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Microsoft Power BI vs Oracle Fusion Middleware comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Cognos
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
134
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (7th), Reporting (4th)
Microsoft Power BI
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
315
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (1st), Reporting (1st)
Oracle Fusion Middleware
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
Application Server
 

Q&A Highlights

RV
Apr 23, 2023
 

Featured Reviews

Carlos Larrad Salgado - PeerSpot reviewer
Improved the quality of our KPIs, while reducing calls to the IT department
I don't like that when we use Colab packages, we get less functionality. For example, you can make groups of data with Excel or with the data sets from the packages, but when you use the Colab packages directly, you can only group the data when you analyze it with Analysis Studio. I think Cognos needs to improve more on this functionality. The user experience is also very important. Cognos is not very easy to understand sometimes, especially when they change the layout but keep the functionality the same. The help is not very graphic and they have no examples. Cognos has to make a big effort to help with understanding the functionality by improving the documentation. There is a lot of documentation, but the examples are hard to find and they should make their help section easier to understand for non-technical users.
Amol Rane - PeerSpot reviewer
Supports AI initiatives in terms of predictive analytics
The only issue is with permissions. Sometimes, despite granting granular permissions, dashboards are visible to people who shouldn't have access. It's difficult to understand why the permissions slip out. Sometimes dashboards are visible to stakeholders even though they should not have permission. It's a bit difficult to understand why the permissions slip out. The dashboards lack a user-friendly appearance, and the permissions should be easier to understand. At this point, we have to go through a lot of details. It takes a lot of time to understand the permissions, so if there were better options available within the Power BI setup, it would be quite beneficial, especially for admins. So, there should be a more user-friendly dashboard appearance and easier-to-understand permissions.
Husni Milhem - PeerSpot reviewer
Maintains top database performance and includes a very good ATB feature
Technical support is helpful. They have a good support bot for handling items so most case response times are fast. Support is aware and responsive but it takes time for them to resolve issues. Our whole enterprise is in the cloud and uses this application. It is a high priority to close any issues. We need an immediate response with resolution within two to three days. Support sends a lot of templates to fill in based on the priority or escalation. Completing templates takes time, particularly with the bot. The support process definitely needs improvement so technical support is rated a seven out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When it comes to decision-making, the product is very useful and used in many departments since a lot of people prefer the reports to be generated by IBM Cognos."
"Previously, we were doing static reporting. Management would request a report, and it would take staff a week or more to provide it. With Cognos, we have dynamic reporting, and it has reduced both reporting and decision making times significantly. With the solution's dashboard, the company's management team has updated records at their fingertips. This means that they can directly access the data they need to make decisions."
"This solution allows you to input a wide range of file formats."
"In terms of stability, I think that Cognos is more stable than Tableau and Power Bi because of its framework manager concept that allows us to import metadata and store it in the framework manager."
"The product is a very good reporting tool and is very flexible. It allows for the users to get a scheduled report."
"The most valuable features are Report Development (Functionality) and Information Distribution (Flexibility)."
"We use the account statement report. When you use an account in HSBC, you receive various types of accounts, such as the stock market, fixed accounts, credit cards, and business accounts. We can create one consolidated report called CCS support, which includes all these accounts. In that statement, we are consolidating all those accounts."
"Using custom controls, it is possible to extend the application with even more functionality and make the application intuitive and attractive."
"The product is easy to use and simple to navigate."
"The tool is very flexible so it allows creativity."
"The most valuable feature is definitely the visual aspect and the DAX capabilities to virtually do anything."
"Technical support has been great."
"The fact that you can visualize items is great."
"It is really flexible. The charts and reports are really nice. You have the flexibility of self-service."
"With the out-of-the-box Data Platform and Business Intelligence ecosystem, you get the entire platform with a single license."
"The user interface is easy to work with."
"The solution is quite good for applying patches or performing upgrades."
"Fusion Middleware's main feature for me is that it is quite flexible, and, as middleware, it provides us with all sorts of technology and application adapters, which makes it very handy to use."
"Oracle Service Bus is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"The most valuable feature is the structure of the product. We use Oracle Fusion Middleware to manage the Oracle database. Registered users can go to each product if sign-on credentials match each user's identical framework."
"The scalability is good."
"The solution is very easy to install."
"Data integrity."
"The most valuable features are the pre-built connectors between Oracle applications, which allow quick integration. I also appreciate the fast deployment of components. Oracle Fusion Middleware's key benefit is enabling real-time data transfer between applications."
 

