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SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform vs SAP Crystal Reports comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
5.8
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform yields high ROI in large deployments, despite steep costs, through efficiency and decision-making improvements.
Sentiment score
5.7
SAP Crystal Reports greatly enhances ERP reporting and efficiency, offering ROI over 1000%, despite costly user training.
The initial investment will be more, but the ROI is also good, so they can consider it if they're looking for something in the long run.
Associate Software Enginner at Siddaganga Institute of Technology
For most of my clients using the on-premises version of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform, the return on investment is positive due to its affordability and ability to handle diverse reporting needs while automating information distribution.
Data Analytics Manager at Dangote Industries Limited
I have seen a return on investment so far in the form of saved time and resources.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Customer service for SAP BusinessObjects is mixed, showing both responsiveness and delays, with inconsistent technical support quality.
Sentiment score
5.7
SAP Crystal Reports customer support is inconsistent, with mixed reviews, leading users to favor online resources and self-help solutions.
I would rate their technical support as excellent.
IT at a marketing services firm with 10,001+ employees
I have experience with SAP technical support and have supported customers, including those in financial services.
Data Analytics Manager at Dangote Industries Limited
Sometimes, they forward my ticket to the technical team, especially when my issue involves technical aspects that basis people may not be familiar with.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
I have not encountered any problems requiring assistance.
SAP Technical Manager at VS Furniture Middle East
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform efficiently scales for global enterprises, supporting thousands of users with seamless advanced analytics integration.
Sentiment score
7.6
SAP Crystal Reports supports scalability and is suitable for medium to large enterprises, with room for scalability improvements.
The scalability of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is adequate; it is very scalable and grows with my organization's needs.
Senior Data Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
I rate the scalability of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform as a nine due to performance issues related to optimizing parts.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform is stable and robust with proper configuration, despite occasional bugs and integration challenges.
Sentiment score
7.1
SAP Crystal Reports is stable on Windows, with Unix challenges and improved performance on specialized servers post-2011.
When they tried upgrading from 4.2 to 4.3, they found it buggy in some reports, which was quite problematic.
Senior Consultant at Keyrus
 

Room For Improvement

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform faces challenges in performance, integration, user experience, setup, flexibility, and costly licensing.
SAP Crystal Reports needs better visualization, modern tech integration, improved analytics, compatibility, and enhanced documentation and support.
I've worked with other tools, for example, Microsoft Power BI, which is visualization-wise very strong.
Senior Consultant at Keyrus
SAP BusinessObjects is expected to be phased out by 2027 as reports are moving to SAP Analytics Cloud.
SAP enterpise cloud architect at ECC Experienced Certified Consulting
I would appreciate integration with Outlook as an additional feature in the future to make it closer to a perfect score.
IT at a marketing services firm with 10,001+ employees
If it is closed due to any problem, it should be able to recover where I left off, similar to Excel, which should be a feature for SAP Crystal Reports.
SAP Technical Manager at VS Furniture Middle East
Enabling better practices and testing to enhance data accuracy and efficiency for company sectors.
Inhouse SAP Business One Sr. Consultant at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
It would be beneficial to have easier integration with Azure, Microsoft Power Platform, and similar cloud technologies.
I'm at DTS Group
 

Setup Cost

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform's licensing is flexible but costly compared to alternatives, suited for large enterprises, budget-sensitive for smaller businesses.
SAP Crystal Reports pricing perceptions vary; some find it costly, but discounts and volume deals can reduce expenses.
SAP BTP is an expensive solution.
Associate Software Enginner at Siddaganga Institute of Technology
The price is very competitive and reliable.
IT at a marketing services firm with 10,001+ employees
I rate the pricing for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform as a seven or eight.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
 

