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MicroStrategy 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
7.7
MicroStrategy boosts business efficiency with robust features, reducing development time and costs, enhancing reporting and accelerating market readiness.
Sentiment score
7.1
SAP Crystal Reports delivers over 1000% ROI through Visual Studio integration, boosting sales despite training and database understanding costs.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
MicroStrategy's customer service is generally well-regarded, but satisfaction varies due to mixed technical support and regional differences.
Sentiment score
6.0
SAP Crystal Reports' support varies; some praise it, others turn to online communities or face scheduling and complexity challenges.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
MicroStrategy is scalable and handles large data, but performance may depend on architecture and associated costs.
Sentiment score
7.9
SAP Crystal Reports excels in scalability for large enterprises, but smaller setups may face SDK and cost challenges.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
MicroStrategy is generally stable and reliable, with recent updates improving issues; infrastructure setup can affect stability.
Sentiment score
7.4
SAP Crystal Reports stability improved since 2011, with updates resolving crash issues, though some memory problems persist.
 

Room For Improvement

MicroStrategy needs better dashboards, simpler tools, improved support, flexible layouts, easier customization, and cost-effective options.
SAP Crystal Reports needs improvements in customization, interface, exporting, and compatibility for better user efficiency and experience.
MicroStrategy could learn from Power BI's user-friendly interface.
 

Setup Cost

MicroStrategy's high upfront costs offer licensing flexibility; evaluate needs, negotiate discounts, and explore cost-saving for better scalability.
SAP Crystal Reports can be costly, but discounts and free software help manage expenses, requiring careful license model evaluation.
 

Valuable Features

MicroStrategy provides scalable BI solutions with advanced features including mobile BI, data visualization, robust security, and performance.
SAP Crystal Reports offers flexible custom report creation with easy database connectivity, export options, and Business Objects integration.
The MicroStrategy interface is not as good as Power BI, especially concerning the user-friendly aspects.
 

Categories and Ranking

MicroStrategy
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
160
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (9th), Embedded BI (4th)
SAP Crystal Reports
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
49
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 3.2%, down 3.6% compared to last year.
SAP Crystal Reports, on the other hand, focuses on Reporting, holds 2.7% mindshare, down 3.6% since last year.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
Reporting
 

Featured Reviews

AJIN S L - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience has shown effective features for analysis, but needs interface improvements
The most effective features of MicroStrategy for data analysis are those that cater to user needs. However, I find Power BI to be more useful when comparing some features, but my company does not choose Power BI due to certain code restrictions. The MicroStrategy interface is not as good as Power BI, especially concerning the user-friendly aspects.
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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845,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user6330 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Retailer
8%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

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.
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.
What needs improvement with MicroStrategy?
MicroStrategy could learn from Power BI's user-friendly interface. I find the user interface lacking when compared to Power BI. Additionally, their hyperintelligence could be improved in certain as...
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.
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.
What do you like most about SAP Crystal Reports?
We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting.
 

Overview

 

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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