Foglight for Databases vs Oracle Essbase comparison

Quest Software and Oracle are both solutions in the Database Development and Management category. Quest Software is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5, while Oracle is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.4. Quest Software holds a 3.4% mindshare in DDM, compared to Oracle’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Quest Software users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Oracle users who would recommend it.

Foglight for Databases

Read 20 Foglight for Databases reviews

3,671 Views
3,598 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

Oracle Essbase

Read 18 Oracle Essbase reviews

2,649 Views
689 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Foglight for Databases

Oracle Essbase

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

Oracle Essbase and Foglight for Databases are strong contenders in business analytics and database management spheres. While Oracle Essbase excels with its multidimensional database engines suited for complex analytical tasks, Foglight for Databases has the edge with its advanced monitoring tools, making it a preferred choice for organizations focusing on performance monitoring.

Features: Oracle Essbase boasts high-speed data processing and robust calculation engines, supporting intricate analytical queries with ease. Its multi-dimensionality enables complex data modeling useful for financial analyses. Additionally, aggregate storage applications facilitate swift, large-scale data handling. Foglight for Databases provides comprehensive performance monitoring across multiple database environments, allowing real-time tracking of system health. Its cross-platform flexibility supports various databases, enhancing system efficiency and minimal downtime. It also offers historical performance insights for database management improvement.

Room for Improvement: Oracle Essbase could enhance user interface design to make complex operations more intuitive and accessible to non-technical users. Increasing automation for database management tasks and refining cloud integration capabilities would improve overall usability. On the other hand, Foglight for Databases could benefit from optimizing the report generation process to streamline user interaction. Enhancing real-time data visualization features and broader custom scripting support would also help address complex user requirements.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Deploying Oracle Essbase requires comprehensive planning due to its advanced features, but is well-supported with rich documentation and dedicated support services. Foglight for Databases offers a smoother setup with efficient configuration processes and proactive customer engagement, ensuring a well-supported experience designed for quick scalability.

Pricing and ROI: Oracle Essbase has higher initial setup costs but provides considerable long-term value due to its extensive analytical features and performance metrics. Foglight for Databases offers a moderate investment level with significant ROI benefits stemming from enhanced monitoring capabilities and reduced system downtime, providing a cost-effective advantage, particularly for performance-focused organizations.

To learn more, read our detailed Foglight for Databases vs. Oracle Essbase Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Foglight for Databases vs. Oracle Essbase

April 2026

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Helped 896,942 peers since 2012

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

Foglight for Databases

Ranking in Database Development and Management

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Oracle Essbase

Ranking in Database Development and Management

13th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

4.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of Foglight for Databases is 3.4%, down from 8.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Oracle Essbase is 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Foglight for Databases	3.4%
Oracle Essbase	1.4%
Other	95.2%

Database Development and Management

Featured Reviews

Vijay Ram

Technical Engineer at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.

Centralized monitoring has simplified multi-database oversight and improved query analysis

Foglight for Databases is very useful; however, the negative side we face is that customer care support is not frequent. If any issues related to Foglight arise, we cannot reach customer care support as soon as possible. It takes much longer compared to other third-party tools, and that is a major issue we are facing with Foglight for Databases. Foglight for Databases is good for monitoring, and we can fetch problematic issues and queries. However, the only main drawback is the customer care support. It is available only during the general shift, so if any issue occurs after 6:00 p.m. or before 9:00 a.m., there is usually no one to handle it. I think there are only two or three people handling customer care for Foglight for Databases.

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Bhavya N

Senior System Engineer at Infosys

Ensuring efficient data analysis and reporting while identifying areas for calculation and export improvements

The features of Oracle Essbase are valuable, such as its multi-dimensional database used for dynamic calculations and reporting purposes. These features are valuable because they support multi-dimensional data views, allowing users to analyze relationships across various data categories and establish a comprehensive perspective on business operations. Moreover, dynamic calculations allow real-time data analysis, significantly improving the accuracy and depth of financial insights. I have utilized Essbase's data aggregation capabilities. The Oracle Essbase interface provides a good user experience, allowing users to easily navigate and analyze data with fast query performance, effective data visualization tools such as charts, graphs, and tables, and flexibility for customizable analysis and reporting, including the ability to create ad hoc reports. The benefits of the interface include improving productivity and enhancing decision-making.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I do not find anything I dislike about Foglight for Databases."

"We went from basically 30% coverage of our production environment to 100% coverage."

"In that context, Foglight has been pretty spectacular in terms of the number of times I have been able to answer questions that nobody could answer before."

"Foglight for Databases provides real-time data that is invaluable for analyzing ongoing issues with database servers."

"Foglight offers a lot of out-of-the-box, database-related metrics, which the DB teams here are looking for."

