SAP Business ByDesign vs. Tableau Desktop

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
SAP Business ByDesign
Score 7.6 out of 10
Mid-Size Companies (51-1,000 employees)
SAP Business ByDesign is SAP's cloud ERP suite offering, launched in 2007, designed for the SMB market. The product includes a broad range of capabilities including financials, human resources, sales, procurement, customer service, and supply chain. Business ByDesign is a new platform, delivered entirely through a SaaS model, with functionality that overlaps somewhat with BusinessOne, which is also an SMB product, although not a true SaaS product.N/A
Tableau Desktop
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
Tableau Desktop is a data visualization product from Tableau. It connects to a variety of data sources for combining disparate data sources without coding. It provides tools for discovering patterns and insights, data calculations, forecasts, and statistical summaries and visual storytelling.
$75
per month
Pricing
SAP Business ByDesignTableau Desktop
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Tableau
$75
per month per user
Tableau Enterprise
$115
per month per user
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
SAP Business ByDesignTableau Desktop
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYes
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsSAP Business ByDesign is available for a monthly software-as-a-service (SaaS) subscription, based on a base package, user types, and number of users.All pricing plans are billed annually.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
SAP Business ByDesignTableau Desktop
Features
SAP Business ByDesignTableau Desktop
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
8.4
2 Ratings
13% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Benefit plan administration4.51 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct deposit files9.11 Ratings00 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
9.2
5 Ratings
20% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
API for custom integration9.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Plug-ins9.25 Ratings00 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
9.3
5 Ratings
10% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Single sign-on capability9.04 Ratings00 Ratings
Role-based user permissions9.65 Ratings00 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
9.2
5 Ratings
22% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Dashboards8.85 Ratings00 Ratings
Standard reports9.25 Ratings00 Ratings
Custom reports9.65 Ratings00 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
8.7
5 Ratings
13% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Accounts payable9.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Accounts receivable9.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Global Financial Support9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations8.82 Ratings00 Ratings
Configurable Accounting9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Standardized Processes8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
9.1
4 Ratings
13% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Inventory tracking9.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Automatic reordering10.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Location management8.03 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
8.5
4 Ratings
7% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Pricing9.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Order entry9.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Credit card processing4.51 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost of goods sold9.24 Ratings00 Ratings
Order Orchestration9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Subledger and Financial Process
Comparison of Subledger and Financial Process features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
9.2
3 Ratings
21% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Billing Management8.83 Ratings00 Ratings
Cash and Asset Management9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Travel & Expense Management10.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Budgetary Control & Encumbrance Accounting10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Period Close9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Financial Management
Comparison of Project Financial Management features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
9.2
2 Ratings
19% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Budgeting and Forecasting10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Costing9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost Capture9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Capital Project Management9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Customer Contract Compliance8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Revenue Recognition9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Execution Management
Comparison of Project Execution Management features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
8.3
3 Ratings
17% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Project Planning and Scheduling9.23 Ratings00 Ratings
Task Insight for Project Managers8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Project Mobile Functionality8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Grants Management
Comparison of Grants Management features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
10.0
1 Ratings
31% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Award Lifecycle Management10.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Procurement
Comparison of Procurement features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
8.0
1 Ratings
14% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Bids Analyzed and Compared8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Requisitions-to-Purchase Orders Integrated8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Supplier Management8.01 Ratings00 Ratings
Logistics
Comparison of Logistics features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
9.2
3 Ratings
29% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Warehouse Workforce Management9.22 Ratings00 Ratings
Manufacturing
Comparison of Manufacturing features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
9.0
3 Ratings
19% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Production Process Design9.23 Ratings00 Ratings
Production Management9.23 Ratings00 Ratings
Configuration Management8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Work Execution8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
Manufacturing Costs9.23 Ratings00 Ratings
Supply Chain
Comparison of Supply Chain features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
8.6
3 Ratings
17% above category average
Tableau Desktop
-
Ratings
Forecasting9.23 Ratings00 Ratings
Inventory Planning9.23 Ratings00 Ratings
Performance Monitoring8.02 Ratings00 Ratings
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.4
174 Ratings
3% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports00 Ratings8.1144 Ratings
