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RSA Archer vs SAP BusinessObjects GRC comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

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

RSA Archer
Ranking in GRC
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
IT Governance (1st), IT Vendor Risk Management (4th)
SAP BusinessObjects GRC
Ranking in GRC
18th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Continuous Controls Monitoring (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of RSA Archer is 17.4%, up from 17.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP BusinessObjects GRC is 1.9%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

IMRAN ALMARZOOQI - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates compliance management effectively but needs improved interface and dashboards
The tool basically automates whatever processes you already have, so I cannot specify improvements in that regard. However, my main issue with Archer is the graphics. The graphics have always been lacking. I always need to depend on another tool to read information from Archer to have better dashboards. It is like using Linux, and it has a Linux mindset and interface. I want to use Archer for top management and CEOs, but it looks too technical, and the dashboards are not really friendly. They are bulky, like opening an old Nintendo system from nineteen-ninety. The management agrees that Archer lacks in terms of presentation and dashboarding. It is complex, not user-friendly, and bulky. The interface just looks old.
Osama Saleh - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a lot of useful information and helps in managing risks and controls
BusinessObjects is very dated. It is not that user-friendly. It should be made more user-friendly. In addition, if they could make predictive analytics an embedded part of it where people get to know what is there to offer, it would be great. They need to invest heavily in business planning and consolidation. They have a BPC tool, which is known for planning and consolidation, but its implementation consumes a lot of effort. It is not that easy to implement. It would be better if they come up with a solution that is more user-friendly and easy to integrate so that we can have multiple consolidations or versions.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like how Archer requires very little programming ability. A person with minimum coding experience can configure the necessary fields in Archer. It's more of a drag-and-drop solution."
"RSA Archer's best features are advanced workflow, reports, dashboards, and notifications."
"The tool has stability, and it allows me to automate whatever process I have."
"The last project was for an investment group that was using Excel. Shifting their records from one position to another took approximately 15 minutes. In Archer, we created a workflow for them to leverage it, and they could send the single record with one click to one person within seconds. The whole process went from 15 minutes to two minutes to get the approval for the records. The main purpose of Archer is to just make it easy."
"I have found all the features to be valuable, including those involving reporting, the dashboard, notifications, email modules, the database and data input."
"It is a very friendly tool. We can easily understand what is going on inside the tool. I like this tool. We can work with the tool for the ERP platform. We can create automated applications based on the requirements."
"Easy to implement with a high level of automation."
"Its user interface is pretty neat, and there is flexibility in generating the data. You can customize reports at any level. You can directly get reports in Tableau format. If you want to generate statistical data, you can create reports with graphs. There is an adequate amount of flexibility for changing the format, the type of graphs, etc."
"We have enterprise clients for the product."
"The tool helps create reports for projects, including the creation of any ad-hoc reports"
"The best features are the scalability and flexibility to implement applications on top of the BW."
"Initial setup was straightforward. It took maybe one week."
"It is wonderful from the control perspective. The GRC tools help you in knowing what are the risk controls, how to mitigate risks, and how to ensure that there are no conflicts between the roles. From the user perspective, you get to know what are the permission risks and access risks. You get a lot of useful information."
 

Cons

"Recently, we made a suggestion for cross references, like for one application to another. There were limitations there, so we're hoping that will be included in the next upgrade."
"RSA Archer's best features are advanced workflow, reports, dashboards, and notifications."
"Archer could be improved by having more customization. I'm not sure if the backend processes have API calls and those kinds of seamless integrations, but from the front, some of the solutions are very out-of-the-box. It's not customizable, so that could be a little problematic since you have to use their features. In terms of the backend structure, I'm not too sure because I'm not a developer—I was an end user and product owner of Archer—and I don't quite know the backend and developmental features. But since it's an out-of-the-box solution, sometimes customization was challenging and support was a little problematic because we had to reach out to them all the time."
"It would be nice if RSA Archer featured more customization. When customers are updating, they should be notified whether certain updates are optional. The install screen should not proceed to the next page unless we make some selections about which updates we want to install."
"The bullet chart is the best graph for my purposes, and it should be available for inclusion in the dashboards."
"Slow turnaround time from support team."
"The technology's a little outdated."
"When we have to do formulas or some other type of calculation in Archer, it sometimes doesn't work correctly. The fields don't display right, and we have to contact RSA Archer support to fix things. I think the calculation components are a bit complicated."
"I think the old system is better than the new one. From an improvement perspective, the tool needs to ensure that the new technologies it offers are better than the old ones."
"BusinessObjects is very dated. It is not that user-friendly. It should be made more user-friendly. In addition, if they could make predictive analytics an embedded part of it where people get to know what is there to offer, it would be great."
"An additional feature I would like to see is the option to add wait time and integrate sources in wait time."
"Technical support could be better and faster."
"We cannot actively log in to the system. It should also improve support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution’s pricing is moderate."
"The pricing is okay. The licensing costs are very reasonable; it is very affordable to us."
"At the higher end of the price scale, but provides better, more accessible functionality and customization than cheaper products."
"The price of the solution is very affordable."
"The initial purchase is cheap. You pay a nominal price to start then renew the license annually. You also must buy a license for each module. I'm not too fond of that aspect of the licensing model. You buy the elephant and then spend more money to feed the elephant."
"Fairly highly-priced, especially for smaller companies."
"I am not sure about other companies, but it's quite expensive."
"As I am a developer and responsible for providing production support, I do not have personal knowledge of the pricing. However, my colleagues claim that it is very expensive in comparison with other tools."
"There is a yearly licensing cost. I would rate their pricing 4 out of 5."
"SAP BusinessObjects GRC is expensive."
"The license is costly."
"The product's licensing costs involve a one-time purchase. The tool also allows others to make annual payments towards the licensing charges of the product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
33%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Insurance Company
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about RSA Archer?
It has various valuable features. For example, showing us if a control aligns with specific standards or frameworks helps us understand it better and verify its compliance.
What needs improvement with RSA Archer?
If the user needs to fill data, they need to go to one page and then to the next page if they can reduce the number of clicks to perform some activities and would like RSA to improve in this area. ...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
I perform all of our information security management governance and risk -related activities through Archer. My organization manages all types of audits and Enterprise risk activities using Archer.
What do you like most about SAP BusinessObjects GRC?
The tool helps create reports for projects, including the creation of any ad-hoc reports
What needs improvement with SAP BusinessObjects GRC?
There isn't anything in particular that my company doesn't like about the product. It is an old system that is currently being used by its users, which works in areas like prompts and reports. I th...
What advice do you have for others considering SAP BusinessObjects GRC?
My company is in touch with the vendor who takes care of the maintenance phase of the solution. I cannot recommend the product to other organizations. Other organizations can choose from the many t...
 

Also Known As

Archer
BusinessObjects GRC
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
INEOS Melamines GmbH, Banco Galicia
Find out what your peers are saying about RSA Archer vs. SAP BusinessObjects GRC and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,874 professionals have used our research since 2012.