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IBM Planning Analytics vs Microsoft Power BI vs SAP Crystal Reports comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
6.8
IBM Planning Analytics boosts budgeting productivity but faces challenges from rising costs, prompting some companies to explore alternatives.
Sentiment score
7.9
Organizations achieved substantial ROI with Microsoft Power BI, finding it cost-effective, user-friendly, and beneficial for small teams.
Sentiment score
7.1
SAP Crystal Reports delivers over 1000% ROI through Visual Studio integration, boosting sales despite training and database understanding costs.
In a world surrounded by data, tools that allow navigation of large data volumes ensure decisions are data-driven.
Power BI is easy to deploy within an hour, providing robust security against data leaks.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.0
IBM Planning Analytics support is positive, yet response times vary; documentation, training, and multi-level support are valued.
Sentiment score
6.7
Microsoft Power BI customer service is generally responsive and effective, but many users rely on online resources for solutions.
Sentiment score
6.0
SAP Crystal Reports' support varies; some praise it, others turn to online communities or face scheduling and complexity challenges.
Instead, we rely on third-party partners recognized by IBM, who provide cost-effective support.
We have a multi-level support system, with the initial level handled by the company we bought the license from and subsequent support from IBM.
We have a partnership with Microsoft, involving multiple weekly calls with dedicated personnel to ensure our satisfaction.
Unfortunately, with Microsoft, you must accept the product as it is.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
IBM Planning Analytics excels in scalability and real-time data, though complexity and pricing pose challenges for some users.
Sentiment score
7.0
Microsoft Power BI scales well for diverse organizations, but large datasets and costs may affect performance and scalability potential.
Sentiment score
7.9
SAP Crystal Reports excels in scalability for large enterprises, but smaller setups may face SDK and cost challenges.
Scalability is quite hard to implement in TM1, largely since the on-premise installation chosen back in 2014.
Scalability is straightforward but it is pricey since it's a SaaS model priced per user.
With increasing AI capabilities, architectural developments within Microsoft, and tools like Fabric, I expect Power BI to scale accordingly.
You expect only a small percentage of users concurrently, but beyond a thousand concurrent users, it becomes difficult to manage.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
IBM Planning Analytics is stable and reliable, praised for robustness, supporting budgeting in various industries with few issues.
Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Power BI is reliable, with occasional issues on large datasets, generally viewed positively compared to similar products.
Sentiment score
7.4
SAP Crystal Reports stability improved since 2011, with updates resolving crash issues, though some memory problems persist.
A stable platform prevents loss of time during this process.
In terms of stability, there's no data loss or leakage, and precautions are well-managed by Microsoft.
We typically do not have problems with end-user tools like Excel and Power BI.
It's not a bad grade, as I know of better products in this field.
 

Room For Improvement

IBM Planning Analytics needs improved integration, pricing, visualization, user interface, functionality, automation, design, speed, and predictive analytics support.
Microsoft Power BI needs improved data integration, user-friendly features, enhanced visualizations, better mobile support, and clearer licensing options.
SAP Crystal Reports needs improvements in customization, interface, exporting, and compatibility for better user efficiency and experience.
The abundance of features results in complexity, requiring strict guidelines for developers to ensure simplistic approaches are adhered to.
IBM's visualization needs significant improvement.
Access was more logical in how it distinguished between data and its formatting.
This makes Power BI difficult to manage as loading times can reach one or two minutes, which is problematic today.
Microsoft updates Power BI monthly based on user community feedback.
 

Setup Cost

Enterprise IBM Planning Analytics has setup costs from consulting fees and varied licensing, offering market-standard ROI and compatibility.
Microsoft Power BI provides flexible pricing with a free desktop version and paid options ideal for various enterprise needs.
SAP Crystal Reports can be costly, but discounts and free software help manage expenses, requiring careful license model evaluation.
Given the product's old architecture and interface, they need to make it more affordable.
While IBM's solutions were costly before, the introduction of SaaS models has reduced prices significantly.
I found the setup cost to be expensive
Power BI isn't very cheap, however, it is economical compared to other solutions available.
 

Valuable Features

IBM Planning Analytics enhances planning with flexible design, Excel integration, sandbox testing, machine learning, and user-friendly interface.
Microsoft Power BI offers robust data visualization, integration, and insights, enhancing decision-making with intuitive interfaces and extensive connectivity.
SAP Crystal Reports offers flexible custom report creation with easy database connectivity, export options, and Business Objects integration.
It also integrates machine learning and AI engines, enabling us to use algorithms for inventory forecasting which optimizes our inventory and replenishment rates.
Its stability helps controllers win time in their planning processes.
In today's data-driven environment, these tools are of substantial value, particularly for large enterprises with numerous processes that require extensive data analysis.
The solution makes it easy for me to develop reports and publish them.
I have built analytic dashboards that guide analytics, enabling research and dataset manipulation.
 

