Skip to main content
TrustRadius: an HG Insights Company
Infor Birst

Infor Birst

Overview

What is Infor Birst?

Infor Birst offers multi-tenant cloud BI for deployment in a public or private cloud, or on-premises. It provides an in-memory columnar data store and a BI layer comprising a reporting engine, predictive analytics tools, mobile native apps, dashboards, discovery tools,…

Read more

Learn from top reviewers

Infor Birst OEM and embedded analytics - Best BI product.

Rating: 9 out of 10
May 3, 2022
Vetted ReviewVerified User
Infor Birst OEM and Embedded Analytics are used for advanced and complex BI reporting and management information for warehousing and sales functions in the organization. Marke...
Continue reading
Tamanna Agarwal
Consultant - Human Resources
Human Resources Analyst
Accenture
Infor Birst2 years of experience

Birst Review

Rating: 7 out of 10
January 14, 2019
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
We use Birst as a value based SaaS platform for our contact center customers. We have more than 100 customers with 130 users on our Birst appliance. They get a BI platform wh...
Continue reading
Martin Hollænder
Consultant - Information Technology
Product Consultant
Miralix A/S
Infor Birst4 years of experience

Solid tool with opportunites to become even better.

Rating: 6 out of 10
January 10, 2019
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
Birst is our enterprise-wide BI visualization and distribution platform. Our company has 4 different revenue models ranging from big buy advertising, subscription based advert...
Continue reading
Marci Augustine
Director - Information Technology
Director, Business Intelligence & Analytics
XO Group Inc.
Infor Birst2 years of experience

Birst almost live access

Rating: 6 out of 10
January 9, 2019
Vetted ReviewVerified User
Birst is used as a delivery mechanism to display data to our client. We collect data on mobile device usage patterns, as well as analyst forecasts across many technology areas...
Continue reading
Tim Welch
Technician - Information Technology
Database Administrator
Strategy Analytics
Infor Birst2 years of experience

Birst is the best tool we found to meet our needs, but has some significant issues

Rating: 3 out of 10
January 8, 2019
IncentivizedVetted ReviewVerified User
We use Birst in addition to a separate data warehouse to ingest Google Analytics, event tracking, operational and sales data. We build reports that are distributed across the ...
Continue reading
Robin Filan
Team Lead - Information Technology
Product and Marketing Analytics, Lead
XO Group Inc.
Infor Birst2 years of experience
Log in with LinkedIn to see content from your network

Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Return to navigation

Pricing

View all pricing
Infor Birst

Infor Birst

N/A
Unavailable

What is Infor Birst?

Infor Birst offers multi-tenant cloud BI for deployment in a public or private cloud, or on-premises. It provides an in-memory columnar data store and a BI layer comprising a reporting engine, predictive analytics tools, mobile native apps, dashboards, discovery tools, and an open client interface.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Would you like us to let the vendor know that you want pricing?

Alternatives Pricing

Microsoft Power BI

Microsoft Power BI

$10
per month per user
What is Microsoft Power BI?

Microsoft Power BI is a visualization and data discovery tool from Microsoft. It allows users to convert data into visuals and graphics, visually explore and analyze data, collaborate on interactive dashboards and reports, and scale across their organization with built-in governance and security.

Microsoft BI (MSBI)

Microsoft BI (MSBI)

$14
per month per user
What is Microsoft BI (MSBI)?

Microsoft 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.

Return to navigation

Product Demos

Extending Analytics in CloudSuite Distribution - Demo

YouTube

Analytics Anytime, Anywhere - Birst Mobile Demo

YouTube

Automated Data Refinement in Infor Birst - Demo

YouTube

Best Practices For Increasing Adoption of Analytics - Demo

YouTube

Infor Birst How-To Series – Connecting to Databases

YouTube
Return to navigation

Features

BI Standard Reporting

Standard reporting means pre-built or canned reports available to users without having to create them.

