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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

    Sisense

    Score6.7 out of 10
    N/ASisense is a BI software and analytics platform. With what the vendor calls their In-Chip™ and Single Stack™ technologies, users have access to a comprehensive tool to analyze and visualize large, disparate data sets without IT resources.N/A
    Pricing
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sisense
    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)Sisense
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Must contact sales team for pricing.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sisense
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    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)
    I'd rather not say to avoid unnecessary arguments. Thanks.
    Incentivized
    Sisense Ltd
    Chose Sisense
    Basically, less resource intensive, lower cost and time to production, faster results with less time and fewer headaches while providing incredible service response time.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    15 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    15 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    15 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sisense
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Sisense
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.9
    53 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Sisense
    9.7
    47 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Pixel Perfect reports8.446 Ratings10.037 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards9.653 Ratings10.047 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates8.951 Ratings9.033 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Sisense
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.4
    53 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Sisense
    8.8
    47 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Drill-down analysis8.448 Ratings10.047 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.253 Ratings9.047 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages8.342 Ratings9.027 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.953 Ratings7.33 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Sisense
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    52 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Sisense
    10.0
    46 Ratings
    19% above category average
    Publish to Web9.348 Ratings10.036 Ratings
    Publish to PDF9.148 Ratings10.046 Ratings
    Report Versioning7.344 Ratings10.024 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.447 Ratings10.039 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers8.426 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Sisense
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.6
    52 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Sisense
    9.5
    45 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.651 Ratings10.045 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.648 Ratings9.042 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics7.745 Ratings9.029 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining8.76 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Sisense
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.3
    53 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Sisense
    10.0
    45 Ratings
    16% above category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)9.449 Ratings10.045 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model9.347 Ratings10.044 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.849 Ratings10.045 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control9.36 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)9.431 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Sisense
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.0
    42 Ratings
    4% above category average
    Sisense
    9.7
    40 Ratings
    23% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access8.139 Ratings10.040 Ratings
    Mobile Application8.030 Ratings10.025 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.739 Ratings10.034 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Sisense
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.4
    24 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Sisense
    -
    Ratings
    REST API9.221 Ratings00 Ratings
    Javascript API8.821 Ratings00 Ratings
    iFrames8.820 Ratings00 Ratings
    Java API8.618 Ratings00 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)8.021 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)7.219 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sisense
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Zendesk Explore
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Zendesk Explore
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Sisense
    Score6.7 out of 10
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sisense
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.9
    (77 ratings)
    10.0
    (58 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (25 ratings)
    8.9
    (14 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (19 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    Availability
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (15 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.9
    (3 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.6
    (7 ratings)
    7.1
    (3 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (42 ratings)
    9.1
    (47 ratings)
    Data Sources
    8.4
    (41 ratings)
    9.2
    (47 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)Sisense
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    I believe Sisense is perfectly suited for any organization of any size that have access to the proper resources, as the tool is very expensive. The data connectors come in all shapes and sizes out of the box, which allows a great deal of data control within the ElastiCubes. Additionally, while the platform only runs on Windows platforms, the web application can be accessed on any client: mobile, Apple, Windows, etc. This allows a much more flexible user experience, resulting in data and dashboards reaching further than any other tool.
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    • Customization - lots of supported and community plugins available. Users can also adjust the look and feel through JavaScript.
    • Innovation - Sisense is continuing to push the envelope by developing new features through Sisense Labs.
    • Customer support - the commitment to excellent customer service and ensuring organizations get the most out of their investment.
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    • The usability of the application on mobile devices needs some improvement, especially navigation and filtering.
    • Dashboards that are created by multiple users can be a bit of a hassle to share by Admins.
    • If you need to embed dashboards into your website, you are require to buy a license separate from the user and platform license. This is a norm on most BI visualization tools, but Sisense can seem a bit on the high side, cost-wide.
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    I think the business and myself as a user has come to rely on SiSense as a dashboarding and quick ad-hoc reporting tool. I am hoping to integrate SiSense dashboards into more parts of the business in the future. We have reduced our report turn-around time for the most part from hours/days to minutes and in some cases almost the speed of thought. Reports are also easier on the eye and more easily distributed. I would also like to say that the support and professionalism from the SiSense team has been excellent.
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    New V5 is ground floor of an exciting collection of possibilities. Weekly Sisense developers come up with new functionality that they share with us in their forums. The move to HTML5 has been pleasing in that widgets auto size themselves into appropriate forms in the board but everyone of them can be popped out to full page size to be looked at in more detail
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    The product has been reliable.
    Read full review
    Sisense Ltd
    There are very few situations when there is unexpected downtime. Mostly during development, new dashboard implementation and during upgrades. other then that there were very few crashes.
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    SiSense is usually performing better then other solutions even if going for complex reports/dashboards(of course within reasonable frames). I haven't noticed any bad influence on other systems, usually if something happens it stays within SiSense.
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    SiSense's support ninjas are very knowledgeable and are exceptionally responsive. So far, all of the issues we ran into were resolved within minimum time. My sense of dealing with the support staff at SiSense is that they are very focused on not just answering your immediate question, but also to delve into the cause of the matter.
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    Easy and free training that allowed us quickly understand basics in SiSense and start using them. More advanced features requires some browsing through SiSense forums, but there is always support to help, and SiSense support is one of the best whith which I worked so far.
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    Many examples, videos and scenarios which you try on your own right away. This combined with in-person training gives you enough to utilize most of SiSense's power.
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    Remember to migrate the plugins. The documentation however is pretty straight forward.
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Sisense Ltd
    1) Easy to use, really, there is nothing too much to say. The set up is easy and not confusing. You can use it internally or externally.
    2) Customer Service, having spoken to various product reps from similar industry. Sisense rep provides you with the best support to get started, and it is really appreciated.
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Sisense Ltd
    Product is quite easily scalable. The whole installation can be easily moved to stronger machine if needed.
    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
    Sisense Ltd
    • Report development time is reduced from 2~3 days to 2~3 hours.
    • Report querying time is improved from 0.5~10 mins to 2~30 seconds.
    • A 2-staff team delivers 10 times the BI output that we did on the old system.
    • We were able to deliver BI and data analysis for all business functions instead of a very limited group of users
    Read full review
    ScreenShots