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SAP Business Data Cloud vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 15, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.1
SAP Business Data Cloud enhances business intelligence and analytics, reducing costs and time across sectors with automation and faster reporting.
Sentiment score
5.8
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform offers varying ROI, with potential savings and positive returns, depending on usage and implementation scale.
We have saved a lot on the number of employees, and implementation time for the projects has reduced significantly since we started using the standard features of SAP Business Data Cloud.
Principal Architect at a tech consulting company with 501-1,000 employees
Once the content is available, then it is a faster go-live with lesser cost in implementation, and that would give an ROI.
Director & Co Owner at INFRABEAT TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD
There is a return on investment with SAP Business Data Cloud, as it saves money because it performs results quickly and easily, facilitating integrations and speeding up operations compared to other analytics tools, thereby saving time and money.
Consultant-SAP GRC at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees
The initial investment will be more, but the ROI is also good, so they can consider it if they're looking for something in the long run.
Associate Software Enginner at Siddaganga Institute of Technology
For most of my clients using the on-premises version of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform, the return on investment is positive due to its affordability and ability to handle diverse reporting needs while automating information distribution.
Data Analytics Manager at Dangote Industries Limited
I have seen a return on investment so far in the form of saved time and resources.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
SAP Business Data Cloud's customer service is generally satisfactory, but users desire faster responses and higher quality support.
Sentiment score
6.5
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform support is mixed, with some praising reliability and others noting slow, complex issue handling.
The technical support is a very well-organized service, with a lot of tools for me as a consultant and for the end user on how to contact SAP support and get issues solved.
Competence Leader - BI at Sabris CZ s.r.o.
For example, when I provide a set of instructions, they often simply ask me to implement those steps without checking whether they are applicable.
Lead Analyst at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
In SAP's policy, for the first couple of years, the product team is also part of the support team.
Director & Co Owner at INFRABEAT TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD
I would rate their technical support as excellent.
IT at a marketing services firm with 10,001+ employees
I have experience with SAP technical support and have supported customers, including those in financial services.
Data Analytics Manager at Dangote Industries Limited
Sometimes, they forward my ticket to the technical team, especially when my issue involves technical aspects that basis people may not be familiar with.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
SAP Business Data Cloud is scalable, effectively manages workload increases, and receives positive ratings for handling user growth efficiently.
Sentiment score
7.6
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform is scalable and adaptable, though some report complexity issues in specific scalability scenarios.
SAP Analytics Cloud can be used by a small company, and it can be used by a large corporate.
Competence Leader - BI at Sabris CZ s.r.o.
Since SAP has consolidated everything on one platform, there is ample room to expand as much as needed.
Sap Data & Analytics Consultant at Dezert Innovation Technology Company
There are no limitations in terms of scale, so it fits both SMB customers and enterprise customers.
Director & Co Owner at INFRABEAT TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD
The scalability of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is adequate; it is very scalable and grows with my organization's needs.
Senior Data Engineer at LTI LATAM and Toubro Improtech
I rate the scalability of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform as a nine due to performance issues related to optimizing parts.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
SAP Business Data Cloud is stable but faces rare downtime and disruptions; users report high ratings despite some challenges.
Sentiment score
6.9
SAP BusinessObjects is generally stable, dependable, but performance can vary with configuration, sizing, and resource management challenges.
You have a chance to test it on your test tenant in small increments, so it should not break your productive reports and productive environment.
Competence Leader - BI at Sabris CZ s.r.o.
Other than during these quarterly release periods, the availability is excellent.
Sap Data & Analytics Consultant at Dezert Innovation Technology Company
In a typical quarter, the availability has been over 99%; in a few cases, it dropped to around 98.5%.
Lead Analyst at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
When they tried upgrading from 4.2 to 4.3, they found it buggy in some reports, which was quite problematic.
Senior Consultant at Keyrus
 

Room For Improvement

SAP Business Data Cloud users seek cost reduction, better integration, AI enhancements, intuitive reporting, and streamlined support with improved documentation.
SAP BusinessObjects needs better integration, improved UI, enhanced scalability, reduced licensing complexity, and improved self-service BI for broader adoption.
On the other hand, it is perfectly fitting to the SAP environment, with seamless integration to all SAP modules, not only ERP but also SuccessFactors and other tools from the SAP family.
Competence Leader - BI at Sabris CZ s.r.o.
If SAP can come up with innovative options to reduce licensing costs, many customers would incline toward SAP Business Data Cloud.
Principal Architect at a tech consulting company with 501-1,000 employees
If I compare the cost with SAP competitors, I find that when creating an enterprise data lake, if I don't use SAP Business Data Cloud and make it directly in the hyperscalers, it is pretty much cheaper than doing the same in SAP Business Data Cloud.
Director & Co Owner at INFRABEAT TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD
I've worked with other tools, for example, Microsoft Power BI, which is visualization-wise very strong.
Senior Consultant at Keyrus
SAP BusinessObjects is expected to be phased out by 2027 as reports are moving to SAP Analytics Cloud.
Sap Enterpise Cloud Architect at ECC Experienced Certified Consulting
I would appreciate integration with Outlook as an additional feature in the future to make it closer to a perfect score.
IT at a marketing services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Setup Cost

