SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs Zoho Analytics comparison

SAP and Zoho are both solutions in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category. SAP is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.0, while Zoho is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.8. SAP holds a 3.7% mindshare in BIT, compared to Zoho’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of SAP users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Zoho users who would recommend it.

SAP BusinessObjects Busines...

Read 103 SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform reviews

4,884 Views
3,780 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Zoho Analytics

Read 24 Zoho Analytics reviews

786 Views
336 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

SAP BusinessObjects Busines...

Zoho Analytics

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform and Zoho Analytics compete in the business analytics and intelligence category. Zoho Analytics seems to have the upper hand in user-friendliness and cost-effectiveness.

Features: SAP BusinessObjects excels with its tools like Live Office, Xcelsius, Crystal Reports, and Web Intelligence, offering enterprise scalability and a robust semantic layer that ensures consistent business logic. It provides flexibility to create detailed reports and merge data from multiple databases. Zoho Analytics focuses on simplicity, offering intuitive dashboards, excellent connectivity with other Zoho tools, and a user-friendly report builder with SQL capability.

Room for Improvement: SAP BusinessObjects struggles with product integration, stability, and a complex user interface, alongside challenges in patch management and a modern integrated suite. Dashboard setup can be cumbersome, with a lack of self-service analytics. Zoho Analytics requires enhancements in advanced reporting features, graphical representation diversity, customer support, and formula accuracy.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP BusinessObjects offers various deployment models, including private, public, and hybrid clouds, but customer service can be inconsistent with reported delays in support. Zoho Analytics is praised for easier deployment and higher customer satisfaction, aided by its simpler setup and supportive service.

Pricing and ROI: SAP BusinessObjects targets large enterprises with a complex and often expensive pricing model, justified by its comprehensive feature set but less feasible for smaller businesses due to high licensing costs. Zoho Analytics provides a more affordable model, attracting small and medium-sized businesses with straightforward pricing and a favorable ROI, although high-tier features may incur additional costs.

To learn more, read our detailed SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs. Zoho Analytics Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs. Zoho Analytics

April 2025

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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

SAP BusinessObjects Busines...

Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

6th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

103

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Zoho Analytics

Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

12th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Reporting (9th), Data Visualization (10th), Embedded BI (6th)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category, the mindshare of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is 3.7%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zoho Analytics is 0.4%, down from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

BI (Business Intelligence) Tools

Featured Reviews

Sumeet Zalpuri

Data engineer at ASR Nederland N.V.

Fully integrated enterprise-level tool

The initial setup was not straightforward. Since it is a complete enterprise tool, it needs a certain level of expertise to set up the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. There are a lot of steps involved. You need to get the user accepted and you need to validate the data. So you need to understand the architecture of the application. I would rate the initial setup as moderate since it's not very easy or much difficult. For a small enterprise, the installation would take one day. You must ensure you are on a supported platform like Windows or Linux and if your database is not on the server but in a different zone of the network, you need to ensure connectivity. You must also ensure the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform supports your organization's browser. These are the major things that must be taken care of before the installation. Around 500 users are using the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform in my company. We are a team of around eight technical people involved in the deployment and maintenance of the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. If you run a SAP shop with ECC, the best solution is the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform because it's tightly integrated. You'll get lots of offers from SAP when it comes to licensing. So there's an advantage. But if you are not a SAP shop, the licensing becomes a hindrance. So if you have SAP as a source, then I recommend people to go with SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform as it's a tool that works wonders. I have been working on POCs where we use SAP data for BI, which was a nightmare. So if you have ECC and SAP in the back end, go with the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. If you have any other tools in the back end, then try to negotiate and see the use case.

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Yogesh Kumar Mali

Managing Director at ALPHA LABS TECH PVT LTD

An easy-to-set up solution that helps in the scheduling of reports and dashboards

A lot of integrations are available with Zoho Analytics. There is a limitation that we cannot create more than 300 columns in a worksheet on Zoho Analytics. The data can be in millions. There are some limitations on the reports that depend on the various combinations of data you get. So there is always an error that gets thrown out if you are building complex reports.

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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

"If I were to compare it with Power BI and I wanted to build proper well-formatted reports, BusinessObjects Business Intelligence does that much better. Power BI is just getting into that space. They've concentrated more on visualization, which is what the SAP Lumira does. With Web Intelligence, you are able to build reports that users can interact with. They can also do a lot of querying themselves. It is robust in terms of security and integration. It is also quite scalable."

"I like the fact that we can integrate it seamlessly within our Epic environment, but probably the best thing that Crystal Reports offers is the ability to do visualizations. They're simple to do, and they're catchy. So, it is a really great tool."

"It has been extremely valuable, to combine data from various data sources."

