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Application Development Assoc Manager at Eccenture
Real User
The semantic layer offers us the flexibility to go for ad hoc reporting
Pros and Cons
  • "BusinessObject's most useful feature is the semantic layer, which offers us the flexibility to go for ad hoc reporting."
  • "The interface could be slicker and more user-friendly."

What is our primary use case?

I've used BusinessObjects for projects in finance and healthcare. Also, one of the leading pharmaceutical companies uses it as a reporting tool. We had the data source and ad hoc requirements, so we created semantic layer data modeling for the database and reporting system. Then we used BusinessObjects as a tool for reporting and dashboards.

What is most valuable?

BusinessObject's most useful feature is the semantic layer, which offers us the flexibility to go for ad hoc reporting.

What needs improvement?

I want BusinessObjects to have more flexibility like Tableau or Power BI. The interface could be slicker and more user-friendly. SAP could add more ability to design and customize the dashboards.

BusinessObjects is not that user-friendly. They have different tools for designing dashboards like Discovery— previously called Lumira. That isn't as user-friendly as Tableau. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using BusinessObjects for four to five years.

Buyer's Guide
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,562 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

BusinessObjects is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

BusinessObject's main advantage is the ad hoc capability.

How are customer service and support?

I've contacted SAP support once or twice. We raised a support request, and they responded promptly. They organized a call and helped us resolve the issue. 

How was the initial setup?

BusinessObjects' installation is comparable to Tableau, but BusinessObjects requires a skilled administrator for management and maintenance because it's a little more complex than Tableau.  

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

In terms of flexibility and user-friendliness, Tableau is better than BusinessObjects, but if you have ad hoc requirements, then BusinessObjects is better.

What other advice do I have?

I rate SAP BusinessObjects eight out of 10. I would recommend BusinessObjects, but it depends on the requirements. SAP is a better choice if you are doing daily reporting where you need to drag and drop objects and create ad hoc reporting then export to Excel or CSV. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Analytics Manager at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Useful dashboard, beneficial fixed format reports, and reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "The planning and dashboarding features have been useful. Additionally, the fixed-format reports are good."
  • "The solution is not good for self-services, they can improve in this area."

What is most valuable?

The planning and dashboarding features have been useful. Additionally, the fixed-format reports are good.

What needs improvement?

The solution is not good for self-services, they can improve in this area.

We are in the beginning stages of the implementation and once we roll it out to end-users then we will see further improvement areas.

In SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform we use Lumira Designer, or the earlier version is Design Studio, where we create management dashboards. We feel that the tool is very complex in terms of implementing the dashboard. Lots of coding and performance issues. We require particular skillsets and resources, regular users cannot understand it. The management dashboards should be easy to configure. The only option right now is Lumira Designer, but it is complex to implement. Maintaining and supporting it takes time, and something should be done to improve the experience.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform for approximately five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have found the solution to be scalable.

We have approximately 1,000 users using this solution in our company.

How are customer service and support?

We did not find any major support areas that needed the support from SAP. The majority of the application support our team managed fine and we did not suffer any hardware issues. Our issues were resolved. 

How was the initial setup?

The installation was a medium difficulty level because we do not have complex scenarios in our use case. There are some complex portions but there were no roadblocks that prevented us from continuing.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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

What other advice do I have?

Our organization prefers one visualization tool, that's why SAP will be in our roadmap.

I think companies prefer self-service. BSAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform seems a little typical tool in terms of self-service. We recommend other solutions, such as Microsoft BI, because they can do a lot more functions.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
816,562 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer928458 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of BI and Analytics at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Useful SAP BW tool, easy to use, but Lumira dashboard tool needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature we have found to be the SAP BW, which is a warehouse tool. Additionally, it is an easy tool to use."
  • "The dashboard tool is called Lumira and it is very uncomfortable for developers to use. They should improve this in the future."

What is our primary use case?

We are using SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform for a lot of things, such as simple reports and business dashboards, and in all the business areas, for example, finance, sales, and purchasing.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature we have found to be the SAP BW, which is a warehouse tool. Additionally, it is an easy tool to use.

What needs improvement?

The dashboard tool is called Lumira and it is very uncomfortable for developers to use. They should improve this in the future.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform for approximately five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. However, the performance could be better.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have several hundred end-users using this solution and we use the solution on a daily basis.

The solution is scalable. We feel comfortable with the infrastructure that we have, but we can expand if we want to. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is good, I am satisfied.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I previously use Oracle BI. I think the Oracle BI is stronger and has more functionality than SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. However, it does not connect to SAP ERP which is a disadvantage.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is simple, it took us two days to complete.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation, maintenance, and updates can be done by staff within the company. There are times we have used local support or integrators in our area.

What other advice do I have?

This solution is not meant to be very complicated, solutions that are complicated require other tools.

