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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Pentaho

    Score6 out of 10
    N/APentaho is a suite of open source business intelligence and analytics products, now offered and supported by Hitachi Data Systems since the June 2015 acquisition.N/A

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft SQL Server is a relational database.

    $1,418

    Per License

    Pricing
    PentahoMicrosoft SQL Server
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Subscription
    $1,418.00
    Per License
    Enterprise
    $13,748.00
    Per License
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    PentahoMicrosoft SQL Server
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    PentahoMicrosoft SQL Server
    Considered Both Products
    Hitachi Vantara
    Chose Pentaho
    I chose Pentaho because it is an open-source and free ETL tool. In addition, JSON and XML-based data migration and conversion operations are very successful. In addition, it works in compliance with all database systems. Finally, we can make ETL packages using the windows Task …
    Incentivized
    Chose Pentaho
    Pentaho is not as robust or as reputable as Microsoft ETL tools, but it is great for simpler ETL solutions. It has limitations and often lacks the ability for fine-tuning, but it gets the job done and is consistently reliable. Cheaper than other products, it's a great place to …
    Incentivized
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft SQL Server
    SQL Server is definitely the go-to product for all things BI. It has its weaknesses, but other products like Oracle or Pentaho don't hold a candle to the power of SQL Server.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    100%
    Would buy again
    5 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    53 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    5 Answers
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    45 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    5 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    53 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    39 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    80%
    Implementation went as expected
    4 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    45 Answers
    Features
    PentahoMicrosoft SQL Server
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Pentaho and Microsoft SQL Server
    Feature
    Pentaho
    9.0
    20 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Microsoft SQL Server
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports8.618 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards9.918 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates8.718 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Pentaho and Microsoft SQL Server
    Feature
    Pentaho
    8.7
    19 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Microsoft SQL Server
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis7.618 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities8.319 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages9.312 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration9.717 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Pentaho and Microsoft SQL Server
    Feature
    Pentaho
    9.7
    20 Ratings
    17% above category average
    Microsoft SQL Server
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web9.618 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF9.819 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Versioning9.713 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling9.917 Ratings00 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers9.310 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Pentaho and Microsoft SQL Server
    Feature
    Pentaho
    8.1
    17 Ratings
    1% above category average
    Microsoft SQL Server
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)7.916 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.216 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics8.314 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Pentaho and Microsoft SQL Server
    Feature
    Pentaho
    9.1
    20 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Microsoft SQL Server
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)9.320 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model9.619 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)9.918 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)7.610 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Pentaho and Microsoft SQL Server
    Feature
    Pentaho
    8.3
    11 Ratings
    7% above category average
    Microsoft SQL Server
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access9.710 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Application6.97 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.711 Ratings00 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Pentaho and Microsoft SQL Server
    Feature
    Pentaho
    8.6
    10 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Microsoft SQL Server
    -
    Ratings
    REST API8.310 Ratings00 Ratings
    Javascript API9.09 Ratings00 Ratings
    iFrames7.39 Ratings00 Ratings
    Java API8.79 Ratings00 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)8.910 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)9.610 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    PentahoMicrosoft SQL Server
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score4 out of 10
    Amazon RDS
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Qlik Cloud Analytics (Qlik Sense)
    Score8.1 out of 10
    SingleStore
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Sisense
    Score6.9 out of 10
    SAP IQ
    Score5.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    PentahoMicrosoft SQL Server
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.1
    (31 ratings)
    7.9
    (107 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.8
    (11 ratings)
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    Usability
    9.3
    (6 ratings)
    7.6
    (17 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.3
    (7 ratings)
    7.9
    (26 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.5
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    5.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.4
    (16 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Data Sources
    8.6
    (16 ratings)
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    PentahoMicrosoft SQL Server
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Hitachi Vantara
    Pentaho is very well suited to perform data extraction & data mining from various cloud storage & transform that data using various available data models. However, the software struggles when it comes to visualizing the extracted data in an appealing manner & can be difficult for end-users to get an understanding of data tables created using those models.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft SQL is ubiquitous, while MySQL runs under the hood all over the place. Microsoft SQL is the platform taught in colleges and certification courses and is the one most likely to be used by businesses because it is backed by Microsoft. Its interface is friendly (well, as pleasant as SQL can be) and has been used by so many for so long that resources are freely available if you encounter any issues.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Hitachi Vantara
    • Integrate and synchronize with big data easily
    • Import data from any sources and different databases
    • Managing data in on-premise, hybrid and cloud environments.
    • Compatibility and flexibility of the platform with any type of scenario and any business or industry
    • Various tools in the software suite to transformation of data
    • Simple interface appearance and creative UI graphics
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Easy to configure and use with Visual Studio and Dot Net
    • Easy integration with MSBI to perform data analysis
    • Data Security
    • Easy to understand and use
    • Very easy to export database and tables in the form of SQL query or a script
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Hitachi Vantara
    • I think the relative obscurity of the tool is a downside, not as many developers, consultants or peers you can tap into.
