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BUSINESS INTELLIGENCESOFTWAREA PEEK INTO WHAT REAL USERS REALLY THINK2014IT Central Station helps enterprise tech professionals by providingA comprehensive list of allenterprise level businessintelligence softwaresolutions.Several real user reviewsfrom enterprise techprofessionals and vendorinformation.Specific information to helpenterprise tech professionalsselect the product that isright for their specific needs.DISCLAIMERIT Central Station Ltd. does not endorse or recommend any products or services. The views andopinions of reviewers quoted in this document, IT Central Station websites, and IT Central Stationmaterials (i.e. Content) do not reflect the opinions of IT Central Station. We make no guaranteesabout the accuracy, currency, suitability, or quality of the content, and we assume no responsibilityfor unintended, objectionable, inaccurate, misleading, or unlawful content made available by Contentauthors or other third parties 2014 ITCentralStation.comReproduction ProhibitedTo read more real user reviews about Business Intelligence Software, please iness-intelligence-tools

ABOUT IT CENTRAL STATIONUser reviews, candid discussions, and more for enterprisetechnology professionals.The Internet has completely changed the way wemake buying decisions. We now use ratings andreview sites to see what other real users thinkbefore we buy electronics, book a hotel, visit adoctor or choose a restaurant. But in the world ofenterprise technology, most of the informationonline and in your inbox comes from vendors butwhat you really want is objective information fromother users. We created IT Central Station toprovide technology professionals like you witha community platform to share informationabout enterprise software, applications,hardware and services.We commit to offering user-contributedinformation that is valuable, objective andrelevant. We protect your privacy by providing anenvironment where you can post anonymouslyand freely express your views. As a result, thecommunity becomes a valuable resource,ensuring you get access to the right informationand connect to the right people, whenever youneed it.ITCentralStation.comUse IT Central Station to: 244 5th Avenue,Suite R-230New York, NY 10001USA 1 (646) 328-1944Read and post reviewsof vendors and productsRequest or shareinformation aboutfunctionality, quality,and pricingContact real users withrelevant productexperienceGet immediate answersto questionsValidate vendor claimsExchange tips forgetting the best dealswith vendorsinfo@ITCentralStation.comABOUT THIS REPORTThis report is comprised of a comprehensive list of all enterprise level businessintelligence software solutions. We have also included several real user reviewsposted on ITCentralStation.com. The reviewers of these products have beenvalidated as real users based on their LinkedIn profiles to ensure that they providereliable opinions and not those of product vendors. 2014 ITCentralStation.comReproduction ProhibitedTo read more real user reviews about Business Intelligence Software, please iness-intelligence-tools

IMPORTANT NOTICEDid you find this whitepaper helpful? At IT Central Station, our philosophy is “Giveto Get”. Our rich community and unbiased reviews are made possible by yourparticipation and as such, we ask that you share your expertise with us as well.Please expect to be contacted shortly by an IT Central Station CommunityManager. We will ask you for 10 minutes of your time to review a product that youuse either via a 10 minute phone interview or questionnaire. You can choose toreview anonymously or not and your company name will not be included in thereview.If you found this report and/or the reviews on IT Central Station useful, we wouldgreatly appreciate your participation in giving back to our community. 2014 ITCentralStation.comReproduction ProhibitedTo read more real user reviews about Business Intelligence Software, please iness-intelligence-tools

VENDOR & PRODUCT LISTVENDORPRODUCTMicrosoftMicrosoft BILogi AnalyticsLogi ognosSAPBusiness ObjectsSiSensePrismicCubeicCubeSAPCrystal ReportsVerixVerixBIME AnalyticsBIMESASSAS BITableauTableauOracleOBIEEIBMCognos amBOARD InternationalBOARDIBMCognos TM1DomoDomo 2014 ITCentralStation.comReproduction ProhibitedTo read more real user reviews about Business Intelligence Software, please iness-intelligence-tools

DundasDundas DashboardActuatee.ReportMID rama SoftwarePanorama Software BIPentahoPentaho Business AnalyticsSalient Management git BI formerInformation BuildersWebFOCUSGoodDataGoodDataLavastorm AnalyticsLavastorm Analytics PlatformeMiteeMiteYellowfinYellowfin 2014 ITCentralStation.comReproduction ProhibitedTo read more real user reviews about Business Intelligence Software, please iness-intelligence-tools

