Oracle Business Intelligence vs Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Services

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Our analysts compared Oracle Business Intelligence vs Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Services based on data from our 400+ point analysis of Business Intelligence Tools, user reviews and our own crowdsourced data from our free software selection platform.

Oracle Business Intelligence Software Tool
Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Services Software Tool

Product Basics

Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) is a robust suite designed to empower users by providing comprehensive capabilities, including data integration, analytics, and reporting. This is a product that's most suited for medium to large enterprises which have complex data environments and require in-depth insights into their operations. Its important benefits are scalability, advanced analytics, data visualization, and a strong support infrastructure that Oracle is known for. An important feature set includes self-service analytics, ad-hoc analysis, mobile analytics, and robust dashboard capabilities. This sophistication lends itself to comparison with other enterprise-grade BI tools, where users often highlight Oracle BI's extensive integration facilities and powerful back-end capabilities as differentiators. However, given its depth and complexities, it can also present a steep learning curve for new users. Pricing considerations are important as Oracle BI is viewed as a premium offering. Typically, it's priced on a per-user basis, with payment frequencies ranging from monthly to annual licensing. Prospective buyers should note that the total cost of ownership may include additional expenses for implementation, customization, and training. In summary, Oracle Business Intelligence serves as a comprehensive data suite that leans towards the higher end of the market in both capability and price.

Pros
  • Powerful data warehousing
  • Scalable for large organizations
  • Wide range of features
  • Integrates with other Oracle products
  • Large user and developer community
Cons
  • High cost of ownership
  • Complex setup and management
  • Steep learning curve
  • Limited non-Oracle platform support
  • Less user-friendly than some alternatives
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Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Services (BICS) helps organizations transform raw data into actionable insights through a suite of cloud-based tools. It allows users to gather, store, analyze, and visualize data to make data-driven decisions. BICS is ideal for businesses of all sizes seeking comprehensive BI solutions without the need for extensive on-premises infrastructure. Key benefits include centralized data access, self-service analytics, and pre-built dashboards for quick insights. Popular features include interactive dashboards, data exploration tools, and mobile access for on-the-go analysis. User reviews highlight BICS' scalability, ease of use, and powerful data analysis capabilities. Pricing varies based on deployment options and features selected. Subscription models offer flexible payment options and scalability. Compared to similar products, BICS offers competitive pricing and a comprehensive set of features, making it a strong choice for businesses seeking a robust and cost-effective BI solution.

Pros
  • Scalable
  • Easy to use
  • Powerful data analysis
  • Mobile access
  • Competitive pricing
Cons
  • Limited customization
  • Steep learning curve for advanced features
  • Limited data connectors
  • Potential vendor lock-in
  • Limited customer support
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Product Assistance

Documentation
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Live Online
Videos
Webinars
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Email
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FAQ
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Knowledge Base
24/7 Live Support
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24/7 Live Support