Customizable dashboards00 Ratings8.9173 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings8.1150 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.2
171 Ratings
2% above category average
Drill-down analysis00 Ratings8.3166 Ratings
Formatting capabilities00 Ratings8.3169 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings7.8125 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration00 Ratings8.4164 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.1
165 Ratings
2% below category average
Publish to Web00 Ratings7.8154 Ratings
Publish to PDF00 Ratings7.7153 Ratings
Report Versioning00 Ratings7.9119 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling00 Ratings8.7127 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings8.277 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.1
163 Ratings
2% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)00 Ratings8.3161 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization00 Ratings8.4155 Ratings
Predictive Analytics00 Ratings8.5130 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings7.26 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.7
148 Ratings
2% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)00 Ratings8.8144 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model00 Ratings8.5124 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)00 Ratings8.5135 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings8.89 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings8.982 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
7.8
140 Ratings
0% below category average
Responsive Design for Web Access00 Ratings8.8129 Ratings
Mobile Application00 Ratings7.0100 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile00 Ratings7.4121 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
SAP Business ByDesign
-
Ratings
Tableau Desktop
8.1
66 Ratings
5% above category average
REST API00 Ratings7.958 Ratings
Javascript API00 Ratings8.152 Ratings
iFrames00 Ratings7.950 Ratings
Java API00 Ratings9.147 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings8.054 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings7.547 Ratings
Best Alternatives
SAP Business ByDesignTableau Desktop
Small Businesses
Zoho One
Zoho One
Score 9.3 out of 10
BrightGauge
BrightGauge
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Infor VISUAL
Infor VISUAL
Score 8.4 out of 10
Reveal
Reveal
Score 10.0 out of 10
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24SevenOffice
24SevenOffice
Score 8.8 out of 10
Kyvos Insights
Kyvos Insights
Score 9.5 out of 10
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User Ratings
SAP Business ByDesignTableau Desktop
Likelihood to Recommend
9.6
(7 ratings)
8.5
(203 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(3 ratings)
7.5
(41 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(72 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(11 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(10 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
1.1
(57 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.4
(4 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
8.0
(5 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.0
(1 ratings)
8.0
(34 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(3 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(4 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
SAP Business ByDesignTableau Desktop
Likelihood to Recommend
SAP
Do you plan on going public at some point? If so, this may not be the best solution for you
Read full review
Tableau
The best scenario is definitely to collect data from several sources and create dedicated dashboards for specific recipients. However, I miss the possibility of explaining these reports in more detail. Sometimes, we order a report, and after half a year, we don't remember the meaning of some data (I know it's our fault as an organization, but the tool could force better practices).
Read full review
Pros
SAP
  • I like the ease of use and the implementation methodology.
  • With SAP Business ByDesign you can integrate other systems with Web Services, and data technology to get information easy and fast.
  • SAP Business ByDesign includes an Analytics Module to create new reports in regards to your needs.
Read full review
Tableau
  • An excellent tool for data visualization, it presents information in an appealing visual format—an exceptional platform for storing and analyzing data in any size organization.
  • Through interactive parameters, it enables real-time interaction with the user and is easy to learn and get support from the community.
Read full review
Cons
SAP
  • Time off request could be better. Right now, there is no option for sick time
  • It crashes often
  • Customization could be better
Read full review
Tableau
  • Pricing should be more user-friendly and usage-driven
  • Making edits to the production reports is fairly tough and has a vast scope of additional capabilities
  • Tableau Desktop should be able to differentiate itself from the Tableau server else there is no major meaning of two different products being offered
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
SAP
SAP BYD work centers are consistent and easy to navigate once you understand one work center. The document flow tab that is in each window allows one to see all related transactions. Document flow is important because one is able to see the flow of transactions and can therefore reverse transactions by following the document flow in reverse. It is possible to group items in each overview screen to see what items are open. The system is working as hoped.
Read full review
Tableau
Our use of Tableau Desktop is still fairly low, and will continue over time. The only real concern is around cost of the licenses, and I have mentioned this to Tableau and fully expect the development of more sensible models for our industry. This will remove any impediment to expansion of our use.
Read full review
Usability
SAP
Because SAP Business ByDesign allows us to improve our work, reduce the operational steps, implement audit controls, allows us found standard reports or it allows us to create new ones if you need more than the exists are enough for your work or your needs. Overall, SAP Business ByDesign allows us to standardize our operations, enhance our work, improve our skills, work over a web environment or mobile interface.
Read full review
Tableau
Tableau Desktop has proven to be a lifesaver in many situations. Once we've completed the initial setup, it's simple to use. It has all of the features we need to quickly and efficiently synthesize our data. Tableau Desktop has advanced capabilities to improve our company's data structure and enable self-service for our employees.
Read full review
Reliability and Availability
SAP
No answers on this topic
Tableau
When used as a stand-alone tool, Tableau Desktop has unlimited uptime, which is always nice. When used in conjunction with Tableau Server, this tool has as much uptime as your server admins are willing to give it. All in all, I've never had an issue with Tableau's availability.