I rate SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Senior Business Intelligence Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Enables quick data access without the need to involve a business or financial analyst
Pros and Cons
  • "Through the use of Business Intelligence reporting and scheduling features, reports are generated and automatically sent according to a schedule. This has freed up countless hours spent performing the same tasks, month over month."
  • "Enables us to present data with Smart Objects that can be embedded within presentations and which automatically update when the presentations are run."
  • "Reporting from SAP Business Objects Web Intelligence is amazing, and gives users the ability to quickly access data from existing universes and/or relevant data sources, without the need to involve a functional business analyst or financial analyst."
  • "The biggest area for improvement would be the dashboarding capabilities due to the recent change from Xcelsius to Dashboard Designer. This has created a gigantic ripple in many companies because the skill sets required are drastically different."

How has it helped my organization?

In the past, customers - both internal and external - were crying for data towards the end or the beginning of month, for month-end reporting. Through the use of Business Intelligence reporting and scheduling features, these reports are generated and automatically sent to them according to a schedule. This has freed up countless hours spent performing the same tasks, month over month. 

It also enables us to present data with Smart Objects that can be embedded within presentations and which automatically update when the presentations are run.

What is most valuable?

Depends on the use case. The reporting from SAP Business Objects Web Intelligence is amazing, and gives users the ability to quickly access data from existing universes and/or relevant data sources, without the need to involve a functional business analyst or financial analyst.

When it comes to visualizations and discovery, SAP Explorer lets the user deep-dive into the data from a visual standpoint.

What needs improvement?

The biggest area for improvement would be the dashboarding capabilities due to the recent change from Xcelsius to Dashboard Designer. This has created a gigantic ripple in many companies because the skill sets required are drastically different.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Minor at most. As with any application that presents data within a business, stability is critical to the success of the application and it's validity. Building failovers and redundancies around major functions, like accessing reports, data connectivity, and user security, ensures system stability. However, even with the most perfect system and its redundancies, any business intelligence application can run into issues if the data is bad.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Not really. The SAP Business Intelligence platform is a global solution that can be scaled both vertically and horizontally, based on company needs. 

How are customer service and technical support?

SAP tech support is good. However, I prefer the use of the partners and communities like ASUG or SAPinsider to provide the support we need.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used SQL Server Reporting Services because it was included with Microsoft Server and it was free. The reason we switched was because SSRS lacked the ability to do what we needed without involving IT.

How was the initial setup?

I always recommend using a partner or consultant to deploy SAP BI. Not because it's difficult to install, that part is actually pretty easy, but to properly configure and customize application services and toolsets.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

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.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I reviewed a whole bunch of them, everything under the sun.

What other advice do I have?

Get a partner or consultant to help you configure and customize your deployment. And remember that there's no additional charge for a Development environment license, so build an additional development server.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user101874 - PeerSpot reviewer
IS/IT program manager at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Vendor
It gives power to users, who can create their own queries without needing IT services.

What is most valuable?

The SAP BusinessObjects product suite is made of different products. This review refers to the Web Intelligence product.

The user friendliness of the interface enables non-IT-literate persons to create their own queries without need SQL knowledge, and that has been the case a very long time. (I started to use BO in 1990.)

How has it helped my organization?

It gives power to the user, who can create his/her own queries without needing IT services, therefore leading to savings. However, it must be noted that the semantic layer (Universe) must be built carefully by IT staff with the full collaboration from beginning to end of future key users in order to be intuitive and user friendly. The training given to the user community and the documentation is also extremely important, so that the users know what objects they can combine together.

What needs improvement?

Since I started using BO, the desktop version gave way to the web version. The beginning of the web version (Web Intelligence) was a little bit chaotic, with some key functionalities present in the desktop version forgotten in the web version (like custom groupings, double scaling...) However, these functionalities are finally back. I think SAP should listen more and better to its customers.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have 25+ years experience of working with SAP BusinessObjects, combining SAP and non-SAP data in BO and I also have started to use QlikView and roll it out in our organization. I hold the function of BI director now and develop an entire reporting strategy for a multinational organization.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I encountered stability issues. The beginning of the web version was very chaotic. It look a long time for Web Intelligence to open, refresh and so on. We regret that versions that are initially released do not seem to be well finished (a lot of bugs), and that a lot of patching is necessary to get to a stable version (our experience for BOXIR3, BI4 and so on).

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I did not encounter any scalability issues. It is easy to deploy (weblink). But in order to be able to use the query panel, users must ensure that the Java component is installed.

How is customer service and technical support?

Technical support is quite OK.

How was the initial setup?

Initial setup is straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I cannot give any advice on this, as I am not involved at all in this issue, but depending on the licensing model used, this product can be quite expensive.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We considered Oracle Discoverer, MS BI, but BO was chosen for its flexibility of usage.

What other advice do I have?