"Foglight is also able to help the DBAs proactively fix problems before they become an issue. It provides them with real-time activity screens that help in this regard. The DBAs are able to go to these screens and look at what's happening in real time, and that buys them time. It helps them see problems ahead of time and find solutions to them."

"One of the hardest things to do in database management is to evaluate performance deviation across time. The adaptive baseline that Quest is using is by far the most helpful. That doesn't necessarily mean I use it on a daily basis, but it is something that I have not been able to find in any other tool, at the same level."

"Foglight for Databases allows us to save up to four months of data, enabling us to track performance data for at least one quarter."

More Foglight for Databases pros

"The solution is quite scalable, which is the most useful aspect for us."

"Essbase is a multidimensional database (MOLAP) is undoubtedly leading in that space."

"Oracle's capability to define custom hierarchies and dimensions has helped my organization in performing nuanced data exploration and advanced modeling because we use Oracle Essbase for dimension definition and also to define the properties of these members, such as dynamic members, stored members, shared members."

"Its multidimensional analysis is great; unlike relational, where you're linking together multiple tables, with Essbase, you basically define what the dimensions are beforehand, and you define the hierarchy, and then load the data, allowing you to do sophisticated analysis so that you can drill into it and slice and dice the data."

"Oracle Essbase enables organizations to take their strategic decisions, which helps them make the right decisions at the right time."

"The solution is scalable."

"I have found the most valuable aspect is the user-friendly environment and current features."

"The solution can handle a large volume of data."

More Oracle Essbase pros

Cons

"I don't find Foglight for Databases to be very scalable. There are other tools in the market that do the same for less money."

"The monitoring capabilities for Postgres should be at par with SQL Server. This is the area where we push back on our Quest representative. We want more insights into Postgres."

"Better communication and alerts regarding the transaction logs getting full would also be beneficial. What I have noticed is that if the log files on the SQL server are full, we cannot log in and have to do some cleanup on the Foglight DB. It would be good if they could monitor that and alert us when it is getting too full."

"I would like the rule development code to be made available so we don't always have to be referred to professional services for custom solutions. For example, if we want to exclude certain databases from a particular rule, we shouldn't have to go to support and to professional services for that solution. If the code and syntax were available, we have resources that could quickly turn something like that around."

"The data model needs improvement when it comes to creating custom reports. That is an area where it needs a bit of improvement. Foglight gathers a lot of information around our databases as part of its monitoring. While I know all this information is in there, trying to pull the metric we want out for custom reports is sometimes hard to find. One nice thing about Foglight is that you can create custom dashboards, which you can easily convert to reports. We would be doing a lot more of that if it weren't for the challenging data model."

"I do not like the OS monitoring part of it much."

"When we decided to go with Foglight, a lot of people stopped using the diagnostics part because it was very intimidating... They still won't use it because they feel it's too intimidating. They will open something up and not know what to do. It's not very user-friendly. You have to click on a lot of stuff to find the information."

"The tool could be somewhat more user-friendly, as proper knowledge is required to set up servers and use it effectively."

More Foglight for Databases cons

"They should improve the solution's performance."

"The licensing costs are too high."

"The solution could enhance business analytics. I delved into the data using Oracle Essbase to create a new support tool."

"It's not a very scalable solution."

"I would like to see an integration with application performance management and a version control management tool."

"There is room for improvement in terms of cost-effectiveness."

"The technical support for EPM is bad. I don't remember anytime that the service support helped me in something."

"Variable attributes functionality needs to be incorporated in Planning, though it is available in Essbase I believe it is still not in Planning."

More Oracle Essbase cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Foglight could be a little more competitive in Chile, and it should be lowered for long-time customers— at least by 20 percent. Sometimes the price is a limitation. We have seven instances and nearly 5 million users. If Quest Foglight could reduce its prices for the clients that have been with it for a long time, we would be able to have more instances."

"Pricing is very reasonable. We were able to construct a pretty easy contract with Quest, who were very easy to work with and very amenable to what we are trying to do. It worked out well for us."

"This is like the "Cadillac" of performance monitoring software. It's not cheap... I am currently with a company that I was able to convince that the product is worth the cost."

"Compared to the other tools on the market, Foglight is okay in terms of pricing and licensing."

"The price is worth it, if you have the time to go through the information."

"It is cost-effective. With our EA, it is really based on the scale of our database environment. We found the Quest team to be reasonable and flexible when it comes to pricing and scaling of licenses."

"It is a costly solution."

"The solution is expensive."

"Essbase is competitively priced."

"I believe the licensing is on a monthly base."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

Insurance Company

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	14

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	4
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest Foglight for Databases?

I have had a good experience with the licensing costs of Foglight for Databases, as we have a provider who has given us good prices, and so far we have not had any cost problems. Regarding configur...

