Infor Birst vs SAP Analytics Cloud

Infor Birst is an integrated cloud-based end-to-end solution for sourcing raw data, and extracting, warehousing and reporting for enterprise data analysis. With built-in tools for data integration and strong embedded analytics capabilities, users leverage its data visualization capabilities to create and share metric-specific dashboards and reports. Users who reviewed data management said that automated data warehouse creation was a strong feature of the platform, as well as its user-friendly interface. Many users who reviewed its functionality said that, equipped with a powerful ETL and efficient ODBC drivers for integration, the platform was flexible and scalable with a multitude of features for data discovery and analysis. Around 69% of users who reviewed ease of implementation said that deployment was easy with the integrated cloud platform, though some users said that the setup processes were unclear and they required in-house IT support for onboarding. On the flip side, users who mentioned performance said that the speed of data processing and data refresh was slow and this impacted report generation capabilities. Documentation was inconsistent and often incorrect, and the use of proprietary query language made the learning curve quite steep, many users who reviewed this feature said. Support turnaround times were woefully long, even extending up to several months as reported by a number of users. Some users who reviewed functionality said that the code was buggy and the platform stalled often when processing data for ad-hoc reporting. Many users complained that these bugs were not addressed for years, and new releases often impacted pre-existing features. Possibly because of its performance issues with large amounts of data, quite a few users rate it as a good BI tool for small and midsize companies that require less complex data analysis, rather than larger enterprises. In summary, Infor Birst is a BI ecosystem with a networked approach to data visualization and predictive analytics that eliminates data silos and serves as a single source of truth for enterprise data.

SAP Analytics Cloud is a powerful data visualization tool that helps users explore data in an easy-to-understand format and discover metrics that help them make informed decisions. Many users who reviewed visualization said that the platform has rich graphics libraries and a range of templates for story presentation of business metrics. Citing its aesthetic design, a majority of users said that the solution’s interface is intuitive for programmers and non-technical users alike. Mentioning its strong predictive and augmented analysis capabilities, a lot of users said that the platform is a strong planning tool and helps them gain business insights easily. Many users said that the tool works well on a plethora of devices, including mobile, and is accessible on multiple browsers, though some users said that its offline mode capabilities are limited. Most of the users who reviewed data integrations said that the tool handles large amounts of data seamlessly, though quite a few users said its compatibility with live connection data sources is limited to other SAP products. Reviewing functionality, a majority of users said that the tool is versatile and scalable to ensure a great end-to-end user experience, though some said that it needs more features, such as improved live data analytics. The solution does have its limitations, though. Around 85% of users who reviewed its performance said that it struggles at the enterprise level, though quite a few users said that it performs exceedingly well within the SAP ecosystem. A majority of the users who mentioned reporting said that the solution lacks automatic report distribution and broadcasting capabilities, though some said that it has excellent analytical and data-oriented report creation. Many users who discussed data management complained that the process for updating an existing data model needs a lot of rework, and that the solution needs more versatile modeling features. Overall, SAP Analytics Cloud is a planning tool with strong BI capabilities that brings the power of cloud computing to self-service data analysis for gaining actionable insights into business metrics.