The reporting tool is easy to use and implement. Overall, you should consider how this tool is going to be implemented in your organization, and what added value it will bring to your organisation (e.g., do you have a lot of people doing a lot of reports in Excel). Finally, a decision whether or not to use BusinessObjects Web Intelligence should not be taken on its own but rather as a part of how information is managed in the organization.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer2260338 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
A user-friendly solution for reporting but needs improvement in pricing

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for reporting, including ad hoc reporting. The source is our own IDT Universal, an alarm product. We are a PR gate responsible for revenue accounting for different addresses. Customers mainly receive reports.

What is most valuable?

There are many valuable features. First, we can create ad hoc reports on a priority basis and deliver them to users quickly. The source is you can write a free end screen. Secondly, We can create reports with dynamic input controls, which is handy for showing data trends to users. Lastly, the sections and breaks features are handly and can merge multiple data providers.

What needs improvement?

The solution is pushing too much into the cloud, which is difficult. Reporting is powerful but could be more dynamic, like in Tableau or other front-end tools.

Visualization could be strengthened.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform for over ten years. We are using v4.2 of the solution.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable. No product comes close to the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. It is both user-friendly and easy to build for end users. It has good features, but the visualization part is entirely redundant. The visualization capabilities are not as good as Tableau's. We are using Tableau for visualization.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have managed 500 users and five administrators, and scalability has not been a problem. I haven’t faced any issues in adding new users.

How are customer service and support?

The free version has a time limitation, even for version 4.2. After a certain period, the first level of technical support is no longer available. The full version of the platform does not have this limitation. When you ask them any questions, they do reply, of course. However, they often come up with additional suggestions, such as "Why don't you buy this?" or "Why don't you do that?”. Every time they have a marketing pitch, it makes it more detachable.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. I have been using it since 2005. I have migrated from Duo 6.5 to XAR2, then to 3.1, and finally to 4.5 and 4.2. The deployment has never been that difficult. The migration is still easier in 4.2 and 4.3 than in previous versions. In earlier versions, you have the same folders and structures. However, this limitation is no longer there when migrating from 4.2 to 4.3.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution’s pricing is very high.

What other advice do I have?

The features are pretty good, but there are also problems. The security rights can be confusing because security rights are universal.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.



Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1883496 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Consultant
Great web intelligence reporting tool and universe designer but can be expensive
Pros and Cons
  • "The web intelligence reporting tool and universe designer are the most valuable aspects of the solution."
  • "Recently, it's become less stable if I am working on Citrix."

What is our primary use case?

I'm currently using the solution for a client. We use it for general reporting in the bank.

What is most valuable?

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

What needs improvement?

Recently, it's become less stable if I am working on Citrix. 

If you want to make a change in one part of it, you cannot track the change. They need something to help track changes. That would make it better. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for over ten years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I don't use it to do any system administration. Therefore, it's hard to really gauge the scalability.

I don't know how many people use it currently. I'm on the client-side. I'm only in one department, and I don't know who else is using it or where in the company.

How are customer service and support?

From SAP, I honestly have never used technical support. I usually have enough knowledge to figure out any adjustment that's needed. I have not used support in over ten years. It's been a long time. I can't provide good feedback.

How was the initial setup?

I didn't install it, however, it's not simple as just using a cloud group. You have to install it and provide services. I'm using the onsite version. It is, I'd say, relatively complex.

I'd rate the solution a three out of five in terms of the ease of setup.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't deal with the licensing. I can't speak to the costs. 

I know it has a reputation for being expensive. The thing is, it ensures that you do have continuity. It's also easy to use, whereas other tools that people build on their own don't offer that. You can control everything much easier and make it much more user-friendly for non-SAP users.

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user6792 - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
We extensively use the publication features of Crystal Reports and scheduling features of Web Intelligence. But we had some challenges with upgrades.

Valuable Features:

Business Object is truly a scalable and complete business intelligence solution for larger organizations. We have made use of the following components: Live Office, Xcelsius, Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence. We extensively use the publication features of Crystal Reports and scheduling features of Web Intelligence. For an organization that uses Excel extensively, the Live Office direct connect is fast, accurate and user friendly. Be sure to have some super users in the business who can develop Crystal Reports and well as Web Intelligence ad hoc queries. This will make the life of the IT developers and administrative employees much easier. Overall, with past experiences, I would have to rate our opinion of BOBJ very highly.

Room for Improvement:

On the downside, we have had some challenges with upgrades. Be sure to fully test every aspect in your development environment before applying any patches or service packs to Business Objects production servers. SAP was quick to respond to issues, but this still caused problems for users. The bugs we found were deep into software features (displaying column headings, formula logic, etc) and weren’t something we found in our extensive testing. I do admit we pushed the limits and had a lot of custom coding, but we expected these features to work and not break in future releases.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user9972 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user9972CEO at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Consultant

Hi Tina,
Please use Internet Explorer as the default browser for Business Objects, other browsers doesnt support all features

Yes, BO Explorer leverages the complete underlying BO deployment and it has extensive and comprehensive data exploration capabilities

Services not starting due to missing jar files, in this case redeploy the war files and check. Detailed description of error would help to provide more info

See all 2 comments
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: October 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.