F E A T U R E D A R T IC L EI evaluated Business Objects, Tibco Spotfire,Tableau, Qlikview, Sisense Prism, and Pentaho.I just completed an evaluation of (and ultimately afinal selection from) several vendors and identifiedabout a dozen high-level evaluation criteria (usingGartner capabilities as a starting point, and addingthose specific to our focus). We were primarilyconcerned with an efficient, competentdashboarding tool with a secondary focus on adhoc analysis.Keeping in mind that my focus was first andforemost a competent dashboard tool suited toour particular needs and environment, here are thecriteria and associated descriptions I used tocomplete our evaluation and selection. In additionto these criteria, budget was of course aconsideration, as well as Vendor support and theoverall support community (i.e. free help!).The vendors I was evaluating were BusinessObjects (already used at our company for flatreport building but not much else), Tibco Spotfire,Tableau, Qlikview, Sisense Prism, and Pentaho.By: JhornberVerified by IT Central StationBI Expert, Tech Services Firmwith 1-500 EmployeesHas 10 years of experienceSkills: QlikView, BusinessObjects, SharePoint, Tableau,Visio1.Easily combine a mix of data sources – Ourdata landscape contains many sources and anarray of source types. We need a tool that canpull a variety of sources (e.g. SQL Server,CSVs, etc.) together in an easy, efficientmanner, and generate visualizations anddashboards that reflect the combined data.2. Broad range of Visualizations – The toolshould, out of the box, have an array ofvisualizations beyond the basic pie, bar andline charts, as it is important that we are able toselect the most effective visualization for aparticular measure.3. Responsive Data Engine – Users need to beable to slice, dice and filter data, without thetool taking more than a few seconds to refreshthe visualizations and dashboard accordingly.4. Low development time/quick turnaround ofdashboards - There will be a number ofdashboards needed in 2014, and it’s likely thatrequests for additional pages, visualizations,and entire dashboards will increase as more ofthe business is exposed to what is released.The dashboard tool selected should facilitatethe rapid design, development anddeployment of new dashboards and 2014 ITCentralStation.comReproduction ProhibitedTo read more real user reviews about Business Intelligence Software, please iness-intelligence-tools

5.6.7.8.9.10.enhancements to those already deployed.Scheduled refreshes and publishing - It isnecessary for the refresh of dashboards to beautomated and occur in conjunction with theupdate of other BI components, so as to havedata up to date and ready for the business atthe start of the work day.Considerable design control and themeapplication – The tool selected should allow ahigh degree of control over layout, colors,fonts, and overall look and feel of the entiredashboard and individual visualizations. This isnecessary to incorporate data visualizationbest practices and align with company styleguides where and when appropriate.Central portal & cross-platform(Mac/PC/Mobile) – Type of device or OSshould not impede users from accessing thedashboard. Dashboards should be accessedvia web browser and be HTML5 based.Client install not required, web friendly –Access to deployed dashboards should notrequire the installation of software on a user’sdesktop. (thick client/desktop software fordevelopment is acceptable)Intuitive interaction, enabled data discovery– The tool selected should employcomponents such as gauges, sliders, andcheckboxes, and enable users to analyze thedata by interacting directly with a visualrepresentation of it. Navigation through adashboard and its pages should be easy andintuitive.Quick response to filtering, drilldowns, anddata manipulation – The use of filters andother components to manipulate data shouldresult in a rapid refresh of the visualized data.A tool that takes more than a few seconds torespond is likely to have a low adoption rate. 2014 ITCentralStation.comReproduction ProhibitedTo read more real user reviews about Business Intelligence Software, please iness-intelligence-tools

Microsoft BIVendor: Microsoft www.microsoft.comREVIEW BY A REAL USERRobert Goodman Verified by IT Central StationBI Expert, University with 500-5000 EmployeesPROSSQL Server is flexible and relatively straightforward to deploy. It is fantastic that reports can bedelivered via Report Manager without anyadditional license fees. Reports can also be placedon subscriptions with the Enterprise version of SQLServer. This allows different people to get thesame report with data that is tailored to theirperspective.CONSThe product would be better if it came bundledwith Microsoft SharePoint. Some of the moreadvanced business intelligence dashboards mustbe run through SharePoint (SharePointdashboards, PowerView, etc.). We also found thatSharePoint Dashboards are time intensive todesign.WHAT REAL USERS ARESAYING “SQL Server is a cost-effective,all-in-one package for businessintelligence.”“Great wizard that is valuable indesigning and implementingcomplex queries.”“Most complete businessintelligence suite for the leastmoney.”“SQL Server offers highperformance & low cost BIsolutions with ability to integratewith other third party tools.”M Y E X P E R IE N C E SGetting back to the license costs, we have foundSQL Server to be an effective tool at a very goodcost. Compared to purchasing 2 or 3 otherproducts, SQL Server is a very nice all-in-onepackage (SQL Server database platform - MS SQL,SQL Server Integration Services - SSIS, SQL ServerReporting Services - SSRS, SQL Server AnalysisServices - SSAS). The educational discount is alsovery helpful for K-12 or Higher Educationcustomers. Installation and deployment wasrelatively straightforward. There is a slight learningcurve on SSRS, but easy to pick-up.B U S IN E S S M E T R IC SIf you are looking at cost savings alone, MicrosoftSQL Server will pay for itself when compared anOracle/Informatica/IBM Cognos solution. In a directcomparison of one-time software fees and ongoingannual support fees, Microsoft SQL Server willcome out much cheaper. I would also argue thatthe software features are similar between the toolsas well - so you're not foregoing functionality tosave cost. We have found that BI developers arealso easier to find on the Microsoft platform which over time - may lead to lower TCO. 2014 ITCentralStation.comReproduction ProhibitedTo read more real user reviews about Business Intelligence Software, please iness-intelligence-tools