That is only for reporting and dashboard, which is the purpose for which I'm mainly using SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform.
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Enabling streamlined data visualization but facing complex setup challenges
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The most valuable function of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is the universe, so customers can build their own reports without programming skills.
The main benefits that SAP solutions provide include saving time and visualizing data more easily.
Functional wise, I'm satisfied with interactive dashboards and visualizations from SAP. It's okay. It's also helpful with interactive dashboards.
What needs improvement?
The platform is totally separated; SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is not easy to integrate with third parties or inside the SAP environment.
The initial setup for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is too complex from my perspective.
SAP can make SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform better by simplifying the installation and configuration.
In the functionality part, it would be great to see some new functions, maybe some AI or something similar, but I'm not sure whether this should be done by such a reporting platform; perhaps other tools or technologies would be more suitable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform for ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's quite stable; I would rate it an eight or nine for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
That's also good regarding scalability, the ability to scale and expand.
How are customer service and support?
I have experience with SAP technical support and have contacted them.
That's one thing I've complained quite a lot about, and recently I saw some improvement, but I would rate them a number five.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We are evaluating some other alternatives, for example, open source software; that's my experience with competitors.
What other advice do I have?
The SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform serves as a BI tool. I am not working with predictive analytics capabilities from SAP. I am an SAP real user, not a partner. I would rate this solution a 7 out of 10.
Provides efficient data reporting while needing easier deployment and improved interface
What is our primary use case?
The situation is I'm working with a client who has a Citrix installation, which can be a bit unstable. I am a user as a developer for universes and reports, so I don't have any insight into the technical deployment of it. I'm not a systems engineer.
This is generally used for financial reporting.
Users tend to put everything into Excel, though I try to discourage this. The best feature about it for me, and for them, is the fact that you have a universe that is well made. This means you don't have those months that get assigned. You can just get to the point and get a report very quickly. Unfortunately, in some ways, it's a double-edged sword because it becomes more of a self-service ETL, even for the reporting team.
I have only ever used it because I've always been at the end user line, handling what I needed based on my sources, which was satisfactory.
What is most valuable?
Users tend to put everything into Excel, though I try to discourage this. The best feature about it for me, and for them, is the fact that you have a universe that is well made. This means you don't have those months that get assigned. You can just get to the point and get a report very quickly. Unfortunately, in some ways, it's a double-edged sword because it becomes more of a self-service ETL, even for the reporting team.
If you have a decent universe and you just want to quickly get something together, it's very usable. Compared to Click, you can drop those reports very quickly.
What needs improvement?
The foreground handling is disastrous. I tried moving a few columns, and that's not a task you want to do. I've worked with other tools, for example, Microsoft Power BI, which is visualization-wise very strong. The metrics layer is equivalent to the universe, nowhere near it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform on and off for over 20 years.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
I have very little vision on deployment as I work in a business area. When they say a report isn't working, I fix it for them, but regarding deployment, I have very limited visibility.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform seems to be slowly losing clients to competition. I don't know exactly why because people who use it seem to really appreciate it, especially those who have used its stability. I suspect it's something to do with the relationship that SAP has with the organization.
From what I've heard in conversations, when they tried upgrading from 4.2 to 4.3, they found it buggy in some reports, which was quite problematic.
What about the implementation team?
I don't know how much it costs to implement. That's my issue. I don't focus on that because I've always been at the front end of development. Implementation is always handled by system engineers and business reports.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I've worked with Microsoft Power BI, which is visualization-wise very strong. The metrics layer is equivalent to the universe, nowhere near it.
I have been doing the equivalent in Power BI using Copilot, which isn't a big deal.
What other advice do I have?
I have very little vision at my current client. I work in a business area where I fix reports when they aren't working. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform seems to be slowly losing clients to competition, though people who use it appreciate its stability. I suspect it's related to the relationship between SAP and organizations.
I have heard anecdotal evidence that the relationship with SAP is not easy. However, as a tool for reporting and getting a stable data platform, I still think it's very good.
On a scale of one to ten, I rate SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform a seven.
Visualization is better than other tools, offers good dashboard and analytics features but it is not easy to adapt to the product
What is our primary use case?
We primarily used it for BI reporting and analytics, preparing dashboards, reports, and everything related to data analysis.
What is most valuable?
