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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

    Yellowfin

    Score8.6 out of 10
    Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
    Yellowfin is a cloud-based business intelligence and dashboarding platform.

    $250

    per month

    Zendesk Explore

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/AZendesk offers Explore, a business intelligence and customer analytics tool which integrates with the Zendesk suite featuring ticket analytics, custom fields, dashboards, and other features. Zendesk is migrating customers of the BIME analytics product, which is approaching end of support, to Zendesk Explore in 2019.N/A
    Pricing
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)YellowfinZendesk Explore
    Editions & Modules
    Power BI Pro
    $14
    per month per user
    Power BI Premium
    $24
    per month per user
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)YellowfinZendesk Explore
    Free Trial
    NoYesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    YesYesNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details———
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)YellowfinZendesk Explore
    Considered Multiple 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
    Idera, Inc.
    No answer on this topic
    Zendesk
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    15 Answers
    67%
    Would buy again
    6 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    15 Answers
    63%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    6 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    15 Answers
    67%
    Happy with the feature set
    6 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    13 Answers
    67%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    4 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    71%
    Implementation went as expected
    5 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    6 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)YellowfinZendesk Explore
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Yellowfin and Zendesk Explore
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.0
    53 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Yellowfin
    7.6
    15 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Zendesk Explore
    9.0
    10 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Pixel Perfect reports8.546 Ratings6.78 Ratings8.06 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards9.653 Ratings8.415 Ratings9.010 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates8.951 Ratings7.613 Ratings9.97 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Yellowfin and Zendesk Explore
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    53 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Yellowfin
    8.2
    15 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Zendesk Explore
    6.7
    10 Ratings
    18% below category average
    Drill-down analysis8.548 Ratings8.614 Ratings10.010 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.253 Ratings8.715 Ratings5.110 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages8.342 Ratings00 Ratings4.85 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration8.953 Ratings8.614 Ratings7.110 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Yellowfin and Zendesk Explore
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    52 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Yellowfin
    -
    Ratings
    Zendesk Explore
    7.8
    10 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Publish to Web9.348 Ratings00 Ratings6.96 Ratings
    Publish to PDF9.148 Ratings00 Ratings6.08 Ratings
    Report Versioning7.444 Ratings00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.547 Ratings00 Ratings8.97 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers8.426 Ratings00 Ratings8.04 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Yellowfin and Zendesk Explore
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.7
    52 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Yellowfin
    7.1
    15 Ratings
    9% below category average
    Zendesk Explore
    7.1
    7 Ratings
    12% below category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.651 Ratings7.115 Ratings6.66 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.748 Ratings6.715 Ratings7.16 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics7.845 Ratings7.413 Ratings5.55 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining8.76 Ratings00 Ratings9.43 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Yellowfin and Zendesk Explore
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    9.3
    53 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Yellowfin
    7.6
    14 Ratings
    0% below category average
    Zendesk Explore
    7.3
    10 Ratings
    15% below category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)9.449 Ratings7.314 Ratings8.09 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model9.347 Ratings7.012 Ratings8.010 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.949 Ratings7.013 Ratings6.08 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control9.36 Ratings00 Ratings8.64 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)9.431 Ratings8.96 Ratings6.18 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Yellowfin and Zendesk Explore
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.0
    42 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Yellowfin
    -
    Ratings
    Zendesk Explore
    7.8
    7 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access8.239 Ratings00 Ratings6.15 Ratings
    Mobile Application8.030 Ratings00 Ratings8.32 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.839 Ratings00 Ratings9.06 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Microsoft BI (MSBI) and Yellowfin and Zendesk Explore
    Feature
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)
    8.5
    24 Ratings
    9% above category average
    Yellowfin
    6.4
    8 Ratings
    12% below category average
    Zendesk Explore
    4.9
    5 Ratings
    45% below category average
    REST API9.221 Ratings6.48 Ratings3.15 Ratings
    Javascript API8.821 Ratings6.18 Ratings5.04 Ratings
    iFrames8.820 Ratings7.37 Ratings6.04 Ratings
    Java API8.718 Ratings6.88 Ratings5.04 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)8.021 Ratings00 Ratings7.04 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)7.319 Ratings6.06 Ratings3.13 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)YellowfinZendesk Explore
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    GoodData.AI
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Reveal
    Score10 out of 10
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score7 out of 10
    Microsoft Power BI Embedded
    Score8 out of 10
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)YellowfinZendesk Explore
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.9
    (77 ratings)
    8.6
    (15 ratings)
    10.0
    (10 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.0
    (25 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    8.9
    (19 ratings)
    8.4
    (10 ratings)
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    Availability
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    7.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.9
    (15 ratings)
    5.6
    (7 ratings)
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    6.9
    (3 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.5
    (2 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.6
    (7 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (42 ratings)
    8.1
    (6 ratings)
    8.2
    (3 ratings)
    Data Sources
    8.4
    (41 ratings)
    8.1
    (6 ratings)
    7.3
    (3 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft BI (MSBI)YellowfinZendesk Explore
    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
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    Idera, Inc.
    We can recommend this software without hesitation, as it has the ability to generate reports and data analysis, as well as process the data automatically, which saves time. It is ideal for small and medium-sized companies that wish to improve their services in the business world
    Incentivized
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    Zendesk
