SAP Analytics Cloud vs Tableau comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary
Updated on Mar 15, 2022

We performed a comparison between SAP analytics cloud vs. Tableau based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

  • Ease of Deployment: Both SAP and Tableau users say the deployment and setup are very straightforward. On the downside, Tableau users say that while the server side is easy to use and set up, the upgrades are challenging to install.
  • Features: SAP users say they like the business intelligence and built-in AI and machine learning capabilities. You can create analytic applications. Users value the Android support for mobile and the multiple collaboration features. However, custom visuals need improvement, and connection and integration with other applications are lacking. SAP also needs support for more languages.

     Tableau users say the best feature is the ease of use, which allows anyone to use the platform. The visual capability       helps users explain the data more straightforwardly. On the downside, users say Tableau could improve its data               management and ETL features, especially in the Tableau Prep feature.

  • Pricing: Users of both solutions say the price is on the higher side.
  • Service and Support: According to users, SAP’s support is slow. It takes a lot of time to get help when you open a ticket. Tableau’s support has two tiers, with different results. According to users, the premium support is excellent, but their standard support is very poor.

Comparison Results: SAP Analytics Cloud seems to be a superior solution because of the multiple features. Although the support is slow, it is still better than Tableau’s standard support. Tableau’s upgrades are also challenging to install.

To learn more, read our detailed SAP Analytics Cloud vs. Tableau Report (Updated: May 2023).
706,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: Which would you choose - Tableau or SAP Analytics Cloud?
Answer: Tableau + SAP Analytics Cloud = Great Analytical Combination.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"One of the most outstanding features is being able to use the dashboard with a touch screen.""Technical support is helpful.""Planning and integration are the most valuable features. It is useful for planning, and it is useful for integrating with on-prem or cloud SAP solutions.""Data integration is very good.""The visualizations have been the most valuable feature.""A robust solution.""There is a really nice insight feature that I enjoy using.""The solution is quite effective for collaborative planning."

More SAP Analytics Cloud Pros →

"You can create attractive dashboards that inform users using Tableau.""The feature that is currently most valuable is the import feature where I can link to an Excel data source. I'm not using it with any other data source, such as SQL Server. I directly link it to an Excel sheet, and if I change anything in that Excel sheet, the changed data immediately gets reflected in the virtualization. This is something that is very convenient for me as of now.""Business insights are shared across various departments.""The geospatial maps representation and the visualizations are nice.""The solution allows for the possibility for end-users to do their own reporting.""It is very easy to implement and to use.""Tableau has many good features. It is user-friendly, has a simple-to-use interface, and has a customizable dashboard.""The most valuable feature is the user experience."

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Cons
"In the live connection model, we can't create calculated dimensions, however, in the import model we can create them.""SAP could add some more visualization features to Analytics Cloud, like charts and analytics. I would also like to see some more data cleaning and ad hoc functions added to this solution.""SAC, which is the cloud version, lost some good features from the previous planning product, like BPC or BPS.""Could have more tabular reporting capabilities.""The price, integration, and modeling capabilities could be better. I have to use an integration engine to integrate our products and databases. SAP Analytics Cloud is made specifically for KPIs and business intelligence. The modeling capabilities are kind of poor. You always have to model the data and then present it visually in SAP Analytics Cloud. In the next release, I would like to have a lite version for planning to create scenarios quickly. For me personally, planning is the most complicated feature of SAP Analytics Cloud.""Technical support could be more helpful and responsive.""The solution should include other scripting languages as well, such as Python.""The customizations need to be better."

More SAP Analytics Cloud Cons →

"The setup was easy but we are having some problems with the configuration that is taking a long time. We have done some initial tests and some of the delays could be from bandwidth issues. However, the whole installation process should be simplified.""I take a long time to process the hundreds of thousands or millions of records that must be processed every day.""Its price should be improved. Its price is much higher than Power BI and QlikView. Programming is not easy on Tableau. For programming, you have to have a separate model. They should include programming directly on the web portion of the Tableau desktop so that people can write Python or JavaScript code for customizations instead of using a different model. Currently, Tableau Data Prep is a separate application that you have to purchase. It would be helpful if they can include Tableau Data Prep and programming languages such as R, Python in the next version. Tableau Public, which is a community version, doesn't allow you to save your work on your desktop. They should allow it. Currently, you can only upload it in the community.""Tableau's automatic insight could be improved. It has some predefined capabilities to understand the data, but I think they need more. Customers need more insight automatically from data—they don't want to discover them, they want to get the forecast automatically. The data preparation should also be improved because it's not easy. Tableau tries to focus on the business side, but the backend side has not improved much. They also have an ETS solution, but it's limited.""Some of our clients are looking for better UI when using Tableau as they often work with this solution directly.""The data preparation/blending options are very basic. They could be improved.""Areas for improvement would be visualization and augmented analytics. In the next release, I would like to see automated insights from the data added to the dashboard.""​Conditional formatting could be an interesting feature to provide to final users."

