 300
Likelihood to Recommend
9.9
(73 ratings)
7.1
(21 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(25 ratings)
8.4
(2 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(15 ratings)
8.0
(5 ratings)
Availability
9.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(15 ratings)
8.6
(3 ratings)
In-Person Training
6.9
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
8.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.6
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sage 300
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft
Microsoft BI is well suited for Stream analytics, easy data integration, report creation and UI/UX designs (limited but what all available are great ones) Microsoft BI may be less appropriate for handling huge number of datasets and difficult queries. It may also be difficult for a company with heavy data.
Read full review
Sage
Sage 300cloud is a great option when it comes to cloud accounting/tracking software. In comparison to Sage's other products, Sage 300cloud is the only cloud/web based option with modern UI's and more intuitive interfaces. Additionally, Sage 300cloud offers an entire system of customer integrations that become available dependent on subscription level. Sage 300cloud also offers integrations between other Sage products (AP, CRM, etc) that allows for better automation and efficiency
Read full review
Pros
Microsoft
  • Comparatively easy to use compared to other data analytics solutions, collaborating with other colleagues on data work is simple.
  • Using Visual Studio for database, ETL, reporting, and analytics development save time and money.
  • Transfer of data from one application to another via Excel and comparison of data attributes between applications
  • Dashboard functionality, as well as Python support, are available, allowing you to add additional charts and graphs.
Read full review
Sage
  • Overall ease of use and intuitive navigation - minimal training has been required to use the system efficiently and effectively
  • Customer Inquiry - quickly see outstanding documents and drill down on any item (open or paid) to find the information you need
  • Most reports are easy to export into a workable Excel format using the Excel - data only or csv file format.
Read full review
Cons
Microsoft
  • The race to perfect gathering of Non-Traditional datasets is on-going; with Microsoft arguably not the leader of the pack in this category.
  • Licensing options for PowerBI visualizations may be a factor. I.e. if you need to implement B2C PowerBI visualizations, the cost is considerably high especially for startups.
  • Some clients are still resistant putting their data on the cloud, which restricts lots of functionality to Power BI.
Read full review
Sage
  • Little things, like changing the company name - are more difficult than we would like (We used to be MSDSSAB but legally shortened it to MSDSB).
  • A management financial reporting tool with live access - to premade reports - without paying an arm and a leg would be appreciated.
  • More training opportunities in local areas - or nearby - would be appreciated...
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Microsoft
Microsoft BI is fundamental to our suite of BI applications. That being said, Northcraft Analytics is focused on delighting our customers, so if the underlying factors of our decision change, we would choose to re-write our BI applications on a different stack. Luckily, mathematics are the fundamental IP of our technology... and is portable across all BI platforms for the foreseeable future.
Read full review
Sage
It is a solid stable product with a large user community and large ISV community. Support and Training are easy to access and obtain and there is larger reseller channel to ensure the firm you work with is honest. It is scalable and there are multiple deployment and payment options.
Read full review
Usability
Microsoft
The Microsoft BI tools have great usability for both developers and end users alike. For developers familiar with Visual Studio, there is little learning curve. For those not, the single Visual Studio IDE means not having to learn separate tools for each component. For end-users, the web interface for SSRS is simple to navigate with intuitive controls. For ad-hoc analysis, Excel can connect directly to SSAS and provide a pivot table like experience which is familiar to many users. For database development, there is beginning to be some confusion, as there are now three tool choices (VS, SSMS, Azure Data Studio) for developers. I would like to see Azure Data Studio become the superset of SSMS and eventually supplant it.
Read full review
Sage
Sage 300cloud is intuitive and user friendly after some training. It does require implementation and training but once that's done, this software is easy to use and navigate. Support for Sage 300cloud is spot on and offers assistance over the simplest to [the] most complex of tasks. Finding information or learning new tasks within Sage 300cloud is relatively easy and educational.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
The product has been reliable.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Performance
Microsoft
SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) can drag at times. We created two report servers and placed them under an F5 load balancer. This configuration has worked well. We have seen sluggish performance at times due to the Windows Firewall.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Microsoft
While support from Microsoft isn't necessarily always best of breed, you're also not paying the price for premium support that you would on other platforms. The strength of the stack is in the ecosystem that surrounds it. In contrast to other products, there are hundreds, even thousands of bloggers that post daily as well as vibrant user communities that surround the tool. I've had much better luck finding help with SQL Server related issues than I have with any other product, but that help doesn't always come directly from Microsoft.
Read full review
Sage
Turnover is high in the Sage Support department so sometimes it is difficult to get a rep who knows the issue well. Reps are good and getting assistance when they need it. Sometimes support is more interested in closing issue than actually solving problem. It can be difficult at times to have issues escalated but overall the support is good.
Read full review
In-Person Training
Microsoft
This training was more directed toward what the product was capable of rather than actual programming.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Microsoft
I have used on-line training from Microsoft and from Pragmatic Works. I would recommend Pragmatic Works as the best way to get up to speed quickly, and then use the Microsoft on-line training to deep dive into specific features that you need to get depth with.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Microsoft
We are a consulting firm and as such our best resources are always billing on client projects. Our internal implementation has weaknesses, but that's true for any company like ours. My rating is based on the product's ease of implementation.
Read full review
Sage
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft
We have used the built in ConnectWise Manager reports and custom reports. The reports provide static data. PowerBI shows us live data we can drill down into and easily adjust parameters. It's much more useful than a static PDF report.
Read full review
Sage
Sage 300 cloud is much more detailed than the other. About the same in being user friendly A better layout Saves time for doing the schedules for Audits Mobile Access Sage 300cloud can manage all different industries
Read full review
Return on Investment
Microsoft
  • As a SaaS provider we see being able to provide self-service BI to our client users as a competitive advantage. In fact the MSSQL enabled BI is a contributing factor to many winning RFPs we have done for prospective client organisations.
  • However MSSQL BI requires extensive knowledge and skills to design and develop data warehouses & data models as a foundation to support business analysts and users to interrogate data effectively and efficiently. Often times we find having strong in-house MSSQL expertise is a bless.
Read full review
Sage
  • It allows our company to efficiently and effectively maintain and track our job cost.
  • Its reliable performance allows us to function continually.
  • It also provides our division managers with reports that they can use to determine where we are experiencing problems.
Read full review
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