Read full review
Performance
SAP
No answers on this topic
Tableau
Tableau Desktop's performance is solid. You can really dig into a large dataset in the form of a spreadsheet, and it exhibits similarly good performance when accessing a moderately sized Oracle database. I noticed that with Tableau Desktop 9.3, the performance using a spreadsheet started to slow around 75K rows by about 60 columns. This was easily remedied by creating an extract and pushing it to Tableau Server, where performance went to lightning fast
Read full review
Support Rating
SAP
The Business ByDesign support is stablished since you contract the service with SAP. SAP resolves according to the service level agreement. Currently, we continue with the service and we are using the support channels available. We are receiving the support. The SAP support gets an incident and after that, they contact us to resolve the incident, if necessary, they set the meeting to understand it or we explain the incident
Read full review
Tableau
Tableau support has been extremely responsive and willing to help with all of our requests. They have assisted with creating advanced analysis and many different types of custom icons, data formatting, formulas, and actions embedded into graphs. Tableau offers a weekly presentation of features and assists with internal company projects.
Read full review
In-Person Training
SAP
No answers on this topic
Tableau
It is admittedly hard to train a group of people with disparate levels of ability coming in, but the software is so easy to use that this is not a huge problem; anyone who can follow simple instructions can catch up pretty quickly.
Read full review
Online Training
SAP
No answers on this topic
Tableau
I think the training was good overall, but it was maybe stating the obvious things that a tech savvy young engineer would be able to pick up themselves too. However, the example work books were good and Tableau web community has helped me with many problems
Read full review
Implementation Rating
SAP
I recommend implementing all workshops during the ERP selection that you need to know very well about the ERP software. It allows us to gather information to accurate the plan of the project implementation. Additionally, we must reach the high-level commitment to achieve the main goals, to define the RACI matrix and communicate to all project stakeholders.
Read full review
Tableau
Again, training is the key and the company provides a lot of example videos that will help users discover use cases that will greatly assist their creation of original visualizations. As with any new software tool, productivity will decline for a period. In the case of Tableau, the decline period is short and the later gains are well worth it.
Read full review
Alternatives Considered
SAP
ByDesign stacks up well against the competition. Companies that do multiple things are usually the best fit (manufacturing, distribution, and service). The more 'modules' used, the fewer competitors will be able to meet the company's needs. It is not inexpensive, but if the needs of the company have the complexity from either a global perspective and need localizations and foreign currency, or a volume perspective and need resources greater than what can be easily housed on-premise, ByDesign should be a top consideration.
Read full review
Tableau
I have used Power BI as well, the pricing is better, and also training costs or certifications are not that high. Since there is python integration in Power BI where I can use data cleaning and visualizing libraries and also some machine learning models. I can import my python scripts and create a visualization on processed data.
Read full review
Scalability
SAP
No answers on this topic
Tableau
Tableau Desktop's scaleability is really limited to the scale of your back-end data systems. If you want to pull down an extract and work quickly in-memory, in my application it scaled to a few tens of millions of rows using the in-memory engine. But it's really only limited by your back-end data store if you have or are willing to invest in an optimized SQL store or purpose-built query engine like Veritca or Netezza or something similar.
Read full review
Return on Investment
SAP
  • Positive - Access to the real-time reporting allowing for faster decision making especially when fixed price projects are heading into an over budget position.
  • Positive - Complex KPI can now be tracked and as a consequence intensive plans can be made to capitalise on this level of reporting. Staff also have clear visibility over their own performance.
  • Negative - We are a bit on the small side at 30 employees for a ByD solution so it was relatively expensive for us. It would be a much better value preposition above 50 employees.
Read full review
Tableau
  • Tableau was acquired years ago, and has provided good value with the content created.
  • Ongoing maintenance costs for the platform, both to maintain desktop and server licensing has made the continuing value questionable when compared to other offerings in the marketplace.
  • Users have largely been satisfied with the content, but not with the overall performance. This is due to a combination of factors including the performance of the Tableau engines as well as development deficiencies.
Read full review
ScreenShots

SAP Business ByDesign Screenshots

Screenshot of the embedded analytics of SAP Business ByDesign, which makes it possible for key users or end users to define dashboards that contain tailored reports and KPIs for their roleScreenshot of Screenshot of some of the reports available with SAP Business ByDesign, that enable customers to create additional reports or KPIsScreenshot of the document flow, present in each business document in ByDesign, which shows a graphic of the predecessor and successor business documents as well as any associated accounting documents.Screenshot of SAP Business ByDesign's included Project Management module that is integrated with CRM to sell and bill projects, with HR to staff projects, and with SCM and SRM for procurement.Screenshot of the Financial Closing business scenario, used to perform financial period-end closing activities to ensure correct financial statements, such as Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Cash Flow Statement. The Closing Cockpit helps to minimize the risk of missing important steps or incorrect timing.