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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

    SumTotal (legacy)

    Score7.9 out of 10
    Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
    The SumTotal Talent Expansion Suite included SumTotal (LMS), and was supported by Skillsoft since the October 2014 acquisition. Acquired by Cornerstone OnDemand in 2022, it is a legacy product, and Cornerstone recommends upgrading to their modern platform.N/A
    Pricing
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SumTotal (legacy)
    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)SumTotal (legacy)
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SumTotal (legacy)
    Considered Both Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    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)SumTotal (legacy)
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.0
    53 Ratings
    10% above category average
    SumTotal (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports8.546 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards9.653 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates8.951 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    53 Ratings
    6% above category average
    SumTotal (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis8.548 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.253 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages8.342 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.953 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    52 Ratings
    3% above category average
    SumTotal (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web9.348 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF9.148 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Versioning7.444 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.547 Ratings00 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers8.426 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.7
    52 Ratings
    9% above category average
    SumTotal (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.651 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.748 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics7.745 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining8.76 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.3
    53 Ratings
    9% above category average
    SumTotal (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)9.449 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model9.347 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.949 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control9.36 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)9.431 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.0
    42 Ratings
    3% above category average
    SumTotal (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access8.239 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Application8.030 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.739 Ratings00 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    24 Ratings
    9% above category average
    SumTotal (legacy)
    -
    Ratings
    REST API9.221 Ratings00 Ratings
    Javascript API8.821 Ratings00 Ratings
    iFrames8.820 Ratings00 Ratings
    Java API8.718 Ratings00 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)8.021 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)7.319 Ratings00 Ratings
    Onboarding
    Comparison of Onboarding features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    -
    Ratings
    SumTotal (legacy)
    8.2
    2 Ratings
    12% above category average
    New hire portal00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Manager tracking tools00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
    Performance and Goals
    Comparison of Performance and Goals features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    -
    Ratings
    SumTotal (legacy)
    8.8
    1 Ratings
    18% above category average
    Corporate goal setting00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Individual goal setting00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Line-of sight-visibility00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Performance tracking00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Performance Management
    Comparison of Performance Management features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    -
    Ratings
    SumTotal (legacy)
    8.2
    2 Ratings
    18% above category average
    Performance plans00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Performance improvement plans00 Ratings7.52 Ratings
    Review status tracking00 Ratings7.92 Ratings
    Review reminders00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
    Multiple review frequency00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Succession Planning
    Comparison of Succession Planning features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    -
    Ratings
    SumTotal (legacy)
    7.0
    1 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Create succession plans/pools00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Candidate search00 Ratings7.01 Ratings
    Candidate development00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Recruiting / ATS
    Comparison of Recruiting / ATS features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    -
    Ratings
    SumTotal (legacy)
    7.8
    2 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Job Requisition Management00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Company Website Posting00 Ratings7.52 Ratings
    Publish to Social Media00 Ratings7.92 Ratings
    Job Search Site Posting00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
    Duplicate Candidate Prevention00 Ratings6.52 Ratings
    Applicant Tracking00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Notifications and Alerts00 Ratings8.52 Ratings
    Learning Management
    Comparison of Learning Management features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and SumTotal (legacy)
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    -
    Ratings
    SumTotal (legacy)
    6.5
    1 Ratings
    8% below category average
    Course authoring00 Ratings9.01 Ratings
    Course catalog or library00 Ratings4.01 Ratings
    Player/Portal00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Progress tracking & certifications00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Assignments00 Ratings6.01 Ratings
    Compliance management00 Ratings8.01 Ratings
    Learning administration00 Ratings4.01 Ratings
    Learning reporting & analytics00 Ratings5.01 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SumTotal (legacy)
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    ClearCo
    Score7.9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    Cornerstone Galaxy
    Score8.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SumTotal (legacy)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.9
    (77 ratings)
    7.5
    (9 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (25 ratings)
    6.0
    (5 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (19 ratings)
    2.0
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (15 ratings)
    3.0
    (2 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)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (42 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sources
    8.4
    (41 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)SumTotal (legacy)
    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
    Discontinued Products
    Very good for learning and development and training of employees. For Applicant tracking, recuirement, onboarding, and enablement, I prefer SAP SuccessFactors or Skillate. I also found that the SumTotal app is not very friendly on android and crashes sometimes and it is not optimized for mobile. Hence I end up never using it.
    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
    Discontinued Products
    • Assign complete learning plans to users so they don't have to spend time searching for courses.
    • Export learner's transcripts so managers can easily see their employee's progress.
    • Embed Social Media feeds that are relevant to their business.
    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
    Discontinued Products
    • Reporting
    • Mass importing of manual checks to be issued in California
    • Ability to fund pay cards immediately
    • Perform gross-up calculations within the payroll system automatically
    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
    Discontinued Products
    I have transitioned from a position who supported the product to a position where I use the product. I continue to be impressed with the robustness of the product and how efficient it is. It is a user friendly software that can be used to navigate and accomplish tasks to meet organizational requirements.
    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
    Discontinued Products
    I do not find SumTotal to be intuitive. I feel we need to adjust our needs to meet the functionality available in the tool.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    The product has been reliable.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    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
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    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
    Discontinued Products
    We have our own IT support to assist in SumTotal issues, however, we have had to log in cases directly. Support is mediocre at best.
    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
    Discontinued Products
    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
    Discontinued Products
    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
    Discontinued Products
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    When I came to my company, they had been using a "light" LMS called Articulate. It was cheap and bare bones; i.e. not a lot of features, really just a platform to launch eLearning from and not real interface for student to utilize. When I began to overhaul the training department, this was one of the first things I changed. Articulate would only run courses built in their software, and the software was not 508 compliant. In addition, we had no ability to create learning plans, house transcripts, customize the interface, or manage the students. I made the choice to select and LMS that was a true LMS with all of the features that were critical to our clients' needs. Thus far, SumTotal has been able to support all of our needs, except one; mobile learning that is media rich
    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
    Discontinued Products
    • Clean front-end user interface for easier course catalog management.
    • Reporting has been more difficult than previous LMS.
    • Audience building has more variables making it more difficult to manage.
    • Slower overall client turnaround due to admin side interface.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    SumTotal (legacy) Screenshots

    Screenshot of SumTotal Learning Management: Deliver the learning your organization needs including skilling/upskilling/reskilling, career planning & development. All delivered with our engaging learner experience across all modalities (desktop, tablet & mobile) and in the flow of workScreenshot of SumTotal Onboarding: Foster learning before day one with our robust onboarding solution. Build culture, complete necessary paperwork and begin the path to productivity for all your new and returning employees.Screenshot of SumTotal Performance: Performance management that meets the needs of today’s forward-thinking organizations. Align the goals and performance of your entire workforce with those of the broader organization for better business outcomes.Screenshot of SumTotal Succession: Make succession planning an organizational strength. SumTotal allows you to better understand your workforce now and better plan for your future with our intuitive succession planning tools.Screenshot of SumTotal Recruiting: A modern recruiting solution that delivers a powerful candidate experience, recruiter productivity, job matching and internal mobility.Screenshot of SumTotal Compensation: SumTotal makes compensation planning easier and less time consuming. Build a pay for performance culture that meets your organizations goals and objectives while keeping you competitive in the ever-changing marketplace.