7.4
Avg 8.2

Ad-hoc Reporting

Ad-Hoc Reports are reports built by the user to meet highly specific requirements.

7
Avg 8.0

Report Output and Scheduling

Ability to schedule and manager report output.

8
Avg 8.3

Data Discovery and Visualization

Data Discovery and Visualization is the analysis of multiple data sources in a search for patterns and outliers and the ability to represent the data visually.

6.9
Avg 7.9

Access Control and Security

Access control means being able to determine who has access to which data.

8.3
Avg 8.6

Mobile Capabilities

Support for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

5
Avg 7.8
Return to navigation

Product Details

What is Infor Birst?

Infor Birst is a BI product that enables a single view of data and eliminate data silos. Additionally, decentralized teams and individual users can augment this shared analytic fabric with their own local data, without compromising data governance. This consistency comes from a unified semantic layer, which maintains common definitions and key metrics, no matter where users sit.

Birst achieves Networked BI through a 2-tier architecture that aligns back-end enterprise data with line-of-business or local, edge data. Birst’s Automated Data Refinement extracts data from any source (data stores, applications, warehouses, big data, and unstructured external sources) into a unified semantic layer. The result is a consistent view that enables users with self-service analytics through dashboards, reporting, visual discovery, mobile tools, and predictive analytics. Birst Open Client Interface also offers integration with Tableau, Excel and R.

Birst goes to market in two primary ways:

  • Direct, for enterprises using Birst for analytics on internal data to drive improved business outcomes
  • Embedded, for all size companies who offer data (analytics) products, by embedding and white-labeling Birst capabilities into their products

Birst’s product is packaged in 3 available formats:

  • Platform and per-user fee
  • By Department or Business Unit
  • By end-customer (for embedded scenarios)

Infor Birst Features

BI Platform Features

  • Supported: Administration via Windows App
  • Supported: Administration via MacOS App
  • Supported: Administration via Web Interface
  • Supported: Live Connection to External Data
  • Supported: Snapshot of External Data
  • Supported: In-memory data model
  • Supported: OLAP (Pre-processed cube representation)
  • Supported: ROLAP (SQL-layer querying)
  • Supported: Multi-Data Source Reporting (Blending)
  • Supported: Data warehouse / dictionary layer
  • Supported: ETL Capability
  • Supported: ETL Scheduler

Supported Data Sources Features

  • Supported: MS Excel Workbooks
  • Supported: Text Files (CSV, etc)
  • Supported: Oracle
  • Supported: MS SQL Server
  • Supported: IBM DB2
  • Supported: Postgres
  • Supported: MySQL
  • Supported: ODBC
  • Supported: Cloudera Hadoop
  • Supported: Hortonworks Hadoop
  • Supported: EMC Greenplum
  • Supported: IBM Netezza
  • Supported: HP Vertica
  • Supported: ParAccel
  • Supported: SAP Hana
  • Supported: Teradata
  • Supported: Salesforce
  • Supported: SAP
  • Supported: Google Analytics

BI Standard Reporting Features

  • Supported: Pixel Perfect reports
  • Supported: Customizable dashboards
  • Supported: Report Formatting Templates

Ad-hoc Reporting Features

  • Supported: Drill-down analysis
  • Supported: Formatting capabilities
  • Supported: Predictive modeling
  • Supported: Integration with R or other statistical packages
  • Supported: Report sharing and collaboration

Report Output and Scheduling Features

  • Supported: Publish to Web
  • Supported: Publish to PDF
  • Supported: Output Raw Supporting Data
  • Supported: Report Delivery Scheduling

Data Discovery and Visualization Features

  • Supported: Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)
  • Supported: Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization
  • Supported: Predictive Analytics
  • Supported: Support for Machine Learning models
  • Supported: Integration with R or other statistical packages

Access Control and Security Features

  • Supported: Multi-User Support (named login)
  • Supported: Role-Based Security Model
  • Supported: Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)
  • Supported: Report-Level Access Control
  • Supported: Table-Level Access Control (BI-layer)
  • Supported: Field-Level Access Control (BI-layer)

Mobile Capabilities Features

  • Supported: Responsive Design for Web Access
  • Supported: Mobile Application
  • Supported: Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile

Infor Birst Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of

Infor Birst Videos

Watch Birst Networked BI - no more silos.

