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SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence vs. Azure SQL Database

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence

    Score7 out of 10
    N/AThe 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

    Azure SQL Database

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AAzure SQL Database is Microsoft's relational database as a service (DBaaS).

    $0.50

    Per Hour

    Pricing
    SAP BusinessObjects Business IntelligenceAzure SQL Database
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    2 vCORE
    $0.5044
    Per Hour
    6 vCORE
    $1.5131
    Per Hour
    10 vCORE
    $2.52
    Per Hour
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    SAP BusinessObjects Business IntelligenceAzure SQL Database
    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
    SAP BusinessObjects Business IntelligenceAzure SQL Database
    Considered Both Products
    SAP
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    81%
    Would buy again
    13 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    17 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    86%
    Delivers good value for the price
    12 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    16 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    81%
    Happy with the feature set
    13 Answers
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    16 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    90%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    9 Answers
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    14 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    11 Answers
    94%
    Implementation went as expected
    16 Answers
    Features
    SAP BusinessObjects Business IntelligenceAzure SQL Database
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    7.8
    56 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Pixel Perfect reports8.550 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards6.752 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates8.251 Ratings00 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    7.1
    53 Ratings
    12% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Drill-down analysis6.452 Ratings00 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities6.551 Ratings00 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages8.335 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration7.352 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    7.8
    53 Ratings
    5% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Publish to Web8.344 Ratings00 Ratings
    Publish to PDF8.251 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Versioning7.646 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling8.052 Ratings00 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers6.931 Ratings00 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    6.0
    48 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)5.846 Ratings00 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization6.143 Ratings00 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics6.042 Ratings00 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining6.16 Ratings00 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    7.4
    53 Ratings
    14% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Multi-User Support (named login)7.953 Ratings00 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model7.251 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)7.450 Ratings00 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control7.27 Ratings00 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)7.234 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    6.4
    38 Ratings
    19% below category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    Responsive Design for Web Access5.637 Ratings00 Ratings
    Mobile Application5.332 Ratings00 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile5.534 Ratings00 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    7.9
    28 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Azure SQL Database
    -
    Ratings
    REST API8.124 Ratings00 Ratings
    Javascript API7.723 Ratings00 Ratings
    iFrames8.221 Ratings00 Ratings
    Java API7.526 Ratings00 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)7.624 Ratings00 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)8.622 Ratings00 Ratings
    Database-as-a-Service
    Comparison of Database-as-a-Service features of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and Azure SQL Database
    Feature
    SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
    -
    Ratings
    Azure SQL Database
    7.2
    32 Ratings
    16% below category average
    Automatic software patching00 Ratings6.330 Ratings
    Database scalability00 Ratings7.832 Ratings
    Automated backups00 Ratings7.832 Ratings
    Database security provisions00 Ratings8.832 Ratings
    Monitoring and metrics00 Ratings6.831 Ratings
    Automatic host deployment00 Ratings6.127 Ratings
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    Score8.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    SAP BusinessObjects Business IntelligenceAzure SQL Database
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.1
    (78 ratings)
    8.0
    (32 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.3
    (24 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    6.6
    (21 ratings)
    8.5
    (5 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.0
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.6
    (16 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    10.0
    (4 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.2
    (45 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sources
    8.3
    (45 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    SAP BusinessObjects Business IntelligenceAzure SQL Database
    Likelihood to Recommend
    SAP
    As mentioned earlier reporting was a big headache for us and the tools we used didn't support large data sets and visualization Performing analytics with such data sets was cumbersome and later post using this SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence we were able to correlate different data sets and prepare the dashboard pretty easier which were helpful and easier to understand.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    We have found it's a great alternative for making older legacy applications work with online databases instead of only on-premises databases. We've converted over a dozen applications this way, and it has allowed our clients to have a distributed workforce using their applications without incurring the expense of a complete application rewrite.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    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.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Maintenance is always an issue, so using a cloud solution saves a lot of trouble.
    • On premise solutions always suffer from fragmented implementations here and there, where several "dba's" keep track of security and maintenance. With a cloud database it's much easier to keep a central overview.
    • Security options in SQL database are next level... data masking, hiding sensitive data where always neglected on premise, whereas you'll get this automatically in the cloud.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • One needs to be aware that some T-SQL features are simply not available.
    • The programmatic access to server, trace flags, hardware from within Azure SQL Database is taken away (for a good reason).
    • No SQL Agent so your jobs need to be orchestrated differently.
    • The maximum concurrent logins maybe an unexpected problem.
    • Sudden disconnects.
    • The developers and admin must study the capacity and tier usage limits https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-subscription-service-limits otherwise some errors or even transaction aborts never seen before can occur.
    • Only one Latin Collation choice.
    • There is no way to debug T-SQL ( a big drawback in my point of view).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    This is best solution as a DBA one could expect from a service provider and as a cloud service, it removes all your hassles.
    Incentivized
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    Usability
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    The interfaces are intuitive once you are familiar with all the functions. The ability to use different tools to interact with the platform, such as directly via a browser or code editors such as VS Code or Visual Studio is a great option and allows for integrating withn the project and other testing and developing tools.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    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).
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    We give the support a high rating simply because every time we've had issues or questions, representatives were in contact with us quickly. Without fail, our issues/questions were handled in a timely matter. That kind of response is integral when client data integrity and availability is in question. There is also a wealth of documentation for resolving issues on your own.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    SAP
    SAP authorized training is best, Please go ahead with it. Even lot of online training options/videos available for self learning
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    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.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    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
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    We moved away from Oracle and NoSQL because we had been so reliant on them for the last 25 years, the pricing was too much and we were looking for a way to cut the cord. Snowflake is just too up in the air, feels like it is soon to be just another line item to add to your Azure subscription. Azure was just priced right, easy to migrate to and plenty of resources to hire to support/maintain it. Very easy to learn, too.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    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
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    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.
    Incentivized
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    Microsoft
    • Perfect for small and medium databases, being very cost effective.
    • As a Platform as a Service, there is no concern about patches, upgrades and end of life.
    • Be aware of security and network capabilities. The service cannot run in the VNET as Azure Virtual Machines do.
    Read full review
    ScreenShots