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SAP BusinessObjects GRC vs Workiva Wdesk 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

SAP BusinessObjects GRC
Ranking in GRC
12th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.2
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Continuous Controls Monitoring (2nd)
Workiva Wdesk
Ranking in GRC
8th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Business Performance Management (11th), Financial Close Software (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the GRC category, the mindshare of SAP BusinessObjects GRC is 1.5%, down from 2.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Workiva Wdesk is 3.3%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Workiva Wdesk3.3%
SAP BusinessObjects GRC1.5%
Other95.2%
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

Vishal Guthula - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr Advanced Analytics Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Experienced security and easy understanding with advanced customization enhances efficiency
Regarding automation, they could enhance features for checking real-time data when someone attempts to access data without proper permissions. Currently, we do not receive immediate alerts; we only discover issues after something goes wrong. Having prevention alerts immediately when someone triggers unauthorized actions would allow us to address these situations proactively.
reviewer2510292 - PeerSpot reviewer
Corporate ESG Analyst at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Has cross-functional connectivity but improvement is needed in script encoding
The tool's deployment is quick. Once the program is set up, you're ready to collect data and connect it to your report. The deployment team's size depends on the size of the company and how many different data providers you're utilizing. Some companies have one person doing everything, while others have a huge team. We're on the latter end of it, with many people involved. One great thing about the platform is that everything is consolidated in one place, providing a single resource for everyone. This is a benefit. The maintenance of the solution depends on the experience of the person managing the company's program. The company might have a contractor handling the back end and software management if they're low-level and only analyzing the data. However, if you have someone experienced with software and script encoding, that person might be the analyst and managing the program. Generally, most people are just analysts and not managing the software. There's an opportunity for improvement in user management of their software, and I hope they address this gap before the year ends.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Initial setup was straightforward. It took maybe one week."
"The customization options in the dashboards inside SAP BusinessObjects GRC are highly valuable, and the real-time monitoring feature performs effectively, allowing teams to maintain data security by restricting domain visibility."
"The tool helps create reports for projects, including the creation of any ad-hoc reports"
"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."
"The best features are the scalability and flexibility to implement applications on top of the BW."
"We have enterprise clients for the product."
"The stability of SAP BusinessObjects GRC is acceptable."
"The cross-functionality between connectivity, whether through API connections between different software platforms or the connection of data collection to the actual written ESG report, is highly valuable. The connectivity of all these aspects significantly aids in data assurance, which I consider a bonus."
"The collaboration within the platform is valuable."
"Workiva Wdesk has a flow diagram that is standardized, making it easy for people to file documents on ECDAs, which are in HTML format."
"The most valuable feature is its ability to easily upload and update financial results, creating a dynamic data sheet."
"It helps you to maintain a backup of your data, including the connectivity with the tables, which provides a user-friendly way to handle and access your files."
"It makes the compliance process more efficient and more effective."
"Workiva Wdesk is pretty good in terms of getting the data from the system, automating the reporting schedules...It has a very good integration with ERP tools."
 

Cons

"We cannot actively log in to the system. It should also improve support."
"I am working on features that are not functioning as expected, which creates significant difficulties in management."
"Technical support could be better and faster."
"Currently, we do not receive immediate alerts; we only discover issues after something goes wrong."
"An additional feature I would like to see is the option to add wait time and integrate sources in wait time."
"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."
"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."
"With this product, it's more about the integrated data model where you can have a one-to-many/many-to-one relationship between your policies and processes, risks, and controls. They need to showcase how you can put those pieces together."
"At this point, I don't see a compelling reason to invest in Workiva. It may be necessary for compliance and controlling the version of SCC, but not everyone needs its high-end capabilities."
"The most critical issue is the need to shift between uppercase and lowercase."
"One area where Workiva Wdesk could improve is by ensuring that its cloud-based system is fully compatible with the most current versions of PowerPoint and Excel."
"Regarding the solution, reporting has certain areas that can be considered for improvement."
"The tool's script encoding needs to be updated to make it more user-friendly and less of a manual process when changes are made to a company's program. Those changes happen frequently due to mandatory or voluntary reporting requirements, leading to lost linkage connections that must be manually reset each time a change is made. This aspect is not functional now, and I see it as an opportunity for improvement."
"The speed must be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"SAP BusinessObjects GRC is expensive."
"There is a yearly licensing cost. I would rate their pricing 4 out of 5."
"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."
"The license is costly."
"Our clients in Asia think that the solution is too expensive."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Insurance Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

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?
Regarding automation, they could enhance features for checking real-time data when someone attempts to access data without proper permissions. Currently, we do not receive immediate alerts; we only...
What is your primary use case for SAP BusinessObjects GRC?
I work with SAP, and currently I am working with other domains such as Power BI, Microsoft, and in the AI sector. When working with Microsoft, I utilize solutions such as Intune, Configuration Mana...
What needs improvement with Workiva Wdesk?
The tool's script encoding needs to be updated to make it more user-friendly and less of a manual process when changes are made to a company's program. Those changes happen frequently due to mandat...
What advice do you have for others considering Workiva Wdesk?
I've been working with the tool's script encoding departments and top management to address gaps in their script encoding. They are working towards closing these gaps to ensure we can continue usin...
 

Also Known As

BusinessObjects GRC
Wdesk
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

INEOS Melamines GmbH, Banco Galicia
Noodles Company, eBay, Winnebago, American Assets Trust, AmericanEnterprise, Calpian, Capstone Infrastructure, Cascades, Circor International, Coeur Mining, Davey, Dr Pepper Snapple
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP BusinessObjects GRC vs. Workiva Wdesk and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.