Cons

"I would like to see is more easy building, movement in the reports, and dashboard functionality within reporting. Overall more simple elements within reports. If the elements are simple then you don't have to render a full page, but you can move separate parts in the page."
"I would like to have predictive and forecasting capabilities in Cognos. It's one thing to do reporting, and another thing to easily predict or forecast certain data points, which is very important for all the clients."
"I would like them to reinclude PowerPlay. One thing that I am missing in the current Cognos is what was formally named PowerPlay. They have basically removed PowerPlay from it, which is something that I fail to understand because it was the most wonderful tool for business intelligence that I've ever used. As far as I know, they don't provide this functionality anymore, so this is one thing that I dislike about Cognos."
"I don't like that when we use Colab packages, we get less functionality. For example, you can make groups of data with Excel or with the data sets from the packages, but when you use the Colab packages directly, you can only group the data when you analyze it with Analysis Studio. I think Cognos needs to improve more on this functionality."
"Data modeling needs to be improved. We use the ETL process, and when we get errors, we then need to identify which structural change is required. The error messaging should be better. They should be descriptive rather than semantic."
"The tool needs to improve the connectivity since I see that, at times, there is a need to increase the memory in the database."
"It could have more options for themes."
"There are a lot of limitations with the out-of-the-box tool."
"Microsoft BI comes under pressure when there is a lot of data to be crunched. It gets slower and slower, and the functionality becomes a bit of a problem. The performance goes down with data being fed into the system. The infrastructure requirement also increases if you have to increase the performance. This is the area that can be improved in my opinion. Initially, the product is good, but over the years, when data gets accumulated, it becomes a problem unless the old data is kind of archived and is no longer shown on the visualization. It has a feature by using which a user can query for a report through simple questions to a bot. So, if I want to look for the customer share of revenue by geography, I just simply state that in the chatbot. If I wanted it in a pie chart, then you say, "Please show it to me in a pie chart." It comes out well for basic charts. This feature should be improvised more so that people can very quickly get customized reports on the go."
"We would like it if they added more Python libraries in the Power BI service. For Power BI service right now, you can use Python, but it is limited to a few libraries or a few packages from Python."
"The solution could improve the extraction and transformation of data. For example, you transform the data and then send it to Microsoft BI without having to use your own API. We are only providing the API to Power BI, and then Power BI is doing the job."
"The dashboards lack a user-friendly appearance."
"Drill-down in dashboards needs to improved. The capability only works in Power BI Desktop today. We need to have an alternative approach today."
"Its performance and stability can be improved. It takes time to load, and sometimes, it also breaks down for the whole region. Its usability could also be better, and it could also have more connections with different data sources."
"It should be more user-friendly. There are very small or tiny icons that you need to move very carefully. If you go a little bit up and down, some of the values change. Its user interface should be improved. It should be like Tableau. Its performance is also slow and should be improved. I definitely feel some sort of speed issues with Power BI. The integration of Excel with Power BI would also be good."
"Integration with products that are not Microsoft could be more improved."
"I would rate the stability a nine out of ten because we did have multiple breakdowns and crashes."
"Oracle Fusion Middleware is based on the regulations in Saudi Arabia and the legislation changes. There is a need to be improvements all the time. It needs to adapt quickly in this market. Additionally, there could be some improvements in the construction sector."
"The main improvement must be made on the user interface. You need to use another Oracle cross in this product. It must be improved and some features of the connectors must be changed."
"All areas of HCM modules could use some improvement."
"For improvements, I think Oracle Fusion Middleware could be better at connecting to third-party applications. While it works well with Oracle products, it's more limited to non-Oracle systems than other middleware solutions like MuleSoft."
"Its price can be improved. We are currently looking for more cost-efficiency. It should also have a little bit more flexibility for customizations. The customizations should be quicker."
"The product should improve BPEL features."
"The documentation might not be good enough for new users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"My company uses IBM Cognos with another IBM product, so I think only one license is used."
"IBM Cognos price is on the higher side of the spectrum. However, with the features that it brings, such as correlation analysis, it's worth the money. They should look at the pricing more clearly because it's a little on the higher side."
"Cognos is super expensive compared to Tableau ($70/month) and Power BI ($20/month) — I think Cognos is roughly $200 a month."
"The solution is affordable."
"It is quite pricy. I think Microsoft BI is cheaper. Tableau might also be cheaper, but it also depends on the usage. If you have very many users, Cognos can be a problem. It could be cheaper than Tableau but not for so many users. If you have a few thousand users, Tableau, which is generally quite expensive, can be cheaper than Cognos."
"There is a standard license required to use this solution. There are some additional tools but I am not sure if they are an extra cost."
"I don't know the exact cost, but I believe Cognos is quite expensive, especially when it comes to the support consultants and the procedures that need to be applied."
"The licensing costs are a little bit higher for IBM Cognos. I don't think there is any additional cost apart from the licensing charges."
"The cost of licensing depends on the number of people that are going to be using the reports, and we are satisfied with it at $10 per user."
"It would be better if the price was cheaper."
"Pricing is a big advantage that Power BI has over Tableau. Power BI is three or four times cheaper than Tableau. For my personal use, I will definitely prefer a $20 monthly fee of Power BI rather than a $70 monthly fee of Tableau. If you pay altogether for Power BI, they give you a discount, whereas, with Tableau, there is no discount. There are three versions of Power BI: Free, Pro, and Premium. The Premium version comes with a lot of things. There is no extra or hidden fee. You pay every month, and the software is with you. If you upgrade, there will be some extra charges."
"We have a professional license for Microsoft BI and the price is fair."
"We have enterprise licenses and some of the other tools or features come as a package and others you have to purchase separately."
"As far as I am aware you do not need a license for the solution."
"The solution is priced well for what they offer. However, the premium version is very expensive."
"Licensing fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"We pay annually for the solution."
"My advice is to buy the basic modules first, gain the most benefit from them, then buy the advanced modules."
"The solution is quite expensive so is only used by larger organizations."
"The licensing costs are reasonable."
"The tool is best suited for large companies due to high licensing costs."
"It is expensive. We are looking for a cheaper solution."
"The solution is expensive so pricing is rated a six out of ten."
"The pricing is moderate. It's fine."
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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…
 

