I’ve searched for this topic under the link “Comparing B.O with other tools” on BOB but did not find much there.
We are currently using B.O 5.1.6 (Fullclient, Infoview and ZABO , BCA and Publisher with custom front end websites) and are thinking of an upgradation to BOXI, and would like to consider the MS-SSRS product also.
It would be great if anyone of you can share your thoughts about it or any document or something that talks about the pros and cons of these 2 products…
Very oftens, comparing two software is pretty much like comparing if Ford F150 is better than Chevy Silverado. Each one has its pros and cons. It usually boils down to personal taste and personal comfort zone.
The best way to start is: what do you want from a reporting tool? Interview managers, users etc and then check which tool fits you company’s whishes.
It’s the same with cars, first sit down and decide what you want from a car, then check which cars fits the profile (although you often forget when you’re in the showroom ).
I think Cindi Howson wil be hosting an event (with TDWI) this year in CA, USA where different BI vendors will have to face questions/scenarios in a face off situation.
There has been some good advice above and I would like to elaborate a little.
Im tempted to leave it at SSAS is best and look no further than SSAS but there are a few things that should be taken into consideration.
Firstly, you are using version 5! Not much to say about that although I suspect that you must be using RDBMS and at most ROLAP. You need to be objective in choosing a BI tool and not limit your focus to reporting/analysis capabilities.
Secondly, Gartner recently benchmarked BO as the leading BI tool (will try to find and post the link). Now although Gartner may have done blah blah, it can be very difficult to benchmark a BI tool (yes I know that we are in the 21 century but sometimes I wonder about that because we still have people using version 5 ) so define what the business needs are first and later, during the selection process define how those requirements best meet the tools you are evaluating.
Thirdly, you mentioned reporting as a concern, but have you considered performance, ease of use, integration, scalability, etc.? You are no doubt familiar with WEBI but WEBI is not really designed to be a reporting tool (fine for ad-hoc) although Crystal Reports is. Ive found WEBI great for ad-hoc reporting but nowadays users and management could benefit from a BI capabilities that not only analyse data but also leverage data to enrich organisations by supporting decision making (on demand dashboards and score carding etc).
If you are not using MOLAP would the business benefit from it? This depends on what users what from the BI tool.
How does BO respond to MOLAP? Simple, without Voyager it needs something to be desired! BO needs to be a bit more responsive to a MOLAP environment in my opinion. Yes, there is OLAPI but Ive had a few issues with OLAPI functionality in the past. Voyager you cry again? Yes, still evaluating it and you can count on seeing more posts from me!
Thus far Ive found SSAS great to report with from ROLAP and MOLAP environments and I dont think MS will rest after (a positive) Gartner review. Im not saying that its better than BO but it has been a breeze to pick up and run with. Does SSAS have an edge over BO? Maybe not yet but I dont believe that its far behind.
I’d like to get a better idea what SQL Server 2005 Reporting Service costs relative to Business Objects software. Does anybody know? I know that the two companies products may not be directly comparable but the Microsoft product might become more attractive if it is significantly cheaper. Any feedback is appreciated.
SSRS is really cheaper because the licence are include with SQL Server.
But for that, you must install reporting services on the same server than SQL Server.
In SQL Server 2008, a new tool will appear : Report Designer but I don’t any infos on it
Be VERY careful with this statement. Yes, when you purchase SQL Server 2005 you get Database Services (main engine), Analysis Services (OLAP), Reporting Services (reports), Integration Services (ETL), etc. all included. That said, in reality you can’t run all of that on one server for more than a small number of users. It (supposedly) scales rather well, but then you need a license for each machine.
If you look at cost alone, SQL Server solution is ALWAYS cheaper…on software, hardware, and human costs (Microsoft professionals are cheaper and more available in the market).
But, you need to step back a little more and look at the macro view. You need to ask yourself the following questions FIRST…
Does your company has a heterogeneous or homogeneous environment?
What is your existing infrastructure?
What kind of skillset do you have in-house (not contractors)?
You have to get the answers of those questions BEFORE you move on to the next sets of questions on what your BUSINESS NEEDS are.
Not until you got the answers to all these questions, you should not be talking about which BI tool to choose.
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) so define what the business needs are first and later, during the selection process define how those requirements best meet the tools you are evaluating.
(BOB member since 2002-09-19)