BusinessObjects vs Yellowfin BI

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Our analysts compared BusinessObjects vs Yellowfin BI based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Business Intelligence Tools, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

BusinessObjects Software Tool
Yellowfin BI Software Tool

Product Basics

BusinessObjects is a suite of business intelligence (BI) tools that helps organizations collect, analyze, and visualize data to make better decisions. It's most suited for large enterprises with complex data needs, as it offers a wide range of features and capabilities. Key benefits include improved data visibility, enhanced decision-making, and increased productivity. Popular features include data modeling, reporting, ad hoc querying, and dashboards. User experiences highlight its ease of use, robust functionality, and scalability, though some note its potential for complexity and higher learning curve. Compared to similar products, BusinessObjects often stands out for its comprehensiveness and integration capabilities. Pricing is typically based on a per-user or per-named-user basis, with annual subscription fees.

Pros
  • Easy to use
  • Robust features
  • Scalable
  • Comprehensive
  • Integrates well
Cons
  • Can be complex
  • Steeper learning curve
  • Costly
  • May require training
  • Can be resource-intensive
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Yellowfin BI is an integrated platform that helps users transform their business through data by combining automated data analysis, interactive dashboards and storytelling. It also enables intuitive filtering of large amounts of data in real time. It facilitates organization-wide understanding through data sharing and collaborative action. It has a customizable architecture and has the ability to add an organization’s branding, such as its logo.

It offers either enterprise or embedded analytics and is deployable in the cloud or on-premise.
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$5,000 Annual
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$50/User, Monthly, Freemium
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Product Assistance

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Videos
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Email
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FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Real-Time Analysis: Connects to a range of data sources, including other SAP applications, to deliver real-time data and up-to-the-minute updates, so users are never behind the times. 
  • High-Volume Delivery: Distributes content over a large organization to ensure all users have real-time access to data, visualizations and collaboration. 
  • Extensive SAP Ecosystem: Integrates and connects seamlessly with other SAP tools through built-in APIs. This extends usability and draws data directly from a range of SAP systems. 
  • Self Service: Users of all technical levels can manipulate data, explore trends, create visualizations and share them with others without waiting for a data scientist to deliver insights. 
  • Enterprise-Grade: As one of the largest software providers in the world, it offers a robust solution that can handle the largest, most complex data sets for any size enterprise. 
  • Intuitive Visualizations: Create a variety of intuitive visualizations from data, making patterns and trends more apparent and transferring information more efficiently than numbers or text reports. 
  • Better Business Decisions: Historical patterns and data tracking helps identify trends and make accurate predictions for the future. Make data-driven business decisions and implement proven best practices. 
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  • End-to-End BI Stack: Its complete BI suite provides solutions to multiple data analytics problems. Businesses are equipped with critical tools such as automated insights, action-based dashboards and collaborative BI tools. Its robust enterprise governance tool allows businesses to integrate their platform with existing security features. 
  • Convenient Adoption: Its single, integrated platform is user-friendly and easy to adopt. It is deployable either on the cloud or on-premise. 
  • Engaging Data Stories: Users can share their data insights with dynamic, compelling reports and storyboards. 
  • Data Transparency: Yellowfin BI can present data in multiple ways and assimilate into business operations. It's built with various dashboards, including analytical, operational and strategic setups, that link interactive data, allowing users to understand information in real time and allow for the monitoring of crucial metrics. It also ensures data accuracy and can create timelines. 
  • Automated Insights: It combines machine learning with human insights to make use of the company’s data effectively. Its algorithms automatically scan through the company’s data and provide strategically relevant results. 
  • Explore Data With Ease: Its smart visualizations enable easy data discovery and exploration. It has over 50 chart types built-in, which helps users understand their businesses better. It also helps in spotting patterns, trends and outliers. 
  • Open Source Freedom: As a 100% open platform, it has no proprietary lock-in, which allows analysts to use their existing skills and knowledge to develop their own capabilities within the platform. It is open-source in nature, which makes the Yellowfin Marketplace, a digital catalog of many free or low-cost plug-ins, extend the suite’s capabilities even further. 
  • Scalability: It offers a scalable architecture that can adapt according to the growth of a business. Users can scale their data usage, without compromising on performance aspects. 
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  • Native Mobile Apps: Take visualization features like charts, reports and more on the go with native iOS and Android apps. 
  • Pre-Built Data Connectors: Draw data from over 25 pre-set sources such as SAP HANA, Apache, Hadoop, Hive, Cloudera, Impala, Amazon, IBM and many more. 
  • Integrations: Provides powerful integration capabilities with other applications such as CRM, ERP, web applications and more. Includes SAP tools and others like the Microsoft Suite. 
  • Data Discovery: Collects, cleans and analyzes data from a variety of sources to help users identify trends and patterns. 
  • Data Transformation: Converts data between formats and structures — organizes and structures unstructured data into usable information. 
  • Visualizations: Generates graphical data visualizations such as bar charts, pie graphs, scattergrams, line plots, maps and more. 
  • Secure Collaboration: Users can securely share visualizations with team members, clients and others through email, web embedding and other platforms. 
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  • Automated Data Monitoring: Yellowfin Signals provides machine-based automated monitoring of live data. It highlights anomalies and data outliers, and its proactive warning systems keep business owners informed of changes as they happen and deliver insights faster.  
  • Data Storytelling: Yellowfin Stories and Yellowfin Present help users create data stories and presentations that add context to numbers. These presentations enable clear and concise understanding throughout the organization with accessible insights sourced from one centralized, automatically refreshed database. Data stories can be authored in blog format and supplemented with external media and attachments. 
  • Connectivity to Various Data Sources: It facilitates connection with numerous data sources, including Web APIs, spreadsheets and relational databases as either on-premise or hosted in the cloud. Data is then transformed and merged so that it is accessible by any analytics platform without proprietary lockouts. 
  • Data Analysis: It helps businesses accelerate the analysis of large chunks of data using databases, spreadsheets or online applications. 
  • Data Discovery: The Insight Wizard feature is a unique inclusion that helps users cut down on discovery times with the help of assisted insights. It comes packed with features that provide automated answers with the use of algorithms. 
  • Dashboards: Its customizable, interactive dashboards enable users to keep track of key performance indicators in real time. They drive action and let users make data-driven decisions for their companies. They can be customized with the company’s branding and their open-source code lets users create their own application experience. 
  • Embeddable Workflows: Out-of-the-box, Yellowfin action buttons allow users to integrate workflows to third-party applications, or develop their own custom workflows that allow users to take direct action from their dashboards. 
  • Mobile App: It comes with a mobile application that helps users track changes to their data on-the-go. The app is curated for a mobile-specific experience, which allows users to track changes and respond to them from internet-enabled devices. 
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Product Ranking