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What needs improvement with Quest Foglight for Databases?

Primarily, given that Foglight for Databases is so multi-platform with different databases such as Oracle, SQL Server, and MySQL, the reports are very specific for each engine. An improvement could...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Quest Foglight for Databases?

Foglight for Databases serves multiple purposes in my organization, with the primary use being the multi-database aspect, where I can have the status and availability of all databases in a single v...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Oracle Essbase?

It's not that expensive, but also not cheap. I'm not sure because it's a private license.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Oracle Essbase?

A significant area for improvement in Oracle Essbase is that financial statement analysis, CAPEX and OPEX analysis, and financial consolidation must be done manually, as Oracle Essbase doesn't incl...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Oracle Essbase?

The initial setup of Oracle Essbase is dependent on whether you select BSO or ASO cubes. First, you need to set up the type of information and once the type of cubes is defined, you need to define ...

See all answers

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Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Foglight for Databases

May 2026

Download Foglight for Databases product report

Buyer's Guide

Oracle Essbase

May 2026

Download Oracle Essbase product report

Also Known As

No data available

Essbase

Overview

Foglight for Databases offers comprehensive monitoring with real-time activity screens and adaptive baselines. It provides a 360-degree overview and efficient UI, requiring no custom scripts, aiding in proactive issue identification and resolution before impacting end users.

Foglight for Databases is a robust tool for monitoring across multiple platforms, including SQL and Oracle. It provides features like the "Morning Coffee" dashboard and SQL Performance Investigator, enabling effective workload analysis and historical investigation. Despite some challenges with sluggish performance on large data volumes and excessive non-critical alerts, it remains a preferred choice for its ability to support proactive management and resource planning. Users appreciate its centralized view of extensive database systems, enabling swift detection and resolution of issues in real-time.

What are the key features?

Comprehensive Monitoring: Provides cross-platform real-time monitoring, ensuring effective database management.
Adaptive Baselines: Adjusts to various workloads, enhancing monitoring accuracy.
SQL Performance Investigator: Offers detailed workload analysis without server impact.
Proactive Alerts: Delivers timely notifications, aiding in immediate issue resolution.
Efficient UI: Streamlines user interaction, minimizing the need for custom scripts.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Time Saving: Reduces time in root cause analysis, enhancing productivity.
Proactive Management: Detects issues before they affect end users, minimizing downtime.
Resource Planning: Aids in effective allocation planning for enterprise and cloud platforms.

Foglight is extensively implemented in industries managing extensive database systems, handling numerous servers to ensure availability and performance. It assists businesses in resolving blocking and locking deadlocks, crucial for maintaining smooth operations in production and development environments.

Quest Software

Oracle Essbase provides robust multi-dimensional analysis with a strong calculation engine and aggregate storage, enabling fast calculations and swift response times for large data volumes.

Essbase offers scalable, stable multi-dimensional analysis capabilities, important for enterprises managing large datasets. Its flexibility and efficiency support detailed reporting, strategic decision-making, and advanced modeling. An intuitive interface allows fast data visualization and dynamic analysis, aiding strategic business operations. Continuous upgrades enhance performance and productivity.

What are the key features of Oracle Essbase?

Multi-dimensional Analysis: Enables complex data insights through powerful analysis capabilities.
Calculation Engine: Provides swift calculations essential for timely decision-making in business environments.
Aggregate Storage: Ensures efficient data handling, supporting fast response times and large data volumes.
Intuitive Interface: Facilitates fast visualization and enhances productivity through easy data management.

What benefits or ROI should users focus on in reviews?

Scalability: Supports growing data needs efficiently, maintaining stability.
Performance Upgrades: Continuously improves data processing speeds and system functionality.
Flexibility: Adapts to diverse reporting and analysis needs effectively.
Enhanced Productivity: Increases organizational efficiency with dynamic data analysis capabilities.

In industries like telecommunications, banking, and healthcare, Essbase is used extensively for financial management, including planning, budgeting, and reporting. It facilitates decision-making in multinational firms by supporting enterprise performance management and generating comprehensive financial statements. Users leverage it for complex data processing and intensive queries, improving operational efficiency.

Oracle

Sample Customers

CommitDBA

CHU de Rennes, Bellco Credit Union, Akindo Sushiro Co. Ltd, Deutsche Telekom AG, Samarco MineraÊo S.A., PCCW Ltd., QDQ media S.A.U., Boiron Italia, Specialized Bicycle Components Inc., Akindo Sushiro Co. Ltd., Air Canada, Daelim Industrial Co. Ltd.

Buyer's Guide

Foglight for Databases vs. Oracle Essbase

April 2026

Free Report: Foglight for Databases vs. Oracle Essbase

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