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MicroStrategy Analytics

MicroStrategy Analytics

Overview

What is MicroStrategy Analytics?

MicroStrategy Analytics is an enterprise business analytics and mobility platform. Key features include automatic big data analysis and reporting, data discovery and visualization, digital security credentials, and support for mobile devices.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

MicroStrategy Analytics is a versatile tool that is widely used across departments in various industries. Departments such as Accounting, …
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MicroStrategy Review

8 out of 10
October 18, 2017
Incentivized
It is being used across our health center in every department, from admin to ops to clinics. We are trying to use it with our scheduling …
Continue reading
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Popular Features

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  • Formatting capabilities (24)
    10.0
    100%
  • Customizable dashboards (23)
    10.0
    100%
  • Report Formatting Templates (24)
    10.0
    100%
  • Pixel Perfect reports (23)
    10.0
    100%

Reviewer Pros & Cons

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Pricing

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What is MicroStrategy Analytics?

MicroStrategy Analytics is an enterprise business analytics and mobility platform. Key features include automatic big data analysis and reporting, data discovery and visualization, digital security credentials, and support for mobile devices.

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://www.microstrategy.com/en/go/pro…

Offerings

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

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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.

What is Qlik Sense?

Qlik Sense® is a self-service BI platform for data discovery and visualization. It supports a full range of analytics use cases—data governance, pixel-perfect reporting, and collaboration. Its Associative Engine indexes and connects relationships between data points for creating actionable insights.

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Product Demos

MicroStrategy Analytics Product Demo v 10

YouTube

Augmented Reality - MicroStrategy Analytics Demo

YouTube

MicroStrategy Analytics Product Demo v10 (With Voice)

YouTube

MicroStrategy - Analytics Desktop (Basic) - Online Training Video by MicroRooster

YouTube

MicroStrategy - Analytics (Visual Insight) - Online Training Video by MicroRooster

YouTube
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Features

BI Standard Reporting

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

10
Avg 8.2

Ad-hoc Reporting

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

10
Avg 8.1

Report Output and Scheduling

Ability to schedule and manager report output.

10
Avg 8.4

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.

10
Avg 8.1

Access Control and Security

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

10
Avg 8.6

Mobile Capabilities

Support for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

9.7
Avg 7.9

Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding

APIs are a set of routines, protocols, and tools for used for embedding one application in another

10
Avg 7.9
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Product Details

What is MicroStrategy Analytics?

The MicroStrategy platform differs somewhat from competing platforms in that it does not include a data warehouse.

The platform integrates with a wide range of third-party data warehouses however. MicroStrategy also built a free discovery/visualization tool called MicroStrategy Analytics Desktop, which is not completely integrated with the rest of the platform. MicroStrategy has strong mobile and cloud capabilities which are differentiators for the platform. MicroStrategy's cloud offerings are unique in that they host the software in their own data centers and allow customers to keep their data on-premise to alleviate security concerns. Analytics is a platform for Business Intelligence (BI) and self-service analytics. It enables organizations worldwide to analyze the vast amounts of data stored across their enterprises to make better business decisions.

MicroStrategy currently has 3 versions:

  • MicroStrategy Analytics Enterprise: Enterprise-grade business intelligence
  • MicroStrategy Analytics Desktop: Free self-service visual analytics
  • MicroStrategy Analytics Express: Free cloud-based self-service visual analytics

MicroStrategy Analytics Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows, Mac
Mobile ApplicationNo

Frequently Asked Questions

MicroStrategy Analytics is an enterprise business analytics and mobility platform. Key features include automatic big data analysis and reporting, data discovery and visualization, digital security credentials, and support for mobile devices.

ibi WebFOCUS, Looker, and QlikView are common alternatives for MicroStrategy Analytics.

Reviewers rate Pixel Perfect reports and Customizable dashboards and Report Formatting Templates highest, with a score of 10.

The most common users of MicroStrategy Analytics are from Mid-sized Companies (51-1,000 employees).
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Comparisons

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Reviews and Ratings

(265)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

MicroStrategy Analytics is a versatile tool that is widely used across departments in various industries. Departments such as Accounting, Finance, and Audit have found the software to be invaluable in pulling policy level detail reports and generating month-end summary reports for the general ledger. This has greatly streamlined their reporting process and facilitated SOX audit testing. Additionally, multiple business units within organizations rely on MicroStrategy Analytics for financial decision-making and direct people impacting decisions.