Mindshare comparison

Business Performance Management
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
Reporting
 

Featured Reviews

Gnanavel-Chakkarapani - PeerSpot reviewer
Can easily create dashboards and helps businesses improve forecasting accuracy
The product has improved our company's forecasting accuracy since it serves as a very useful tool for our sales and controller teams as they easily get to enter the inputs using views in TM1, which gets loaded into our main database. If there are sales team members in different parts of the world, like in Hong Kong and Singapore, they may prefer to use IBM Planning Analytics, which is easy to use when compared to the Excel tool. Speaking about planning analytics and data analysis, I would say that our company used to use IBM Cognos Analytics for reporting, where we used to use Cognos Dynamic Cubes so that users can easily use its drag and drop features while getting to see the data for which the users had to wait for two to three minutes prior to its use. In our company, tons of data are loaded into the memory, and users can use Cognos Dynamic Cubes to analyze data and understand it. The AI capabilities of IBM have benefited our planning strategy as they are very useful for business. The tool allows the easy creation of dashboard reports using AI capabilities. No technical knowledge is required for business use cases. It is possible to integrate the product in scenarios where some new integrations are available. I remember that my company used Azure Data Factory to connect Azure, Oracle, and IBM WebSphere Application Server. When it comes to IBM Planning Analytics, it is complex to integrate it with LDAP and or any other authentication tool offered by Microsoft. In our company, some users like to integrate IBM Planning Analytics with the common LDAP or Microsoft AD, which we currently use for all our applications. The authentication part is difficult to configure with IBM Planning Analytics. The maintenance of the product is easy. My company has scheduled maintenance on the product every week, especially during forecast times, so that memories automatically lapse and users can freely access their servers. The use of the tool has had an impact on collaboration within our company's planning team since everyone knows how to easily access the data and publish the results. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. I rate the tool a nine out of ten.
James Balbach - PeerSpot reviewer
Robust system consistently elevates data visualization and seamlessly updates with user-driven advancements
Power BI is a general-use visualization system. I can express the performance of our network through high-level key performance indicators. It allows me to show detailed improvements in quality and safety and patient experience. I create improvement dashboards for task forces and work teams. I have built analytic dashboards that guide analytics, enabling research and dataset manipulation.
MVD Prasad - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps analyze your data by creating richly formatted, pixel-perfect, and multiple reports from virtually any data source, delivered in over a dozen formats
It has significantly enhanced security features, especially when compared to the standard security features of the earlier PeerSpot version I purchased. I've observed improvements in security, and overall, it's quite commendable. Regarding potential enhancements for the next release of this solution, I haven't closely examined SAP Crystal Reports 53. I've only encountered it briefly, perhaps once or twice. However, I anticipate that it likely offers advanced features distinct from its predecessor. I believe there may be notable improvements and additions in the latest version, and I look forward to exploring them further.
report
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Comparison Review

it_user79932 - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 4, 2015
Comparison of SAP BO, Tableau, QlikView, Cognos, Microsoft, OBIEE and Pentaho
1. SAP BO/BI Enterprise scalability Security Ease of use Semantic layer 2. Tableau Visualization Data discovery Turnaround time 3. IBM Cognos Enterprise scalability Security In-memory feature 4. MS BI - Flexibility 5. Pentaho - Open source but still enterprise grade 6. QlikView Data…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
42%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
41%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Planning Analytics?
The most valuable features of IBM Planning Analytics for streamlining planning processes include a unified database w...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Planning Analytics?
TM1 is quite expensive, and I'd rate the pricing as an eight out of ten. While we do get what we want in terms of fun...
What needs improvement with IBM Planning Analytics?
Since I'm using TM1 as an old version of Planning Analytics, it wouldn't be fair to specify what needs improvement be...
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 wou...
Is Power BI a complete platform or only a visualization tool?
Power BI is an advanced visualization tool oriented to big data with a very complete set of widgets to visualize info...
How does Oracle OBIEE compare with Microsoft BI?
Oracle OBIEE is great in allowing design and creativity per the individual needs of the organization. Dashboards are ...
What needs improvement with SAP Crystal Reports?
Maybe some Power BI-related features could be added, like dashboards or direct editing in reports. We use query langu...
What is your primary use case for SAP Crystal Reports?
We use SAP Crystal Reports for reporting. We use it for financial reports like statements of accounts, trial balances...
What do you like most about SAP Crystal Reports?
We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting.
 

Also Known As

Cognos TM1, IBM Cognos TM1
SSRS, SSAS, MSBI, MS Reporting Services, Microsoft BI Tools, Microsoft Big Data, Power BI Pro, MS BI
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ManpowerGroup, Convergys, AIG, Orchard Brands, Citibank, InterGen, Northwestern University, EF Education First, Ironside, Bazan Group, CSOB Insurance, Macquarie Group, Charles Stanley, SATO, Government of Sint Maarten, BMW Financial Services
Accenture Adidas Aetna AIG Airbus Alibaba Allstate Amazon American Express Aon AT&T Audi Bank of America BASF Bayer Berkshire Hathaway Boeing Coca-Cola Comcast Cisco Coca-Cola Dell Disney Emirates Equinix FedEx Ford GE Google H&M Home Depot Honda IBM Intel JPMorgan Chase Kellogg's Kroger L'Oréal McDonald's Merck MetLife Microsoft Nike Oracle P&G PepsiCo Procter & Gamble Prudential Financial SAP Siemens Snapchat Spotify Starbucks Target Toyota T-Mobile Unilever Visa Walmart WeWork World Bank Xerox
City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International (ARI), LivePerson, Coelba (Grupo Neoenergia), RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association - NBA, TALLY WEiJL, El Machetazo, Young Heroes, Mozzart, Mitsui Knowledge Industry (MKI) , Surgutneftegas Open Joint Stock Company, The VELUX Group, AOK Bundesverband, AL-KO KOBER GROUP
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