Top SAP Analytics Cloud Alternatives & Competitors For 2024

SAP Analytics Cloud is a powerful data visualization tool that helps users explore data in an easy-to-understand format and discover metrics that help them make informed decisions. Many users who reviewed visualization said that the platform has rich graphics libraries and a range of templates for story presentation of business metrics. Citing its aesthetic design, a majority of users said that the solution’s interface is intuitive for programmers and non-technical users alike. Mentioning its strong predictive and augmented analysis capabilities, a lot of users said that the platform is a strong planning tool and helps them gain business insights easily. Many users said that the tool works well on a plethora of devices, including mobile, and is accessible on multiple browsers, though some users said that its offline mode capabilities are limited. Most of the users who reviewed data integrations said that the tool handles large amounts of data seamlessly, though quite a few users said its compatibility with live connection data sources is limited to other SAP products. Reviewing functionality, a majority of users said that the tool is versatile and scalable to ensure a great end-to-end user experience, though some said that it needs more features, such as improved live data analytics. The solution does have its limitations, though. Around 85% of users who reviewed its performance said that it struggles at the enterprise level, though quite a few users said that it performs exceedingly well within the SAP ecosystem. A majority of the users who mentioned reporting said that the solution lacks automatic report distribution and broadcasting capabilities, though some said that it has excellent analytical and data-oriented report creation. Many users who discussed data management complained that the process for updating an existing data model needs a lot of rework, and that the solution needs more versatile modeling features. Overall, SAP Analytics Cloud is a planning tool with strong BI capabilities that brings the power of cloud computing to self-service data analysis for gaining actionable insights into business metrics.

Reviews of Pentaho paint a picture of a powerful, open-source data platform with both promise and pitfalls. Many users cite its wide range of tools and impressive scalability as major strengths, allowing them to tackle diverse tasks without needing multiple products. "It's a Swiss Army knife for data," one reviewer enthusiastically declared. But this power comes with a caveat – a steeper learning curve compared to more user-friendly options like Tableau. "It's not drag-and-drop intuitive," another user cautioned. Documentation is another point of contention. While some praise the available resources, others lament it as incomplete or outdated, often requiring community forums for troubleshooting. This is where the strong, active community becomes a saving grace – a true differentiator for Pentaho compared to pricier competitors. "The community is like having a built-in support team," a user noted, highlighting the value of shared knowledge and collaboration. However, users also report occasional bugs and glitches, especially in the free Community Edition. This can be a frustration for those seeking enterprise-level stability. And while Pentaho handles large datasets admirably, its resource-intensive nature can demand costly hardware upgrades, a factor to consider against competitors with built-in cloud options. Overall, Pentaho emerges as a versatile platform for those willing to invest time in learning its intricacies. Its open-source nature and powerful toolset make it a budget-friendly choice for startups and data-savvy teams. But for those prioritizing user-friendliness and seamless workflows, alternatives might be more appealing. Ultimately, the choice boils down to balancing Pentaho's strengths and weaknesses against your specific needs and technical expertise.

Alteryx Designer is a data science solution that leverages the power of AI and ML to blend, parse, transform and visualize big business data to promote self-serve analysis of business metrics. Many users who reviewed data analysis said that the tool performs statistical, spatial and predictive analysis in the same workflow. Most of the users who reviewed data processing said that, with a lightweight ETL tool, the platform has strong data manipulation and modeling efficiencies, though some users said that it can be tricky to use SQL queries. Citing integration with Power BI, Tableau and Python, most of the users said that the tool connects seamlessly to data from databases and files, apps, and third-party data sources, among others, to expand the reach of search-based and AI-driven analytics. Most of the users who discussed ease of use said that the tool is intuitive with drag-and-drop functionality and a well-designed interface, though some users said error handling can be challenging for automated workflows. Most of the users who reviewed support said that online communities are helpful in providing answers to queries. Citing automated workflows, many users said that the tool helps save time, though some users said that these can be overly complex and need improvement. On the flip side, many users who reviewed pricing said that its expensive licenses and add-ons are cost-prohibitive, and cost per core is high for enterprises looking to scale. A majority of users who reviewed its visualization capabilities said that they need to export data to visually stronger applications, such as Tableau or Power BI, to make the reports presentation-worthy. Citing slow runtimes when executing complex workflows, especially with large datasets, many users said that performance-wise, the solution is prone to infrequent crashes. Most of the users who discussed learning said that with documentation not being in sync with latest releases, training is a must to optimally use the tool. Overall, Alteryx Designer is a data science tool that, with its low-code approach and strong data wrangling capabilities, makes the journey from data acquisition to data insights seamless and promotes data literacy across organizations, though it might be better suited for medium- to large-sized organizations.

Tableau Online is a strong BI offering that serves as one of several options from Tableau, well known for its powerful data visualization tools. Many users would agree with this sentiment, citing its drag-and-drop capabilities, customization options and wide range of visualization options. Its intuitive UI invites users of all skill levels to analyze and work with data, though additional training is necessary to make use of the platform, with dashboard customization being one example where many users said they needed IT support. It establishes a private workspace on the web for users to analyze and work with data, with most users agreeing that it empowers cross-departmental collaboration, allowing for smoother communication between analysts and end-users. Accessible from both web browsers and mobile devices, it moves data analysis away from the desktop and enables users to bring their data wherever they go - a feature highly praised in recent reviews. Data source connectivity also rated highly with users who found it easy to connect to major data sources, though some noted that connections to unsupported sources were tricky. The most significant issue for most Tableau Online users is data refreshes - users said that they needed to publish new data to their site manually in order to refresh the information, a process that was both time consuming and damaging to data accuracy. For these reasons, Tableau Online struggles with real-time data and is better suited for historical data analysis, according to several reviews. In addition, the platform experiences performance issues, loading slowly when users filter or refresh data in particular. Others express concern that its licensing model is too restrictive and cost-prohibitive, requiring a minimum of 100 licenses for certain roles; several reviewers said that the ROI is simply not there for smaller to mid-sized businesses. Overall, Tableau Online offers many features that can help companies spread data literacy throughout their organization with relative ease of use, but may not be a good fit for all user needs.

Panoply is a unified data warehouse solution that enables automated data analytics by giving users greater visibility into data pipeline processes and trend forecasting. The solution is easy to deploy, requiring minimal technical skills, as said by all users who reviewed ease of implementation. All users who mentioned its AI-powered analytic capabilities said that, with effective ETL querying, the tool combines data from a multitude of sources to provide game-changing business insights. A majority of users who reviewed functionality said that, with a strong ETL engine, the platform is versatile and delivers maximum performance, though some users said that its features are not as ubiquitous as other data management tools. On the flip side, 50% of users who discussed the interface said that it is not very user-friendly and needs more features. Some users said that, since the platform has limited report generation functionality, they are forced to export data to third-party tools to enhance visualizations. Quite a few users who reviewed its pricing said that a good amount of necessary third-party integrations add to the overall cost. In summary, Panoply is a smart data analytics solution that automates data collection and querying, giving management clearer insight into the data analytics process for better decision making, though it might not be a good fit for companies with more complex data structures.