Users have also found the software to be useful for prototyping, demoing to customers, analyzing functionality, implementing it, and advising customers on its implementation and usage. Its ability to provide a comprehensive view of company data and create live dashboards has made it an essential tool in achieving corporate strategic goals. It has also empowered department financial budget officers to easily view their budget values.

Furthermore, MicroStrategy Analytics is not limited to specific industries but is used across various sectors like finance, healthcare, and retail. It excels at creating web-based dashboards and mobile reporting, helping solve issues related to turnaround time, staffing, and tracking by utilizing data from scheduling programs and electronic medical record systems.

Overall, MicroStrategy Analytics serves as a full business intelligence enterprise solution by sourcing data from various database technologies, solving the problem of data silos organizations may face. Its versatility makes it a trusted tool for analyzing large datasets and providing valuable insights that drive informed decision-making.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-19 of 19)
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Jeff Harris | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 2 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We made the decision to centralize all of our reporting from all of our systems into Microstrategy Analytics. Moved off of multiple older systems which included Microsoft BI, Alteryx, and some product specific reporting.
  • They sell the product well, and make promises you will actually believe
  • "checks the box" for most features a company would need. Doesn't actually deliver them though
  • They answer the phone in a timely manner. Can't answer your questions or provide support, but the queue time isn't bad
  • They have online documentation. It's not up to date, and likely doesn't reflect the version of software you are using, but hey... they can point to it.
  • [I feel like] compared to it's peers, this product is not ready for primetime. Has almost no capabilities "out of the box" good luck finding ANY canned reporting capabilities
  • Almost non-existent ecosystem for finding trained help. Relative to the 'big guys" there are not consultants or candidates you can find on the open market to actually help you implement
  • [I feel like they should] stop answering feature limitations by saying "go to the cloud product". If we wanted a SaaS solution, [there] are MUCH better ones than MicroStrategy Analytics. Your primary value proposition is it can be installed locally. I didn't realize that meant we would be limited in functionality to the dark ages.
If you need an on-premise solution in your own data center, [I feel like] the options are starting to become limited, and MicroStrategy Analytics is one of them. Just don't expect it to be good, or supported.
October 18, 2017