#14

among all
Business Intelligence Tools

#346

among all
Business Intelligence Tools

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 1869 reviews
Great User Sentiment 182 reviews
81%
of users recommend this product

BusinessObjects has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 81% when considering 1869 user reviews from 4 recognized software review sites.

85%
of users recommend this product

Yellowfin BI has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 85% when considering 182 user reviews from 6 recognized software review sites.

n/a
4.2 (14)
3.8 (237)
4.4 (90)
n/a
4.59 (17)
4.2 (158)
4.6 (16)
4.2 (722)
4.1 (10)
3.9 (752)
3.5 (35)

Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

Ease of Use: It is a straightforward and easy to use platform, as noted by over 65% of reviewers who mention ease of use.
Flexible Reporting: Around 84% of the reviewers who specify reporting state that it offers a flexible reporting feature to fit individual needs.
Integration: It enables integration with SAP products and third-party software, as observed by 89% of the users referring to integration.
Customization: It provides highly customizable tools and options, as noted by 88% of reviewers who specify customization.
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Intuitive Interface: Users praise Yellowfin for its user-friendly design, making it easy to navigate and build reports without extensive training.
Powerful Data Visualization: Yellowfin offers a wide array of charting and visualization options, allowing users to present data in a clear and compelling way.
Strong Customer Support: Users appreciate the responsive and helpful customer support provided by Yellowfin, ensuring they can get assistance when needed.
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Learning Curve: It involves a steep learning curve for beginners, as stated by 80% of the users mentioning the learning curve.
Implementation: Over 80% of reviewers who discussed implementation report that the process is cumbersome.
Pop-ups: Error messages and pop-ups are technical and hard to decipher, as observed by 100% of reviewers who refer to pop-ups.
Performance: Around 86% of the users who specify performance report that it becomes slow and crashes at times when multiple prompts are opening.
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Difficult to Learn: Some users find the platform's interface and features difficult to learn and navigate, especially compared to other BI tools.
Limited Customer Support: Users have reported experiencing slow or unhelpful customer support, making it challenging to resolve issues quickly.
Data Visualization Limitations: While Yellowfin offers data visualization capabilities, some users find them less intuitive and flexible compared to other BI tools, limiting their ability to create compelling reports and dashboards.
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User reviews for BusinessObjects paint a picture of a powerful BI tool with both strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, users praise its comprehensive features, enabling them to tackle complex data challenges. "It's like a Swiss Army knife for data analysis," one user says, "from basic reports to advanced modeling, it's got it all." This feature depth is often contrasted with simpler competitors, with users appreciating the ability to handle diverse needs without needing multiple tools. However, the learning curve can be steep, especially for non-technical users. "It's not exactly drag-and-drop for beginners," another user admits. This complexity can lead to frustration and require investment in training, which some users find less intuitive compared to competitors. Despite the learning hurdle, many users highlight BusinessObjects' scalability and integration capabilities as its main differentiators. "It seamlessly connects with our existing systems," one user notes, "saving us time and effort." This smooth integration is often lacking in competitors, making BusinessObjects a preferred choice for organizations with complex data ecosystems. Overall, user reviews suggest BusinessObjects is a powerful and versatile BI tool best suited for organizations with complex data needs and the resources to support its learning curve. Its comprehensive features and integration capabilities set it apart, making it a strong contender for those seeking a robust BI solution despite the initial investment required.

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Is Yellowfin BI the "gold standard" for your business intelligence needs? Recent user reviews suggest that Yellowfin BI is a capable business intelligence platform that shines in its user-friendly interface and robust feature set, making it a good fit for businesses of all sizes. Users praise its intuitive design, which allows even non-technical users to easily navigate and utilize the software. The platform's comprehensive suite of features, including data visualization, reporting, and automated insights, empowers businesses to gain a holistic understanding of their data. However, users also point out some drawbacks. A common gripe is the cost, which can be a barrier for smaller businesses or those with limited budgets. Some users find the software's learning curve steeper than expected, particularly when it comes to advanced features. Despite these weaknesses, Yellowfin BI differentiates itself through its focus on data storytelling and its ability to seamlessly integrate with a wide range of data sources. The platform's storytelling feature allows users to present data insights in a compelling and engaging way, facilitating better decision-making. Its broad data source compatibility ensures that businesses can connect and analyze data from various sources, providing a unified view of their operations. Overall, Yellowfin BI is best suited for businesses that prioritize user-friendliness and a comprehensive feature set in their business intelligence solution. Its intuitive interface and robust capabilities make it a valuable tool for organizations looking to leverage data for informed decision-making. However, businesses with budget constraints or those seeking a platform with a shallower learning curve may need to consider alternative options.

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