Watch The VP of Supply Chain at Citrix Systems on their Birst-architected digital supply chain

Watch CIO of CPG Reckitt Benckiser on Birst

Infor Birst Competitors

Infor Birst Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows, Mac
Mobile ApplicationApple iOS, Android, Mobile Web
Supported CountriesAll
Supported LanguagesArabic, English, Dutch, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Simplified Chinese, Spanish

Infor Birst Downloadables

Frequently Asked Questions

Infor Birst offers multi-tenant cloud BI for deployment in a public or private cloud, or on-premises. It provides an in-memory columnar data store and a BI layer comprising a reporting engine, predictive analytics tools, mobile native apps, dashboards, discovery tools, and an open client interface.

Alteryx Platform, InsideSales.com / XANT Predictive Pipeline (discontinued), and Datameer are common alternatives for Infor Birst.

Reviewers rate Report Delivery Scheduling and Multi-User Support (named login) highest, with a score of 9.

The most common users of Infor Birst are from Enterprises (1,001+ employees).
Return to navigation

Comparisons

View all alternatives

Compare with

Microsoft Power BI

Microsoft Power BI

Compare
Microsoft BI (MSBI)

Microsoft BI (MSBI)

Compare
SAP Crystal

SAP Crystal

Compare
IBM Cognos Analytics

IBM Cognos Analytics

Compare
Contact Vendor
Informatica Cloud Data Quality

Informatica Cloud Data Quality

Compare
QlikView

QlikView

Compare
Tableau Desktop

Tableau Desktop

Compare
Infor CloudSuite ERP

Infor CloudSuite ERP

Compare
Hashboard

Hashboard

Compare
Return to navigation

Reviews From Top Reviewers

View all reviews
(1-5 of 99)

Infor Birst OEM and embedded analytics - Best BI product.

Rating: 9 out of 10
May 03, 2022
TA
Tamanna Agarwal
Human Resources Analyst
Accenture (Human Resources, 10,001+ employees)
Vetted Review
Verified User
Infor Birst
2 years of experience
View profile
Pros
  • Automated data refinement.
  • Deliver data as a service (DaaS) model.
  • Support users through guided self service to data objects and semantic definitions.
Cons
  • Integration with other applications.
  • Ability for customization to suit business needs and requirements.
  • Workflow for business rules.

Solid tool with opportunites to become even better.

Rating: 6 out of 10
Incentivized
January 10, 2019
MA
Marci Augustine
Director, Business Intelligence & Analytics
XO Group Inc. (Internet, 501-1000 employees)
Vetted Review
Verified User
Infor Birst
2 years of experience
View profile
Pros
  • For end users, Birst has a friendly UI that allows them to naturally interact with reporting data via web browser.
  • For properly modeled data, the visualizer tool makes it easy do build quick visualizations.
  • Surfacing data on dashboards with global filters allows users the flexibility to view multiple metrics with the same lens.
Cons
  • Data modeling is a particular challenge for both novice and experienced data engineers. The ETL tools are insufficient to meet even 1/2 of our needs, and as a result we have a separate platform for data warehousing and use the back end of Birst solely for data exploration projects.
  • There are occasionally delays in the UI when applying filters that often lead users to think that something is broken when in fact they just need to wait a few more seconds for the UI to change, even to let them know that it's still updating.
  • Customer service, while it has improved, is still poor relative to other vendors that we work with. I often feel that both our CSM and our support technicians are defensive and try to push the responsibility for sub-optimal experiences back on us, and while it sometimes *is* the case that it is an issue on our end, more often it is not and even when it is we shouldn't FEEL like that. None of our other vendors take this approach, and even when the problem is on our end, they support us getting through it in a much less defensive way.