MicroStrategy Review

Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
It is being used across our health center in every department, from admin to ops to clinics. We are trying to use it with our scheduling program's data feed to solve TAT issues, staffing issues, and tracking issues. We've implemented several new policies around appointment cancellations due to findings in Microstrategy data. We also take in a feed from our EMR system for patient data research.
  • I think the dashboards are quite helpful to visualize on the spot data.
  • Creation of facts and attributes is simple - I have no programming experience and was still able to create and modify these items.
  • Scheduling reports to be run on a daily, weekly, or hourly basis is simple. It provides updated data on a timed basis with no need to go back into the program.
  • The graph options are not as robust as an Excel user might want.
  • The metadata layer can sometimes be slower, and it takes a long time for reports to run.
  • Viewing the data feed entered can be cumbersome at times, in terms of validation with reports.
It is appropriate when wishing to show big data to a group that needs to make informed decisions quickly, and that does not have a technical background and cannot get bogged down in percentages and technicalities. For those that want it, however, Microstrategy provides gridded reports that make detailed examination of data easy. Both are simple to create.
Vineet Rai | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Microstrategy is extensively used within my organization and other retail and finance clients I have worked with. MSTR is an efficient tool with numerous analytical, reporting and visualization features all clubbed in one - helps deliver grid reports, dashboards and mobile reports. We have used this for dynamic sourced reports and self analytics as well widely.
  • Integrated solution for delivering different types of reports through multiple mediums like web, mobile or distribution services.
  • Unique Schema and public objects concept saves development costs by allowing reusable components and maintenance across.
  • Having end to end MSTR implemented eliminates the need to look at different tools for in memory and visualization.
  • Version control and parallel development limitation- I understand it somehow conflicts the architecture specialities but point to be thought over.
  • Visual Insights capabilities to compete with Tableau like reports.
  • MSTR services and technical support teams response time - not always a concern but can definitely be improved.
Better suited for: For high volume and large number of reporting fields. For requirements where multiple modes of report delivery is required for ex: web, mobile and emails. Dynamic sourcing and self analytics with existing objects avoiding redevelopment efforts. Less appropriate: For small scale analytics considering cheaper options of analytics tools available. Creates complexity for a uncoordinated and distributed development team considering version control and Schema integration issues.
★Alex Khamudis | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Microstrategy is currently being used by several different departments within the organization. It makes our reporting easier, where it provides the flexibility to automate much of it, as well as provide an easy to use interface for non sql savvy employees. It solves many of our reporting needs
  • Central location for reporting, makes it easier for several different departments to access different information
  • Automated reporting - allows us to schedule customized reports
  • Well formatted reports that are easy to run
  • My organization is on an older version of the tool with a lot less bells and whistles
  • If an employee is familiar with SQL enough, they can avoid using microstrategy
  • No other major cons
Microstrategy is great for organizations that are looking to empower all types of employees with the ability to retrieve relevant data for their business functions.
Pablo Tempone | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Microstrategy is used in one of our banking clients. It's used by different areas, some use it for alerts. Others use it as a dashboard solution or for ad-hoc reporting.
  • The governance and security layer, with the metadata layer.
  • Easy ad-hoc reporting creations.
  • Strong dashboard options.
  • Merging data from different sources has been improved a lot but it's not easy to create a query manually.
  • Training metrics - it's not easy to use for users. But the new method of R integration could change that.
Is well suited if an organization needs a centralized and strong BI solution for data exploration.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
MicroStrategy Analytics is currently being used by Accounting, Finance, and Audit. It is being used to pull policy level detail reports, month end summary reporting for making entries to the general ledger, and MTD as well as YTD/ITD reporting with various views to support month end variance analysis. It is also used to perform SOX audit testing on an annual basis.
  • Automated reporting
  • Interactive dashboards
  • Large amounts of data
  • Formatting of reports
  • Moving data around on a report at the user level
  • Creating applications
It supports the web very well. It also supports desktop interfaces as well as mobile interfaces. It is well suited for on site staff as well as remote users. It is well suited for new users and well as experienced users. You can set up reporting to be like canned reporting or with variables that need to be changed from time to time.
