Microsoft BI (MSBI) vs. SAP Analytics Cloud

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
Score 8.4 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.
$9.99
per user/per month
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
Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP Analytics Cloud
Editions & Modules
Power BI Pro
$9.99
per user/per month
Power BI Premium
4,995
per month
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
Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP Analytics Cloud
Free Trial
NoYes
Free/Freemium Version
YesNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
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
Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP Analytics Cloud
Considered Both Products
Microsoft BI (MSBI)

No answer on this topic

SAP Analytics Cloud
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Since we are IT software Selling organisation we need to review data of the deals that are closed new project coming so we can plan our resources. SAP Analytics helps us to analyse the data and plan our deals and projects. Obviously, there are manual decisions taken post …
Chose SAP Analytics Cloud
Seamless integration with SAP. It works with web services and allows us to integrate with other platforms. It's easy to use for end-users.
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP Analytics Cloud
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
8.6
49 Ratings
5% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.9
247 Ratings
1% below category average
Pixel Perfect reports9.042 Ratings7.8204 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.049 Ratings8.1242 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.947 Ratings7.9220 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
8.7
49 Ratings
7% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.9
257 Ratings
5% below category average
Drill-down analysis8.944 Ratings8.0248 Ratings
Formatting capabilities8.049 Ratings7.9245 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages8.939 Ratings7.8190 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration8.949 Ratings7.9235 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
8.9
48 Ratings
6% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.0
242 Ratings
2% below category average
Publish to Web9.044 Ratings8.1208 Ratings
Publish to PDF9.044 Ratings8.2233 Ratings
Report Versioning8.940 Ratings8.1202 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.943 Ratings7.9194 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers8.924 Ratings00 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
9.0
48 Ratings
11% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
7.8
250 Ratings
3% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.947 Ratings7.8239 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.944 Ratings7.8232 Ratings
Predictive Analytics8.942 Ratings7.9236 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining9.01 Ratings7.834 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
9.0
49 Ratings
5% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.2
256 Ratings
6% below category average
Multi-User Support (named login)8.946 Ratings8.1235 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model8.943 Ratings8.1242 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)9.046 Ratings8.0233 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control9.01 Ratings8.145 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)9.028 Ratings8.6236 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
8.5
39 Ratings
6% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
8.0
219 Ratings
0% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access8.036 Ratings7.9208 Ratings
Mobile Application8.027 Ratings7.8180 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile9.936 Ratings8.0203 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
8.8
21 Ratings
10% above category average
SAP Analytics Cloud
-
Ratings
REST API8.919 Ratings00 Ratings
Javascript API8.919 Ratings00 Ratings
iFrames9.018 Ratings00 Ratings
Java API9.017 Ratings00 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)8.918 Ratings00 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.017 Ratings00 Ratings
Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting
Comparison of Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting features of Product A and Product B
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
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
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
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
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
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
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
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
Microsoft BI (MSBI)
-
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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Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP 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
Centage
Score 9.6 out of 10
Enterprises
Jaspersoft Community Edition
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Score 9.7 out of 10
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Score 8.7 out of 10
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User Ratings
Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP Analytics Cloud
Likelihood to Recommend
8.7
(73 ratings)
8.2
(298 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.0
(25 ratings)
7.4
(7 ratings)
Usability
8.9
(14 ratings)
8.1
(219 ratings)
Availability
9.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
7.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.9
(15 ratings)
6.2
(75 ratings)
In-Person Training
6.9
(3 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Online Training
8.5
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.6
(7 ratings)
4.9
(6 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP Analytics Cloud
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
Microsoft
The product has been reliable.
Read full review
SAP
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
SAP
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
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.
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
SAP
Good videos and reference material available in SAP Portal.
Read full review
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
SAP
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
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
Read full review
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
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.
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
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.
Read full review
ScreenShots