"The web intelligence reporting tool and universe designer are the most valuable aspects of the solution."

"Has features that can be leveraged to scale out and scale up."

"It gives you a lot of flexibility in designing your dashboards."

"It allows the analysis of business data and enables decisions based on the analysis."

"The Dynamic HTML (DHTML) client option of Webi has been enhanced adding features that were previously only available with the Java client including conditional formatting and support of XLS as a data provider."

More SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform pros

"The data source is the most valuable feature as it can perform any function."

"The solution’s dashboard is very good."

"Scheduling of reports and dashboards is the most valuable feature of Zoho Analytics."

"The initial setup is straightforward."

"Ask Zia is a great feature that I use to quickly decide what improvements I need to make in order to present the data that I want to show."

"We moved the data from Zoho Creator to Zoho Analytics and created reports."

"The tool's most valuable feature is its dashboard."

"We can create advanced-level reports with the tool. We can get data from different Zoho applications and also from other third-party applications. We can create schedules for syncing data from third parties to Zoho Analytics. We can also use table queries for getting data from more than one table."

More Zoho Analytics pros

Cons

"It would be good if they could integrate the possibility for end users to create end models for themselves that they can use, especially for site operators, and if they could provide the end user not only the self-service BI, but also the self-service analytics, based on a predefined model, the same way that Oracle did."

"The user interface should be easier to use and navigate."

"This product could be improved with Cloud Integrations and Predictive Analytics functions integration."

"It is limited for us because SAP is shifting toward the cloud, and we can't use a cloud solution for SAP BusinessObjects. SAP introduced a product called PlusTimes one or two years ago and another one that I believe was called Automatic BI. This tool is more powerful than BusinessObjects and other tools because it's provided in the cloud."

"Tableau was easier for me to use because the interface is more similar to Excel which I was used to using."

"The admin features for disk space management need work. It's very difficult to manage the disk space by the application; good admin features and not included to allow you to do that. I don't believe that is in the latest version of the product either."

"It is not simple to use."

"When we implemented BusinessObjects, the setup was straightforward. After SAP bought BusinessObjects, it gradually became more and more stepwise. There are too many steps, and they take too much time."

More SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform cons

"The hourly pricing needs improvement."

"In terms of improvement, they have a limited number of graphs available in their store. They should come up with more graph style forms. They should have more charts and at the same time, you can't create panels like with Microsoft BA."

"The navigation on the interface is not intuitive."

"The solution does not provide call center facilities for customer support."

"I like the solution's Query Table feature which helps me write SQL queries. We can get data from different tables and then use it to create reports."

"There is a limitation that we cannot create more than 300 columns in a worksheet on Zoho Analytics."

"The customer service and support for this solution could be improved by faster response times."

"The improvement needed is regarding the number of API calls. Currently, Zoho Analytics only allows us to update data hourly. It would be much better to have updates more frequently every half an hour."

More Zoho Analytics cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is fair."

"The price and the pricing model are fine. We find the solution does not give us a lot of additional value."

"Depending on your size, try to stick with SAP BusinessObjects BI Edge. Most people tend to overthink the licensing. Remember that one concurrent user means that one person can be performing a task at a given time. That does not mean that only one user can be on the system at a time, it means that only one person can be refreshing a report or designing a dashboard. There are tons of ways you can access your data or reports without consuming a license. I've seen cases where five concurrent licenses support thousands of users."

"I have always found SAP BI to be expensive. It is expensive even when you compare SAP BI Cloud with Microsoft Power BI. Power BI is probably around $9.99 per month, and the cheapest SAP BI is around $20, which is double. In terms of price, Power BI is definitely a lot better. If you have budget issues, you may want to go for Power BI."

"It is not a subscription model, but you must purchase a perpetual license for this."

"The SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform has to improve its licensing cost."

"We purchase licenses through Epic. So, we get an Epic price as opposed to the SAP price. If we were going to use other products like Webby that they offer or exclusively use BI Launch Pad, it would cost a lot because half of our employees would touch it in some fashion. So, we use Epic-Crystal integration to keep the licensing cost down. I believe the BI Launch Pad licensing is something like $800 for each, and the Crystal Report licensing is something like $500 for each, but that's not what we pay."

"Just work with SAP to make sure you have enough licenses but don't go overboard."

More SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform pricing and cost advice

"An exact ROI is hard to calculate. However, we have definitely made sales that would have been much harder, or unlikely, as a result of the speed with which we were able to prepare comprehensive analysis."

"For one license the pricing is about $35 a user."

"The tool's pricing is similar to other Zoho applications and is affordable."

"It is very reasonable, and it gives me a good return on investment. Compared to other tools, it is the best choice in terms of pricing."

"This solution is reasonable as far as pricing is concerned."

