MicroStrategy vs SAP Crystal Reports comparison

The compared MicroStrategy and SAP solutions aren't in the same category. MicroStrategy is ranked #8 in BIT , with an average rating of 7.5, and holds a 3.4% mindshare in the category. SAP is ranked #8 in RT , with an average rating of 8.4, and holds a 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of MicroStrategy users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of SAP users who would recommend it.

MicroStrategy

Read 159 MicroStrategy reviews

4,652 Views
3,064 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

SAP Crystal Reports

Read 49 SAP Crystal Reports reviews

2,101 Views
1,654 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

MicroStrategy

SAP Crystal Reports

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between MicroStrategy and SAP Crystal Reports based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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January 2025

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Helped 832,138 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

MicroStrategy

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

159

Ranking in other categories

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (8th), Embedded BI (3rd)

SAP Crystal Reports

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Reporting (8th)

Mindshare comparison

While both are Business Intelligence solutions, they serve different purposes. MicroStrategy is designed for BI (Business Intelligence) Tools and holds a mindshare of 3.4%, down 3.6% compared to last year.
SAP Crystal Reports, on the other hand, focuses on Reporting, holds 2.7% mindshare, down 4.0% since last year.

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

Reporting

Featured Reviews

Harjinder-Singh

Data engineer at a insurance company with 10,001+ employees

Offers a simplified attribute and maze-creation process but lacks a thriving community

The solution provider should take some initiatives to grow the MicroStrategy community because, presently, it's quite small, and I wasn't able to find a solution to my problem by searching in the community. MicroStrategy can offer user-friendly training through platforms such as YouTube. Recently, at our company, the features we were able to utilize in the developer tool were not there in the workstation; such issues can be resolved through training videos or learning content distribution from MicroStrategy. The solution provider is presently promoting the workstation on the cloud instead of the developer tool, so there should be relevant resources for learning about the product. MicroStrategy is also working on integrating AI technology into its product. The object migration process from one environment to another using the solution is somewhat complex. It involves package creation, dependency, and transportation. But the migration process is rather simpler in OBIEE, where reports need to be archived in one system and unarchived in another, for example, from Dev to SID.

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MVD Prasad

Assistant General Manager at Soma Enterprise

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is always nice to have one solution in a single platform. You can do pretty much everything, instead of having to get a little bit here or a little bit there."

"The hyperintelligence is the most valuable feature."

"The technical support of MicroStrategy can be helpful through implementation."

"Comprehensive security control and more."

"The stability of the product is good."

"This solution has allowed us to become a top-class competitor among other consulting companies."

"I like the user interface and the experience has been great."

"The data governance leads people to trust the data that they have, and they know where to get it."

More MicroStrategy pros

"The most valuable feature is that from a user's point of view, it is easy to use and requires just a simple click to generate a report."

"SAP Crystal Reports offers a plethora of features, many of which were available much earlier than in the Crystal Reports we previously used. We extensively use its capabilities for generating general reports, working with Kaspersky data, and even incorporating images into our reports. The range of functions available in SAP Crystal Reports is diverse, and we leverage them across various systems for our needs."

"We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a fantastic way of generating reports."

"It is an user-friendly solution."

"I find Crystal Reports very easy to use, even for a non-technical person."

"The initial setup of the solution is pretty easy."

"The overall environment is the best. Data management, graphs, and layout – everything is the best, in my opinion."

Cons

"With Cube partition (v10.1 and above) scalability has not been an issue, but the Cube publish time, and temporary space consumption while the Cube is being published, has almost doubled during implementation of Cube partition."

"We did have issues with stability, and that was because we were co-located with another business unit, and we outgrew them on the unit. So we had to get to a separate physical instance."

"Lacks a thriving community"

"We would really like to see MicroStrategy have some support teams based more in Europe, because for now it seems that there is one person for the whole CE region. That is not exactly what we would like to see. We do know that MicroStrategy supports most places, either in the US or India, but those are different time zones, people, and cultures."

"The online community page of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"We have seen some stability issues with MicroStrategy on cloud. We have a few unhappy customers."

"I know we are not competing against Tableau, but MicroStrategy needs to step up its game on the GUI side."

"There might be opportunities for reporting or data analysis, perhaps even in the realm of simulation."

More MicroStrategy cons

"There could be improvements made to the analytics capabilities."

"Maybe some Power BI-related features could be added, like dashboards or direct editing in reports."

"SAP Crystal Reports has some compatibility issues with third-party products."

"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."

"If at all possible, a little bit of improvement on the analytical side is needed."

"A real improvement would be a simpler system that allows users to play with the visualization without needing specialized skills and code."

"SAP Crystal Reports should provide better support for dynamic connectors."

"The financing part needs improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They need to work on their license structure. They are not competitive against somebody like SAP BusinessObjects. We had a quote that was almost a third the price, coming from SAP BusinessObjects, and it's not a better platform. It's not cheaper. They do concurrent user licensing, while MicroStrategy does named user licensing, and that was literally the only difference. But it made a $500,000 difference. They've got to do something to make themselves more competitive. Maybe it's assessing your business users and what you really expect them to use, and maybe giving a reduced price on that. But they are already giving us a 60% discount and they were still a million or so above, over a three-year time period. That doesn't account for synergies as we get from on-site resources that are already available, but I thought that that was a big, big deficit for them."

