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Board vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 15, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.8
Organizations save time and reduce costs with Board's efficiency, enhancing ERP integration and streamlining municipal processes.
Sentiment score
5.8
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform offers varying ROI, with potential savings and positive returns, depending on usage and implementation scale.
It's hard for me to gauge the monetary benefits, but the time saved in budgeting and forecasting processes indicates a definite bonus.
Manager, Software Delivery at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
The initial investment will be more, but the ROI is also good, so they can consider it if they're looking for something in the long run.
Associate Software Enginner at Siddaganga Institute of Technology
I have seen a return on investment so far in the form of saved time and resources.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
For most of my clients using the on-premises version of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform, the return on investment is positive due to its affordability and ability to handle diverse reporting needs while automating information distribution.
Data Analytics Manager at Dangote Industries Limited
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
Board's customer service is praised for responsiveness and reliability, despite occasional communication issues, contributing to positive user experiences.
Sentiment score
6.5
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform support is mixed, with some praising reliability and others noting slow, complex issue handling.
As long as I go through my account manager, I receive very good support.
Manager, Software Delivery at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Sometimes, they forward my ticket to the technical team, especially when my issue involves technical aspects that basis people may not be familiar with.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
The support available for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is accessible 24 hours and seven days a week.
Student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
I have experience with SAP technical support and have supported customers, including those in financial services.
Data Analytics Manager at Dangote Industries Limited
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Board efficiently manages scaling, offering flexibility and robust data processing, though some face scalability issues with larger Windows client data.
Sentiment score
7.6
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform is scalable and adaptable, though some report complexity issues in specific scalability scenarios.
The scalability of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is adequate; it is very scalable and grows with my organization's needs.
Senior Data Engineer at LTI LATAM and Toubro Improtech
I rate the scalability of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform as a nine due to performance issues related to optimizing parts.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Users generally find the platform stable, with occasional issues mostly due to user error or integration challenges.
Sentiment score
6.9
SAP BusinessObjects is generally stable, dependable, but performance can vary with configuration, sizing, and resource management challenges.
Board's stability is excellent, with uptime around ninety-nine point nine percent, and I have not experienced any issues.
Manager, Software Delivery at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
When they tried upgrading from 4.2 to 4.3, they found it buggy in some reports, which was quite problematic.
Senior Consultant at Keyrus
 

Room For Improvement

Board needs improvements in integration, user experience, data handling, and performance to optimize functionality and accessibility.
SAP BusinessObjects needs better integration, improved UI, enhanced scalability, reduced licensing complexity, and improved self-service BI for broader adoption.
If the design isn't right, the flexibility of Board can negatively impact performance.
Manager, Software Delivery at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
If SAP could split the analytics side from financial analytics, it would become more affordable and easier to learn for technicians.
Data Analytics Manager at Dangote Industries Limited
We need to speed up the performance of our tool because it is slower compared to the SAP Analytics Cloud tool.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
I would appreciate integration with Outlook as an additional feature in the future to make it closer to a perfect score.
IT at a marketing services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

Board offers flexible pricing, valued for cost-benefit despite being pricier than competitors; partner support is essential during implementation.
SAP BusinessObjects BI is costly and complex, best for large enterprises with significant data needs, compared to cheaper alternatives.
SAP BTP is an expensive solution.
Associate Software Enginner at Siddaganga Institute of Technology
The price is very competitive and reliable.
IT at a marketing services firm with 10,001+ employees
I rate the pricing for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform as a seven or eight.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
 

Valuable Features

Board provides a comprehensive platform for customization, reporting, data analysis, security, and diverse functionalities with minimal IT involvement.
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform offers dynamic scheduling, robust security, and seamless data integration, enhancing reporting efficiency and decision-making.
Our budgeting and forecasting processes support around three hundred twenty users who would otherwise rely on Excel, making Board invaluable for saving time.
Manager, Software Delivery at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
For calculations, SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform outperforms all other tools such as Power BI and Tableau, showing more accuracy, reliability, and flexibility compared to all other BI tools worldwide.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
Since we started using SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform, we have been able to make faster, data-driven business decisions based on actual data insights and data analysis, which has accelerated our ability to make better decisions for our business productivity.
Senior Data Engineer at LTI LATAM and Toubro Improtech
The most valuable function of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is the universe, so customers can build their own reports without programming skills.
Global Product Manager at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Board
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
21st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
37
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (7th), Reporting (18th)
SAP BusinessObjects Busines...
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
114
Ranking in other categories
Data Visualization (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category, the mindshare of Board is 1.1%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence is 2.4%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence2.4%
Board1.1%
Other96.5%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2645016 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Software Delivery at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Offers flexibility in design and saves time in budgeting and forecasting processes
I find Board to be simple and easy to use. It offers significant flexibility in designing solutions. The system overall is very useful, with many capabilities that provide flexibility. Our budgeting and forecasting processes support around three hundred twenty users who would otherwise rely on Excel, making Board invaluable for saving time.
EO
Data Analytics Manager at Dangote Industries Limited
Solution empowers self-service reporting and delivers comprehensive performance insights
Empowering business users means they should be able to work independently without depending on the developer. One advantage of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is self-service capabilities, allowing users to do drag and drop to build their own reports and perform analyses without needing technical know-how.The platform has many drivers that I can use to connect to virtually all available databases, making it easy to integrate with Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and many others. With the cloud version, I can fetch data on-premises and to the cloud for analysis easily. It is so flexible that I can make choices for fetching data. For authentication in an SAP environment, I can choose to integrate with SAP logon for SSO or use AD authentication for convenience, along with the flexible integration options.
report
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Comparison Review

it_user6663 - PeerSpot reviewer
BI Expert at a transportation company with 51-200 employees
May 25, 2013
SAP Business Objects vs. Microsoft BI
A quick look at the whole idea on another weblogs gives you a sense that all of them just talked about very brief things like report refresh feature in BO or cube feature in MS Analysis Service. I choose MS BI and I want to share my reasons and opinions on why I choose it and give you another quick…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise68
 

Questions from the Community

Is Board better than Anaplan as a Business Intelligence (BI) solution?
We've had several FP&A departments include Anaplan in their analytics discussions, and while BI information IS generated, the focus is generally on compiling input from various sources and simu...
What needs improvement with Board?
Board's integration could be a bit more robust, but what we have works. If the design isn't right, the flexibility of Board can negatively impact performance.
What is your primary use case for Board?
Our organization primarily uses Board ( /products/board-reviews ) for budgeting and forecasting.
Seeking lightweight open source BI software
There are many...It would rather depend what System BI architecture or Enterprise legacy you have at your end...I would recommend as follows: 1) If you have legacies of SAP, Oracle - look for SAP...
Tableau vs. Business Objects - Which is a better solution for visualization and analysis?
Both tools have their positives and negatives. First, I should mention that I am relatively new to Tableau. I have been working on and off Tableau for about a year, but getting to work on it consta...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform, SAP BusinessObjects, Business Objects, SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards, SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Coca-Cola, Puma, Desigual, Ricoh, KPMG, H&M, Groupe SEB
SRAM, Kennametal, Fairfax Water, British American Tobacco, Velux, and FedEx.
Find out what your peers are saying about Board vs. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
887,041 professionals have used our research since 2012.