    • Lack of a solid user community held us back, looking at Power BI and Qlik, they have huge user communities that help each other out. Would have liked that here.
    • Smaller company means smaller sales force, and the lack of a local presence made it hard to only interact online with the account rep. Other companies have someone local who often stops by with pre-sales developers to just pitch in free of charge when they have time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise edition has a high cost but is the only edition which supports SQL Always On Availability Groups. It would be nice to include this feature in the Standard version.
    • Licensing of Microsoft SQL Server is a quite complex matter, it would be good to simplify licensing in the future. For example, per core vs per user CAL licensing, as well as complex licensing scenarios in the Cloud and on Edge locations.
    • It would be good to include native tools for converting Oracle, DB2, Postgresql and MySQL/MariaDB databases (schema and data) for import into Microsoft SQL Server.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Hitachi Vantara
    I will use Pentaho until I find a better tool with a better, easier to use report designer client. For now, Pentaho has been the most powerful reporting tool for our clients because of its ability to connect to Odoo, integrate in Odoo (reports are accessible in Odoo) and the flexibility in report design and parameter integration
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    We understand that the Microsoft SQL Server will continue to advance, offering the same robust and reliable platform while adding new features that enable us, as a software center, to create a superior product. That provides excellent performance while reducing the hardware requirements and the total cost of ownership of our solution.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Hitachi Vantara
    The Pentaho tools are designed so you can start playing around on your own. Of course, you will need guidance at some point, but the training teams are good at guiding new users, and the online documentation is usually pretty up-to-date.
    Some of the tools, such as the Pentaho Data Integration tool and the Pentaho Server, are pretty self-explanatory. The other tools maybe are not so quickly and obvious to use, but again, with some documentation and some customer support, you can find your way around them.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    SQL Server mostly 'just works' or generates error messages to help you sort out the trouble. You can usually count on the product to get the job done and keep an eye on your potential mistakes. Interaction with other Microsoft products makes operating as a Windows user pretty straight forward. Digging through the multitude of dialogs and wizards can be a pain, but the answer is usually there somewhere.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Hitachi Vantara
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    Its does not have outages.
    Incentivized
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    Performance
    Hitachi Vantara
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    SSAS data cubes may some time slow down your Excel reports.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Hitachi Vantara
    They were responsive to our questions when we raised issues. They gave us workarounds when required. They were quite knowledgeable when it came to issue analysis and providing fixes. They were forthright in informing us if a bug was not due for release soon.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    We managed to handle most of our problems by looking into Microsoft's official documentation that has everything explained and almost every function has an example that illustrates in detail how a particular functionality works. Just like PowerShell has the ability to show you an example of how some cmdlet works, that is the case also here, and in my opinion, it is a very good practice and I like it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Hitachi Vantara
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    It was good
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Hitachi Vantara
    Course Taken: DI1000 Pentaho Data Integration Fundamentals Setup A week before your class started, the instructor will start sending out class material and lab setup instructions. This is helpful so that you understand how the environment is laid out and can start reviewing the content. Ultimately it saved about a 1/2 day trying to setup with 10 other people online which was great! The Course The 3-day course was laid out like many other technical classes with 15-30 minutes instruction and 15-60 minutes of lab exercises. The instructor was very knowledgeable with the functionality from version to version and answered questions as we went along. I was amazed at some of the functionality that was available that I was not using at the time and quickly implemented changes to many existing transformations and jobs. The novice users seemed to catch on quickly and more experienced users explained how some of the functionality was used in their home environments. Towards the end there was enough time so that we were able to ask very directed questions about our own environments. Overall, I really found the class to be informative and deliver enough information to be dangerous. My skills improved and I was able to design better and efficient transformations for the HIE. Course Description: https://training.pentaho.com/instructor-led-training/pentaho-data-integration-fundamentals-di1000
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    very hands on and detailed training
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Hitachi Vantara
    Get the right people in before starting implementation. Start small and build as you go approach is time consuming and involves lot of rework. Evangalize within the organization the capabilities and limitations equally so that correct delivery expectations are set. Set expectations with the Customer that the tool cannot replace proprietary software in terms of stability/usability and that timelines could change given the new ness of the product.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Other than SQL taking quite a bit of time to actually install there are no problems with installation. Even on hardware that has good performance SQL can still take close to an hour to install a typical server with management and reporting services.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Hitachi Vantara
    Since the Pentaho platform offers a range of broad functionality across data preparation and advanced analytics, it also can be easily integrated to support many data sources and machine-learning frameworks. Based on that fact, we selected Pentaho to be used in our internal department. It also supports many of our BI use cases as required by company management or the business user. Last but not least, the Pentaho license is cheaper than their competitor.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    [Microsoft] SQL Server has a much better community and professional support and is overall just a more reliable system with Microsoft behind it. I've used MySQL in the past and SQL Server has just become more comfortable for me and is my go to RDBMS.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Hitachi Vantara
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    SQL server does handle growing demands of a mid sized company.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Hitachi Vantara
    • Pentaho has improved our overall business process.
    • Pentaho has helped the Managers and Directors to analyze the numbers going up and down from time to time.
    • We have a started a big project using Pentaho that is going to include all the business processes in the organization.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Increased accuracy - We went from multiple users having different versions of an Excel spreadsheet to a single source of truth for our reporting.
    • Increased Efficiency - We can now generate reports at any time from a single source rather than multiple users spending their time collating data and generating reports.
    • Improved Security - Enterprise level security on a dedicated server rather than financial files on multiple laptop hard drives.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots