Anaplan vs. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Anaplan
Score 8.6 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
Anaplan is a transformative way to see, plan, and run your business. Using its proprietary Hyperblock™ technology, Anaplan lets you contextualize real-time performance, and forecast future outcomes for faster, confident decisions. Anaplan enables connected strategy and planning across your enterprise to move your business forward. Based in San Francisco, Anaplan has over 200 partners and more than 2,000 customers worldwide.N/A
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
The SAP® BusinessObjects™ Business Intelligence Platform provides users with ad hoc queries, reporting, data visualizations, and analysis tools. Its integrated, unified infrastructure aims to offer scalability from one-to-many tools and interfaces on-premise, in the cloud, or as a hybrid approach.N/A
Pricing
AnaplanSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AnaplanSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AnaplanSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Considered Both Products
Anaplan
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
AnaplanSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
7.7
181 Ratings
5% below category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
7.7
49 Ratings
6% below category average
Pixel Perfect reports6.41 Ratings7.444 Ratings
Customizable dashboards9.1181 Ratings8.145 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates00 Ratings7.745 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
9.1
2 Ratings
9% above category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
8.2
46 Ratings
1% above category average
Drill-down analysis9.12 Ratings9.045 Ratings
Formatting capabilities9.12 Ratings8.345 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration9.12 Ratings8.245 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages00 Ratings7.531 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
8.8
188 Ratings
7% above category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
8.7
46 Ratings
4% above category average
Publish to Web9.11 Ratings8.338 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.8187 Ratings7.944 Ratings
Report Versioning9.1162 Ratings9.140 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling8.33 Ratings9.145 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings9.224 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
8.2
2 Ratings
7% above category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
8.3
41 Ratings
3% above category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.12 Ratings8.339 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization9.12 Ratings7.737 Ratings
Predictive Analytics6.42 Ratings8.936 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
9.2
191 Ratings
5% above category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
9.4
46 Ratings
9% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)9.12 Ratings8.946 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model9.4191 Ratings9.144 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)9.12 Ratings9.843 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control9.444 Ratings00 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)9.12 Ratings9.927 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
7.9
181 Ratings
1% below category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
8.8
32 Ratings
10% above category average
Responsive Design for Web Access8.6172 Ratings8.431 Ratings
Mobile Application8.2161 Ratings9.026 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.2168 Ratings9.128 Ratings
Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting
Comparison of Budgeting, Planning, and Forecasting features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
9.1
293 Ratings
9% above category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
-
Ratings
Long-term financial planning9.4267 Ratings00 Ratings
Financial budgeting9.6272 Ratings00 Ratings
Forecasting9.2281 Ratings00 Ratings
Scenario modeling9.1283 Ratings00 Ratings
Management reporting8.3282 Ratings00 Ratings
Consolidation and Close
Comparison of Consolidation and Close features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
7.2
248 Ratings
12% below category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
-
Ratings
Financial data consolidation8.6228 Ratings00 Ratings
Journal entries and reports7.0186 Ratings00 Ratings
Multi-currency management6.211 Ratings00 Ratings
Intercompany Eliminations6.08 Ratings00 Ratings
Minority Ownership6.07 Ratings00 Ratings
Local and consolidated reporting8.5215 Ratings00 Ratings
Detailed Audit Trails8.1228 Ratings00 Ratings
Financial Reporting and Compliance
Comparison of Financial Reporting and Compliance features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
8.6
265 Ratings
4% above category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
-
Ratings
Financial Statement Reporting8.7244 Ratings00 Ratings
Management Reporting8.4256 Ratings00 Ratings
Excel-based Reporting8.1235 Ratings00 Ratings
Automated board and financial reporting9.013 Ratings00 Ratings
Analytics and Reporting
Comparison of Analytics and Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
9.0
284 Ratings
11% above category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
-
Ratings
Personalized dashboards8.6279 Ratings00 Ratings
Color-coded scorecards8.7263 Ratings00 Ratings
KPIs9.119 Ratings00 Ratings
Cost and profitability analysis9.2241 Ratings00 Ratings
Key Performance Indicator setting9.4252 Ratings00 Ratings
Benchmarking with external data9.113 Ratings00 Ratings
Integration
Comparison of Integration features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
8.8
290 Ratings
5% above category average
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
-
Ratings
Flat file integration9.4280 Ratings00 Ratings
Excel data integration8.4262 Ratings00 Ratings
Direct links to 3rd-party data sources8.6241 Ratings00 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Anaplan
-
Ratings
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
7.5
22 Ratings
5% below category average
REST API00 Ratings7.319 Ratings
Javascript API00 Ratings7.217 Ratings
iFrames00 Ratings8.116 Ratings
Java API00 Ratings7.520 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings7.319 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings7.418 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AnaplanSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Small Businesses
IBM Planning Analytics
IBM Planning Analytics
Score 8.4 out of 10
BrightGauge
BrightGauge
Score 8.9 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Centage
Centage
Score 9.6 out of 10
Reveal
Reveal
Score 9.9 out of 10
Enterprises
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
Score 8.2 out of 10
TIBCO Jaspersoft Community Edition
TIBCO Jaspersoft Community Edition
Score 9.7 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AnaplanSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Likelihood to Recommend
9.3
(302 ratings)
7.7
(71 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.4
(25 ratings)
8.3
(24 ratings)
Usability
8.0
(16 ratings)
9.0
(14 ratings)
Availability
8.7
(6 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(6 ratings)
9.0
(10 ratings)
Support Rating
7.8
(18 ratings)
8.6
(16 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.4
(4 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(4 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.5
(21 ratings)
9.0
(8 ratings)
Configurability
9.0
(4 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
9.1
(2 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.3
(6 ratings)
9.0
(2 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
7.4
(3 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
4.8
(3 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
User Testimonials
AnaplanSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Likelihood to Recommend
Anaplan
Anaplan revolutionizes the planning process by standardizing it, creating transparency in data, particularly in showcasing results to the management team. By replacing Excel-centric planning methods, Anaplan not only opens the door to handling larger datasets but also enables a more intricate level of data granularity at an accelerated pace. What sets it apart is its capacity to facilitate a seamless collaboration within a cross-functional model, accommodating diverse departments and business functions in a dynamic, real-time environment.