Birst is the best tool we found to meet our needs, but has some significant issues

Rating: 3 out of 10
Incentivized
January 08, 2019
RF
Robin Filan
Product and Marketing Analytics, Lead
XO Group Inc. (Internet, 501-1000 employees)
Vetted Review
Verified User
Infor Birst
2 years of experience
View profile
Pros
  • Easy to create visualizations
  • Very attractive visualizations
  • Connect to many data sources
Cons
  • Terrible documentation and training resources. Sometimes not enough documentation, sometimes it is WRONG! Often we are told to post our issues to the Birst user forum, as if we should be able to figure out our own problems rather than Birst troubleshooting their own product.
  • Sometimes when there are bugs we are told they will only be addressed by voting on them as feature requests, not addressing the bugs. Some feature requests are years old.
  • When using Birst Connect there is a lot that can go wrong on the Birst side of things completely out of our control, and then we are waiting on technical support to resolve. In particular the space can get "locked" if we try to process while it's already processing. I've also experienced where a staging table was deleted in the user interface, but not the backend of the tool, so it failed until the support team manually removed it.
  • Birst technical support is very weak. They often do not answer the phone, and they always ask to go on a call with you after submitting a ticket, no matter if we've provided extensive documentation within the ticket.
  • The ETL features are incredibly hard to use, though very powerful. As someone who has an understanding of database theory I found the fact that the training refused to teach to "primary keys" and "foreign keys" and "facts and dimensions" and instead made us learn a whole different terminology of "levels" and "hierarchies" very confusing.
  • Processing is entirely mysterious to us. There's little explanation of what is happening when it is processing, which makes it hard to troubleshoot when things go wrong.
  • Terrible or non-existent error messages. When a scripted source fails to execute the log in the scripted source doesn't even generate an error message. We've also found that the error message "data format is not correct" doesn't actually mean that, but can mean a whole bunch of other things related to the model.
  • Birst does not allow snowflake data structure more than 2 levels deep. This is a problem as our data warehouse is a snowflake, so we always have to flatten our tables.
  • Even though the visualization tool makes nice views, it is not as robust as even years old versions of Tableau. In particular I've found I often export my data out of Birst and into Tableau when I want to visualize two or more attributes.
  • Birst sends its users to the user Forum, but half of the issues on there have not been resolved. There's a person whose job it is to reply whether the users have figured out a solution. Why is this our responsibility to figure out their tool?
  • Very, very little support for using Live Access to connect to data. Some of the Birst support staff don't even know how to use it.

Birst Review

Rating: 7 out of 10
Incentivized
January 14, 2019
Pros
  • The multi-tenant capabilities of the product is really great.
  • Its relatively easy go get started with the product.
  • The support is great.
  • The flow of new features and improvements are constant.
  • The customer success program is good.
Cons
  • Its fairly complex for "normal" users to master/use the product (normal being supervisors, IT professionals etc.).
  • The administration part of the product could be better, easier to use and manage.

Birst almost live access

Rating: 6 out of 10
January 09, 2019
TW
Tim Welch
Database Administrator
Strategy Analytics (Market Research, 51-200 employees)
Vetted Review
Verified User
Infor Birst
2 years of experience
View profile
Pros
  • Connects directly to many types of external data sources, enabling us to plug into data where it already exists
  • Visualiser provides a user friendly interface for non-tech users to build their own databases
  • HTML dashboards look far better now than the original Flash versions
Cons
  • Connectivity between the live sources frequently drops and does not reconnect automatically
  • Cannot add dynamic titles to reports - so although can create a dynamic text box, this title cannot be exported along with the report
  • Designer runs query as soon as an attribute is dropped on screen - would be useful if you know you need to add another 4, to be able to disable the query execution until all items have been added
Return to navigation