Abanish Mishra | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Microstrategy is used as a reporting solution in my work environment. Microstrategy is used to interact on Hadoop, Microsoft SQL Server Tables, and SSAS MDX Cubes. Microstrategy's Visual Insight is used as a self service tool replacing Pivot tables & graph building in Excel.
  • Visual Insight is a very good tool for data discovery and for create quick dashboard presentation. This is is basically a online web based portal where you have capability to quickly slice & dice the data . Also it provides you options to create derived metrics & derived attribute (MSTR 10) with various mathematical or statistical functions. One of the major mention would be the map based data visualization where you can plot data based on Latitude & Longitude.Also with MSTR 10 following limitations were removed i) using hyperlink ii) HTML 5 is implemented instead of Flash ,so easy to be rendered in mobile too iii) Adding images is possible for hardcoding company logo & symbols
  • Drilling Capabilities. This requires some good backend data modeling. Once you bring in all the facts and dimensions you are supposed to establish relationship between them & create hierarchies. Then it would be easy to drill more & more. For example - Device hierarchy - (Device Used by User--> Browser-->Operating System)
  • Data Source Connectivity.
  • Enterprise Manager is basically BI to BI environment which is used by administrators or executives to track reporting usage, report performance,developer efficiency or frequency of usage & thousands of other statistics which proves to be very helpful in monitoring the efficiency of the whole environment. Once you set up Enterprise miner( which is a bit tricky) you will be able to access all the in built documents or you can custom built dashboard based on your usage
  • Visual Insight have multiple limitations. Few of them are listed here - i)Cannot change default graph colors ii) text/graph formatting are very very limited iii)Add metric to Color by / Thresholds is not possible iv)one of the worst limitation of the VI in older versions is that it is not possible to create filters that apply only to a specific visualization. For example if there are 4 graphs in one dashboard & if you have filters then those filters would be applicable for all of them
  • Some formatting options are not there either on Web or Developer especially while dealing with a document. We have to use both Web & Developer to solve issues.
  • While connecting with MDX cube reporting loses a lot of features.
MicroStrategy Analytics is not only a visualization layer but also data modeling tool itself. So you can bring in all your facts and dimensions and define the relationship in architect mode to build intelligent cubes. It shouldn't be mixed up with a visualization tool like Tableau which doesn't have any other capability (data architect and mining). Companies who need to use it only as a visualization layer tool shouldn't use MicroStrategy.
Tapan Jain | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
MicroStrategy Analytics is used by our organization to create highly interactive dashboards and reports with cutting edge visualizations. Currently, the front end and dashboards are being developed by only a single department but reports and dashboards are consumed across the organization and even clients.
The main advantage of MicroStrategy Analytics is that it can be accessed online through a web browser which eliminates the need to carry heavy Excel files. Also, the reports and dashboards are updated in real time which was not possible with Excel based dashboards.
  • It helps create dashboards that are personalized to a particular type of user. The access to the specific sections of dashboards and reports can be controlled and only the intended audience can access that information. This helps with distributing the same dashboard to different departments and even competitors.
  • The reports are completely responsive to different devices and can be accessed via any device of any resolution. Also, MicroStrategy offers a vast range of power visualizations like heat maps and can also connect with third party applications like Google Maps for additional functionality. Also, this functionality is present even on mobile devices.
  • With its Online Analytical Processing capabilities, users can modify the reports by slicing and manipulating the data as per their needs without executing the SQL query in the backend. This helps in saving a lot of development time as individual users can modify the report online by using filters and slicers without requiring the coding know how.
  • ESRI ArcGIS maps can only be integrated and accessed with internet connectivity which becomes a limitation when using only with LAN connectivity.
  • The community/forum is not very active with a limited number of users and low quality content.
  • Some functionalities are missing from the web version and are only present in the desktop version. Also, dashboards over the web still lack integration with HTML5.
MicroStrategy is well suited when reports have a wider audience but some parts need to be hidden from a specific audience. When there are very stringent deadlines to develop a new report or a dashboard, MicroStrategy should be avoided as it has a longer development time when compared to alternatives like Tableau. Also, when the reports are to be consumed while on the go, MicroStrategy has an edge over other alternatives.
March 04, 2016

