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Oracle Essbase vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence comparison

The compared Oracle and SAP solutions aren't in the same category. Oracle is ranked #11 in DDM , with an average rating of 7.9, and holds a 1.3% mindshare in the category. SAP is ranked #6 in BIT , with an average rating of 8.3, and holds a 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Oracle users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of SAP users who would recommend it.
Oracle Essbase
Read 18 Oracle Essbase reviews
  • 2,121 Views
  • 445 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
SAP BusinessObjects Busines...
Read 114 SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence reviews
  • 7,875 Views
  • 5,513 Comparison Views
91% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Oracle Essbase and SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Nutanix, Quest Software, Oracle and others in Database Development and Management.

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To learn more, read our detailed Database Development and Management Report (Updated: April 2026).
Buyer's Guide
Database Development and Management
April 2026
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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

Oracle Essbase
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.6
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Database Development and Management (11th)
SAP BusinessObjects Busines...
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
114
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (6th), Data Visualization (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Oracle Essbase and SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Oracle Essbase is designed for Database Development and Management and holds a mindshare of 1.3%, up 1.0% compared to last year.
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence, on the other hand, focuses on BI (Business Intelligence) Tools, holds 2.4% mindshare, down 3.9% since last year.
Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Oracle Essbase1.3%
Redgate SQL Toolbelt Essentials4.2%
Spotlight3.7%
Other90.8%
Database Development and Management
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence2.4%
Microsoft Power BI8.0%
Tableau Enterprise6.0%
Other83.6%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Bhavya N - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Read full review
EO
EmmanuelOladinrin
Data Analytics Manager at Dangote Industries Limited
Solution empowers self-service reporting and delivers comprehensive performance insights
Empowering business users means they should be able to work independently without depending on the developer. One advantage of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is self-service capabilities, allowing users to do drag and drop to build their own reports and perform analyses without needing technical know-how.The platform has many drivers that I can use to connect to virtually all available databases, making it easy to integrate with Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and many others. With the cloud version, I can fetch data on-premises and to the cloud for analysis easily. It is so flexible that I can make choices for fetching data. For authentication in an SAP environment, I can choose to integrate with SAP logon for SSO or use AD authentication for convenience, along with the flexible integration options.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With Oracle Essbase, everything is centralized in a comprehensive financial statement analysis, allowing for complete management of budget, actuals analysis, and forecast."
"The solution is scalable."
"It's a very powerful analytical engine with Essbase as the back end. We can analyze, transform, or utilize a big chunk of data for our calculations."
"It helps us fetch specific data sets per users' requirements."
"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."
"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 solution can handle a large volume of data."
"The solution can handle a large volume of data."
More Oracle Essbase pros
"We are using SAP BusinessObjects because its scheduling capabilities are more powerful than those of other tools."
"Business analytics are the most valuable features of this solution; I don't have experience with the other functional features offered."
"The features that I think are valuable in SAP Business Objects - BOBJ (WEBi, BI Launch Pad, Rich Client) are the drill down capabilities to the nitty gritty lowest level, and perform an in depth analysis from different angles."
"What I find most valuable is that you can run the reports anytime and you can receive the report at a scheduled time."
"The Dynamic HTML (DHTML) client option of Webi has been enhanced adding features that were previously only available with the Java client including conditional formatting and support of XLS as a data provider."
"We find that we can scale it as needed."
"Through the use of Business Intelligence reporting and scheduling features, reports are generated and automatically sent according to a schedule. This has freed up countless hours spent performing the same tasks, month over month."
"Everything from the broadcasting to the scheduling, to the user management and the reporting, is very powerful."
More SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence pros
 

Cons

"The reporting tool of Essbase needs improvement."
"Essbase has a programming language, and it has a couple of functions to do forecasting, however, their feature set for that is not that good."
"Variable attributes functionality needs to be incorporated in Planning, though it is available in Essbase I believe it is still not in Planning."
"The solution could be cheaper. It is costly, and the initial setup could be simplified."
"The solution could enhance business analytics. I delved into the data using Oracle Essbase to create a new support tool."
"The initial setup could be simplified."
"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."
More Oracle Essbase cons
"The basic components of the solution could be improved."
"Over the years, the product tends to rename and rebrand itself and change its direction. This is a deficit of the solution."
"It could be a lighter solution."
"SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform has to be improved performance-wise. The look and feel of this application, its scalability, setup, and technical support also need improvement."
"The amount of resources used has caused the system to fail from time to time."
"SAP only focuses on the sales side—only money is important for SAP, not the quality."
"The combination of Lumira along with Design Studio merger last year still needs development from a visualization standpoint."
"The dynamic scheduling capabilities, the performance and ability to handle large data sets when connected via BICS to a BW warehouse needs a lot of work."
More SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe the licensing is on a monthly base."
"It is a costly solution."
"The solution is expensive."
"Essbase is competitively priced."
"Its price is fair."
"​It is not an expensive platform. The licensing is for a package of users starting at 10 users."
"We purchase licenses through Epic. So, we get an Epic price as opposed to the SAP price. If we were going to use other products like Webby that they offer or exclusively use BI Launch Pad, it would cost a lot because half of our employees would touch it in some fashion. So, we use Epic-Crystal integration to keep the licensing cost down. I believe the BI Launch Pad licensing is something like $800 for each, and the Crystal Report licensing is something like $500 for each, but that's not what we pay."
"It is not a subscription model, but you must purchase a perpetual license for this."
"I have always found SAP BI to be expensive. It is expensive even when you compare SAP BI Cloud with Microsoft Power BI. Power BI is probably around $9.99 per month, and the cheapest SAP BI is around $20, which is double. In terms of price, Power BI is definitely a lot better. If you have budget issues, you may want to go for Power BI."
"SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is an expensive application."
"SAP is losing market to its competitors because of its costly user license and licensing model. They can do much better on the licensing side. That's what Microsoft has been doing, and that's why Power BI is gaining market share at the moment. SAP needs to relax a little bit on the licensing part. If Microsoft is giving people a solution that is half of the cost of SAP, people will definitely go with Power BI."
"We are satisfied with the solution, but we are not satisfied with the licensing cost which SAP offers. They offer one lumpsum licensing which does everything. That is not the right strategy, because sometimes you don't have power users, they are only viewers, but we need to buy the full license for them. This is not something we want to continue with."
More SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence pricing and cost advice
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Comparison Review