Product Insights

  • Interactive Visualizations: Users have access to a wide selection of interactive dashboards, charts, graphs and other data visualization tools. They can filter, drill down or pivot data directly from the dashboard while prompts and suggestions from the system guide them through the exploration process to uncover additional insights.
  • Oracle Exalytics: Using Oracle Exalytics, users can analyze massive datasets efficiently and without the need for a technical professional such as a data analyst.
  • Self-Service: Even non-technical users will be able to explore, organize and interpret data using this analysis system. The intuitive visualizations make the information easy to understand and share for employees at any level of data literacy.
  • Actionable Intelligence: By analyzing data and identifying trends, users are more prepared to make decisions about business practices, quotas, forecasting and much more.
  • Proactive Alerts: Users can set predefined alerts that send users real-time updates when the system is triggered or scheduled. These alerts are sent via a preferred channel, including email, internal file storage and text message based on the severity of the alert.
  • Mobile Access: Everything in the solution is presented with a consistent interface on the mobile device of the user’s choosing. This includes multitouch and gestural interactions with map graphics and other advanced features.
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  • Business Insights: Offers users the ability to get a deeper understanding of what is happening in their business on a day-to-day basis as well as from a broad overview perspective.
  • Strategic Predictions: Using historical data, users can make more accurate predictions and forecasts of future business results.
  • Smart Visualizations: Users can create stunning graphics with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface and easily adjust layouts. The solution offers users the optimal visualization for the type of data selected, but users can also change the visualization type to view data from multiple angles.
  • Interconnected Interface: Data and visualizations are tied together. Therefore, highlighting data within a certain visual automatically highlights correlating data in other visuals, easily revealing patterns and trends that may not have been obvious.
  • Ease of Use: Simple, clean UI offers easy navigation through the homepage, answers page and dashboards. Nesting and borders in the interface help users stay focused on the data instead of distracting elements of the application.
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  • Dashboards: The rich dashboard feature lets users see and interact with personalized dashboards based on their predefined role. They can explore the data freely along a guided navigation path that leads them to new insights.
  • Report Types: The system can create a variety of report types including ad-hoc analysis, interactive reports, custom reports and a selection of pre-built reports.
  • Big Data: The in-memory processing power of this solution allows users to incorporate big data sets without needing to integrate another solution. It can draw from large databases such as Hadoop, HIVE, Google Analytics, etc.
  • Augmented Analytics: The inclusion of machine learning and AI in the analytics process enhances the user experience by streamlining every aspect of it. The system remembers previous searches, offers natural language search queries and provides intelligence suggestions for the ideal visualization for each individual dataset.
  • Enterprise Reporting: This feature refers to the creation of simple reports in the most efficient, organized manner possible. This analytics tool facilitates the creation of files from templates such as checks, flash reports, tables and more.
  • Spatial Visualizations: The visualization tools aren’t limited to two dimensions; the system also offers a map view in which the data is projected on a fully interactive map. This graphic can include color fill, adjustable size markers, customizable image markers, multiple forms of binning and continuous color-fill features.
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  • Visual Analytics: Creates graphical visualizations of data to make analyzing insights faster, easier and more accessible.
  • Connected Interface: Data and all visualizations are all tied together, and changes or highlighting in one will be mirrored in the others. This dynamic experience lets visualizations function as connected filters and guiding users through their exploration.
  • Data Blending: Infers correlations between data sets to easily mash personal with managed data. Extends dimensions to add facts or improve the timeliness and relevance of analysis.
  • Mobile Application: Provides an agile mobile experience spanning users’ data portfolio that offers a consistent interface with the desktop application. Users can access analytics instantly on any device.
  • Range of Report Types: The system offers a variety of report types including ad-hoc queries and analysis, enterprise reporting, dashboards, mobile analytics, multidimensional OLAP, scorecards and predictive analytics.
  • BI Server: In-memory optimizations provide quick rollups, powerful compression, faster rollups and sophisticated memory usage for a range of data sizes.
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Product Ranking

#50

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Business Intelligence Tools

#396

among all
Business Intelligence Tools

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User Sentiment Summary

Great User Sentiment 508 reviews
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83%
of users recommend this product

Oracle Business Intelligence has a 'great' User Satisfaction Rating of 83% when considering 508 user reviews from 3 recognized software review sites.

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3.3 (11)
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4.1 (89)
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4.2 (408)
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Synopsis of User Ratings and Reviews

User-friendly interface: Oracle BI is lauded for its intuitive and easy-to-use interface, making it accessible to users with varying technical expertise. Drag-and-drop functionality and self-service reporting empower users to analyze data independently.
Robust data integration: Oracle BI seamlessly integrates with diverse data sources, including relational databases, cloud applications, and flat files. This eliminates data silos and provides a unified view of critical business information.
Powerful data visualization: Oracle BI offers a comprehensive library of interactive visualizations, including charts, graphs, maps, and dashboards. These visuals help users identify trends, patterns, and insights within their data.
Flexible deployment options: Oracle BI offers both on-premise and cloud deployment models, catering to various organizational needs and preferences. This flexibility ensures scalability and accessibility for users across different locations.
Extensive security features: Oracle BI prioritizes data security with role-based access control, data encryption, and auditing capabilities. This ensures authorized users can access relevant information while protecting sensitive data.
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Scalability: Easily scales to accommodate growing data volumes and user needs.
Ease of Use: User-friendly interface and intuitive features for both technical and non-technical users.
Self-Service Analytics: Empowers users across departments to explore data and generate insights without relying on IT.
Data Integration: Integrates data from various sources into a single platform for a unified view of business performance.
Powerful Data Analysis: Advanced data exploration and analysis tools for uncovering hidden trends and patterns.
Mobile Access: Access data and insights from anywhere, anytime on mobile devices.
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive pricing and flexible subscription options make it accessible for businesses of all sizes.
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High cost: Oracle BI can be expensive to purchase and implement, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. The initial investment and ongoing maintenance costs can be a significant barrier for some organizations.
Steep learning curve: While the interface is user-friendly, mastering the full potential of Oracle BI requires time and effort. This can be challenging for users who are not familiar with data analysis tools or who have limited technical experience.
Limited customization options: While Oracle BI offers a range of features, some users find the customization options to be restrictive. This can be limiting for organizations with specific needs or unique data analysis requirements.
Potential performance issues: Large datasets and complex queries can lead to performance slowdowns in Oracle BI. This can be frustrating for users who rely on real-time insights and data accessibility.
Vendor lock-in: As a proprietary platform, Oracle BI can lock users into Oracle's ecosystem. This can make it difficult to switch to other BI solutions in the future, limiting flexibility and potentially increasing costs.
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Limited Customization: Pre-built dashboards and reports offer limited flexibility for advanced users.
Steep Learning Curve for Advanced Features: Mastering advanced features requires significant training and technical expertise.
Limited Data Connectors: May not support all specific data sources required by some businesses.
Potential Vendor Lock-in: Migrating data and insights to another platform can be complex and time-consuming.
Limited Customer Support: Some users report challenges in accessing timely and comprehensive customer support.
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Oracle Business Intelligence (OBI) garners mixed reviews from users. Many praise its robust functionality and ability to handle large datasets, with one user noting, "OBI can handle almost anything I throw at it." Another highlights its insightful dashboards and reporting capabilities, stating, "OBI provides the perfect blend of data visualization and analysis tools." However, some users criticize OBI's steep learning curve and complex interface. One user lamented, "It took me months to feel comfortable using OBI effectively." Others point to its integration limitations, especially with non-Oracle products, with one user stating, "OBI shines within the Oracle ecosystem but struggles with others." When compared to competitors like Microsoft Power BI and Tableau, users often cite OBI's scalability and data-handling prowess as its main differentiators. One user highlighted, "OBI is the go-to solution for large-scale enterprise data analysis, leaving Power BI and Tableau behind when dealing with massive datasets." Additionally, users appreciate OBI's tight integration with other Oracle products, creating a seamless workflow within the Oracle ecosystem. However, users also acknowledge OBI's shortcomings in terms of user-friendliness and flexibility. One user stated, "Power BI and Tableau offer a more intuitive and user-friendly experience, making them more accessible to a broader range of users." Additionally, some users find OBI's reliance on Oracle technologies limiting, preferring the broader platform compatibility offered by competitors. Ultimately, the choice between OBI and its competitors depends on specific needs. For organizations requiring in-depth analysis and scalability, OBI remains a powerful contender. However, those prioritizing user-friendliness and integration flexibility may find alternatives like Power BI and Tableau more attractive.

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User reviews of Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Services (BICS) paint a picture of a powerful and easy-to-use BI platform with some limitations. Users praise its scalability, self-service analytics, and data integration capabilities, which empower them to make data-driven decisions without relying heavily on IT. As one user stated, "BICS has transformed how we analyze data. Now everyone from sales to finance can access insights and make informed decisions, which has significantly improved our efficiency and performance." However, some users find the platform to be less customizable than competitors like Tableau and Power BI, with limited options for building custom dashboards and reports. Additionally, the learning curve for advanced features can be steep, and some users report limited support for specific data sources. One user commented, "While BICS is great for basic reporting, it lacks the flexibility and advanced features I need for complex analysis. I find myself often switching to other tools for more in-depth work." Despite these limitations, users generally agree that BICS offers a compelling value proposition for businesses seeking a comprehensive and cost-effective BI solution. Its strengths in scalability, ease of use, and data integration set it apart from competitors, making it a good choice for organizations of all sizes. As one user summarized, "BICS may not be the most customizable BI platform out there, but its ease of use, data integration capabilities, and competitive pricing make it a great choice for our company. It helps us get the insights we need to make informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition." Ultimately, whether BICS is the right BI platform for your organization depends on your specific needs and priorities. If you are looking for a user-friendly and scalable solution with strong data integration capabilities, BICS is definitely worth considering. However, if you require a highly customizable platform for advanced analysis or have specific data source requirements, other options might be better suited for your needs.

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