Valuable Features

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform offers scalable, user-friendly reporting with robust features, enhancing decision-making and data governance.
SAP Crystal Reports provides flexible data connectivity, custom design, and efficient reporting, enhancing decision-making and client communication.
For calculations, SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform outperforms all other tools such as Power BI and Tableau, showing more accuracy, reliability, and flexibility compared to all other BI tools worldwide.
SAP Consultant at Sierra Digital Inc
Since we started using SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform, we have been able to make faster, data-driven business decisions based on actual data insights and data analysis, which has accelerated our ability to make better decisions for our business productivity.
Senior Data Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
The best feature about it for me, and for them, is the fact that you have a universe that is well made.
Senior Consultant at Keyrus
SAP Crystal Reports has had a very positive impact and benefits. It's a powerful tool to design any kind of report if you have knowledge of the database, and it can attach to both HANA and SQL databases.
SAP Technical Manager at VS Furniture Middle East
The efficiency gained by our organization from SAP Crystal Reports is measurable through multiple export formats such as PDF and Excel.
Inhouse SAP Business One Sr. Consultant at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
The best features SAP Crystal Reports offers are powerful data connectivity, customized report design, interactive and visual reports, import, export, sharing options, and automation and scheduling.
I'm at DTS Group
 

Categories and Ranking

SAP BusinessObjects Busines...
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
112
Ranking in other categories
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools (6th)
SAP Crystal Reports
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
52
Ranking in other categories
Reporting (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Business Intelligence solutions, they serve different purposes. SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is designed for BI (Business Intelligence) Tools and holds a mindshare of 2.3%, down 3.9% compared to last year.
SAP Crystal Reports, on the other hand, focuses on Reporting, holds 2.5% mindshare, down 2.7% since last year.
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform2.3%
Microsoft Power BI9.4%
Tableau Enterprise6.7%
Other81.6%
BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
Reporting Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
SAP Crystal Reports2.5%
Microsoft Power BI18.8%
Tableau Enterprise16.8%
Other61.9%
Reporting
 

Featured Reviews

Declan Dempsey - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at Keyrus
Provides efficient data reporting while needing easier deployment and improved interface
Users tend to put everything into Excel, though I try to discourage this. The best feature about it for me, and for them, is the fact that you have a universe that is well made. This means you don't have those months that get assigned. You can just get to the point and get a report very quickly. Unfortunately, in some ways, it's a double-edged sword because it becomes more of a self-service ETL, even for the reporting team. If you have a decent universe and you just want to quickly get something together, it's very usable. Compared to Click, you can drop those reports very quickly.
Salman Mukhtar Baig - PeerSpot reviewer
SAP Technical Manager at VS Furniture Middle East
Unlock data insights with seamless integration and robust reporting features
I assess the impact of SAP Crystal Reports' dynamic parameters on the customization and flexibility of my reports as very good. Sometimes it creates a problem when it suddenly closes during work due to improper shutdowns, but most of the time it's beneficial since I can fetch the data in one report very efficiently, which is great for the company. The sub reports in SAP Crystal Reports help me enhance the depth and detail of my reports by allowing me to use multiple sets of records, especially when I have very large requirements, such as company dashboards that show what sales, purchases, productions, and HR are doing. Using sub reports as the main report is very beneficial because I can pull multiple department data into the main report. Over the years, SAP Crystal Reports has had a very positive impact and benefits. It's a powerful tool to design any kind of report if you have knowledge of the database, and it can attach to both HANA and SQL databases. I can also connect this data with Excel, which makes it a very powerful tool for me.
report
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Comparison Review

it_user6663 - PeerSpot reviewer
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…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business32
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise67
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise22
 

Questions from the Community

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...
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...
What do you like most about SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform?
What I like the most about SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform is that it has significantly improved our decision-making process.
What needs improvement with SAP Crystal Reports?
SAP Crystal Reports could be improved with more modern user-friendly interfaces and better integration with cloud platforms and AI tools. It would be beneficial to have easier integration with Azur...
What is your primary use case for SAP Crystal Reports?
I have been using SAP Crystal Reports for six months. I am using SAP Crystal Reports to develop data-driven reports and use customer data printing. When I use SAP Crystal Reports for customer data ...
What do you like most about SAP Crystal Reports?
We use SAP Crystal Reports for operational reporting.
 

Also Known As

SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform, SAP BusinessObjects, Business Objects
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

SRAM, Kennametal, Fairfax Water, British American Tobacco, Velux, and FedEx.
City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International (ARI), LivePerson, Coelba (Grupo Neoenergia), RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association - NBA, TALLY WEiJL, El Machetazo, Young Heroes, Mozzart, Mitsui Knowledge Industry (MKI) , Surgutneftegas Open Joint Stock Company, The VELUX Group, AOK Bundesverband, AL-KO KOBER GROUP
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Salesforce, Domo and others in BI (Business Intelligence) Tools. Updated: January 2026.
879,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.