Dashboard and analytics are good features. Visualization is better than other tools. First of all, visualization tools, productivity, and predictive forecasting are much more mature. The tool is fully compatible. Visualization is tremendous or various, colorful, or objects. So, as per my recommendation, visualization is a strong point.
Another thing is SAP is putting in the planning, or their features, so that it is very useful for each and every organization.
Ad hoc reporting is very good.
The workflow is easy to get with SAP. In terms of SAP, some other, in other domains, just like other than SAP tools, maybe some technical skills are required for the integration parts.
What needs improvement?
As per my opinion, because SAP is a very worldwide product or very useful product, I'm not talking about improvement, because I just think that SAP can focus on the pricing factor.
The cost of this product, so every company is not suitable to use it. Because of the very huge amount of integrations, every organization can not use it. So, it is a very costly product.
Secondly, from an educational point of view, So, it is not easy to adapt to each and every IT person because some, most, in India, most cities, such as Delhi, Bangalore, or Chennai, only metro support the educational platform for that.
So, just my suggestion is SAP should focus on every user; it should be easy to pick the product and, easy to carry, easy to use in every life. So, SAP must try to improve in this part.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for three to four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. It is a pretty scalable product.
I would recommend it for enterprise level companies.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used various SAP products in my previous company, including SAP SuccessFactors, SAP BusinessObjects, and others. Currently, we use SuccessFactor and are moving towards the SAP HANA Cloud Platform.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is very simple. It's just functional. The installation part is very easy to use.
What about the implementation team?
Our vendor, Accenture, or PwC, and other valuable vendors support me. So, for most of the integration part, they are looking at it.
I just handle the front end or user support.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Comparing just for the price segment, it is very high, so that is why not each and every company uses SAP.
As a competitor for Power BI, it's easy to use. Power BI click or Tableau are use it more mature than SAP BI. Because SAP BI is basically properly guided, if fields are required. So, not each and every person can use this.
As per my suggestion, SAP should be easy to use, maybe easier than Power BI. An old user can pick up and adopt.
What other advice do I have?
It is a very good and reliable product from SAP's perspective, especially compared to other products. It offers a comprehensive set of BI reporting features, and SAP regularly improves the product. Before I left my previous company, they were transitioning to the SAC platform for analytics due to its capabilities in planning, predictive analytics, and forecasting.
Overall, I highly recommend this tool as it is very helpful and improves productivity.
I would rate the product a seven out of ten.
A user-friendly solution for reporting but needs improvement in pricing
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for reporting, including ad hoc reporting. The source is our own IDT Universal, an alarm product. We are a PR gate responsible for revenue accounting for different addresses. Customers mainly receive reports.
What is most valuable?
There are many valuable features. First, we can create ad hoc reports on a priority basis and deliver them to users quickly. The source is you can write a free end screen. Secondly, We can create reports with dynamic input controls, which is handy for showing data trends to users. Lastly, the sections and breaks features are handly and can merge multiple data providers.
What needs improvement?
The solution is pushing too much into the cloud, which is difficult. Reporting is powerful but could be more dynamic, like in Tableau or other front-end tools.
Visualization could be strengthened.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform for over ten years. We are using v4.2 of the solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable. No product comes close to the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. It is both user-friendly and easy to build for end users. It has good features, but the visualization part is entirely redundant. The visualization capabilities are not as good as Tableau's. We are using Tableau for visualization.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have managed 500 users and five administrators, and scalability has not been a problem. I haven’t faced any issues in adding new users.
How are customer service and support?
The free version has a time limitation, even for version 4.2. After a certain period, the first level of technical support is no longer available. The full version of the platform does not have this limitation. When you ask them any questions, they do reply, of course. However, they often come up with additional suggestions, such as "Why don't you buy this?" or "Why don't you do that?”. Every time they have a marketing pitch, it makes it more detachable.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. I have been using it since 2005. I have migrated from Duo 6.5 to XAR2, then to 3.1, and finally to 4.5 and 4.2. The deployment has never been that difficult. The migration is still easier in 4.2 and 4.3 than in previous versions. In earlier versions, you have the same folders and structures. However, this limitation is no longer there when migrating from 4.2 to 4.3.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution’s pricing is very high.
What other advice do I have?
The features are pretty good, but there are also problems. The security rights can be confusing because security rights are universal.
Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
Has features that can be leveraged to scale out and up; unfortunately lacks sufficient documentation
What is our primary use case?
We use this SAP solution for designing reports. This is a purely analytic application for designing reports to cater to higher management and specific business use cases.
What is most valuable?
There are features within Business Objects that can be leveraged to scale out, and scale up. All SAP products are scalable these days.
What needs improvement?
Some configurations related to business objects are a little tricky. Integrations with things like Active Directory and LDAP tend to be a little complex. There's not enough documentation available on the net.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using this solution for almost 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability can be affected by configurations related to business objects which tend to be somewhat complex. It's not a very widely used product and that in itself is a problem.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable. There are features that can be leveraged to scale.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support is pretty good.
How was the initial setup?
The installation can take anywhere from three to five days. The solution has installers that are directly available for download from the SAP download center. There are certain prerequisites that have to be carried out on the server. The host has to be prepared, there's a runtime environment and a database that needs to be pre-installed. We use two to three admin people per deployment.
What was our ROI?
The ROI depends on whether there's a significant volume. If there's not enough volume there might not be a return.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The SAP model for licensing is quite complex and they generally don't deal with service providers.
What other advice do I have?
There are mixed reviews on this product from our customers. You won't find as many companies use it as you'd find with HANA. It's not widely used.
I rate this solution seven out of 10.
Enterprise solution for BI reporting
What do you like best about the product?
Used for reporting and data visualization, we were connected with DB2 and Sybase to perform the reporting requirement of the organization. Datawarehousing capabilities, allowing to connect with multiple sources
What do you dislike about the product?
Limited capabilities with respect to data transformation, GUI is also not much attracted compared to other tools in the market. Pricing is also high compare to other solutions in the market.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
we are using SAP BO as a legacy reporting tool and were moving the new requirements to Qlikview/Tableau/PowerBI. Crystal reports were migrated to SAP BO as Crystal reports required high maintenance.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
There are better solution available in market as of now, please check them.
Powerful tool, but the UI is cumbersome
What do you like best about the product?
There is no doubt that Business Objects has a lot of functionality and can perform many "heavy duty" tasks. It's GUI allows for business users who are not versed in complex SQL queries to craft robust and complex reports. Sharing reports amongst individuals and business groups is a nice feature.
What do you dislike about the product?
While the GUI is useful, it can be more user-friendly. The entire interface takes some getting used to and is not very intuitive. It seems as if this tool doesn't know if it wants to be technical and therefore contain a crowded set of functionality and a not so user-friendly interface or if it wants to be Business friendly and allow for the "common user" to craft reports with little technical knowledge, although it takes some technical training to create a basic report.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
This tool is used to mine data from our enterprise system, primarily for those people who cannot use SQL developer and craft their own complex queries. We primarily use this tool for analysis and not particularly for reporting. In other words, data analytics.
Steep learning curve
What do you like best about the product?
The platform allows us to run reports about academic administration issues like enrollment, course completion, and budget-related issues. Having access to these materials enables us to look at long-term trends and adjust our expectations and understanding accordingly.
What do you dislike about the product?
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence has a very steep learning curve, or at least I thought so. I went through the training documents and videos multiple times and felt confounded by the complexity and outdated user interface.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence allows us to run reports and evaluate plans regarding long-term issues around finances, human resources, payroll, enrollment, expense management, and more. Having access to these reports makes a vast trove of data much more accessible and valuable.
Strong Legacy Analytics tool
What do you like best about the product?
Analytic power and capabilities to conduct complex queries. Power insight with so so graphics
What do you dislike about the product?
Clunky navigation. Menus are not intuitive and not intended for the average user. It takes time to train and execute correctly.
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
It provides static business reporting across multiple platforms.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
Take as much training as possible. It is super hard to start, but as you continue to use it, it improves.
A solid tool that makes Querying Data much easier.
What do you like best about the product?
It makes it easy for my team to pull already processed data.
What do you dislike about the product?
The queries often break and pulling in the data can be very slow for more complex data pulls
What problems is the product solving and how is that benefiting you?
We have been able to quickly build out complex queries that would not be easily possible in SQL. We can run these queries on a schedule or ad-hoc at any time.
Recommendations to others considering the product:
If you have an SAP data set-up, I would recommend having your business look into setting up Business Objects. It can make your life pulling in data a lot easier and require less SQL expertise.
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