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SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs TIBCO Spotfire 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
6.3
SAP BusinessObjects aids ROI through savings, insights, and integration, with fluctuating returns based on usage and data quality.
Sentiment score
6.2
TIBCO Spotfire delivers high ROI with quick data analysis, enhanced insights, and effective integration despite its significant cost.
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.
I have seen a return on investment so far in the form of saved time and resources.
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.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Customer service and technical support are inconsistent, with varying experiences in response times and issue resolution effectiveness.
Sentiment score
7.0
TIBCO Spotfire customer service is praised for responsiveness and knowledge, with ratings ranging from 7 to 9 out of 10.
I have experience with SAP technical support and have supported customers, including those in financial services.
I would rate their technical support as excellent.
Sometimes, they forward my ticket to the technical team, especially when my issue involves technical aspects that basis people may not be familiar with.
Having a local partner was crucial for us while they were there.
TIBCO's support, especially for integration products, is swift.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform excels in scalability and user support but may be complex for very high data volumes.
Sentiment score
7.1
TIBCO Spotfire offers strong scalability, supporting large datasets and real-time processing, though setup and updates may pose challenges.
I rate the scalability of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform as a nine due to performance issues related to optimizing parts.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
SAP BusinessObjects stability varies; proper configuration ensures reliability, though some face issues with updates and integration challenges.
Sentiment score
6.4
TIBCO Spotfire is reliable but may face stability issues with complex tasks, dataset size, and improper real-time data integration.
When they tried upgrading from 4.2 to 4.3, they found it buggy in some reports, which was quite problematic.
There are no significant stability issues as long as the product's capabilities are understood and not overly pushed.
 

Room For Improvement

SAP BusinessObjects needs enhanced dashboards, integration, and flexibility, with improvements in performance, setup, support, and competitive self-service features.
TIBCO Spotfire struggles with customization, user-friendliness, data integration, and requires enhancements in training, support, and mobile functionality.
SAP BusinessObjects is expected to be phased out by 2027 as reports are moving to SAP Analytics Cloud.
I've worked with other tools, for example, Microsoft Power BI, which is visualization-wise very strong.
I would appreciate integration with Outlook as an additional feature in the future to make it closer to a perfect score.
TIBCO Spotfire and ClickView need improvement in scheduling, which is critical yet lacking in quality.
It could be very useful if the coding part of using the platform could be more user-friendly in terms of visual capability.
 

Setup Cost

SAP BusinessObjects offers robust features with flexible but costly licensing, less price-competitive compared to alternatives like Microsoft Power BI.
TIBCO Spotfire's pricing is high yet competitive, offering value with comprehensive features despite challenges in transparency and negotiation.
SAP BTP is an expensive solution.
The price is very competitive and reliable.
I rate the pricing for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform as a seven or eight.
TIBCO Spotfire's pricing is high, particularly in traditional markets like Turkey, impacting market penetration.
 

Valuable Features

SAP BusinessObjects offers robust features like ad-hoc reporting, multi-source connectivity, and self-service for enhanced data visualization and decision-making.
TIBCO Spotfire excels in interactive visualizations, real-time analytics, and seamless integration, praised for handling large datasets efficiently.
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.
The best feature about it for me, and for them, is the fact that you have a universe that is well made.
The platform has many drivers that I can use to connect to virtually all available databases, making it easy to integrate with Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and many others.
TIBCO Spotfire integrates with R and Python, offering a differentiator from the competition.
I think having Python included is a big win because you get the chance to customize your algorithm and your in-house development without having a big dependency on a third party.
 

Categories and Ranking

SAP BusinessObjects Busines...
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
5th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
110
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
TIBCO Spotfire
Ranking in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
14th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
71
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the BI (Business Intelligence) Tools category, the mindshare of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is 2.9%, down from 4.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of TIBCO Spotfire is 1.1%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform2.9%
TIBCO Spotfire1.1%
Other96.0%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

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.
Jacobo Ortiz Avila - PeerSpot reviewer
Has improved data handling and customization but requires more intuitive visual design for workflows
It was kind of tough to have the visualizations with HTML, or you have to create your own page. But it was working great with buttons and every page updated pretty fast with the server capability, and it was handling a big amount of data, maybe five years of data. It was performing quite well, taking maybe three minutes to update the whole model. It has been good, but most recently, they changed the commercial methodology to get the license. Our política in the company is to hire or get licenses year by year, but most recently, TIBCO Spotfire asked us to have a three-year license term. That made things a little bit tougher for the commercial relationship. Maybe with all these automation processes that you have, those could be more visually friendly. N8N is a good example where you could connect some platforms, and you don't have to code strictly, but you could visually create an algorithm. That capability of clicking and dragging some boxes of code could actually facilitate how people create their own algorithms. It could be very useful if the coding part of using the platform could be more user-friendly in terms of visual capability.
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Comparison Review

it_user6663 - PeerSpot reviewer
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
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise18
Large Enterprise65
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise39
 

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.
What do you like most about TIBCO Spotfire?
TIBCO Spotfire is easy to use. We initiated Spotfire as POC, with support from a tech team based in South Africa. While they assisted with the setup, we conducted the POC ourselves.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for TIBCO Spotfire?
TIBCO Spotfire's pricing is high, particularly in traditional markets like Turkey, impacting market penetration. There is a lack of local support and distributors, making it challenging to sell.
What needs improvement with TIBCO Spotfire?
It was kind of tough to have the visualizations with HTML, or you have to create your own page. But it was working great with buttons and every page updated pretty fast with the server capability, ...
 

Also Known As

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform, SAP BusinessObjects, Business Objects
Spotfire
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SRAM, Kennametal, Fairfax Water, British American Tobacco, Velux, and FedEx.
Allergan, ASSS de Montreal, Avantium, Blue River, Bank of Montreal, Citibank, FrieslandCampina, Hellmann Logistics, Merck, Novartis
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs. TIBCO Spotfire and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
868,759 professionals have used our research since 2012.