Answers from the Community

RV
Apr 23, 2023
Apr 23, 2023
Hi Ross,Good news! The BI Connector, a Power BI-certified connector is created exactly for this purpose!With BI Connector, it's possible to extract your Oracle Fusion data directly to Power BI. Please check it out below:https://www.biconnector.com/po...The connector works seamlessly with both Power BI Desktop and Service (or Report Server) and supports Import and Direct Query modes. It also ret...
2 out of 3 answers
PM
Apr 19, 2023
Hi Ross, Easy is a tricky description...We are going through this effort too. We are 'grappling' with the governance of this type of access as well as the technical journey. So you are not alone. Fusion Middleware applications include a number of connectivity options including native client or Oracle Data Access Components (ODAC), with OLEDB, JDBC, etc., on top. Each has its own quirks. This is the 'plumbing' between the analytic tool and source. Adding to that is the cloud and database level security of the data source.  A good way to start is to use Oracle's SQL Developer to connect to your data source. It gives developers a great query tool for Oracle and other databases. (https://www.oracle.com/databas...) Once you understand what you can access, you can easily migrate that connectivity to Power BI. Moreover, you will have validated queries that you can test directly or simply bring in the tables using the PBI Navigator.
DM
Apr 20, 2023
Hi Ross,Good news! The BI Connector, a Power BI-certified connector is created exactly for this purpose!With BI Connector, it's possible to extract your Oracle Fusion data directly to Power BI. Please check it out below:https://www.biconnector.com/po...The connector works seamlessly with both Power BI Desktop and Service (or Report Server) and supports Import and Direct Query modes. It also retains the underlying table joins in the Oracle Fusion Cloud, so you don't have to recreate them from scratch in Power BI.Thanks,Dinesh
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
56%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
5%
Government
4%
Educational Organization
41%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Educational Organization
55%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Seeking lightweight open source BI software
It depends on the Data architecture and the complexity of your requirement. Some great tools in the market are Qlik ...
What do you like most about IBM Cognos?
The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of use, which makes it easily compatible with other tools.
What needs improvement with IBM Cognos?
I need improvements, particularly with the Framework Manager, which has an outdated user interface from older version...
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 do you like most about Oracle Fusion Middleware?
The most valuable features are Oracle Unified Directory and unified identity access management.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Fusion Middleware?
The tool is best suited for large companies due to high licensing costs.
What needs improvement with Oracle Fusion Middleware?
For improvements, I think Oracle Fusion Middleware could be better at connecting to third-party applications. While i...
 

Also Known As

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

Overview

 

Sample Customers

More than 23,000 leading organizations across multiple industries use Cognos. Some examples of Cognos customers include BMW Financial Services, Quinte Health Care, Troy Corporation, Michigan State University, and GKN Land System.
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
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