More Tableau Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Its price is slightly on the higher side."
  • "The pricing of this product is reasonable."
  • "This solution is pricey."
  • "The price is competitive. There is a power user license and normal user license, but the normal user license is reasonable."
  • "SAP Analytics Cloud is expensive. The price is a big issue if you compare it with other solutions from different vendors."
  • "The premium option is very expensive at five thousand dollars. I use the nine hundred and ninety-nine dollar option."
  • "I don't have the exact price for SAP Analytics Cloud, but it could be improved and made cheaper, especially when compared to Power BI."
  • "This solution offers value for money and you get what you pay for."
  • More SAP Analytics Cloud Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "This solution is a bit expensive. The pricing options have become more difficult over the years. I think they are bordering on pricing themselves out of the market. They need different pricing options for various-sized businesses. Where my organization is a large organization, we are happy to pay a higher price because we can leverage the products very extensively. For smaller enterprises, different pricing options would be good."
  • "In general, if someone is new and wants to learn Tableau, it's around $70 per month."
  • "It is fairly expensive. I have no idea what they paid. We were on an enterprise license, so whatever it is they licensed at the enterprise level is what we paid."
  • "I believe it has a lifelong license, and once you purchase it, you don't have to renew it, but I'm not sure."
  • "We are on an annual license which costs us $1,400 which is very expensive. Microsft BI is less expensive."
  • "For the use and the capability of the software, it's $70 per month, and that is quite inexpensive."
  • "I downloaded the solution online for free."
  • "Tableau's prices are relatively high for our market. I am from Serbia, so many companies in this market don't have the ability to pay for expensive software. My clients are quite satisfied with a lot of Tableau's qualities except for the prices."
  • More Tableau Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Comparison Review
    Guillermo (Bill) Cabiro
    I do use both Tableau and QlikView. Although very different, I really like both solutions. They belong to the new BI generation known as Interactive Visual Analytics. In my opinion, QlikView has a more intuitive interface for regular users or executives that are not technical experts but the development side is a little more complex. Up to version 12 QlikView did not provide drag & drop features. If a user wanted to see something not included in the application the new object had to be created by a power user or developer because Qlikview's scripting has somewhat of a learning curve. On the positive side, QlikView's scripting is a great asset as it functions as an ETL allowing the integration of hundreds of different data sources into the same visual app. Another feature that’s extremely useful is Qlik’s proprietary Associative Model that allows the users to visualize data relationships that exist as well as those that do not. Tableau on the other hand is a lot easier to use for developers, analysts or power users who need to connect, manipulate and visualize data rather quickly. While this makes Tableau a better fit for the more analytical crowd, it may not be as appealing or intuitive to the regular or casual business users as QlikView is. Tableau has full pivot, drag & drop and drill down capabilities that are great for developers or power users. They can rotate measures and dimensions and graph them instantly using visualization best practices as suggested by… Read more →
    Answers from the Community
    Netanya Carmi
    Mogle - PeerSpot reviewerMogle
    Consultant

    I got limited experience with both. My answer is simple, I would typically try to keep the number of touchpoints to a minimum. 


    I assume you are already using SAP? If yes, select SAP Analytics Cloud. If you are not using SAP, Tableau would probably be a better option since it is implemented with a wide range of platforms.


    If you already got SAP in-house, I would generate a comparison report, compare functionality, cost, investigate where your company got skills in use, support and administration.

    Paul Grill - PeerSpot reviewerPaul Grill
    Real User

    It's not a fair comparison without context.


    Tableau is by far the more popular and accomplished tool with very few organizations using SAC except for point solutions or embedded in one of the SAP applications.


    SAC is cloud-only whereas Tableau is both on-premise (the majority of its base) and cloud.

    Kim  Nachazel - PeerSpot reviewerKim Nachazel
    Real User

    In terms of integration and deployment, Tableau has a better rating. 


    Tableau could also handle larger data sets than SAP. I personally think that it is a much better tool in analyzing large data sets with complex cardinality. 


    In terms of cost per user, SAP would be a better option for its capability.  

    Djalma Gomes, Pmp, Mba - PeerSpot reviewerDjalma Gomes, Pmp, Mba
    Vendor

    Tableau will allow you to analyse data from all different data sources combined amongst them and allows you to use cloud or on-premises. 


