Business IntelligenceToolsA PEEK INTO WHAT REAL USERS THINK2015IT Central Station helps tech professionals by providing...A comprehensive list ofenterprise level BusinessIntelligence Tools vendors.A sample of real userreviews from techprofessionals.Specific information to helpyou choose the best vendorfor your needs.DisclaimerIT Central Station Ltd. does not endorse or recommend any products or services. The views and opinions of reviewersquoted in this document, IT Central Station websites, and IT Central Station materials (i.e. Content) do not reflect theopinions of IT Central Station. We make no guarantees about the accuracy, currency, suitability, or quality of the content, andwe assume no responsibility for unintended, objectionable, inaccurate, misleading, or unlawful content made available byContent authors or other third parties. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsABOUT IT CENTRAL STATIONUser reviews, candid discussions, and more for enterprise technologyprofessionals.The Internet has completely changed the way we makebuying decisions. We now use ratings and review sitesto see what other real users think before we buyelectronics, book a hotel, visit a doctor or choose arestaurant. But in the world of enterprise technology,most of the information online and in your inbox comesfrom vendors but what you really want is objectiveinformation from other users.We created IT Central Station to providetechnology professionals like you with acommunity platform to share information aboutenterprise software, applications, hardware andservices.We commit to offering user-contributed information thatis valuable, objective and relevant. We protect yourprivacy by providing an environment where you canpost anonymously and freely express your views. As aresult, the community becomes a valuable resource,ensuring you get access to the right information andconnect to the right people, whenever you need it.Use IT Central Station to: Read and post reviews of vendors and products Request or share information about functionality, quality, and pricing Contact real users with relevant product experience Get immediate answers to questions Validate vendor claims Exchange tips for getting the best deals with vendors244 5th Avenue, Suite R-230New York, NY 10001www.ITCentralStation.comreports@ITCentralStation.com+1 (646) 328-1944 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsABOUT THIS REPORTThis report is comprised of a comprehensive list of enterprise level Business Intelligence Tools vendors.We have also included several real user reviews posted on ITCentralStation.com. The reviewers ofthese products have been validated as real users based on their LinkedIn profiles to ensure that theyprovide reliable opinions and not those of product vendors.IMPORTANT NOTICEDid you find this whitepaper helpful? At IT Central Station, our philosophy is Give to Get. Our activecommunity and unbiased reviews are made possible by your participation and as such, we ask that youshare your expertise with us as well. Please email reviews@itcentralstation.com and one of ourcommunity managers will be in touch with you shortly. You can choose to review anonymously or notand your company name will not be included in the review.If you found this report and/or the reviews on IT Central Station useful, we would greatly appreciate yourparticipation in giving back to our community. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsVENDOR (BY RANKING) SOLUTIONQlikView QlikViewRating: 8.62(85 reviews)Tableau TableauRating: 8.9(93 reviews)Microsoft Microsoft BIRating: 8.82(81 reviews)MicroStrategy MicrostrategyRating: 8.74(78 reviews)IBM CognosRating: 8.38(65 reviews)SAP Business ObjectsRating: 7.0(80 reviews)Entrinsik Entrinsik InformerRating: 8.94(18 reviews)Pentaho PentahoRating: 8.06(39 reviews)Panorama Software Panorama NectoRating: 7.94(16 reviews)Sisense SisenseRating: 9.54(48 reviews)Oracle OBIEERating: 7.6(32 reviews)SAP Crystal ReportsRating: 8.14(14 reviews)Zoho Zoho ReportsRating: 8.76(8 reviews)Domo DomoRating: 6.0(10 reviews)TIBCO SpotfireRating: 8.0(16 reviews)Windward WindwardRating: 8.16(6 reviews)BIME Analytics BIMERating: 10.0(8 reviews)IBM Cognos TM1Rating: 10.0(9 reviews)Dundas Data Visualization Dundas DashboardRating: 8.2(6 reviews)Logi Analytics Logi InfoRating: 9.0(19 reviews) 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsVerix VerixRating: 10.0(8 reviews)SAS SAS Visual AnalyticsRating: 8.0(10 reviews)Information Builders WebFOCUSRating: 10.0(7 reviews)BOARD International BOARDRating: 9.5(2 reviews)ClicData ClicDataRating: 8.5(3 reviews)IBM Cognos ExpressRating: 7.5(3 reviews)GoodData GoodDataRating: 7.0(2 reviews)Jaspersoft JaspersoftRating: 8.0(7 reviews)SpagoBI SpagoBIRating: 8.5(6 reviews)Bitam ArtusRating: 9.0(1 review)Teradata Data Lab(1 review)Actuate e.Report(1 review)Oracle EssbaseRating: 8.0(6 reviews)icCube icCubeRating: 10.0(3 reviews)Yellowfin YellowfinRating: 10.0(2 reviews)adjust adjustarcplan arcplanAyasdi AyasdiBellaDati BellaDatiBirst BirstActuate BIRTBottlenose BottlenoseColdLight ColdLight 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsDataBricks DataBricksDataHero DataHeroDataRPM DataRPMDecisyon DecisyoneMite eMiteMID GmbH InnovatorInsightsquared InsightSquaredInterana InteranaiVEDiX iVEDiXJinfonet Software JReportKlipfolio KlipfolioLavastorm Analytics Lavastorm Analytics PlatformMagnitude Software NoetixNumerify NumerifyOpera Solutions Opera SolutionsRoambi RoambiRocket Software RocketRosslyn Analystics Rosslyn AnalyticsSalient Management Company SalientTargit Targit BI SuiteThoughtSpot ThoughtSpotTrove TroveViewics Viewics 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsXLCubed XLCubedZoomdata ZoomdataBusiness Intelligence ToolsAccording to the IT Central Station community, the most important buying criteria for BI tools arescalability and performance, usability and UI, ease of development, and mobile/cloud basedcustomization. An effective BI solution should be able to access any data source and providecapabilities for internal and external users from the same platform, as well as provide better integrationwith other systems (e.g. CRM, ERP).Read more 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsTop Business Intelligence Tools VendorsOver 82,981 professionals have used IT Central Station research on enterprise tech. Here are the topBusiness Intelligence Tools vendors based on product reviews, ratings, and comparisons. All reviewsand ratings are from real users, validated by our triple authentication process.1. Tableau59439 Views47162 Comparisons36 Reviews4072 FollowersAverage Rating: 9.02. QlikView55267 Views33438 Comparisons46 Reviews4353 FollowersAverage Rating: 8.63. Microsoft BI49168 Views27500 Comparisons34 Reviews4393 FollowersAverage Rating: 8.84. Microstrategy38065 Views16645 Comparisons29 Reviews4221 FollowersAverage Rating: 8.85. Cognos18223 Views15509 Comparisons28 Reviews3330 FollowersAverage Rating: 8.46. Sisense21198 Views4381 Comparisons16 Reviews3397 FollowersAverage Rating: 9.6 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-tools7. Pentaho24743 Views17864 Comparisons19 Reviews3428 FollowersAverage Rating: 8.08. OBIEE29210 Views18399 Comparisons12 Reviews3283 FollowersAverage Rating: 7.69. Business Objects23102 Views13664 Comparisons25 Reviews3277 FollowersAverage Rating: 7.010. BIME5261 Views3025 Comparisons7 Reviews2693 FollowersAverage Rating: 10.0Chart KeyViews: Number of total page viewsComparisons: Number of times compared to another productReviews: Total number of reviews on IT Central StationFollowers: Number of followers on IT Central StationAverage Rating: Average rating based on reviewsThe total ranking of a product (i.e. bar length) is based on a weighted aggregate ranking of that product's Views (weightingfactor = 17.5%), Comparisons (17.5%), Reviews (17.5%), Followers (17.5%), and Average Rating (30%). 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsTOP 5Based on Views59439Tableau55267QlikView49168Microsoft BI38065Microstrategy29210OBIEETOP 5Based on Views of Comparisons47162Tableau33438QlikView27500Microsoft BI20403SAS Visual Analytics18399OBIEETOP 5Based on Followers4393Microsoft BI4353QlikView4221Microstrategy4072Tableau3428PentahoTOP 5Based on Rating10.0WebFOCUS10.0Yellowfin10.0Verix10.0BIME10.0icCube 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsQlikViewVendor: QlikViewOverview: QlikView is an all-encompassing Business Intelligence tool that allows you to keep tabs on all of yourbusiness-related information in a clean, clear, and easy to access database that is intuitive to build andsimple to navigate. It is ideal for business owners who wish to improve overall output by creating the mostproductive system possible.SampleCustomers:Canon, Gatorade, Amcor, Panasonic, Fila, Cambridge University Hospitals, Global Retail Bank, NorthYorkshire Police department, Lanoo Group Publishers, and AonGroep Nederland.PricingInformation:Personal Edition -This is for a single user only to input and access data indiscriminately.FreeNamed User License -This allows you to connect as many individual users as you like to the network.!$1350 USD/userDocument License -This allows one named user to access one document.!$350 USD/name used, per documentConcurrent License -This license allows multiple users to access the information.