From zero to hero.

Davide Moraschi | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Build a complete Business Intelligence solution from the ground up. They provide desktop, web and mobile interfaces.
  • Analyze and report on large volumes of data from an extensive number of source databases.
  • Provides a full Software Development Kit (SDK) to personalize, customize and write your own BI applications and web sites.
  • Support for HTML5 is still at the beginning. The latest features were developed with Adobe Flash, which sometimes is not the best and fastest solution. HTML5 with CSS and SVG would probably be more portable and a smoother experience to the user.
  • I personally would like to see native OAuth 1.0 and 2.0 Support. And the ability to directly attach JSON data feeds like Google provided data.
  • Web Services documentation could be improved and expanded with more examples.
Be sure to grasp the basic concepts from the very beginning. A complete and updated ER Diagram of the data warehouse is needed. Read the manuals, as MicroStrategy is a very complex product and cannot be learned by trial and error. There is a book, which was recently published by PACKT, about the whole Business Intelligence development process: http://amzn.to/1by3HAO
Randy Kirschner | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
MicroStrategy is currently being used throughout the organization to address various ad-hoc requests.
  • Ad-hoc analysis
  • Dashboarding and visualizations
  • There's no clean tree/hierarchical display of attributes that allows me to see the entire tree on one screen. This also translates to a report with one column showing the indentation for nested categories.
  • The interaction and user interface with dealing with a prompted report is less than desirable. Many users hate the interface and find it difficult to use.
  • Not all features are available in web when designing dashboards. You often have to bounce back and forth from Desktop to Web in order to get to the option you're looking for.
MicroStrategy is good for dashboarding and mobile. The software offers a lot of functionality right out of the box and provides the users with many options to easily get at their data.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
MicroStrategy Analytics is being used as a full BI enterprise solution. We use MicroStrategy's full set of products, sourcing from an array of database technologies, but mostly from Microsoft SQL Server, Hadoop, Spark, and Storm. MicroStrategy Analytics solves the business problem of company wide data silos. In conjunction with an enterprise data warehouse, we can create a single source solution.
  • MicroStrategy Analytics has the best mobile BI on the market right now. The level of efforts (LOE) is very low for this type of development.
  • MicroStrategy Analytics's self-serve BI is very valuable to our business users and can cut development for BI developers by enabling business users to find business answers themselves.
  • The caching of Intelligence Cubes in MicroStrategy Analytics is a game changer. I have I-cubes with billions of rows stored in memory, ready at any moment.
  • The developer desktop product could use some UI enhancements. It's been the same for many years.
  • The world would be a better place if custom groups and consolidation were supported in Visual Insight and I-Cubes.
  • A more simplify licensing model.
  • It's expensive.
MicroStrategy Analytics can pull in just about any data source and answer meaningful business questions. I also believe MicroStrategy Analytics is the leader in providing a big data solution for BI. Tableau would not be able to handle the loads of data I throw at it. I do not think MicroStrategy Analytics is recommended for any small scale solution, but rather a large one.
Mario Ferrer | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We're building a new data warehouse and reporting system. MicroStrategy will be at the forefront of our strategy, providing a robust, multi-language, multi-tenant architecture for our customers and internally. It replaces our Excel, CSV based reporting company-wide.
  • Without a doubt, it scales, it is robust and the performance is great.
  • The latest enhancements for version 10 (like replacing Flash with HTML 5) address some previous issues and concerns.
  • They've closed the gap they had with Tableau and similar products with the introduction of Desktop, while still providing governed, data discovery. Something Tableau lacks.
  • It is hard for me to point out room for improvement. Version 10 just came out and I haven't had the chance to fully experiment with it, but it looks very good so far.
For us, multi-language, multi-tenant were some key features, but obviously many questions come to mind, depending on the needs, such as platform, big data support, data-blending, data-mashups, language, customizations, etc.
Jonathon Frampton | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Standard KPI reporting.
  • Scheduled reporting.
  • Simple dashboards.
  • Easy report design and creation.
  • Discovery - visually dig through the raw data.
  • Real-time updates.
  • Connections to alternate data sources (APIs, local files).
  • Limited visualizations.
  • Built-in statistics and forecasting (lack of).
BI is not cheap, sometimes... In many cases the "Enterprise-ness" of MS is not necessary as many smaller competitors are gaining ground quickly (QlikView, Tableau, Birst, etc...) and would make great solutions for companies that do not require the strict rules associated with a larger organization. I would just make sure that as anyone is considering either a new BI install or change that they make sure to look at some of the "new" Big Data toting companies that can add value quickly.
Wm. Dexter Jones | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Microstrategy is our primary BI delivery environment and is being used for the entire organization. We have a unique business case in that our organization is the BI department for hundreds of other organizations; however, attributes, metrics, and nomenclature are different although using the same data set. In addition, our data sets are 10s to 100s of millions of rows of data. Microstrategy scales for large datasets and has just enough flexibility to address these problems.
  • Aggregate awareness.
  • The ability for the SQL generator to select the correct aggregate table, whether a hierarchy or dates, is invaluable to organizations with less mature database developer resources.
  • Delivery of reports, particularly web-based delivery.
  • Microstrategy provides the most options for report delivery, scheduling, and formats; a requirement of self-service BI.
  • Managing metadata
  • Microstrategy's architecture prefers a star schema; this can serve as a virtual ER builder and help locate possible bottlenecks in the database design.
  • Scheduling delivery; the use of schedules is very inflexible.
  • Instead of building specific delivery objects, a schedule builder (similar to MS Outlook) will push Microstrategy ahead of the competition. The schedule objects add to the maintenance.
  • FTP/sFTP delivery options.
  • Internal delivery to file systems and availing the file location to FTP is good, but often times external FTP/sFTP is required. Currently, BI engineers have to build external processes to deliver to external FTP.
  • Desktop dashboard development; it is a bit disjointed.
  • Dashboard development options are different between desktop (now called developer) and web are different. We often have developer and web open at the same time to build dashboards.
  • Architect product; still hasn't gained global acceptance for schema management.
  • More flexible cross-tab development.