    SAP Analytics is more tailored to SAP and it's only for the cloud.

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Tableau is easy to set up and maintain. In about a day it is possible for the entire platform to be deployed for use. This relatively short amount of time can make all the difference for companies… more »
    Top Answer:The solution is quite effective for collaborative planning.
    Top Answer:The pricing is based on an annual license and is rated a four out of ten.
    Top Answer:It depends on the Data architecture and the complexity of your requirement. Some great tools in the market are Qlik Sense, Power BI, OBIEE, Tableau, etc. I have recently started using Cognos… more »
    Top Answer: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… more »
    Top Answer:Technical support has been responsive.
    Ranking
    Views
    15,577
    Comparisons
    10,462
    Reviews
    28
    Average Words per Review
    521
    Rating
    8.0
    Views
    46,757
    Comparisons
    35,368
    Reviews
    71
    Average Words per Review
    555
    Rating
    8.2
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    SAP BusinessObjects Cloud
    Tableau Desktop, Tableau Server, Tableau Online
    Learn More
    Overview

    SAP Analytics Cloud is an all-in-one Software-as-a-Service business intelligence tool that provides the key functionalities of an analytics tool to SAP business users. This tool is built on HANA Business Intelligence (BI) platform, providing analytics from data collected from multiple sources, such as ERP, Microsoft SQL, and Salesforce, among other solutions.

    You can use SAP Analytics Cloud to compile data and perform ad-hoc reporting and analysis for predictive planning. SAP Analytics Cloud collects and analyzes the raw data from transactional systems into intelligent insights that allow you to make better decisions.

    SAP Analytics Cloud uses machine learning to clean up data, identify errors, and issues, and suggest optimization or filtering options. You can use the modeling feature in Analytics Cloud to create hierarchies and get deeper data insights.

    The three core functions of SAP Analytics Cloud consist of Planning, Predictive Analysis, and Business Intelligence as a holistic SaaS solution that offers real-time analysis to business leaders.

    SAP Analytics Cloud Capabilities

    • Data discovery
    • Machine learning
    • Integrated financial and business planning
    • Predictive analysis
    • Automated data cleansing
    • Custom widgets
    • Mobile extension
    • Role-based customization
    • Data exploration and visualization

    SAP Analytics Cloud Key Features

    • Augmented analytics: SAP Analytics Cloud allows organizations to make the most of AI (Artificial Intelligence)-powered analytics through augmented analytics. It includes a Search to Insight feature that enables users not skilled or experienced in data science to access and use the platform.

      These smart insight tools allow organizations to visualize business data without manual intervention. By combining multiple machine learning algorithms, SAP Analytics Cloud automates predictive analysis so that organizations can have significant insight into secured data.
    • Enterprise planning: As SAP Analytics Cloud is an all-in-one financial planning and analysis solution, organizations can use it to align strategies across all departments. It allows end-to-end, data-driven planning decisions via financial modeling, allocations, smart insights, and automated reporting.

      The Zero-based budgeting feature allows for an effective resources allocation with built-in collaboration tools. The finance team can collaborate easily, create budget templates and make accurate decisions.

    SAP Analytics Cloud Benefits

    • Real-time cloud insights: SAP Analytics Cloud makes it easy for users at every level to generate instant insights and improve data-driven decision-making. With SAP Analytics Cloud, you can have immediate and central access to all figures, diagrams, insights, and evaluations for every employee on every device and updated in real time.

    • Customizable dashboard: You can customize your dashboard according to your requirements. This customization means you can easily access all the relevant data on a single pane of vision tailored to your business.

    • Collaborative planning: As an all-in-one platform, SAP Analytics Cloud integrates the multiple aspects of a business into a single solution, including finance, HR, sales, and supply chain management.

    • Data on any device: You can integrate SAP Analytics Cloud with SAP S/4 HANA and deploy insights to Android and iOS devices. The SAP S/4 HANA integration also enables the rolling out of changes to multiple files and devices from a central location, so you can carry your business operations on the go over a secured cloud network.

    • In-memory technology: Since it is based on SAP HANA in-memory technology, SAP Analytics Cloud can process massive amounts of data in a short time.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Segun O., SAP HANA Developer at SOA PEOPLE, says that "The most valuable features are on the application side, where you can design applications into your analytics on the platform."

    The Head of Finance Enterprise Application at a computer software company adds that "The visualization feature is the most valuable. SAP Analytics Cloud is also very easy to use."

    "Its many features make it the best in the market," sums up a Consultor SAP Business Object, Sap Analytics Cloud at a tech services company.

