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RSA Archer vs SAP BusinessObjects GRC comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

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

RSA Archer
Ranking in GRC
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
IT Governance (1st), IT Vendor Risk Management (4th)
SAP BusinessObjects GRC
Ranking in GRC
15th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
Continuous Controls Monitoring (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of RSA Archer is 16.3%, up from 16.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP BusinessObjects GRC is 1.9%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

IMRAN ALMARZOOQI - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates compliance management effectively but needs improved interface and dashboards
The tool basically automates whatever processes you already have, so I cannot specify improvements in that regard. However, my main issue with Archer is the graphics. The graphics have always been lacking. I always need to depend on another tool to read information from Archer to have better dashboards. It is like using Linux, and it has a Linux mindset and interface. I want to use Archer for top management and CEOs, but it looks too technical, and the dashboards are not really friendly. They are bulky, like opening an old Nintendo system from nineteen-ninety. The management agrees that Archer lacks in terms of presentation and dashboarding. It is complex, not user-friendly, and bulky. The interface just looks old.
Osama Saleh - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a lot of useful information and helps in managing risks and controls
BusinessObjects is very dated. It is not that user-friendly. It should be made more user-friendly. In addition, if they could make predictive analytics an embedded part of it where people get to know what is there to offer, it would be great. They need to invest heavily in business planning and consolidation. They have a BPC tool, which is known for planning and consolidation, but its implementation consumes a lot of effort. It is not that easy to implement. It would be better if they come up with a solution that is more user-friendly and easy to integrate so that we can have multiple consolidations or versions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Solution is scalable."
"The Advance Workflow feature simplifies things."
"This solution helped us with the centralization of our governance data, so we could house all of our controls in one place. We could use that central repository of all our controls to build our risk management strategy and our policy and governance. So we could use controls as a central library and build policy, and then build risk management around it."
"The tool has stability, and it allows me to automate whatever process I have."
"From my perspective, because I've always done it as a consultant, I do like the way it is configured. They've gone into changing the application builder interface, so it is even easier. When you're working with users, it is really easy to show them how to do things quickly and how to configure, change, and design stuff quickly."
"I have found all the features to be valuable, including those involving reporting, the dashboard, notifications, email modules, the database and data input."
"Enables development of any application, automation of any workflow including the GRC work processes."
"It has the best workload management features."
"It is wonderful from the control perspective. The GRC tools help you in knowing what are the risk controls, how to mitigate risks, and how to ensure that there are no conflicts between the roles. From the user perspective, you get to know what are the permission risks and access risks. You get a lot of useful information."
"Initial setup was straightforward. It took maybe one week."
"The best features are the scalability and flexibility to implement applications on top of the BW."
"The stability of SAP BusinessObjects GRC is acceptable."
"The tool helps create reports for projects, including the creation of any ad-hoc reports"
"We have enterprise clients for the product."
 

Cons

"There were so many problems that we had found. One time, the search index was not working. We also faced slowness in Archer, but I resolved this issue."
"The product is expensive."
"In terms of what can be improved, our client always says their user experience, IU/UX in RSA Archer. They found it is not as user friendly as other tools."
"I find the tech support to be inadequately knowledgeable."
"A remaining area for improvement is integration. There should be built-in integration mechanisms, for example, for organizations switching from platforms like ServiceNow to Archer, instead of custom integrations for each client."
"There is no inbuilt alert in Archer to let us know that a data feed has failed or did not run for different reasons. So, we don't even get to know that a feed has not run until somebody reports it to us. This has been a problem all the time. Data feeds have always been a big headache for us because there is no feature to let us know if a feed has not run or has failed. If Archer had a feature to send us an email notification when a feed has failed, it would've been very helpful. This is the reason why our users are slowly moving away to another platform. Some of the modules that I have been managing are being moved to ServiceNow. Next year, a lot of our modules will be moved from RSA Archer to ServiceNow, and the data feed issue has been one of the main reasons."
"It would be useful for customers if COBIT 2019 could be translated into different languages."
"Slow turnaround time from support team."
"I am working on features that are not functioning as expected, which creates significant difficulties in management."
"I think the old system is better than the new one. From an improvement perspective, the tool needs to ensure that the new technologies it offers are better than the old ones."
"Technical support could be better and faster."
"We cannot actively log in to the system. It should also improve support."
"BusinessObjects is very dated. It is not that user-friendly. It should be made more user-friendly. In addition, if they could make predictive analytics an embedded part of it where people get to know what is there to offer, it would be great."
"An additional feature I would like to see is the option to add wait time and integrate sources in wait time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"As I am a developer and responsible for providing production support, I do not have personal knowledge of the pricing. However, my colleagues claim that it is very expensive in comparison with other tools."
"The initial purchase is cheap. You pay a nominal price to start then renew the license annually. You also must buy a license for each module. I'm not too fond of that aspect of the licensing model. You buy the elephant and then spend more money to feed the elephant."
"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"I am not 100% familiar with that, especially with their new model. I just know that the way they've licensed per user to scale is good."
"The price of RSA Archer is good. The price isn't too high considering it is a leading tool in the market."
"The pricing is okay. The licensing costs are very reasonable; it is very affordable to us."
"RSA Archer's price is justifiable and not as expensive, compared to ServiceNow. I have heard that the licensing for ServiceNow is much more expensive. I'm unaware whether there are any additional costs after licensing fees."
"The solution is not at all a cheap product."
"The product's licensing costs involve a one-time purchase. The tool also allows others to make annual payments towards the licensing charges of the product."
"SAP BusinessObjects GRC is expensive."
"There is a yearly licensing cost. I would rate their pricing 4 out of 5."
"The license is costly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Insurance Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about RSA Archer?
It has various valuable features. For example, showing us if a control aligns with specific standards or frameworks helps us understand it better and verify its compliance.
What needs improvement with RSA Archer?
If the user needs to fill data, they need to go to one page and then to the next page if they can reduce the number of clicks to perform some activities and would like RSA to improve in this area. ...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
I perform all of our information security management governance and risk -related activities through Archer. My organization manages all types of audits and Enterprise risk activities using Archer.
What do you like most about SAP BusinessObjects GRC?
The tool helps create reports for projects, including the creation of any ad-hoc reports
What needs improvement with SAP BusinessObjects GRC?
There isn't anything in particular that my company doesn't like about the product. It is an old system that is currently being used by its users, which works in areas like prompts and reports. I th...
What advice do you have for others considering SAP BusinessObjects GRC?
My company is in touch with the vendor who takes care of the maintenance phase of the solution. I cannot recommend the product to other organizations. Other organizations can choose from the many t...
 

Also Known As

Archer
BusinessObjects GRC
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
INEOS Melamines GmbH, Banco Galicia
Find out what your peers are saying about RSA Archer vs. SAP BusinessObjects GRC and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,632 professionals have used our research since 2012.