"We are waiting to switch to Microsoft Power BI because MicroStrategy is too costly."

"The licensing is a bit high per user."

"Now, the price is high."

"The solution’s licensing cost is expensive."

"They can improve its licensing. It is a bit expensive as compared to Microsoft and other tools."

"While initial cost of MicroStrategy is still on the higher side, the long-term benefits brings down overall cost of ownership significantly as compared to other tools like Tableau/Cognos."

"The pricing list itself is not publicly accessible, so it's a bit opaque."

More MicroStrategy pricing and cost advice

"The cost of licensing can be a significant factor to consider when upgrading or transitioning to a new version of SAP Crystal Reports. It's important to evaluate the benefits and features offered by the new version against the associated costs to ensure it aligns with your organization's needs and budget."

"We pay fifteen hundred dollars as licensing fee."

"SAP Crystal Reports is a very expensive solution."

"This product costs a lot of money."

"I feel that SAP Crystal Reports is a reasonably priced product."

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Comparison Review

it_user6330

Product Manager at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

May 2, 2013

MicroStrategy vs. Tableau

After a recent presentation, several attendees asked me about the applications of Visual Insights and Tableau. Many companies are investing in both tools and are trying to figure out the right tool for specific applications Tableau has found its sweet-spot as an agile discovery tool that analysts…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

18%

Computer Software Company

11%

Retailer

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about MicroStrategy?

The stability of the product is good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MicroStrategy?

For larger businesses, I think the pricing is logical, but for smaller companies, it can be a bit costly.

See all answers

What needs improvement with MicroStrategy?

There is a need to improve the automatic generation of metrics in MicroStrategy, as currently everything must be done manually. Additionally, the hierarchy creation process in MicroStrategy could b...

See all answers

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 language to build reports; this area could be improved more.

See all answers

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, and other management reports, salary slips, and many other purposes.

See all answers

What do you like most about SAP Crystal Reports?

We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting.

See all answers

Comparisons

Tableau vs MicroStrategy

Compared 22% of the time

Microsoft Power BI vs MicroStrategy

Compared 18% of the time

Amazon QuickSight vs MicroStrategy

Compared 9% of the time

IBM Cognos vs MicroStrategy

Compared 7% of the time

Looker vs MicroStrategy

Compared 3% of the time

More MicroStrategy Competitors

Microsoft Power BI vs SAP Crystal Reports

Compared 24% of the time

TIBCO Jaspersoft vs SAP Crystal Reports

Compared 21% of the time

IBM Cognos vs SAP Crystal Reports

Compared 10% of the time

Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services vs SAP Crystal Reports

Compared 10% of the time

Pentaho Business Analytics vs SAP Crystal Reports

Compared 6% of the time

More SAP Crystal Reports Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

MicroStrategy

January 2025

Download MicroStrategy product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP Crystals

January 2025

Download SAP Crystal Reports product report

Overview

Company: Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) is a leading worldwide provider of enterprise software platforms. With direct operations in 26 countries worldwide and approximately 2,000 employees, our mission is to provide enterprise analytics, mobility, and security platforms that are flexible, powerful, scalable and user-friendly. To learn more, visit MicroStrategy online, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Product portfoilio:

MicroStrategy 10 Secure Enterprise™ empowers leading organizations to analyze vast amounts of data and distribute actionable business insight throughout an enterprise through two distinct offerings: MicroStrategy Analytics™ and MicroStrategy Desktop™. MicroStrategy Analytics delivers reports and dashboards, and enables users to conduct ad hoc analysis and share insights anywhere, anytime, via mobile devices or the Web. It also combines the agility and productivity of self-service visual data discovery with the security, scalability, and governance features of enterprise-grade business intelligence. MicroStrategy Desktop is a standalone, on-premise visual data discovery tool designed to enable business users to analyze and understand their data. MicroStrategy Mobile™ enables organizations to rapidly build custom business applications that deliver analytics combined with transactions, multimedia, and custom workflows to mobile devices. MicroStrategy Secure Cloud™ combines all of the enterprise analytics, mobile, and security features in MicroStrategy 10 Secure Enterprise with powerful and scalable data integration, validation, and warehousing services — all delivered in an environment where organizations can deploy transformational analytics applications in minutes.

Usher, MicroStrategy’s breakthrough security solution, is a powerful mobile security platform designed to dematerialize traditional forms of identity verification (such as passwords, tokens, and physical badges) and replace them with a single mobile identity badge that is cryptographically linked to its owner’s smartphone and dynamically linked to an enterprise’s existing identity repositories. Usher works on standard Android and iOS smartphones, and also boasts an Apple Watch™ integration.

MicroStrategy

Turn information from almost any data source into a sophisticated, interactive report with SAP Crystal Reports. This powerful, user-friendly application for small businesses and departments can help you deliver key insights to the right decision maker, at the right time, in the right format.

Click here for a free trial

SAP

Sample Customers

Allstate Insurance, Barneys New York, Boston Children's Hospital, Buenos Aires Department of the Treasury, 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 US Postal Service.

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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January 2025

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