"I don't feel that price is an issue for this product."

"I would recommend looking at your usage and whether the Zoho One license model would work for your organisation. It is very cost effective if you use other Zoho tools."

"The pricing is okay. It is fair compared to the market."

More Zoho Analytics pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user6663

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…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Educational Organization

76%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

What do you like most about SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform?

What I like the most about SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform is that it has significantly improved our decision-making process.

See all answers

What do you like most about Zoho Analytics?

Zoho Analytics's most valuable feature is the ability to provide excellent analytics through a single platform.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zoho Analytics?

I rate the tool's pricing seven out of ten. The licensing costs are yearly.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zoho Analytics?

The improvement needed is regarding the number of API calls. Currently, Zoho Analytics only allows us to update data hourly. It would be much better to have updates more frequently every half an hour.

See all answers

Comparisons

SAP Analytics Cloud vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform

Compared 22% of the time

Microsoft Power BI vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform

Compared 16% of the time

IBM Cognos vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform

Compared 12% of the time

Oracle OBIEE vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform

Compared 9% of the time

MicroStrategy vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform

Compared 6% of the time

More SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform Competitors

Microsoft Power BI vs Zoho Analytics

Compared 32% of the time

Apache Superset vs Zoho Analytics

Compared 19% of the time

Tableau vs Zoho Analytics

Compared 15% of the time

SAP Analytics Cloud vs Zoho Analytics

Compared 13% of the time

Looker vs Zoho Analytics

Compared 12% of the time

More Zoho Analytics Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform

March 2025

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform report

Download SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

Zoho Analytics

March 2025

Download Zoho Analytics product report

Also Known As

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform, SAP BusinessObjects, Business Objects

Zoho Reports

Overview

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is a versatile and flexible solution for reporting and dashboards, focusing on analytics and ad hoc reporting. It can be deployed on-premise or in the cloud. The solution includes tools such as Web Intelligence, Crystal Reports, SAP Lumira, and Analytical Cloud and is primarily used for comprehensive business intelligence reporting.

The most valuable features include excellent reporting features, good technical support, scalability, and the ability to translate database data into business language. The solution has helped organizations by providing analytics, monitoring KPIs, and making important decisions as a financial business.

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Key Features

Central management: Access all your BI from a single, central launchpad that can be customized to meet user-specific needs. The launchpad provides business users with access to all their BI tools, reports, notifications, and applications in a single place. This includes the ability to launch SAP Analytics Cloud.
Data visualization and analytics: Create powerful visualizations, dashboards, and applications to assess risk, improve efficiency, identify opportunities, and enable users to analyze developments and data. Business insights can be shared with colleagues across enterprises.
Integration with Microsoft Office: Integrate with SAP Business Warehouse and SAP HANA to power real-time analytics. For large-scale data analysis, you can integrate with Microsoft Excel to discover in-depth business insights and forecasts. Data analytics information can also be embedded into Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.
Cloud support: Extend and expand your BI on the cloud. SAP Analytics Cloud connects your BI to the cloud and offers enterprise planning and advanced analytics from a single online solution.

Reviews from Real Users

SAP BusinessObjects BI stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Several major ones are its user-friendly dashboard, its impressive reporting and analytic features, and its ability to integrate with multiple solutions.

A managing partner at a tech services company writes, "One of the most valuable features of SAP BusinessObjects is that it's not a dashboarding solution. It's a real product. You can create operational reports and publish it to anyone. You can create schedules. You can create a Universe, semantic layers. There's also a security configuration. It's a huge product, so if there is a business need, SAP BusinessObjects can cover it."

An associate manager at a consultancy notes, "It provides flexibility for creating reports. It is very good for creating highly complex reports. I like this solution because when I buy BusinessObjects, it comes with many components, such as reporting, dashboard, and data visualization tools. Its performance is good. It is running on top of SAP BW and SAP HANA."

A manager of data analytics and interfaces at a healthcare company says, "It has got great flexibility. As a reporting tool, it has a great deal of flexibility for numerous data resources that you can bring into it. It allows you to write your SQL query directly within the product. It has great visualization.

SAP

Zoho Reports is a powerful, easy-to-use and highly scalable cloud-based reporting and business intelligence platform for small to medium-sized businesses. Its flexible pay-as-you-go pricing model and scope for customization allow businesses to tailor it to their unique needs.

Zoho

Sample Customers

SRAM, Kennametal, Fairfax Water, British American Tobacco, Velux, and FedEx.

Suzuki, American Pacific Mortgage, KPMG, Air Canada, University of Michigan, BricozOr, WorldWide Express, The University of Melbourne, Novartis, SAIC

Buyer's Guide

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs. Zoho Analytics

April 2025

Free Report: SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs. Zoho Analytics

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