$15000 USD/concurrent userTopComparisons:*Microsoft BI vs. QlikViewMicrostrategy vs. QlikViewSAS Visual Analytics vs. QlikViewCompared 10% of the time.Compared 8% of the time.Compared 8% of the time.Top Industries:* Financial Services FirmMedia CompanyManufacturing CompanyTransportation Company19%8%8%7%Company Size:* 1-100 Employees100-1000 Employees1000+ Employees35%29%36%* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."Advanced informationapplications can be built,not only simple ones.""I would never proposeQlikView, or any othersingle tool, as THEdefinitive data visualizationand dashboard tool forevery organization, but itdid best meet ourparticular needs.""We now have set up andshared dashboards acrossour services. Not all thefeatures are available forMac users.""It's easy to use but moregraphics and dashboardsupport would be animprovement.""Needs more support forcollaboration. Extremelypowerful for data analysis.""The SME server editiondoesn't include a deploytool but it's a really goodpackage for managementreporting purposes."QLIKVIEW REVIEW BY A REAL USERPablo Parnisari Verified by IT Central StationBI Expert at a tech services company with 1-100employeesValuable Features:As aBI professional sometimes you have to tackle projects with poor or nodocumentation at all, just the datasources and some vague requirements. InQlikView itis quite easy build up a first data model (dimensional or not) and use thefirst stage to understand the entities and relations between it and the business.From there you can explore the business, understand the users real requirementsand needs and improve the model with a few changes, without much effort. This isbecause Qlikview has a very flexible and short cycle of development in eachiteration.For the user QlikView is a wonderful tool of data discovery, providing powerful toolsto navigate easily between a sea of data in an intuitive, easy, and clear way,allowing them togo from facts to KPI and vice versa.Improvements to My Organization:Qlikview can be used both as an advanced reporting tool as well as an BI KPI tool,becoming the base for continuous process improvements. In general the benefits ofthe tool become clear at the early development stage when the user is challengedto input clearly his ideas, problems and needs and that will affect the process inwhich he participates. Typically in a second iteration the key user will ask for a newrelease more oriented to advanced KPIs rather than just reports. This is a directconsequence of the process making things clearerand evolving. So the main valuesupplied by Qlikview is to reduce uncertainty, make the participants question,discover, interact with each other, and eventually improve the process. Properlyused should function as an improvement catalyst for the processes involved.Room for Improvement:It iswell know that the ETL is quite far away from leading products like DataStagem Informatica and others. Currently Qliktech is working on this problem withExpressor,a powerful graphic dataflow tool. Another area is the licensing scheme,which leaves out many SMO. To remedy this and try to stop the eruption of thirdparties (e.g: Tableau), QlikTech launched Qlik Sense, althoughthe futureisunclearand there may beapossible merge of the two branches (Qlik Sense +QlikView). Finally QlikTech, since release 10/11, leaves the development of newgraphic charts to the community with mixed results.Use of Solution:I have using it for the last five years, since 2010 at least. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsDeployment Issues:The deployment of the dashbords, in the simplest scenario, is so easy you just dropa unique file (qvw extension) in the published folder and the solution appears intothe main web page that works like an index of all solutions: the access point.Stability Issues:The product has great stability although in some circumstances, especially if it islow in resources or the reload process encounters some kind of dead lock whileextracting the data from the DB, it could/will result in the shutdown of the service.The good news is the automatic behavior: I never saw corrupted data or unstablebehavior, just restart the service / reload and all works well again.Scalability Issues:The product is designed to scale both horizontally and vertically. Someorganizatations which have servers and dashboards that handle until 30 Tb of datahave had some issues that finally have been addressed by the support service ofQlikTech.Customer Service:The customer service is provided by the local reseller and is fine. Wehavemainlyused it to get the new releases and some support during theinstallation.Technical Support:The technical support in my country is provided by the master reseller and it looksgood even when they have to pass the case to Qliktech to figure-out the problemand find a solution. In this last case it can be somewhat delayed because thesecasesneeded to reach the top levels of the service.Previous Solutions:I have used (and still use) Microsoft BI: SSISm SSAS and SSRS. The productivitylevel of QlikView is quite superior, whilst Microsoft licensing scheme is really better,specially when there are large number of users and a lot of SQL licences deployedmaking it (MS) much cheaper.Initial Setup:The initial setup was absolutely seamless and the only requirement for a successfuldeploy is a little training to the users, not only about how to use QlikView, but whatcan be done with QlikView, giving them the initialspark. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsImplementation Team:In general the vendors which I have worked with were very well qualified, althoughnot very inclined to share information easily.ROI:This question ishard to answer because except for afew cases its impossible tomeasure how the project (not the tool) improves the results of the organization.Such measures are available at the organizational level, but it is difficult to quantifythe proportion of the contribution from one tool to a whole process.Pricing:The start cost is around of US $25.000 and the annual royalties are around 20%that includes customer and technical support and upgrades.Alternate Solutions:I have evaluated Tableau and Microstrategy. The first one is too basic (wonderful ifyou are a final user). The second one: extremely complex, just for very largeorganizations and large IT teams.Other Advice:Think seriously aboutthe possible population of users, how it will grow-up, andcheck the licensing cost and its limitations. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsQLIKVIEW REVIEW BY A REAL USERJhornber Verified by IT Central StationBI Expert at a media company with 100-1000 employeesValuable Features:1.QlikView Scripting- Takes some time to learn, but it is quite powerful. Not as atotal ETL replacement toolnecessarily, but as a supplement to load and join datasources, and perform additional transformations. I've combined as many as a halfdozen data sources including data from multiple SQL Data Marts, Source SystemDBs, XLS, CSV, and Google Big Query.2. Design Flexibility - While other products may do drag and drop, ad-hoc analyticsbetter. (Including Tableau, andQlik's new product QlikSense) I've not comeacross one that better supportsthe creation of a polished, packaged, customdashboard, that supports what I'd consider "guided exploration", andbest meetsthe needs of our user base. The customization can be taken even further throughin-house built,or borrowed, extensions (e.g. Custom D3 Visualizations). Improvements to My Organization:We have gradually reduced laboriousmanual reporting in Business Units and"spreadmarts". We now have someexecutive using QVdashboards in weeklyreviewmeetings, in place of spreadsheets and PowerPoints. While it does takesome time and IT involvement to initially develop and deploy a solution, thepayback is immediate.In one particularcase we were able to eliminate a daysworth of manual workeach weekwith a QlikView solution that required a fewdays of development effort. We alsopreviously had no way for end usersto routinelyand easily analyze larger (100Million+ rows)data sets, which now can be done through QlikView.Room for Improvement:No out of the box mapping capabilities (Extensions/Plugins available).No auto-scale for different display resolutions/dimensions, but the trade-off here isthe much greater design flexibility than one gets with a Grid based product. Would like to see a few more visualizations available out of the box (e..g BulletGraph)Very rudimentary report creation capabilities. No scheduling or distribution withoutPublisher product. Use of Solution:1 1/2 years 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsDeployment Issues:None. Stability Issues:None thus far, but have a relatively small scale implementation (30-40 Users todate), on a single server (196GB RAM, 15 Core). Our largest data sets are in the100-200 Million rows. Dashboards deployed to the server perform very well, butworking with data sets that large locally (on QlikView desktop) may start to lag,depending on your hardware. Being a in-memory tool, desktops and laptops shouldhave at least 8GB RAM, though even more is preferable if working with very largedata sets. Customer Service:Customer service was/is excellent. Technical Support:Our need for technical support has been minimal, but when needed it has beengreat. The overall Qlik Community is phenomenal. Many problems can beresolved through the community channel. Users often provide example files onecan reference or reverse engineer. Previous Solutions:Previously used an older Domo product (Centerview). The product was no longersupported. It was very flexible, but also very labor intensive. Data had to be fullyprepared outside of the tool ,and every interaction had to be defined. Developmenttime was weeks vs days in QlikView. Initial Setup:Straightforward setup. Connected to Active Directory to manage users. Implementation Team:In-house with some set up assistance provided by the Qlik sales support team. Pricing:Server is Apprx $35K initial cost, plus 20% annual maintenance/support costUser licenses are $350 or $1500depending on license type(plus 20%annualmaintenance/support). This can get costly if you have a very large user base. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsAlternate Solutions:Several. If interestedsee my posthttp://www.itcentralstation.com/articles/i-evaluat...Other Advice:I would never propose QlikView, or any other single tool, as THEdefinitive datavisualization and dashboard tool for everyorganization, but it did bestmeet ourparticular needs. Organizations with more data-savvy, self-sufficient businessusers may find a product like Tableau, or Qlik's other product, QlikSense, to be abetter option. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsTableauVendor: TableauOverview: Tableau is a BI-focused software company that produces awide range of interactive visualization tools thathelp businesses analyzelarge quantities of data in a quick, intuitive, and user-friendly way.SampleCustomers:Tableau customers include Accenture, Adobe, Amazon.com, Bank of America, CharlesSchwab, Citigroup,Coca-ColaCompany, Cornell University,Dell, Deloitte, Duke University,eBay, Exxon Mobil, FannieMae,Ferrari, French Red Cross, GoldmanSachs, Google, the Government of Canada, HP, Intel, JohnsHopkins Hospital, Macy's,Merck, the New York Times, PayPal, Pfizer, the US Army, the US Air Force,Skype, and Walmart.PricingInformation:Tableau features five major products, each with its own pricing solution.Tableau Desktop- : -A drag-and-drop desktop program that allows users toquickly analyze, sort, andvisualize big data in record time. (Pricing: Professional edition - $1,999 per user, first year;$399 per yearthereafter. Personal edition - $999 per user, first year; $199 per year thereafter)Tableau Server: -Browser-based analytics with an interactivedashboard. Sharable, usable BI availablefor desktop and mobile use.Tableau Online: -The hosted version of Tableau Server, enabling usersto share live, interactivedashboards within the company as well as withpartners and customers. (Pricing: $500-$1,000 per user,per year)Tableau Reader: -A free PC app that enables sharing of datavisualization created with TableauDesktop. (Pricing: Free)Tableau Public: -Website enhancement with interactive data storytelling. No programming necessary tocreate, publish, or sharevisualizations. (Pricing: Free)TopComparisons:*SAS Visual Analytics vs. TableauOBIEE vs. TableauCognos vs. TableauCompared 16% of the time.Compared 10% of the time.Compared 9% of the time.Top Industries:* Financial Services FirmEnergy/Utilities CompanyManufacturing CompanyMedia Company20%7%6%6% 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsCompany Size:* 1-100 Employees100-1000 Employees1000+ Employees35%25%40%* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."Easily the most user-friendly (particularly fornon-technical users) BITool Ive ever used.""I would like to see someadditional calculationfunctions but no one hascome close to unseatingTableau""It has rich graphics but theprocessing speed could beimproved.""Helps understand data inseconds with lower cost.""It is a very powerful tool,but there is not enoughcontrol over the order inwhich filters and sorts areapplied. ""Test the critical aspectsby doing a proof of conceptusing a huge amount ofdata. "TABLEAU REVIEW BY A REAL USERBIExpert221 Verified by IT Central StationBI Expert at a financial services firm with 100-1000employeesValuable Features:Extraordinary ease of use, easier to use than any competitor product Ive used in 15years or so Ive worked on MI/BI.Improvements to My Organization:Speed of data discovery and accelerated our ability to remodel our data andimprove our existing ETL processes.Room for Improvement:Expansion of number of visualisations, as well as potential for straight to dashboardfunction, rather than design individual visualisation these are, however, genuinelynot priority to amend.Use of Solution:~2 yearsDeployment Issues:This was a Proof of Concept rather than full roll-out.Stability Issues:No, but important to note it was PoC.Scalability Issues:No, but important to note it was PoC.Customer Service:Excellent.Technical Support:Exceptional, probably the best user community Ive ever seen in nearly 15 years ofworking in MI/BI/Analytical roles. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsPrevious Solutions:Currently use an alternative provider, looking to switch to a newer moreempowering piece of software, an alternative to Tableau was selected at a GlobalCIO level.Initial Setup:Extremely simple. Download a package, enter a key post purchase and thats it.Very easy.Implementation Team:Vendor team they had (and indeed have) significant knowledge of the productand continue to share best practice tips and knowledge through their e-publications.Pricing:Standard software license cost to setup initially and an optional maintenance feewhich include version upgrades. On balance, the costs of software balance nicelyagainst the user experience because you probably wouldnt need to spend a greatdeal on training as the product is straightforward to use.Alternate Solutions:Evaluated numerous different BI tools, including but not restricted to Cognos,Jaspersoft, Pentaho, Tibco Spotfire.Other Advice:Assess the scalability using the Server set up, engage users of the toolindependently through the Tableau Community for their ideas and advice on thepros and cons of the tool. Even the biggest evangelists will be honest enough totell you where it doesnt meet their expectations. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsTABLEAU REVIEW BY A REAL USERChuck Hooper Verified by IT Central StationOwner at a tech consulting company with 1-100 employeesValuable Features:Ease of use. The power to do anything I want to do. The ability to connect to anydata. The ability to merge ("Blend" data from multiple sources). Built in "bestpractices" in data visualization. Statistical capabilities with the "R" integration.Improvements to My Organization:I'm a consultant - specializing in Tableau. It allows me to go into a client and beproductive immediately. Also, it's ease of use helps me get in the doors, initially - Ican walk in, connect to a client's real data, and find insights from that data, in a 30minute meeting.Room for Improvement:Everytime I make a request for a new feature, it is, typically, in the next release. Iwould like to see some additional calculation functions - maybe some statistical onefor clients that do not want to have to learn R. As in every product, there are thingsit does not do, but, I've never had a user need I could not meet.Use of Solution:I started with Tableau Desktop in 2005. At that time I had been using Brio Query,Cognos, and some others. Once I saw Tableau, talked to the founders and heardwhere they were going, I started leaning toward Tableau & I've never looked back!Deployment Issues:I've had no deployment issues. With some clients that have "specialized/customdesigned environments", it may take a few minutes/hours longer to get everythingrunning, but, Tableau Support has always been there for me.Stability Issues:I have had a couple crashes - usually linked back to something stupid I did in myWindows machine. I've done some work with the latest Mac version - have had noissues, in it...Scalability Issues:Never. I do a BILLION+ record demo on my notebook, with sub-second responsetime. As in any other tool/application, proper design is still needed. Tableau affordsme the advantage of being able to implement increment aggregate data setswithout having IT involvement. THAT is BIG! 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsCustomer Service:Excellent - best Customer Service in the industry, from my experience. I've neverhad a question or issue where I did not feel like I was their top priority...Technical Support:They suffered some growing pains, for a while. But, they seem to haveimplemented processes and procedures that aid in the support function. Right now,I rate them as excellent.Previous Solutions:I was a Cognos and a Brio user / developer. Every update became morefragmented and harder to use - always seemed to be from acquisition, not smart &integrated, development. As an experienced BI consultant, I saw that Tableau'sdirection was where they all should have been going. Switching was the smartestbusiness decision I ever made!Initial Setup:Server and Desktop install the same way. Double-click on the installer program -click "Next" a few times. Done. You can customize the Server installation, along theway. in many cases, that is not needed. The whole process is easy and fast.Desktop installs in a minute. Initial Server installation can take 10 minutes.Implementation Team:I've always done my own Tableau installations and upgrades - too easy to thinkabout paying someone. There are consulting companies, that specialize inTableau, for businesses that have too few resources, or, might have a complexenvironment. For the most part, Tableau Support can help with installation issues.Once set up, I advise clients to work with experienced consultants, for a shortperiod of time, to set up a "production process".ROI:As an independent consultant, I have no "projects" of my own. Two comments, 1.My entire income from consulting is based on my Tableau knowledge. In thatsense, my ROI is an infinite percent. 2. I've seen clients find actionable insights sofast, and with so much bottom line impact, that the cost of implementing anenterprise environment was paid for, up front, from a two week trial copy of TableauDesktop.Pricing:Tableau Desktop is $1999 per named user (Professional version). There are noadd-on fees. Mapping, census demographics, R interface, ALL data connectors -are all included... From my perspective, and from my client's perspectives, thepricing model is ideal. You get it ALL for one price - no issues after the fact... 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsAlternate Solutions:Yes & no. No real "project" to review where I was going. Many times, the clientdictates what I would be using. As I developed into more a higher level consultant, Iwas always looking at new products, and updates from existing ones. In the lastnine years, no one has come close to unseating Tableau as my choice...Other Advice:Start NOW, In the free, full offering trial (2 weeks), coupled with the free on-demand training and passionate & active user community, you will be amazed atwhat you can accomplish. Many find they PAY for it, BEFORE they buy it! If youneed help, there is Tableau Support, Tableau Consulting and a bunch of us in theindependent world, all ready to assist. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsMicrosoft BIVendor: MicrosoftOverview: Microsoft BI is a business intelligence solution that turns data into insightful and useful businessinformation that is relevant to all levels of the business.Microsoft BI combines familiar Microsoft tools - Office, SharePoint, and SQL server,with extra features forend-users, such as Power View and Power Pivot. This powerful product gives businesses a competitiveadvantage by allowing end-users to better analyze their data, collaborate and better present their data.SampleCustomers:Konica Minolta, Klout, Mahindra Satyam, The Weather Channel, Argus, Credit Suisse, NCR, and Sysmex.TopComparisons:*QlikView vs. Microsoft BITableau vs. Microsoft BIOBIEE vs. Microsoft BICompared 12% of the time.Compared 12% of the time.Compared 8% of the time.Top Industries:* Financial Services FirmComms Service ProviderUniversityGovernment19%7%7%6%Company Size:* 1-100 Employees100-1000 Employees1000+ Employees26%29%45%* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."Good product for EndUsers but there are someproblems with hugechunks of data.""Poor support for XML, butit has good integration withother Microsoft products.""This is the mostcompatible solution formedium sized organizationbut the robustness of thestack could be improved""Despite vague errormessages, some functionswere cut down from 90seconds to about less thanone second""Very stable tool with someimprovements needed inSSIS""Excel in BI mode providesan excellent approach tothe BI world for end users"MICROSOFT BI REVIEW BY A REAL USEROmar Djaiz Verified by IT Central StationMicrosoft BI Consultant at a tech consulting company with1-100 employeesValuable Features:Data Integration andCleansing & Warehousing are the most valuableRoom for Improvement:End-user tools such asExcel is not good enough for all business scenarios.Use of Solution:8 yearsDeployment Issues:There aresomeissues with 2005/2008 releases, but most of them were fixedstarting with 2012 releaseStability Issues:Sometimes in thestarting fewmonths of every new release.Scalability Issues:There are some problemswith huge chunks of data. Some of thesecan beaddressed with appropriate hardware appliances and a lot of tweaking.Previous Solutions:I do work on projects to switch clients to MS BI usually due to its attractive pricingand tight integration with MS Office suite. Also the learning curve for users isflattened due to their fluency with Excel.Initial Setup:MS products are great but security is always a concern to make the wholeecosystem work smoothly. The latest BI suite is tightly integrated with SharePointwhich is great; but theset-upprocess and deployment is still painful. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsOther Advice:Have knowledgeable people to make the right choices for you. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsMICROSOFT BI REVIEW BY A REAL USERAnalyst220 Verified by IT Central StationAnalyst in XBRL Projects at a financial services firm with1000+ employeesValuable Features:All the features are valuable.Improvements to My Organization:We empower users with Enterprise BI and Self Service BI by Microsoft BI.Room for Improvement:Microsoft has poor support for XML.Use of Solution:I've used it for four years.Deployment Issues:There were no issues, and it has good integration with other Microsoft products.Stability Issues:We do have issues, but we can solve them ourselves.Scalability Issues:We do have issues, but we can solve them ourselves.Customer Service:It's good.Technical Support:We are more expert than they are.Previous Solutions:We used Infobeacon and then we added Microsoft BI to Cognos. We are currentlylooking for a better product and are evaluating Tableau. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsInitial Setup:It is easy to implement Microsoft BI.Implementation Team:Several projects we implemented through vendors and most we implemented inhouse. We are more expert than they are.Alternate Solutions:We didnt have another option.Other Advice:Quality of data, flexibility and the performance of the tool(s) are the critical aspectsof BI. Test the critical aspects by doing a proof of concept using a huge amount ofdata. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsMicrostrategyVendor: MicroStrategyOverview: MicroStrategy, Inc. is a publicly traded business intelligence (BI) software provider with offices in 28countries around the world, including San Francisco, New York, Tokyo, Dubai, London, Paris, Warsaw,and Milan.MicroStrategy provides organizations and companies with BI, cloud-based services, and softwareplatforms for mobile and social intelligence apps. With MicroStrategy services and products, customerscan analyze data (inventory, sales data, and payroll figures), generate integrated reports, develop mobileapps, and make important business decisions based on information from Excel files, Hadoop frameworks,and data warehouses.SampleCustomers:Allstate Insurance, Barneys New York, Boston Children's Hospital, Buenos Aires Department of theTreasury, Campbell Soup Company, DHL, eBay, eHarmony, Facebook, Four Seasons Hotels Inc., Godiva,Hard Rock International, LinkedIn, Netflix, Pfizer, SECO (Swiss Government Unemployment Agency),Starbucks, Texas A&M University, Thomson Reuters Markets, US House of Representatives, and the USPostal Service.PricingInformation:MicroStrategy Analytics Platform:-Comprehensive analytics platform. (Pricing: varies)MicroStrategy Mobile:-A quick and cost-efficient way to build custom,code-free mobile apps that willmobilize important data from your desktop intothe mobile workforce. (Pricing: $550 to $2,000 per user)Usher:-A mobile identity platform that increases enterprisesafety and security by rendering digital badgesto validate the credentialsand identity of mobile users. (Pricing: Free)MicroStrategy Analytics Desktop:-A quick, visual analytics tool used to analyze data ina self-service,user-friendly manner. (Pricing: Free)MicroStrategy Analytics Express:-A software-as-a-service (SAAS) solution that enables userstoexecute analytical activity (design documents, deliver individualized data,create custom interfaces, publishdata to mobile users) in a self-servicemanner. (Pricing: Free)TopComparisons:*QlikView vs. MicrostrategyMicrosoft BI vs. MicrostrategyBusiness Objects vs. MicrostrategyCompared 17% of the time.Compared 11% of the time.Compared 10% of the time.Top Industries:* Financial Services FirmMedia CompanyManufacturing CompanyRetailer18%8%7%7% 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsCompany Size:* 1-100 Employees100-1000 Employees1000+ Employees21%29%49%* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."There are many nicheplayers that may excel, butif you need to push theboundaries MicroStrategyis a leader.""Includes many well-designed features, butfrom time to time my webserver stops and I have torestart the web server.""It has helped a lot ofbusiness users gain insightinto their business but thedeveloper friendlinessneeds to be improved abit.""A full BI solution for anysize/industry organization.""Transaction Services is agood feature which I'mlooking forward to seeingimprove.""The product supports abroad range of analysisstyles, but it struggles withschemas other than star orsnowflake. "MICROSTRATEGY REVIEW BY A REAL USERScott Mitchell Verified by IT Central StationDirector of BI / Solution Architect at a tech servicescompany with 1-100 employeesValuable Features:Valuable features include advanced SQL Engine, Reusable Metadata, DataExploration/Viz, Production Grade Report/Dashboard Automation, Mobile,Integration with rich SDK/API, andIn Memory BI high performance.Improvements to My Organization:Made self-service BI/Data Exploration possible for the end-user.Room for Improvement:Simplified development tools.Removing Flash from web interfacesUse of Solution:I have been using this solution for18years.Deployment Issues:No, very easy to install and manage environment.Stability Issues:No issues with stability.Scalability Issues:No, highly scalable on all sizes of data and platforms.Customer Service:4 out of 5 they have great tech support but are sometimes challenging to workwith on contracts and pricing. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsTechnical Support:5 out of 5 they go above and beyond to resolve or enhance their product.Previous Solutions:I have worked with many other solutions but keep choosing MicroStrategywhenever the requirements are complex. There are many niche players that mayexcel in certain specific areas but if you need to push the boundaries and have acomplete BI solution that is not focused in a niche such as data visualization thenMicroStrategy is a leader that should be considered.Initial Setup:You need to understand the platform but once you have this understanding theinstallation is very straightforward.Implementation Team:Internal/Off-shore vendor (Infocepts 5 out of 5 off-shore vendor founded by ex-MicroStrategy employees).ROI:It is providing both internal and external reporting for the business that was notpreviously possible. The first external reporting solution was delivered in less than 1month of development.Pricing:$150k for a single CPU of web/iserver capacity. Currently alldevelopment/administration is supported by a single off-shore developer at a rate of$35/hr. The new pricing model has allowed for simplified web user pricing allowingall web functionality to be available to all users.Alternate Solutions:We evaluatedTableau, QlikView, Cognos, BO, SSRS?MS Power BI, OBIEE,TIBCO.Other Advice:If your BI requirements are complex and require significant integration into internalapplications this can be achieved using MicroStrategy and the SDK but theappropriate skilled resources will be required throughout the implementation. Donot expect to be successful just throwing a java developer at the SDK work whohas no previous experience with the MicroStrategy SDK. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsMICROSTRATEGY REVIEW BY A REAL USERFBarracha Verified by IT Central StationBusiness Intelligence Consultant at a tech consultingcompany with 1-100 employeesValuable Features:I think that MicroStrategy has a lot of well-designed features, and that if users knowhow to use them or are willing to learn, it maybe a very valuable tools for them. I canrecall that most users love to use the MicroStrategy Visual Insight tool that allowsusers to see in-real time graphs that users design on-site, using the attributes andmetrics that they are familiar with.Another good example, is the intelligence cube and incremental refresh reports thatallow developers to update or create a report with a great quantity of informationand store it on memory. This only takes a few seconds to show users the full resultsinstead of always querying the data warehouse for the same results over and over.In addition, developers can schedule an incremental refresh of data on days,weeks, months, or whatever filter they desire, without the user feeling such workbeing done.Improvements to My Organization:Using the intelligence cube, Ive managed to increase the performance of the mainload of my documents, giving users the full data access in less than five seconds,instead of spending 30 seconds or a minute waiting for the results.Room for Improvement:I think that there are some bugs regarding the design, and some features are a littlehidden from the developer. Developers need to do a lot of research and consult alot of manuals just to find that the solution for their problem was in a check-boxwithin the configurations of the tool or project.Use of Solution:Ive used this solution for about eight or nine months.Deployment Issues:The installation was well explained in the manuals, and the deployment of hotfixesand patches are as easy as a normal computer program installation.Stability Issues:The only issue that I can think of, is that from time to time my web server stops andI have to restart the web server. I do not know why this happens, but weve createda process that every minute there are checks the status of the web server, andrestarts it if necessary. It may be a problem with the tool or a problem with theinfrastructure at the client's company. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsScalability Issues:No issues encountered.Technical Support:I've never used it, but I only have good things to say about the users of theMicroStrategy Community. They always give good ideas, a lot of workarounds and90% of the time, they respond within the day with a lot of links to technical notesand others posts among others. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsCognosVendor: IBMOverview: Cognos Software is IBM's Business Intelligence and Performance Management solution, offering BI,strategy management, financial performance, and data analytics applications. Cognos caters to all levels inan organization with products designed for individuals, workgroups, departments, mid-size companies,and big enterprises.SampleCustomers:More than 23,000 leading organizations across multiple industries use Cognos. Some examples of Cognoscustomers include BMW Financial Services, Quinte Health Care, Troy Corporation, Michigan StateUniversity, and GKN Land System.TopComparisons:*Tableau vs. CognosPentaho vs. CognosCrystal Reports vs. CognosCompared 29% of the time.Compared 5% of the time.Compared 5% of the time.Top Industries:* Financial Services FirmManufacturing CompanyEnergy/Utilities CompanyInsurance Company31%9%8%5%Company Size:* 1-100 Employees100-1000 Employees1000+ Employees22%20%58%* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."Good product with badperformance. We hadlicenses for all the featuresbut users almostexclusively used the molapcube file.""Report Studio is avaluable feature but wouldbe better with the ability toaudit the SQL""A good mix of abilities forreporting but ability tomanage source code &environment deploymentneeds work""Initial setup can bestraightforward butexpertise is needed to fullybenefit from thecapabilities of Cognos. ""Framework Manager isthe best MetadataModeling Tool but we haveto restart the mobile servereveryday""Despite IIS configurationbeing more complex than itshould be you will notregret implementingCognos"COGNOS REVIEW BY A REAL USERAnalyst220 Verified by IT Central StationAnalyst in XBRL Projects at a financial services firm with1000+ employeesValuable Features:The molap cube file is valuable.Improvements to My Organization:We shared the molap cube file, which means can do analyses on their desktop.Room for Improvement:Cognos is a good product with bad performance. We had licenses for all thefeatures but users almost exclusively used the molap cube file.Use of Solution:I've used it for 12 years, since v7.Deployment Issues:It has poor integration with other IBM products. In v7 (not in the IBM family), Ioverrode their upfront UI to integrate it into a websphere portal. In earlier versions, Istill find these kinds of problems.Stability Issues:Almost all the time, we have a problem with Cognos stability and even ourmaintenance vendor cant do anything to resolve it.Scalability Issues:I think Cognos have problem with their dispatcher performance. In v7, I overrodetheir impromptu options, to catch performance requirement, while in v8, again, Ihad to override their dispatcher management with our code. Finally, in v10, wedidnt make any changes to improve Cognos, and now our users leave it.Customer Service:It's good. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsTechnical Support:We are more expert than they are.Previous Solutions:We used Infobeacon and now we are using Cognos and Microsoft BI. We arecurrently looking for a better product and are evaluating Tableau.Initial Setup:In 2003 It was very complex, and we must survive by ourselves because we cantfind any technical support for us.Implementation Team:We always implemented it through a vendor, but until now, we are more expert thanthey are.Alternate Solutions:We evaluated Microstrategy as another option.Other Advice:Quality of data, flexibility and the performance of the tool(s) are the critical aspectsof BI. Test the critical aspects by doing a proof of concept using a huge amount ofdata. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsCOGNOS REVIEW BY A REAL USERBIDev655 Verified by IT Central StationBI (Cognos) Developer at a pharma/biotech company with100-1000 employeesValuable Features:JobsSchedulesAuditingReport StudioImprovements to My Organization:Cognos gives a consistent single source answer for many users to retrieve easily. Itallows for prompted value, so many questions can be answered.Room for Improvement:Auditing the SQL to determine if there are any particularly slow points. Alsoallowing jobs to send email notification when complete with links to all the reportswithin the email.Use of Solution:Seven years.Deployment Issues:There are always some errors, but typically user errors.Stability Issues:It is pretty stable, but bad queries can cause problems.Scalability Issues:No issues encountered.Customer Service:6/10 as they usually get back quickly but rarely have a solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsTechnical Support:6/10Previous Solutions:I used MicroStrategy before, but I changed jobs because Cognos is a biggercompany and would have more job opportunities.Initial Setup:It is pretty straightforward. It doesn't take an expert to set up, but consultants will tryto make it seem more complex than it is.Implementation Team:We used a vendor team. They talked a good game, but I would rate them at a 6/10.ROI:Don't know, but it's not cheap.Other Advice:It's not as good a MicroStrategy for data analysis, but better for static reporting. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsBusiness ObjectsVendor: SAPOverview: Business Objects is SAP's Business Intelligence solution, which is comprised of a number of differentsolution modules. Business Objects puts reliable, real-time and relevant business information at yourfingertips, enabling you to have clearer insight into your business and helping you make informed andquick business decisions.Business Objects is deployed simply and cost-effectively, making optimal use of existing IT resources andinfrastructure.SampleCustomers:SRAM, Kennametal, Fairfax Water, British American Tobacco, Velux, and FedEx.TopComparisons:*OBIEE vs. Business ObjectsTableau vs. Business ObjectsQlikView vs. Business ObjectsCompared 14% of the time.Compared 13% of the time.Compared 12% of the time.Top Industries:* Financial Services FirmHealthcare CompanyManufacturing CompanyGovernment15%11%9%7%Company Size:* 1-100 Employees100-1000 Employees1000+ Employees28%19%54%* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."Comparison of SAP BO,Tableau, QlikView,Cognos, Microsoft, OBIEEand Pentaho""The product works well,but is only as good as theservers it uses.""The setup wizard is prettystraightforward but theyneed to make moresupport resourcesavailable.""Web intelligence isvaluable but SAP patchmethodology is horrific""LifeCycle manager needsmore stability but WebIntelligence for its ad-hocability is a valuablefeature""Sometimes we'veencountered bugs, butable to get critical analysisin a fraction of time and runthe business better."BUSINESS OBJECTS REVIEW BY A REAL USERFundoo_BI_007 Verified by IT Central StationSenior Manager -BI Head at a tech company with 1000+employeesValuable Features:1. SAP BO/BIEnterprise scalabilitySecurityEase of useSemantic layer2. TableauVisualizationData discoveryTurnaround time3. IBM CognosEnterprise scalabilitySecurityIn-memory feature4. MS BI - Flexibility5. Pentaho - Open source but still enterprise grade6. QlikViewData visualizationTurnaround time.7. OBIEEEnterprise security 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsSemantic modelRoom for Improvement:1. SAP BO/BIVisualization2. TableauScalability3. IBM CognosEase of use4. MS BIVisualizationEase of use5. PentahoEase of useSemantic layer6. QlikViewScalability7. OBIEEVisualizationDatabase connectivitiesUse of Solution:I have used SAP for almost 12 yearsTableau Rate 6/10 overall but 9/10 for visualization. I have used it for three yearsIBM Cognos - Rate 7/10 and I have used it for three yearsMS BI - Rate 5/10 and I have used it for two yearsPentaho - Rate 5/10 and I have used it for over five years 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsQlikView- Rate 7/10 and I have used it for two yearsOBIEE Rate 7/10 and I have used it for five yearsCustomer Service:SAP BO/BI - Below averageTableau - GoodIBM Cognos - AverageMS BI - AveragePentaho - AverageQlikView - Above averageOBIEE - AverageTechnical Support:SAP BO/BI - Below averageTableau - GoodIBM Cognos - AverageMS BI - AveragePentaho - AverageQlikView - Above averageOBIEE - AverageOther Advice:There is no perfect solution or one size fits all. Be clear on the requirements thatyou are trying to meet with the tools and solutions and do a POC and thoroughevaluation. Also most of the time a single vendor works better than using best of thebreed solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsBUSINESS OBJECTS REVIEW BY A REAL USERBizObsDev065 Verified by IT Central StationBusiness Objects Developer at a aerospace/defense firmwith 1-100 employeesValuable Features:Being able to utilize a connection to the database with a semantic layer, so it can bemodified if needed to fit a particular need. The Universe does this quite well andallows for business names to be used in place of the cryptic database name.Improvements to My Organization:Instead of downloading the information into a spreadsheet or something similar,you can now develop the graphs and drilldown, drillup needs for the differentdepartments in an easy to use and functional method.Room for Improvement:The development of the Design Studio to be ready for prime time. It is pretty wellready now just needs a few points finished to make it completely ready.Use of Solution:I have used this solution in different areas for about 17 yearsDeployment Issues:A few, these were related mainly to the development team not realizing how muchdata they actually had.Stability Issues:Not really, there have been a few hiccups but that was mainly due to bandwidthsince we have a centralized location for the servers now.Scalability Issues:No issues with scalability.Customer Service:For SAP it's not too bad, would always like to have it better of course.Technical Support:Very good. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsPrevious Solutions:We used Cognos however the price was getting too prohibitive, and it was time fora change.Initial Setup:Fairly straightforward but, not as easy as the vendor made it sound. As with mostthings it was not just a flip of the switch.Implementation Team:We used a mix of both in-house and vendor teams.Other Advice:Take time to realize how much data you will be processing and how many usersyou will have, this will help you to scale the needs to the product. The productworks well, but is only as good as the servers it uses. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsEntrinsik InformerVendor: EntrinsikOverview: Informer creates a web-based business intelligence, data discovery environment providing technical andnon-technical users with immediate access to data from multiple sources.Used by over 1500 customers, Informer's powerful web-based query engine and user-friendly interfaceprovides flexible ad-hoc reporting, visualization and analysis based on real-time data blended fromdisparate data sources. With dashboards, Informer can quickly turn real-time information into departmentalvisualizations that monitor critical performance indicators.Informer achieved high rankings in worlds largest independent survey of business intelligence users, TheBI Survey 14. Contact us today for a FREE 30 day trial.Take a tour of Informer at http://www.entrinsik.com/informer/#tour.SampleCustomers:SugarCRM, Elon University, North Carolina Community College System, American University, AmericanMuseum of Natural History, New York Botanical Gardens, BP North America, Campbell University,Carnegie Museum of Pittsburgh, Linux Foundation, Julliard,Lake County Sheriff's Office, Raleigh PoliceDepartment, Loyola University, R & R Insurance, Schoolcraft College, Texas A&M, Two Rivers InsuranceCompany, University of Alabama, Advanced Medial Transport, Texas TitlePricingInformation:Based on number of users, database licenses. Email sales@entrinsik.com for a quote.TopComparisons:*QlikView vs. Entrinsik InformerMicrosoft BI vs. Entrinsik InformerCognos vs. Entrinsik InformerCompared 15% of the time.Compared 11% of the time.Compared 10% of the time.Top Industries:* UniversityLegal FirmManufacturing CompanyNon Tech Company37%29%10%10% 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-tools* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."Initially they were aperfect 10, but with morecustomers, I would ratethem down to 8""A workhorse for reportingthat is intuitive and userfriendly.""Super reporting tool ininterfacing with CommunityColleges.""Great Tool for a busy ITdepartment, easy to useand implement.""Very User Friendly""Great Product. I have somuch more to learn."ENTRINSIK INFORMER REVIEW BY A REAL USERFlorante Roa Verified by IT Central StationDirector, Systems Management & MIS Operations at auniversityCustomer Service:Initially they were a perfect 10, but with more customers, I would rate them down to8 based on our current response time experience with them.ROI:Our investment paid for itself and more. It helps us with our reporting needs andstaffing needs. With its automated and customized features, its likehaving adedicated staff for reporting purposes.Alternate Solutions:We compared Datatel ODS vs Informer.Other Advice:Its a perfect solution for a modest budget. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsENTRINSIK INFORMER REVIEW BY A REAL USERMark Baker Verified by IT Central StationCo-Founder at a tech services company with 1-100employeesValuable Features:The user interface is intuitive and simple. I rarely have to ask for help from IT to usethis software.The ability to create custom scripts in Java is wonderful and though I know verylittle Java I still find this useful to have this flexibility.The forum is helpful, especially for finding Java code that I can use or modify for myneeds.Improvements to My Organization:The Live Excel feature is awonderful tool. It has allowed me to automate manyreports that I used to run over and over and let the end-users be able to run themwhenever they want on their own. They love not having to come back to me to askfor the same data, but for a new term. With Live Excels they can just enter the newvalue and the report refreshes with live data.Room for Improvement:There are some features that are available in Informer that aren't available in theLive Excel documents that are created. It would be nice to have the ability to haveall the feature in the Live Excel documents.Use of Solution:3 yearsDeployment Issues:This is not my area of expertise as I did notdeploy this software, but as far as Iknow I have not heard of any issues.Stability Issues:No, the system runs very reliably and is stable 99% of the time. Whenever there doseem to be interruptions they seem to be more related to our network issues ratherthan any fault of the software itself.Scalability Issues:This is not my area of expertise as I am not the software administrator, but as far asI know I have not heard of any issues. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsCustomer Service:They have been great the few times I needed to check with them. I have not had tocontact them very often so this also is a testimony to the quality of product thatInformer is.Technical Support:They have been great the few times I needed to check with them. I have not had tocontact them very often so this also is a testimony to the quality of product thatInformer is.Previous Solutions:I was used to using TELNET (colon prompt) for all my reporting before we adoptedInformer. At first, the graphic user interface seemed slower and morecumbersome, but over time I've realized that tools like the Live Excels and theability to connect between different files in the database seamlessly make up morethan enough forthe slower graphic user interface instead of a command prompt.Other Advice:Entrinsik Informer is a great solution. As an end user and heavy report writer I find ituseful and intuitive. Compared to other solutions I have used in the past, I findInformer to be the best. I couldn't imagine doing my work without this great tool! 