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Microsoft BI (MSBI) vs. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft BI (MSBI)

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft 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

    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

    Score7 out of 10
    N/AThe 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
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Editions & Modules
    Power BI Pro
    $14
    per month per user
    Power BI Premium
    $24
    per month per user
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Each of the solutions has their pros and cons, but Microsoft's BI offerings provide the best "bang for the buck." Few solutions available offer the breadth of feature functionality in a single package, with BI and database generally being sold as separate offerings. However, …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Microsoft BI is much cheaper.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Specific data displays are some of the strongest aspects of Microsoft BI when compared to alternate programs. It also does a superior job in compatibility with many programs, especially those from Microsoft. Since my company primarily uses Office 365 and other Microsoft …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    Our company's implementation of Business Warehouse was abhorrent. It was so clunky and unreliable we couldn't get any real reporting information from the warehouse itself. It wasn't sleek at all and everything had to be manually downloaded and plugged into an offline …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    -Tableau is clearly more cutting edge when it comes to data visualization and connecting to multiple data sources (support for MongoDB, Hadoop, etc).
    -Assuming your data is not that sophisticated, Microsoft BI is a great product. I would say its a good "all around" BI tool. It …
    SAP
    Chose SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    We currently have implementations of both Microsoft BI and SAP Business Objects so our enterprise has found reasons for both. Some users prefer BI over SAP and it depends on the department they are working for. SAP was chosen for the more complex tasks that require large data …
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    SAP BO BI is very similar to Microsoft Power BI. However, SAP BO BI is much stronger in terms of analytics and document management while Power bI is stronger in data visualization and big data integration. SAP BO BI is a great tool within its ally, which is performance analysis …
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Crystal Reports has the most features that we need for our custom and purpose built reports.
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Analysis Services and Oracle Discoverer are more developer oriented than true self service tools and their development capabilities as well as their content delivery is limited. The Symantec layer sets BO apart in that regard. Heavy development is also possible and custom …
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    We selected SAP Business Objects in the previous instance because we were implementing SAP ERP and the choice of Business Objects was favorable from an integration and cost perspective. We did not choose SAP Business Objects most recently because of the predicted long …
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Microsoft/Caradigm Amalga
    Tableau
    Qlikview
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    15 Answers
    81%
    Would buy again
    13 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    15 Answers
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    12 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    15 Answers
    81%
    Happy with the feature set
    13 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    90%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    9 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.0
    53 Ratings
    10% above category average
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    7.8
    56 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Pixel Perfect reports8.546 Ratings8.550 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards9.653 Ratings6.752 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates8.951 Ratings8.151 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    53 Ratings
    6% above category average
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    7.1
    53 Ratings
    12% below category average
    Drill-down analysis8.548 Ratings6.452 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.253 Ratings6.551 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages8.342 Ratings8.335 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.953 Ratings7.352 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.6
    52 Ratings
    5% above category average
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    7.8
    53 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Publish to Web9.348 Ratings8.344 Ratings
    Publish to PDF9.148 Ratings8.251 Ratings
    Report Versioning7.444 Ratings7.646 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.547 Ratings8.052 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers8.426 Ratings6.931 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.7
    52 Ratings
    9% above category average
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    6.0
    48 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.651 Ratings5.846 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.748 Ratings6.143 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics7.845 Ratings6.042 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining8.76 Ratings6.16 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.3
    53 Ratings
    9% above category average
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    7.4
    53 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)9.449 Ratings7.953 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model9.347 Ratings7.351 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.949 Ratings7.450 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control9.36 Ratings7.37 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)9.431 Ratings7.234 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.0
    42 Ratings
    3% above category average
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    6.3
    38 Ratings
    21% below category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access8.239 Ratings5.637 Ratings
    Mobile Application8.030 Ratings5.332 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.839 Ratings5.534 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    24 Ratings
    9% above category average
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    7.9
    28 Ratings
    2% above category average
    REST API9.221 Ratings8.124 Ratings
    Javascript API8.821 Ratings7.723 Ratings
    iFrames8.820 Ratings8.221 Ratings
    Java API8.718 Ratings7.426 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)8.021 Ratings7.624 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)7.319 Ratings8.522 Ratings
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    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score7 out of 10
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.9
    (77 ratings)
    7.1
    (78 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (25 ratings)
    8.3
    (24 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (19 ratings)
    6.6
    (21 ratings)
    Availability
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    Performance
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (10 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (15 ratings)
    8.6
    (16 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.9
    (3 ratings)
    10.0
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.6
    (7 ratings)
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (42 ratings)
    8.2
    (45 ratings)
    Data Sources
    8.4
    (41 ratings)
    8.3
    (45 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    Microsoft BI has a lot of features and is a very powerful tool, especially if you have folks on your team that know how to utilize all of its capabilities. To truly unlock all that it can do, it does require people to have a deep understanding of its capabilities. That's where the software really shines. If you are looking for a simpler, more basic reporting tool, there are other programs available that do not require such a steep learning curve.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • MSBI designs can work on increasing data processing capabilities enough to handle the huge datasets etc.
    • It would be a lot better if it is a little low on cost.
    • it needs to create opportunities little more than they do regarding customization of some very unique visualization effects
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    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
    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.
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    The product has been reliable.
    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
    Read full review
    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
    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).
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    MSBI natively has a site that allows you to vote on user enhancements and bug fixes. This allows the largest nagging issues to float to the top and the development team can prioritize accordingly. As mentioned earlier, the large community base of MSBI developers assist technical resources in handling technical questions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    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
    SAP authorized training is best, Please go ahead with it. Even lot of online training options/videos available for self learning
    Incentivized
    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
    I haven't used it or got feedback from the end user.

    Content looks to be pretty detailed. Focused on SQL but not BW.
    Read full review
    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
    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.
    Incentivized
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    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.
    Incentivized
    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
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Microsoft
    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
    Incentivized
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots