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Microsoft Power BI vs Oracle HFM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Microsoft Power BI
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
331
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (1st), Reporting (1st)
Oracle HFM
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Business Intelligence solutions, they serve different purposes. Microsoft Power BI is designed for BI (Business Intelligence) Tools and holds a mindshare of 8.1%, down 21.4% compared to last year.
Oracle HFM, on the other hand, focuses on Business Performance Management, holds 3.6% mindshare, down 7.0% since last year.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Power BI8.1%
Tableau Enterprise6.2%
Amazon QuickSight3.3%
Other82.4%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
Business Performance Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle HFM3.6%
Anaplan6.8%
Adaptive Insights5.0%
Other84.6%
Business Performance Management
 

Featured Reviews

Hemanthreddy Vakiti - PeerSpot reviewer
Data engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Interactive dashboards have transformed restaurant data into faster daily business decisions
Microsoft Power BI has many features and there is not a lot to improve. However, the licensing can be confusing. When deciding between Pro and Premium, I find it difficult to distinguish what features are offered by Pro and what features are offered by Premium, including the particular differences to choose between both licensing models. Additionally, some features such as DAX, which I mentioned previously, involve DAX calculations and complex data modeling, which are somewhat advanced and not easily understandable. Prior knowledge is required or you need to go through the documentation. If the documentation is made comprehensive so that anyone with no knowledge on DAX can easily use it by going through the documentation, it would be really helpful. Additionally, if the integration with non-Microsoft tools is improved and performance is optimized, then Microsoft Power BI can become a top-ranked visualization tool. The user experience with Microsoft Power BI is quite good. The intuitive user interface makes it easy for both technical and non-technical users to create reports. However, only the advanced features are somewhat complex, and if the documentation is improved, it can be easily accessible.
Segun Oladele - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate Manager, Accounting at BIC
Has supported financial consolidation through accurate reporting and global currency conversion
Oracle HFM is excellent for consolidation and reconciliation. It helps me see the general overview of the business across several locations. The drill-through reporting enhances accuracy in financial analysis. Oracle HFM has a schedule that requires reporting, especially one that ties back to my general ledger. I have to report each line item that comprises that number. It helps me fact-check reported numbers with a schedule. For example, with payables, Oracle HFM allows me to have a list of numbers reported per supplier. This provides comfort that the numbers are not fictitious. Additionally, it has a feature that performs fact-checking from P&L to balance sheet. For instance, if depreciation is reported, it must align with what is in the profit or loss account. These features ensure integrity in the reported numbers and allow for quick error detection while serving as a reconciliation tool. The currency conversion feature provides a global view from entity currency to local currency perspective, enabling value checks in different currencies for the company as a whole. In Nigeria, I report in Naira, and I don't need to report in my parent currency. The entity can report in their currency into Oracle HFM, and the parent company converts to their currency. By inputting budget rates, I can convert to any reporting currency, particularly the parent company currency. This feature saves time, increases speed, and allows the parent company to value its subsidiaries quickly. Regarding data integration capabilities for ensuring data consistency and accuracy, it deserves a high rating. For example, with inventory, if there is an impairment, the reported amount in P&L should match the balance sheet's inventory impairment. This level of checking provides confidence in the accuracy of reported figures.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"I have found the quick reporting and the conductivity with all the data sources valuable."
"Microsoft BI's most valuable feature is flexibility."
"It allows individuals to do the analysis themselves​."
"The solution has a good toggling feature."
"There is a lot of variety in Power BI. In particular, the visuals are quite rich and the feature set has been growing rapidly in the last two years. Possibly the best part for me is that there are a lot of ways to connect with data sources."
"Allows business users with a mission to solve their own problems, without an IT person."
"The stability is good."
"Mostly so far what happens is that people really like Power BI due to the fact that it's easy for them to navigate around and work with it."
"The most valuable features are around consolidations, eliminations, conversions."
"It has really increased efficiency."
"There are measurable benefits from using Oracle HFM as it reduces manpower and eliminates work duplication."
"The tool is stable."
"The equity pickup module not only looks at who owns who and at what percentage, it also looks at the relationships and determines the correct order of execution, including any mid level consolidations or currency translations needed."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"Financial consolidation and reporting tool with good built-in features such as currency exchange and elimination."
"The versatile data is probably the most valuable feature, since you can access it through the web interface or through Microsoft Office based solutions like Excel, Excel Smart View, PowerPoint and Word."
 

Cons

"Regarding drawbacks or weak points in Microsoft Power BI, it may not be directly related to the tool itself, but with our architecture, as we couldn't get a service account, which is an email address that has no relationship with the employees, just to establish the connection with Anaplan."
"It is definitely a wonderful analytics tool. However, database ETL, data integration functionality would be absolutely perfect in many cases. Currently, it doesn't get the job done and we need to extract, transform, and load the data from faulty data sets into something more suitable for the deployment of the analytics tool."
"I think because I'm moving more into RPA, I'd definitely like to see integration across the RPA, Power BI, or Tableau platforms, because that integration could then make automation and mundane reporting much faster."
"Microsoft BI is not very cheap. A premium license costs roughly 5,000 euros a month."
"In my opinion, the software is a little bit limited in terms of the flexibility it offers, with regard to the design of the visualization."
"Microsoft Power BI was born native on the cloud, however, it's quite difficult when it has to connect to on-premise data sources."
"This solution needs integration with SAS and more deep analysis functionality."
"Creating dashboards could be easier."
"Format of tables Links between pages could be more efficient"
"Oracle HFM could be improved or enhanced in handling metadata or the dimensionality."
"The tool almost feels a little disconnected from some of the other tools, so you have to piece together multiple tools into one solution."
"There have been some stable cases, but not all of them are."
"The intercompany reporting function in this tool needs improvement, particularly being able to run reports in batches, rather than one at a time."
"If there could be data integration between HFM and the accounting software that would be ideal."
"Integration is an area where it lacks and can be improved."
"The intercompany reporting function in this tool needs improvement, particularly being able to run reports in batches, rather than one at a time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would advise that Microsoft BI products are rightly priced and the licensing is easy to follow and to fulfill."
"Paid for itself in the first month."
"If it has to be applied on the cloud, then it costs around $10 per month per user. For a pro license and for a premium license it's around $20 per month per user. If it has to be applied on-premises then, depending on the course of your server, you have to buy a software assurance version of the database."
"The price of the solution can be expensive if you want to synchronize your data more."
"I am satisfied with its price. Its price is very less as compared to Tableau and QlikView."
"Power BI is cheaper than Tableau and Cognos."
"Microsoft BI is not expensive. Compared to the price of other BI products, the price is very fair."
"The current licensing model that Microsoft BI has is expensive. My customers have told me the cost is approximately $20 per user and this can get expensive fast. There should be a one-time purchase option if the customer has a lot of users."
"Oracle Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) uses the named user licensing model. There's different pricing depending on HFM and Essbase planning."
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Comparison Review

it_user79932 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager - BI Head with 5,001-10,000 employees
Feb 4, 2015
Comparison of SAP BO, Tableau, QlikView, Cognos, Microsoft, OBIEE and Pentaho
1. SAP BO/BI Enterprise scalability Security Ease of use Semantic layer 2. Tableau Visualization Data discovery Turnaround time 3. IBM Cognos Enterprise scalability Security In-memory feature 4. MS BI - Flexibility 5. Pentaho - Open source but still enterprise grade 6. QlikView Data…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
5%
Retailer
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business135
Midsize Enterprise59
Large Enterprise169
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise11
 

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...
Is Power BI a complete platform or only a visualization tool?
Power BI is an advanced visualization tool oriented to big data with a very complete set of widgets to visualize information, control users accessing information, the configuration of governance po...
How does Oracle OBIEE compare with Microsoft BI?
Oracle OBIEE is great in allowing design and creativity per the individual needs of the organization. Dashboards are fully customizable and very user-friendly. This solution is very stable. Oracle ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle HFM?
It depends on the discount offered by Oracle. It is an expensive product but delivers what it promises, ensuring regulatory compliance, reducing risks associated with spreadsheets, and providing a ...
What needs improvement with Oracle HFM?
Oracle HFM could be improved or enhanced in handling metadata or the dimensionality. I currently handle updates in the dimension hierarchies and properties manually. There is a way for it to be cen...
What is your primary use case for Oracle HFM?
The usual use cases for Oracle HFM that I support are for financial institutions, crewing for ships, and an Australian airlines company. They use the application mainly for management reporting pur...
 

Also Known As

SSRS, SSAS, MSBI, MS Reporting Services, Microsoft BI Tools, Microsoft Big Data, Power BI Pro, MS BI
HFM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Accenture Adidas Aetna AIG Airbus Alibaba Allstate Amazon American Express Aon AT&T Audi Bank of America BASF Bayer Berkshire Hathaway Boeing Coca-Cola Comcast Cisco Coca-Cola Dell Disney Emirates Equinix FedEx Ford GE Google H&M Home Depot Honda IBM Intel JPMorgan Chase Kellogg's Kroger L'Oréal McDonald's Merck MetLife Microsoft Nike Oracle P&G PepsiCo Procter & Gamble Prudential Financial SAP Siemens Snapchat Spotify Starbucks Target Toyota T-Mobile Unilever Visa Walmart WeWork World Bank Xerox
B&B Hotels, Goldwind, Drake & Scull
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Salesforce, SAP and others in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.