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsPentahoVendor: PentahoOverview: Pentaho is an open source business intelligence company thatprovides a wide range of tools to help theircustomers better manage their businesses. These tools include data integration software, miningtools,dashboard applications, online analytical processing options, and more.Pentaho has two product categories: There is the standardenterprise version. This is the product thatcomes directly from Pentaho itsel fwith all of the benefits, features, and programs that come along with apaid application such us analysis services, dashboard design, and interactivereporting.The alternative is an open source version, which the public is permitted to add to and tweak the product.This solution has its advantages ,aside from the fact that it is free, in that there are many more peopleworkingon the project to improve its quality and breadth of functionality.SampleCustomers:Cargo 2000 Lufthansa, Marketo, ModCloth, Cardiac Science, Telefonica, ExactTarget, Active BroadbandNetworks, and Brussels Airport.TopComparisons:*SpagoBI vs. PentahoTableau vs. PentahoQlikView vs. PentahoCompared 19% of the time.Compared 18% of the time.Compared 8% of the time.Top Industries:* Financial Services FirmManufacturing CompanyTransportation CompanyMarketing Services Firm11%9%8%7%Company Size:* 1-100 Employees100-1000 Employees1000+ Employees39%25%36%* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."In terms of functionality,they're not growing as fastas other companies. It'sgood for showing the needfor BI.""R Script needs work.Provides good dashboardsfor non-IT users.""With the help of the DataAnalysis tool, decisions arevery easy but Data Miningneeds improvement""The initial setup of the toolis very simple and theproduct is fairly simple.""Creating your own pluginis very easy with Pentaho""Working on povertyalleviation in Indonesia,this tool has improved theability of policy makers tomake good decisions."PENTAHO REVIEW BY A REAL USERAlexandre Santos Verified by IT Central StationIT Manager at a transportation company with 1-100employeesValuable Features:Pentaho Data Integration (PDI).Pentaho Analysis ServicesPentaho ReportingImprovements to My Organization:We developed Saless and HR's datamarts. So nowadays, managers of thesedepartments can have quick and flexible response with them. I think it was animprovement, because in the past each new analyses demanded IT resources,taking time, and this doesn't occur nowadays. The final users have much morefreedom to discover the information they need.Room for Improvement:I think that Pentaho can improve a lot its UI interface and its tool for dashboardmaintenance.Use of Solution:2 yearsDeployment Issues:I think the most complex are the solutions with the most hardcore implementations.Pentaho could invest more to make the life of developers easier.Stability Issues:Yes, once in a while, we have to face a unexpected problem that takes us time toovercome. And it causes problems with users satisfaction.Scalability Issues:No. I think the choice for Pentaho was right for my company. It fits very well for ourpurpose, which was demonstrate to the directors the power of BI for the business.But, now there is a perception of the benefits, and the company is become bigger.Perhaps, in the near future, I can evaluate other options, even Pentaho EE. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsCustomer Service:My company has a procedure to evaluate all of our suppliers and we havequestions about promptness, level of expertise, pre-sale and post-sale,effectiveness and efficiency.Technical Support:7 out of 10Previous Solutions:Yes, when I started with Pentaho in 20111 I already had worked in anothercompany that had Cognos BI Suite as a BI solution.Initial Setup:The initial setup was straightforward. The setup was done by my team, which hadno expertise with the Pentaho BI Suite. In 2 days, I was presented with the firstdashboards.Implementation Team:I implemented my first Pentaho project with a vendor team, which help us a lot, butits level of expertise could be better. In the middle of the project, we had somedelays related to doubts which had to be clarified by Pentahos professionals.ROI:The ROI of this product is good, because in little time you can have the firstsoutputs. But its not excellent if compared with other BI solutions, like QlikView orTableau.Pricing:My original setup cost for the first project was $30,000 and the final cost was about$35,000.Alternate Solutions:Yes. Cognos, Microstrategy and Jaspersoft.Other Advice:For me, Pentaho is not growing in terms of functionality, as fast as other companiesin the same segment. The UI falls short and for more complex solutions, itsnecessary to have good developers. However, being an Open Source solution, Ithink it allows IT departments to show with low investment the importance of BI forthe company. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsPENTAHO REVIEW BY A REAL USERRicardo Diaz Verified by IT Central StationCTO at a tech services company with 1-100 employeesValuable Features:- Correct URL integration- Excelent Look & Feel- Good Dashboards integration with BootstrapImprovements to My Organization:- Senior management dashboard- Pentaho Reporting and CDF integrationRoom for Improvement:- R ScriptUse of Solution:6 months 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsPanorama NectoVendor: Panorama SoftwareTopComparisons:*QlikView vs. Panorama NectoTableau vs. Panorama NectoMicrosoft BI vs. Panorama NectoCompared 23% of the time.Compared 14% of the time.Compared 10% of the time.* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."Currently we're in theevaluation phase, but it willprovide more power tobusiness end users tocreate reports on theirown.""It stores the discussionhistories from its users, butneeds more resources onusing it.""Multiple LanguageSupport should be added.In general, the UI is easy touse.""We didn't have manyissues with deployment,however someperformance issues needto be fixed beforedeploying to the widercommunity.""Necto looks promising &very good choice for smalland medium sizecompany, handling of largedata volume might be bitchallenging""Highly interactive andincludes eye catchyinfographics but theconsole is a bit cluttered."PANORAMA NECTO REVIEW BY A REAL USERGaurav Kumar Verified by IT Central StationAnalyst at a tech vendor with 1000+ employeesValuable Features:Necto has multiple features similar to other BI tools but parameters keeping it asemerging leader are:1.) Collaborative Analysis: groups of people can decide things on the go, it'sawesome.2.) Vibrant Infographics: even single cell attributes can be set for infographics. Itprovides more flexibility to design workboards.Improvements to My Organization:Currently we're in the evaluation phase, but it will provide more power to businessend users to create reports on their own.Room for Improvement:- Large data-set analysis performance- Technical documentationDeployment Issues:No issues with deployment, it was pretty straight forward.Stability Issues:No, it has been working fine during the evaluation.Scalability Issues:No, it has been working fine with the set of data sources we used during theevaluation.Implementation Team:The vendor team has also been involved to resolve any issues, in a timely manner ifrequired. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsAlternate Solutions:We are still in the evaluation phase and also looking for other dashboard reportingtools for business end users with strong graphic functionality. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsPANORAMA NECTO REVIEW BY A REAL USERDhairya Jindani Verified by IT Central StationAdvance oracle DBA at a retailer with 1000+ employeesValuable Features:It is an awesome tool. It has really cool features such as being able to find relevantpeople when commenting on a data element. This helps in searching for the rightpeople to solve any problems with your work, add any relevant people onto thediscussion board, and start a discussion with them. This enables you to find morepeople for addressing issues, which in turn means you can get quick resolutions forproblems. It stores the discussion histories from its users, similar to how Skypestores its chat history. This enables Necto to collect all answers in one place.Other features I like are -Recommendation engineMobile rich info-graphicsGood collaborative capability with discussion/likes/dislikes and other interactivefeatures ensure effective data analysisCapability to connect to multiple sourcesVery user interactiveImprovements to My Organization:It is a more end-user centric tool, and there is more capacity for self-service. Thishas provided us withreductions in both cost, and amount of maintenance needed.Room for Improvement:Blogs or videos related to the use of the tool would be more helpful inunderstanding how to use it. Also, I would like to get certification for this tool but Icannot find any info anywhere.Deployment Issues:No issues encountered.Stability Issues:No issues encountered. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsScalability Issues:No issues encountered.Customer Service:They don't provide customer support on-site, but the rest is fine.Technical Support:It's great.Previous Solutions:We were using an old generation BI report tool and we wanted to switch to a newgeneration BI tool.Initial Setup:It was straightforward.Implementation Team:We implemented it in-house.Alternate Solutions:We have evaluated others as well. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsSisenseVendor: SisenseOverview: Sisense is a business intelligence (BI) software that provides analytic solutions and market insights forsmall to enterprise-level businesses. Sisense is one of only a few fully-functioning BI software systems thatlet non-technologically inclined users combine multiple data sets, customize dashboards, generate datavisualizations, and share them with other users. This web-based BI solution unifies data into onecentralized location without the use of hardware or IT departments. Its data visualization features include avariety of widgets, such as line charts to determine trends and pie charts for clear comparison of findings,which allow users to uncover insights. Sisense's advanced monitoring capabilities are crucial forexperiencing business data in real-time as the most up-to-date information is reflected in the dashboardand available for immediate use. Another feature of Sisense is its collaboration tools which allow reportaccessing, monitoring, and sharing _ without downloading the file. Its mobile capabilities includedashboard checks, data insight access, and push notifications. Wix, a leading cloud-based webdevelopment platform, chose Sisense because of its customizable dashboard and scalability. Wix grewfrom a small start-up company to a reputable business with thousands of users and millions of websites. Inorder to continue to expand, it needed a software that would allow the company to derive insight based onbehavioral data and to generate reports in real-time. It