Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs Tableau comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

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
6.5
The ROI of SAP BusinessObjects varies based on setup, costs, usage volume, and integration, with opinions differing significantly.
Sentiment score
7.2
Tableau improves decision-making and efficiency, offering quick adoption and high ROI, especially when replacing outdated systems.
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.
This saves a significant amount of time, particularly for reports that would have needed around fifty people.
The ROI of using Tableau extends to its seamless integration across various platforms, as it's from Salesforce and thus not limited to any specific cloud provider.
Tableau is saving me time, money, and resources, which I would rate as ten.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
SAP BI Platform support is generally satisfactory, with swift responses but varying service quality and resolution times.
Sentiment score
7.1
Tableau's customer and sales support is praised for responsiveness, with technical assistance valued but needing improvement in some areas.
I would rate their technical support as excellent.
I have experience with SAP technical support and have supported customers, including those in financial services.
They provide quick email and phone responses and have Thai-speaking personnel.
There should be consistent standards for all users.
The technical support for Tableau is quite good.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform is highly scalable, accommodating small to large enterprises, with wizards and load balancing aiding scalability.
Sentiment score
6.7
Tableau's scalability is influenced by server setup, workbook design, and is improved with new releases, despite pricing concerns.
Tableau is easy to use across various dimensions, whether on-premises or on the cloud.
The solution is fully scalable and performs well even with large datasets, provided there is proper supporting hardware.
Tableau is easy to scale.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
SAP BusinessObjects' stability depends on configuration, resource allocation, and environment size, with mixed user experiences on upgrades.
Sentiment score
7.3
Tableau is generally stable, with improvements in newer versions, but issues may occur with heavy loads or poor infrastructure.
When they tried upgrading from 4.2 to 4.3, they found it buggy in some reports, which was quite problematic.
The application hangs after continuous use due to the buildup of cache.
I rate the stability a five or six because Tableau updates very often with new versions or patches.
 

Room For Improvement

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform faces upgrade and integration issues, lacking user-friendliness and seamless data handling, deterring adoption.
Tableau needs enhanced data integration, advanced analytics, cost-effective licensing, and improved enterprise features for user experience and performance.
I've worked with other tools, for example, Microsoft Power BI, which is visualization-wise very strong.
SAP BusinessObjects is expected to be phased out by 2027 as reports are moving to SAP Analytics Cloud.
I would appreciate integration with Outlook as an additional feature in the future to make it closer to a perfect score.
We cannot send the entire Excel file reports via email within Tableau.
The product owner should enhance its benefits or clarify its role.
It sometimes requires extensive investigation to determine why the data does not appear correctly.
 

Setup Cost

SAP BusinessObjects' pricing is complex and costly, though offers flexibility, making it suitable for large enterprises despite higher expenses.
Enterprise buyers should consider Tableau's varied licensing, higher costs, and flexible options compared to alternatives like Power BI.
The price is very competitive and reliable.
Power BI as a much cheaper alternative.
A license for 150 users costs around $17,000 USD per year.
Looker is known to be quite expensive.
 

Valuable Features

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform provides intuitive analytics, robust data integration, and visualization tools for enhanced decision-making and user experience.
Tableau offers a user-friendly interface, dynamic visualizations, and integrates diverse data sources for effective, real-time data analysis.
The best feature about it for me, and for them, is the fact that you have a universe that is well made.
The important features include a dashboard and reporting capabilities through SAP Analytics Cloud, which I consider to be a better version than the initial BusinessObjects platform.
It integrates well with BW and HANA, which demonstrates strong data integration capabilities.
A significant feature for me is the real-time connection to data sources because it effectively manages large data sets.
Tableau serves as a stable dashboarding tool for higher management, aiding in quick decision-making.
Building hyper extracts and visualization capabilities make Tableau a robust tool for data analysis.
 