  • There's an idea I have about joining data sets where there's aggregate data combined with crosstab data. The example i use is a annual budget (metric) along side monthly spend (metric). Today, the annual budget must be an attribute which means it cannot be used in calculations.
You have to ask if the product you're using can handle large datasets and whether there is flexibility in the delivery of analytics? In addition, how many DBMS's does the product natively support? What is the TCO? MicroStrategy is in the upper tier for each of these questions.
Paul Campbell | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use MicroStrategy Analytics in many departments, the span of support goes from Business users to IT support. This tool is intended to be the "one stop shop" for all reporting needs. We are able to connect many different data sources which tend to be common in large companies. The current implementation met our needs in the past and we are adapting to use it better and more efficiently for future needs. I believe when configured correctly, this product can meet all requirements for our department and all other departments.
  • Extremely fast and reliable sql generation, report and document development.
  • Flexibility and integration with nearly all data sources.
  • Self reliant product, many out of the box products that allow easy maintenance, development, and monitoring.
  • Cost of product is more reasonable than many other in its class.
  • Reports and documents produced can be pixel perfect and allow for extremely custom dashboards and scorecards.
  • There are many tools and products in the whole Analytics suite, I find this cumbersome and would like to see all these tools brought together
  • There is no version control built into the product. Versioning seems outdated and the principle way of handling versions is outdated and I think should be remodeled.
  • To a new user, learning the entirety of all MicroStrategy products is difficult and can take a long time to adapt to.
MicroStrategy Analytics is very well suited for small and large companies and for varying degrees of budgets. The price model is fair for the type of features and functionality out of the box. There will have to be someone dedicated to MicroStrategy and the lifecycle of the business data model. It is not a light weight product on the back end, but can be very lightweight to the end users. No-SQL allows the domain experts, people who understand the business and not technology, to analyze and dig at questions without being burdened by asking database experts for advanced SQL generation. I give this product a 9 out of 10 because it is not fully HIPAA compliant and the means to make it HIPAA compliant means we must cripple some basic functionality.
Justin Sharifipour | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Fantastic features for mobile applications. Out of all of the BI tools out there, it is by far the best on an iPad
  • Lots of features for the end-user to custom the output of reports
  • In-memory processing allows for very quick responses
  • It has a very steep learning curve for report developers. I found it the most difficult to learn from a developer perspective
  • A lot of system administration overhead is required. Probably not suitable for a small organization. The cloud version would probably be better.
  • The remote training that they offer (such as through the PEP program) is terrible. I had training classes online that would've been better served getting a root canal. Training is one of their most deficient areas in my opinion.
Be very careful before buying the full on-site version of the product. If the sales rep says that it has minimal IT involvement, don't believe it. Ask about cloud options, the different modules that you are buying as part of their proposal, and what kind of training they are offering as part of their bid. If it's online training and not on-site, be very skeptical.
Andrew Smith | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Reseller
We support users implement MSTR analytics and actively engage with them to discover the art of the possible.
  • Ease of implementation
  • Ease of use
  • Ease of scale
  • Establish direct connection with WPS Software to allow easier take-outs of SAS Software
Somethings to consider are: Do you want to visualize data in a controlled environment? Do you want to go mobile?
Toreyan Clarke | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 5 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • MicroStrategy was a helpful tool for providing daily, monthly, and quarterly reporting due to the ability to build automated reports that can be sent to large groups of people using distribution lists.
  • I found MicroStrategy very helpful when putting together monthly performance reviews using the visual reporting tools. The ease with which I was able to switch from data tables to charts as a better way to tell stories about complicated data sets was particularly useful.
  • When we needed to pull user information for targeted marketing campaigns, MicroStrategy dramatically reduced the amount of time we spent tying User IDs to user activity within our DMP. In turn, we were able to leverage the data to create user segments which helped us focus our marketing spend more effectively for marketing campaigns.
  • Perhaps it was the nature of the size of the company I previously worked for, but the amount of time it took for changes and upgrades to be implemented was a bit frustrating at times.
  • It would be incredibly helpful if users had the ability to make changes to metrics and attributes without having to rely to heavily on MicroStrategy developers, it would make the product a great deal more useful.
  • Being able to distribute rich MicroStrategy reports without sending enormous emails was problematic at times. If there was a way to let data rich reports being distributed via email live in a web environment would be a big plus for the platform.
  • Being unable to view reports on smartphones was a bit of a pain at times as well, particularly when you need to send reports to colleagues working off-site without a laptop or desktop computer available.
I would say MicroStrategy is useful for someone who is 100% dedicated to manipulating data as their day-to-day responsibility. It is also important to set expectations with individuals who will be using your work in MicroStrategy to be aware of the fact that it takes time for the main users to become familiar with the platform. Additionally, you must be willing to constantly inform your team of any issues arising with reporting for the platform.
Sid Haas | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
  • Drag and drop analysis for users that don't need any database knowledge or programming experience.
  • Beautiful dashboards that load quickly and provide instant snapshots and/or trends over time.
  • Ability to extend from desktop to mobile with relative ease.
  • Microstrategy Web and Microstrategy Desktop work slightly differently. There are still some functions that need to be completed in the Desktop software that are not available through a browser.
  • Web-based dashboards still utilize Flash. I expect to hear about a transition to HTML5 or something similar, but have not yet heard about this. Microstrategy Mobile solutions do not require Flash.
  • Product licensing is difficult to understand.
Success with Microstrategy (or any BI tool) begins with your data. Spend the time and effort it takes to clean up your data and develop bullet-proof ETL (Extract - Transform - Load) procedures and scripts to keep that data clean at all times. Ensure that you have excellent performance from your database server(s) and plenty of memory available for Microstrategy's tremendous caching engines.
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