selected Sisense as its BI solution and Wix is nowable to react quickly to market trends and to customize reporting based on the particular data needed.SampleCustomers:Ebay, WIX, Wave Accounting, ESPN.com, Magellan Luxury Hotel, Paylogic, Sony, Merck, EDA, One HourTranslation, NASA, Plastic Jungle, Philips, YahooTopComparisons:*Tableau vs. SisenseMicrosoft BI vs. SisenseQlikView vs. SisenseCompared 18% of the time.Compared 11% of the time.Compared 11% of the time.Top Industries:* Manufacturing CompanyFinancial Services FirmSoftware R&D CompanyTransportation Company9%9%8%7%Company Size:* 1-100 Employees100-1000 Employees1000+ Employees50%19%31%* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."Very easy solution to use.For very complicatedblended data from multiplesources we would likeSisense to add a "nerdmode".""You can easily makedecisions based on thevisualizations however theability to handle larger datasets needs work""Very good product, wouldrecommend in the future."SISENSE REVIEW BY A REAL USERJSMatt Verified by IT Central StationSection Editor: Print Software at a printing company with 1-100 employeesValuable Features:We found the ease of use to be our primary factor for choosing Sisense. We have aclient that changes their mind often and their business is moving very quickly (whatclients don't live under these conditions)? We needed to bring them a tool thatcould be learned and then deployed easily without a lot of technical expertise.The other "feature" we experienced in the buying process was Sisense's responsetime, materials that accurately answered our questions, and great sales support -access to experts within the company when we needed them.Improvements to My Organization:Our client is graduating from the world of static reports to the world of dynamicbusiness intelligence dashboards. Its a rough transition because it requires achange in behavior. People (IT people) and customers have been turning to staticreports for a long time, it takes a little effort to help them understand the power ofdynamic data that you can drill into but once they get it, they will never mention acustom report again!Room for Improvement:Sisense has made their product too easy - is that possible you might ask? For verycomplicated blended data from multiple sources we would like Sisense to add a"nerd mode" where we can geek out without the visual connecting of tables anddata elements. Some folks on our team know data structures really well and coulddo the connections more efficiently through a non-visual interface.This doesn't prevent you from doing anything. Many of the improvements I wouldhave listed in this review have been addressed in Sisense's latest release.Use of Solution:About 6 months.Customer Service:The sales experience was a real differentiation for Sisense.The customer servicehas been awesome so far, granted we haven't had to rely on them much. We don'tfind this is the kind of tool that requires a lot of help because it is easy to learn anddeploy. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsAlternate Solutions:Yes we evaluated Qlik, Tableau, and Domo. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsSISENSE REVIEW BY A REAL USERIsaac Ndereba Verified by IT Central StationTechno-Functional Consultant at a tech consultingcompany with 1-100 employeesValuable Features:The most valuable feature is the ability to combine multiple/disparate data sourcesinto one and derive intelligence from them. Also, the ability to easily visualize thedata-sets via Sisense studio is a key feature.Improvements to My Organization:The client we have deployed this for is now able to easily make decisions based onthe visualizations from this BI solution. Top Executive Management is able to makedecisions without necessarily relying on reports from the mid-level management.This has greatly improved the ability to make decisions based on trends from thepast by making projections to the future.Room for Improvement:The ability to handle larger data sets, tables in the hundreds of millions of rowsrange.Use of Solution:Two years.Deployment Issues:No, the process for deployment was straightforward especially with the olderversion V4. However, IMO, the new v5 which is purely web-based has a lot ofoptimizations in order to be equal to or better the previous version. This has greatlyhindered our upgrade to the newer version as some of the most obvious featuresare missing.Stability Issues:Yes. We have encountered some issues especially as far as importation of data isconcerned. Sometimes the platform works great, but other times, it's a drag andusers are always on our necks to speed it up.Scalability Issues:Yes, as the number of rows or volume of data has increased over the past twoyears, the querying time has been gradually increasing and this has impacted userproductivity. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsCustomer Service:Satisfactory, with opportunity to improve. Some issues are speedily handled,however, others take forever to be taken care of and communication is sometimeslacking.Technical Support:Adequate. The team of engineers are adequately skilled to deal with whatever wethrow at them.Previous Solutions:No previous solution used.Initial Setup:The initial setup was straightforward. The installation process was very clear; itwas/is very clear what one needs to do for the product to work or to derive themaximum use from it. Proper documentation has helped a great deal.Implementation Team:Vendor team; 9/10. They were adequately skilled to provide the solution.Alternate Solutions:Yes, other products such as QlikView & Tableau.Other Advice:You should have adequate SQL skills as this will come in handy. Else, prepare tohave some fun slicing and dicing data. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsOBIEEVendor: OracleOverview: OBIEE is a multifaceted network of tools that can create amore fluid and better-integrated data flow foryour business. This service isactually a platform that is made up of six individual elements, rather thanasingle tool with multiple features. These services include: presentationcatalog, BI presentation service, BIscheduler service, BI server service,administration client, and metadata repository.The purpose of the OBIEE is to have an entire system for allof your enterprising needs. The various toolswithin the suite can take yourdata, organize it, analyze it and then glean the pertinent information fromit,sending it on to the relevant parties who can then use it for metrics, patternanalysis, and futureprojections. The essence of the platform is to integrateyour current IT together with their tools in order togive you the overall bestreturn on investment with minimal fiscal obligations.SampleCustomers:Banca Transilvania, BeckmanCoulter, Hong Kong Housing Society, HealthShare, Ivanhoe CambridgeUnifies, andHome Credit, and Finance Bank.TopComparisons:*Tableau vs. OBIEEQlikView vs. OBIEEMicrosoft BI vs. OBIEECompared 26% of the time.Compared 15% of the time.Compared 12% of the time.Top Industries:* Financial Services FirmGovernmentEnergy/Utilities CompanyUniversity20%10%10%8%Company Size:* 1-100 Employees100-1000 Employees1000+ Employees15%27%58%* Data is based on the aggregate profiles of IT Central Station Users researching this solution. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsWHAT REAL USERSARE SAYING..."It provides some best inclass features on paper,but it has various technicallimitations.""A very good, stable andreliable product with morereport views needed""Dashboard capability andenterprise level securityare valuable but end userscan't change theirpassword on their own.""Exalytics and OBIEE, sizedoes matter!""Comprehensive BI tools,but lacks support fordeploying multiple RPD onone BI server, directaccess to RPD schema ormodel layers.""Dashboards, semanticmodeling are great. Butneeds improvement withvisualizations and mobile."OBIEE REVIEW BY A REAL USERSrFinance3457 Verified by IT Central StationSenior Finance Associate at a insurance company with100-1000 employeesValuable Features:The features of OBIEE most important to me and my organization are InteractiveDashboards, Ad-hoc Analysis & Enterprise Reporting. We also extensively use theRepository services to create Data layers.Improvements to My Organization:We have created various standard reports which are used extensively in myorganization and help us to save upon duplication and data errors. OBIEE has alsohelped my organization to consolidate all the sources of data and create conformitybetween the data and hierarchy of all the sources.Room for Improvement:One of the major areas for improvement on this product is that it should be madefriendlier to the end user. Also, there should be a functionality added where we canprovide a comprehensive user guide on the report itself rather than outside thedashboard.Being a Business Intelligence Suite it provides some best in class features onpaper, but after working upon its implementation in my organization for past year, Ihave understood that it has various technical limitations.Use of Solution:I've used OBIEE 11g for one year and was trained for six months by Oracle andInternal Trainings.Deployment Issues:As my organization works in the BFSI sector, the size of data that our systemsproduce every day is immense. I feel OBIEE is still not able to fully handle thatamount of data and that creates deployment issues.Stability Issues:The overall OBIEE architecture is quiet stable. Although, we have faced issuesinfrequently where the application has crashed. 2015 IT Central Station Reproduction ProhibitedTo read more reviews about Business Intelligence Tools, please visit:http://www.itcentralstation.com/category/business-intelligence-toolsScalability Issues:OBIEE is very scalable and can handle a large number of users simultaneously.Although, it gets slower on heavy usage on a lot of machines.Customer Service:I would rate the Customer Service for OBIEE from Oracle support team a