Categories and Ranking

SAP BusinessObjects Busines...
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Tableau
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
305
Ranking in other categories
Reporting (2nd), Data Visualization (1st), Embedded BI (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category, the mindshare of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is 3.7%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Tableau is 17.1%, down from 19.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user112062 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 11, 2014
 

Featured Reviews

Declan Dempsey - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides efficient data reporting while needing easier deployment and improved interface
Users tend to put everything into Excel, though I try to discourage this. The best feature about it for me, and for them, is the fact that you have a universe that is well made. This means you don't have those months that get assigned. You can just get to the point and get a report very quickly. Unfortunately, in some ways, it's a double-edged sword because it becomes more of a self-service ETL, even for the reporting team. If you have a decent universe and you just want to quickly get something together, it's very usable. Compared to Click, you can drop those reports very quickly.
Nattawat Choosuwan - PeerSpot reviewer
Real-time data connection enhances workflow and decision-making process
An area for improvement in Tableau is the Explorer license type. It is not as useful, and the product owner should enhance its benefits or clarify its role. Additionally, the frequent updates with many versions available for download can be confusing and could affect stability. They should avoid providing access to older versions on their website.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which BI (Business Intelligence) Tools solutions are best for your needs.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user6330 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 2, 2013
MicroStrategy vs. Tableau
After a recent presentation, several attendees asked me about the applications of Visual Insights and Tableau. Many companies are investing in both tools and are trying to figure out the right tool for specific applications Tableau has found its sweet-spot as an agile discovery tool that analysts…
 

Answers from the Community

it_user112062 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 11, 2014
Jun 11, 2014
Sorry, I do not know Tableau, I know BO just for upgrading old reports. I use Qlikview.
2 out of 9 answers
it_user116763 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 9, 2014
Hi, We would recommend QlikView (QV) to your Client, not Tableau or SAP Business Objects. QV have much more advanced opportunities which Tableau is just working on now: for example mobile versions of this application. SAP Business Objects takes longer time to create reports (hours), when QV does it in minutes or seconds. You can read more about them from Gartner 2013 BI Magic Quadrant. Regards, Angelika Galayko Specjalista ds. Sprzedaży [QlikView Solution Provider Icon] mobile: 666 063 268 e-mail: angelika.galayko@bpx.pl www.bpx.pl [stopka bpx] Business Partners eXcellence Pl. Powstańców Śląskich 28/30 53-333 Wrocław [http://www.bpx.pl/images/face.png][http://www.bpx.pl/images/link.png] Adres do korespondencji Ul. Równoległa 2 02-235 Warszawa Spółka wpisana do KRS dla Wrocławia-Fabrycznej pod numerem 0000262389. Kapitał zakładowy 78 400 PLN wpłacony w całości. NIP 894-287-81-84. REGON 020355704
it_user116742 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 9, 2014
Beginning with version 7.0.4, Tableau supports connecting directly SAP® Business Information Warehouse (SAP BW) using the Tableau SAP BW connector. The Tableau SAP BW connector uses the OLE DB for OLAP provider and issues live queries to SAP BW using the MDX query language. One benefit to this type of connection is that you will always connect to the latest data. Additionally, the connection experience is very similar to using Tableau with other OLAP data sources, such as Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services and Oracle Essbase. Beginning with Tableau 8.1 the Tableau SAP BW connector also supports data connections using extracts. For more information about using SAP BW extracts, see SAP BW Extract limitations.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Educational Organization
43%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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...
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...
What do you like most about SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform?
What I like the most about SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform is that it has significantly improved our decision-making process.
Seeking lightweight open source BI software
It depends on the Data architecture and the complexity of your requirement. Some great tools in the market are Qlik Sense, Power BI, OBIEE, Tableau, etc. I have recently started using Cognos Enter...
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 do you like most about Tableau?
Tableau is a fantastic tool that provides impressive dashboards and customized reports.
 

Also Known As

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform, SAP BusinessObjects, Business Objects
Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, Tableau Online
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SRAM, Kennametal, Fairfax Water, British American Tobacco, Velux, and FedEx.
Accenture, Adobe, Amazon.com, Bank of America, Charles Schwab Corp, Citigroup, Coca-Cola Company, Cornell University, Dell, Deloitte, Duke University, eBay, Exxon Mobil, Fannie Mae, Ferrari, French Red Cross, Goldman Sachs, Google, Government of Canada, HP, Intel, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Macy's, Merck, The New York Times, PayPal, Pfizer, US Army, US Air Force, Skype, and Walmart.
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs. Tableau and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.