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SAP
The proper management of SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards requires an expert on the team to manage and build reports. If an organization does not have the proper expertise on board to build and deploy reports it will fail. Data analytics, dropping into excel, and broadcasting of information are major bonuses for the use of SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards.
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Pros
Anaplan
  • Forcing structure and auditability to processes that used to exist in spreadsheets
  • Strong calculation engine that can account for many dimensions
  • Formula Syntax that is not overly complicated and can be learned by the business in order to have ownership of their models internally
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SAP
  • This software is easy to initially learn, and very powerful in producing reusable reports.
  • It is much faster than my company's internal manual queries. The ability to build off of a saved query and share queries to other users is a great positive.
  • My favorite part is that you can run queries in the background and it does not interfere with your current work or slow your computer down.
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Cons
Anaplan
  • The "new" UX front-end offers a lot of modern and intuitive features, but it lacks the ability to view multiple "tabs" of dashboards and reports. The "classic" dashboard had this feature but now with the UX, you need to be really smart about how to design a single page where the users won't get "lost".
  • Lacks the ability to "wrap text" (similar to excel) and auto-size grid rows
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SAP
  • The installation can be very complex and time-consuming, it requires a lot of planning and foresight as to what role the software will play in the organization.
  • The software has a relatively large learning curve that takes dedicated users months to get comfortable with, the UI is a bit intimidating for new users.
  • SAP could organize their help better, it can be difficult to find dependable solutions to issues via their website and support channels.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Anaplan
In any line of work, a tool that is flexible and would allow different departments of your company to easily interact and exchange valuable insights, is highly anticipated and needed. For me, what Anaplan provides to a business, be it a smaller one or an enterprise customer, is an easily scaling, agile planning and modeling platform that can meet almost any need and give a high-end solution to the problems any company faces on a daily basis.
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SAP
The institution has decided to move in a different direction, and will be using MSBI for reporting. I have been very happy with the Business Objects suite of tools, and will continue to use them heavily until we make the transition.
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Usability
Anaplan
There is a dependency in this rating - in that I find Anaplan extremely easy to use, but I've spent the necessary time developing a strong understanding of the platform. Once you understand how to use it, the platform is flexible, easy to use, and fun to use.
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SAP
From a server and client side perspective. the Business Intelligence Platform provides a foundation for all aspects of content development, distribution, analysis, collaboration and self service. Ease of use from targeted content delivery through controlled accessibility. Content exporting in the format of the users choice. Scheduling for internal or external delivery. Public and private folders for secure content access when requied. Web based for viewing on the users device of choice without the need to download additional applications.
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Reliability and Availability
Anaplan
There are very few outages. Maintenance is scheduled on two or three Saturdays per month, so as not to affect businesses. When there is an outage, users are kept informed of progress to restore the platform and typically this takes no more than an hour. Anaplan customer support is very responsive if we ever have questions about platform issues
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SAP
When we implemented 3.1, we had a tough time managing the system: It took almost a year to stabilize.

With 4.0, we want to roll out to more users, and are holding back because of fears about the performance issue
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Performance
Anaplan
Everything is calculated in memory in the cloud. It's nearly instantaneous updates when you make changes. The only time things get a little slow is when you have a massive model with very intricate calculations...but "slow" for Anaplan is not what I would call "slow" for something like Hyperion. We used to have Hyperion calcs that ran for 60 mins before you could use data. The equivalent would be 60 seconds in Anaplan.
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SAP
Overall, the tool (Web Intelligence 4.2) is fast and solid. One issue is a dependability on JAVA for a full feature report creation/edit capabilities (as opposed to limited HTML option). Second, planned end of JAVA support by major browsers (Chrome is already not supporting JAVA applet).