    Zendesk Explore is well suited for tracking ticket flow, agent performance, and customer satisfaction providing valuable insights into response and resolution time, workload and support quality. Particularly useful for monitoring ticket handling for different teams. Helps ensure accountability by tracking how long tickets remain assigned before being reassigned to another group. Drill down capability helps identify support bottlenecks. However, it is less appropriate for real time monitoring as it lacks real time data updates making it unsuitable for instant decision making.
    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
    Idera, Inc.
    • Yellowfin’s Storyboard, Timeline and Collaborative tools make it easy to share data and insights across an organisation.
    • Strong Operational and Executive Dashboards that reflect the business KPIs and can send out prompts to people within the business based on rules.
    • Yellowfin makes it incredibly easy to create dynamic reports and dashboards which incorporate maps through locational intelligence functionality.
    • Yellowfin is a single license and all access is via a web browser making it perfect for both on-premise and cloud deployment. Mobile apps are also available.
    • User roles and source filtering allows Admin/IT to offer different functions/views by user group/role.
    • Mobile BI applications to support any device ..
    • API connectors ( YF 7.2 on the way in Mar16 ) for a range of third-party Web-based applications, data sources, Enterprises CRM/ERP apps & open data platform apps, including Salesforce, Google Analytics, Twitter, Youtube , Zoho CRM, XE.com & more coming to make endusers to integrate their applications for better benefits
    • Yellowfin Integration with Predictive analytical and Big Data processing tools like R, UDF, Spark to build rich applications for end users
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    • Zendesk Explore is easy to use.
    • Zendesk Explore allows users to create custom metrics.
    • Zendesk Explore allows users to create custom attributes.
    • Zendesk Explore is easy to learn.
    • Compared to other analytics function of other Ticket Management System, Zendesk Explore is probably the best as of now.
    Incentivized
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    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
    Idera, Inc.
    • The ability to predefine a colour for a specific graph as a selection option dynamically.
    • The ability to customise the label of a chart, especially with respect to performance related reporting graphs we need an increase in dynamic charting options to meet our more specialised requirements.
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    • Some aspects of Zendesk, in general, are not super intuitive. The same goes for Zendesk Explore. And, while you can google answers and hope you find something helpful, there isn't a great way to learn to get the full potential out of the product unless you want to pay for someone from your team to take a class (which costs several hundred dollars).
    • To piggyback off the last point, if you would prefer to get help from a Zendesk expert, you'll find that there is almost no customer support available to you. For a company that aims to help other companies help their customers, this has always struck me as odd. Again, Google is your friend and beyond that, you're mostly out of luck.
    Incentivized
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    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
    Idera, Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Zendesk
    No answers on this topic
    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
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    Idera, Inc.
    As mentioned previously, if a newer company is looking for a strong, polished BI tool, Yellowfin would be a great software vendor to consider. Unfortunately, the high cost might be a barrier to these newer companies who dont have any legacy software/agreements such as an EA agreement with Microsoft.
    Incentivized
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    Zendesk
    I rate Zendesk Explore 8 out of 10 for it's overall usability because it offers powerful reporting and analytics with an easy to navigate interface and intuitive dashboards. It helps improve customer satisfaction by providing valuable insights into ticket handling, agent performance and customer satisfaction. Though the complex query builder can be challenging for non technical users.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    The product has been reliable.
    Read full review
    Idera, Inc.
    99.9% availability
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    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
    Idera, Inc.
    No answers on this topic
    Zendesk
    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
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    Idera, Inc.
    They have good support in what they provide. But what they provide is not what is promised. I would stay with them if I can. Be very careful before signing up with them. They are not what they seem in the sales pitches. Be very careful and make sure you test and test before you sign up.
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    Support for all of Zendesk has exceeding my expectations. This company will always get a 10 out of 10 in my book. Any question you have they make sure you have the answer plus a step-by-step guide on how to do each step so you are set up for success!
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Microsoft
    This training was more directed toward what the product was capable of rather than actual programming.
    Read full review
    Idera, Inc.
    Yellowfin provides 3 levels of training to support consumers, business analytics, developers and Administrations :
    1. Yellowfin BI Training - Level 1 (Exploration)
    2. Yellowfin BI Training - Level 2 (Advanced)
    3. Yellowfin BI Training - Level 3(Expert)
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    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
    Idera, Inc.
    Web-based training for large audiences for Level 1 and Level 2 I would suggest
    Read full review
    Zendesk
    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
    Idera, Inc.
    Design the data model and views for each dashboard is very important and it is the success factor Configuration of cluster for large implementation
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    Zendesk
    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
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    Idera, Inc.
    Yellow Fin platform is browser agnostic and is accessible from desktops as well as mobile devices. It is very simple and fast, it is integrated with Big Data, clients do not require a great training. It just works. But it’s easier to have things on the cloud, especially if you need to use different computers. Yellow Fin lacks the cloud feature.
    Incentivized
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    Zendesk
    I selected Zendesk Explore only to provide an easy and quick access for my managers and supervisors regading metrics and volume trends. Is not the most flexible nor complete data visualization tool, but works well for day-to-day follow ups. You need to use another tool if you want to see long-term patterns (e.g. month over month volume trends) and you need another platform if you want your interaction metrics to interact with other important factors of the business
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    Scalability
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Idera, Inc.
    - Tested 500 con-current users in Linux platform with 4 cores systems - Tested with cloud based VM - Tested with 1000 reads per minutes
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    Zendesk
    No answers on this topic
    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
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    Idera, Inc.
    • made our org more data centric
    • Decisions are made based on data vs opinion
    • has created a single source of truth for the bulk of the organization
    Incentivized
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    Zendesk
    • Money saved due to proper staffing.
    • Happier Staff- proper staffing ensures no one is overworked.
    • Ability to quickly pinpoint where issues are and why.
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Yellowfin Screenshots

    Screenshot of Location IntelligenceScreenshot of Yellowfin DashboardScreenshot of Yellowfin SignalsScreenshot of Yellowfin MobileScreenshot of Yellowfin Sales KPIs