SAP Business Data Cloud has higher prices with flexible licensing, valued by large enterprises but costly for smaller companies.
SAP BusinessObjects BI is costly and complex, best for large enterprises with significant data needs, compared to cheaper alternatives.
If I compare the cost with SAP competitors, I find that when creating an enterprise data lake, if I don't use SAP Business Data Cloud and make it directly in the hyperscalers, it is pretty much cheaper than doing the same in SAP Business Data Cloud.
Director & Co Owner at INFRABEAT TECHNOLOGIES PVT LTD
Frankly, pricing, setup cost, and licensing seem a bit high compared to other hyperscalers.
Principal Architect at a tech consulting company with 501-1,000 employees
The pricing for SAP Business Data Cloud is higher compared to alternatives.
SAP BDC Consultant at IBM
SAP BTP is an expensive solution.
Associate Software Enginner at Siddaganga Institute of Technology
The price is very competitive and reliable.
IT at a marketing services firm with 10,001+ employees
I rate the pricing for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform as a seven or eight.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
 

Valuable Features

SAP Business Data Cloud integrates SAP data and third-party analytics, ensuring seamless deployment and enhanced decision-making capabilities.
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform offers dynamic scheduling, robust security, and seamless data integration, enhancing reporting efficiency and decision-making.
For SuccessFactors and S/4HANA Cloud, there are pre-built reports available which are commonly used by customers.
Project Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
SAP Business Data Cloud has positively impacted my organization by federating SAP data, which is now available for all to use.
Associate director, SAP technical at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The main standout feature is BDC Connect, as it is very useful for sharing data without replicating to third-party tools such as Enterprise Databricks, Snowflake or even in the near future, Google BigQuery as well as Microsoft Fabric.
Principal Architect at a tech consulting company with 501-1,000 employees
For calculations, SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform outperforms all other tools such as Power BI and Tableau, showing more accuracy, reliability, and flexibility compared to all other BI tools worldwide.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
Since we started using SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform, we have been able to make faster, data-driven business decisions based on actual data insights and data analysis, which has accelerated our ability to make better decisions for our business productivity.
Senior Data Engineer at LTI LATAM and Toubro Improtech
The best feature about it for me, and for them, is the fact that you have a universe that is well made.
Senior Consultant at Keyrus
 

Categories and Ranking

SAP Business Data Cloud
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
Data Integration (10th), Business Performance Management (3rd), Cloud Analytics (2nd), Predictive Analytics (2nd), Data Governance (9th), Cloud Data Warehouse (10th)
SAP BusinessObjects Busines...
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
114
Ranking in other categories
Data Visualization (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category, the mindshare of SAP Business Data Cloud is 2.7%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence is 2.6%, down from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP Business Data Cloud2.7%
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence2.6%
Other94.7%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Pavlina Pankova - PeerSpot reviewer
Competence Leader - BI at Sabris CZ s.r.o.
Brings reporting, planning, and prediction together in one seamless workflow
I think the areas of SAP Analytics Cloud that could be improved or enhanced are mentioned by users or companies, and they would definitely mention the price in terms of planning licensing. From a consulting point of view, I don't see any major weaknesses. It is reasonably well-developed, and the perfect strength is that innovations are coming on a quarterly basis. It is slightly behind other tools in terms of the number of graphical outputs. Some tools have it faster, but every increment of innovations contains new features. On the other hand, it is perfectly fitting to the SAP environment, with seamless integration to all SAP modules, not only ERP but also SuccessFactors and other tools from the SAP family, for example, integrated business planning for the production planning. This is really a highlight compared to other tools.
TarunKumar7 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Data Engineer at LTI LATAM and Toubro Improtech
Data insights have driven faster financial forecasts and improved role-based decision making
The best features SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform offers include cross-enterprise sharing, where sharing insights is easier and seamless across my organization, and creating role-based dashboards. The role-based dashboards help my team and organization by providing information to specific users, allowing them to make decisions more easily, anytime, anywhere, across any device. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform has positively impacted my organization by allowing us to perform financial reporting to make decisions faster. Since we started using SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform, we have been able to make faster, data-driven business decisions based on actual data insights and data analysis, which has accelerated our ability to make better decisions for our business productivity.
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Comparison Review

it_user6663 - PeerSpot reviewer
BI Expert at a transportation company with 51-200 employees
May 25, 2013
SAP Business Objects vs. Microsoft BI
A quick look at the whole idea on another weblogs gives you a sense that all of them just talked about very brief things like report refresh feature in BO or cube feature in MS Analysis Service. I choose MS BI and I want to share my reasons and opinions on why I choose it and give you another quick…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Retailer
7%
Construction Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise51
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise67
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - Tableau or SAP Analytics Cloud?
Tableau is easy to set up and maintain. In about a day it is possible for the entire platform to be deployed for use. This relatively short amount of time can make all the difference for companies ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Analytics Cloud?
I normally do not deal with the commercials, so I am not aware of the pricing part of it.
What needs improvement with SAP Analytics Cloud?
I think the areas of SAP Analytics Cloud that could be improved or enhanced are mentioned by users or companies, and they would definitely mention the price in terms of planning licensing. From a c...
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...
Tableau vs. Business Objects - Which is a better solution for visualization and analysis?
Both tools have their positives and negatives. First, I should mention that I am relatively new to Tableau. I have been working on and off Tableau for about a year, but getting to work on it consta...
 

Also Known As

SAP Analytics Cloud, SAP Digital Boardroom, SAP Analytics Hub
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform, SAP BusinessObjects, Business Objects, SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards, SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Ericsson, Vodafone, Google, Team Liquid, Ryder Cup, Accenture
SRAM, Kennametal, Fairfax Water, British American Tobacco, Velux, and FedEx.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP Business Data Cloud vs. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
896,510 professionals have used our research since 2012.