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Support Rating
Anaplan
1. Anaplan has separate 24/7 customer support channel to help with queries, 2. Customer Partner from Anaplan to support vendor with their queries like license purchase, use case implementation support, customer advocacy 3. Anaplan Learning Platform to help learning new product features free of cost and Yearly Anaplan connect across globe to share success stories of various companies.
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SAP
SAP has released various versions of SAP BO BI. starting from 3.1 and going to 4.0,4.1,4.2 and latest being 4.3. SAP provides support to these new versions. As new versions keep on coming, support for the very old software goes out of scope from SAP. it is when the different organization plans to get their BO content migrated from a lower version to a newer version. The newer version had definitely added functionality and features which ease the work of users.
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In-Person Training
Anaplan
The in-person training is simply not worth the cost. After a few weeks of playing in Anaplan, I went to the basic training and knew more than the person teaching it. a year down the road, I was the first person to complete the advance training, and again could have been teaching the class better than the person running the session. Spend some time on your own trying out different things and you will get all the understanding you need to be successful.
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SAP
SAP authorized training is best, Please go ahead with it. Even lot of online training options/videos available for self learning
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Online Training
Anaplan
Anaplan training materials are clear, simple, easy to understand and to follow. Visuals are excellent. The vendor is good at updating training materials in a timely manner and encouraging users and administrators to keep coming back to Academy site for refresher courses or new feature courses. I really like their interactive diagrams
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SAP
I haven't used it or got feedback from the end user.

Content looks to be pretty detailed. Focused on SQL but not BW.
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Implementation Rating
Anaplan
Agile methodology and breaking the work down into sprints was very helpful. Implementation required a deeper dive into our data than expected for the consultants to be able to construct the data model. But once it was in place, the focus on knowledge transfer enabled us to be able to use the product effectively after the team rolled off.
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SAP
Hire specialists and experienced staff. Mix some beginners so that everyone is not a leader but a learner too. Plan well; architect well; break down implementation in small steps and move towards larger steps. Create a centralized and authorized SAP Business Objects implementation team.
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Alternatives Considered
Anaplan
Anaplan is what I would consider a modeling platform. It excels at taking a forecasting or planning process and systematizing it - and allowing for whatever nuances and granularity you need to perform that modeling. It is not positioned as "data collection" platform - which are typically designed to take data uploads from Excel to calculate basic opex and revenue models. It's much more customizable and flexible.
Read full review
SAP
We selected SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) based on price. It can stack up against others in terms of price and honestly, that's about it. Salesforce Commerce does a hell of a better job at handling it. However, in the space of Business Intelligence, SAP can do more, and that's why at the end we went with it
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Scalability
Anaplan
We have managed to leverage Anaplan for financial planning and forecasting across the business. It is now used by almost every department, with more than 50 users (but I know of companies that have hundreds of users) and still the platform is quick and reliable. It is easy to make changes to divisions and departments or add users and apply different user settings - the core part of the model is not affected and end users can continue their work without any disruption
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SAP
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) Platform supports SOA Service Oriented Architecture. You can start/restart/enable/disable all the servers. You can seamless do load balancing and clustering. It supports all leading application and web server. Supports LDAP SSO integration. People who can work on excel with training they can work on SAP Business Objects Web Intelligence, dashboard, Lumira, Information design tool product suite. Tool is very user friendly and easy to learn and implement
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Return on Investment
Anaplan
  • Speeding up the process of closing and updating the current month forecast
  • Reduced work on the preparation of reports and presentations. We used different Anaplan approaches with varying success, but the overall result was there.
  • It's hard to gauge, but the overall increase in process and algorithm transparency, along with data protection, has given an excellent platform for scaling up the company's processes.
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SAP
  • By generating and distributing reports in a timely manner, we were able to save millions of dollars for the company which otherwise would not have been visible.
  • Almost realtime dashboard, saved the company a huge amount by showing the outages and kept the company from buying a tool to do just that.
  • It showed the customers who were not paying the bills and were missing in the system due to some loophole. This was visible by doing reporting on the theft usage of electricity.
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ScreenShots

Anaplan Screenshots

Screenshot of Platform: The Anaplan platform is a unified cloud-based solution that connects people, data and plans to enable complex scenario modeling and drive growthScreenshot of OpEx Planning: Review revenue-target-setting goals by brand, season, and capacity all on one, unified, highly-visual dashboardScreenshot of Supply Planning: Break down costs across assembly production to project profitability and align your supply chain to market opportunitiesScreenshot of Territory and Quota Planning: Keep track of sales goals and quotas across territories and industries to optimize sales performanceScreenshot of Headcount Planning: Easily align workforce plans with your strategic plans and quickly see where the best qualified talent resides to fit your organization’s staffing needsScreenshot of Marketing: Eliminate spreadsheets to drive efficiency across planning and manage budget against planned activity