it_user6663 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user6663
BI Expert at a transportation company with 51-200 employees
May 25, 2013
SAP Business Objects vs. Microsoft BI
A quick look at the whole idea on another weblogs gives you a sense that all of them just talked about very brief things like report refresh feature in BO or cube feature in MS Analysis Service. I choose MS BI and I want to share my reasons and opinions on why I choose it and give you another quick…
Read full review
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Insurance Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
5%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise68
 

Questions from the Community

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
Seeking lightweight open source BI software
There are many...It would rather depend what System BI architecture or Enterprise legacy you have at your end...I would recommend as follows: 1) If you have legacies of SAP, Oracle - look for SAP...
See all answers
Tableau vs. Business Objects - Which is a better solution for visualization and analysis?
Both tools have their positives and negatives. First, I should mention that I am relatively new to Tableau. I have been working on and off Tableau for about a year, but getting to work on it consta...
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform?
SAP BTP is an expensive solution.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

Microsoft Power BI vs Oracle Essbase Logo
Microsoft Power BI vs Oracle Essbase
Compared 16% of the time
Oracle OBIEE vs Oracle Essbase Logo
Oracle OBIEE vs Oracle Essbase
Compared 9% of the time
Tableau Enterprise vs Oracle Essbase Logo
Tableau Enterprise vs Oracle Essbase
Compared 9% of the time
SAP Business Data Cloud vs Oracle Essbase Logo
SAP Business Data Cloud vs Oracle Essbase
Compared 8% of the time
Oracle Analytics Cloud vs Oracle Essbase Logo
Oracle Analytics Cloud vs Oracle Essbase
Compared 4% of the time
More Oracle Essbase Competitors
SAP Business Data Cloud vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Logo
SAP Business Data Cloud vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Compared 24% of the time
Microsoft Power BI vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Logo
Microsoft Power BI vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Compared 8% of the time
Tableau Enterprise vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Logo
Tableau Enterprise vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Compared 6% of the time
Oracle OBIEE vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Logo
Oracle OBIEE vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Compared 5% of the time
IBM Cognos vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Logo
IBM Cognos vs SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
Compared 4% of the time
More SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Oracle Essbase
April 2026
Oracle Essbase reportDownload Oracle Essbase product report
Buyer's Guide
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence
March 2026
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence reportDownload SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence product report
 

Also Known As

Essbase
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform, SAP BusinessObjects, Business Objects, SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards, SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio
 

Overview

Oracle Essbase is an OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) Server that provides an environment for deploying pre-packaged applications or developing custom analytic and enterprise performance management applications.

Oracle

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform offers powerful tools for enterprise reporting and data visualization, enhancing strategic decision-making through robust integration and secure analytics capabilities.

Designed for comprehensive enterprise reporting, SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform integrates seamlessly with SAP ERP, supporting organizations in creating detailed financial, operational, and academic reports. The platform allows data manipulation across multiple sources using a semantic layer and provides intuitive tools like Web Intelligence and Lumira for user-driven report creation. It features centralized management, versatile connectors, and supports large-scale data analytics critical for business forecasting.

What are the key features of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform?
  • Integration Capabilities: Seamless connection with SAP ERP and various data sources.
  • Dynamic Scheduling: Automate report generation for timely insights.
  • Robust Security: Protects data with stringent security measures.
  • Semantic Layer: Simplifies data manipulation across sources.
  • Intuitive Tools: Facilitates user-driven report creation with Web Intelligence and Lumira.
What benefits should be considered in reviews?
  • Comprehensive Reporting: Enables detailed and accurate enterprise reports.
  • Decision-Making Support: Enhances strategic decisions with reliable data.
  • Scalability: Efficiently manages large-scale and complex data analytics.
  • Versatility in Analysis: Offers flexibility for ad hoc analysis and KPI monitoring.

Organizations across sectors like healthcare, education, insurance, and retail leverage SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform for its capability in facilitating detailed reports and integrating dashboards for key performance indicators. Its extensive reporting features support in-depth analytics vital for business prediction and decision-making processes.

SAP
 

Sample Customers

CHU de Rennes, Bellco Credit Union, Akindo Sushiro Co. Ltd, Deutsche Telekom AG, Samarco MineraÊo 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.
SRAM, Kennametal, Fairfax Water, British American Tobacco, Velux, and FedEx.
Buyer's Guide
Database Development and Management
April 2026
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