    Tableau is a tool for data visualization and business intelligence that allows businesses to report insights through easy-to-use, customizable visualizations and dashboards. Tableau makes it exceedingly simple for its customers to organize, manage, visualize, and comprehend data. It enables users to dig deep into the data so that they can see patterns and gain meaningful insights. 

    Make data-driven decisions with confidence thanks to Tableau’s assistance in providing faster answers to queries, solving harder problems more easily, and offering new insights more frequently. Tableau integrates directly to hundreds of data sources, both in the cloud and on premises, making it simpler to begin research. People of various skill levels can quickly find actionable information using Tableau’s natural language queries, interactive dashboards, and drag-and-drop capabilities. By quickly creating strong calculations, adding trend lines to examine statistical summaries, or clustering data to identify relationships, users can ask more in-depth inquiries.

    Tableau Features

    Tableau has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Tableau dashboard: Tableau dashboards provide a complete view of your data through visualizations, visual objects, text, and more. 
    • Sharing and collaboration: Tableau provides convenient, real-time options to collaborate with other users and instantly share data in the form of visualizations, sheets, and dashboards. 
    • In-memory and live data: Tableau ensures connectivity to both live data sources and data extraction from external data sources as in-memory data. This gives users the flexibility to use data from more than one source without any restrictions. 
    • Multiple data sources: Tableau gives many data source option, ranging from spreadsheets, big data, on-premise files, relational databases, non-relational databases, data warehouses, and big data, to on-cloud data. 
    • Advanced charts and visualizations: One of the key features of Tableau is its wide range of visualizations.
    • Maps: Tableau has a lot of pre-installed information on maps, such as cities, postal codes, and administrative boundaries. 
    • Robust security: Tableau has a foolproof security system based on authentication and permission systems for data connections and user access. Tableau also gives you the freedom to integrate with other security protocols.

    Tableau Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing Tableau. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Data visualization
    • Create interactive visualizations quickly
    • Easy to implement
    • Ability to handle large amounts of data
    • Use varying scripting languages 
    • Responsive dashboard and mobile support 

    Reviews from Real Users

    Tableau stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Some of these include its fast data access, easy creation of visualizations, and its stability. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:

    Romil S., Deputy General Manager of IT at Nayara Energy, notes, "Its visualizations are good, and its features make the development process a little less time-consuming. It has an in-memory extract feature that allows us to extract data and keep it on the server, and then our users can use it quickly.

    Ariful M., Consulting Practice Partner of Data, Analytics & AI at FH, writes, “Tableau is very flexible and easy to learn. It has drag-and-drop function analytics, and its design is very good.

    Offer
    Learn more about SAP Analytics Cloud
    Learn more about Tableau
    Sample Customers
    Live Oak Bank
    Accenture, Adobe, Amazon.com, Bank of America, Charles Schwab Corp, Citigroup, Coca-Cola Company, Cornell University, Dell, Deloitte, Duke University, eBay, Exxon Mobil, Fannie Mae, Ferrari, French Red Cross, Goldman Sachs, Google, Government of Canada, HP, Intel, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Macy's, Merck, The New York Times, PayPal, Pfizer, US Army, US Air Force, Skype, and Walmart.
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company24%
    Financial Services Firm10%
    Retailer10%
    Manufacturing Company10%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization20%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Manufacturing Company9%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Healthcare Company8%
    Energy/Utilities Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization14%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Computer Software Company13%
    Government7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business28%
    Midsize Enterprise23%
    Large Enterprise49%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business16%
    Midsize Enterprise26%
    Large Enterprise58%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business31%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise51%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business17%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise63%
    Buyer's Guide
    SAP Analytics Cloud vs. Tableau
    May 2023
    Find out what your peers are saying about SAP Analytics Cloud vs. Tableau and other solutions. Updated: May 2023.
    706,775 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    SAP Analytics Cloud is ranked 6th in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools with 26 reviews while Tableau is ranked 2nd in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools with 67 reviews. SAP Analytics Cloud is rated 8.0, while Tableau is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of SAP Analytics Cloud writes "Great scalability, and stability, but does not integrate easily with non-SAP tools". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Tableau writes "Provides fast data access with in-memory extracts, makes it easy to create visualizations, and saves time". SAP Analytics Cloud is most compared with SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform, IBM Planning Analytics, Microsoft BI, Oracle Analytics Cloud and SAP Analytics Hub, whereas Tableau is most compared with Microsoft BI, Amazon QuickSight, Domo, SAS Visual Analytics and Qlik Sense. See our SAP Analytics Cloud vs. Tableau report.

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    We monitor all BI (Business Intelligence) Tools reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.