Knowage Reviews

Name: Knowage
Brand: Knowage
Rating: 3.8 (18 reviews)

3.8 out of 5

18 reviews
85% willing to recommend

What is Knowage?

Knowage (formerly SpagoBI) has a 14-years history. The actual release is the 6.3.

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Knowage is the #25 ranked solution in top Reporting Tools and #34 ranked solution in top Business Intelligence Tools. PeerSpot users give Knowage an average rating of 7.6 out of 10. Knowage is most commonly compared to Microsoft Power BI: Knowage vs Microsoft Power BI. Knowage is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 63% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a government, accounting for 17% of all views.

Helped 860,825 peers since 2012

Featured Knowage reviews

AbdulshukoorMohammed

General Manager Information Technology & Enterprise Applications Manager at OXFORD HOLDING

The only challenge here is that it's a Java-based platform. It requires very high technical skills. When we come to the integration with the single sign-on facilities, that part is very challenging. In Power BI and other tools, it's very easy to integrate with active directory and single sign-on, and identity management is very easy in other business intelligence tools. However, when it comes to Knowage, it's a bit heavy, it's time-consuming sometimes, it's not very fast, and definitely not as fast as other business intelligence tools in terms of getting graphical reports. The solution could be cheaper.

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BlessingSithole

Software Engineer at syntegra

I know the initial setup is pretty straightforward. It doesn't take a long time to deploy. Even on your own personal computer, when you want to try it out, it doesn't take too long to get it running. For the initial setup, I'd say it's maybe a four out of five in terms of how easy it is. You need to add these Java dependencies and so forth, which can be a bit boring, however, it's almost perfect. To deploy Knowage usually takes about a day. In terms of the implementation strategy, it's just following the instructions that they give us on the installation and then just knowing how to handle the process. Usually, there is a group of engineers who do that for us and manage the server itself. If a team is knowledgeable, then it doesn't take a long time. When you need a new instance, it's very quick. The implementation strategy is based on just following instructions on the installation process from Knowage. For deployment and maintenance, we need just maybe two people simply to monitor the traffic coming in. However, it's maintained by people who were doing other jobs like maintaining our other server. They just monitor the Knowage server and make sure that it's up and running and that there are no bugs. There are not too many bugs coming out from the debugger.

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Albert Masanja

Margin Assurance Analyst at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

It would be better if more resources were available to help us learn how to use it. I wanted to use Knowage for a more extended period, but learning materials around the product were not really available and were not really straightforward. I've also seen inconsistencies between versions. For example, under the tools, especially in the cockpit, the way you create reports is now different. You will also find some configurations within a particular state, like a line chart, which differs from version to version. I think consistency is an essential feature in a product, especially for business intelligence products.

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Knowage mindshare

Product category:

As of July 2025, the mindshare of Knowage in the Reporting category stands at 0.8%, down from 0.8% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Reporting

PeerResearch reports based on Knowage reviews

Type	Title	Date
Category	Reporting	Jul 8, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Jul 8, 2025	Download
Comparison	Knowage vs Microsoft Power BI	Jul 8, 2025	Download
Comparison	Knowage vs Tableau	Jul 8, 2025	Download
Comparison	Knowage vs Oracle OBIEE	Jul 8, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Microsoft Power BI	4.0	25.8%	93%	321 interviews Add to research
Tableau	4.2	21.6%	89%	306 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

Knowage offers QbE, Hibernate support, integration with Liferay and ExoPortal, data mining with Weka, GIS, big data integration, and BIRT report deployment. It features a unified interface, standalone SDK, parameter GUI components, scheduling jobs, SpagoBI's analytical model, and flexible self-service BI. Users appreciate dynamic dashboards, KPIs, multiplatform usage, historical reporting, SQL script compatibility, Python correlation, user-role information, Jasper report deployment, and embedding capabilities for ERP systems. Open-source and free usage is emphasized.

"The embedding feature is great."
"I can't name the features the way the Knowage community calls them because I still don't know the lingo. However, I can describe them. I like the ability to join more than one report, set all fields on one end, and replicate that on the other reports. I like that a lot. I think it's one of the features that got me using Knowage. They have tables, and I like that too. They took SQL scripts and many other scripts and enabled them to even correlate with Python. That's also one of the best things about Knowage. You could also decide to get information per user role, and this is also a feature that I like in Knowage."
"We can easily do our own customizations."

Room for Improvement

Knowage requires enhancements in areas such as user interface, robustness, and integration capabilities. The platform lacks global report parameters, leading to inefficiencies. Complex tasks can slow down operations. Users express a need for a better-developed documentation and help resources. The dashboard component capabilities could be expanded. Consistency issues between versions are noted, and the integration process is cumbersome. It demands advanced technical skills and improvements in pricing strategy.

"The dashboard components could be better."
"It would be better if more resources were available to help us learn how to use it. I wanted to use Knowage for a more extended period, but learning materials around the product were not really available and were not really straightforward.I've also seen inconsistencies between versions. For example, under the tools, especially in the cockpit, the way you create reports is now different. You will also find some configurations within a particular state, like a line chart, which differs from version to version. I think consistency is an essential feature in a product, especially for business intelligence products."
"The only challenge here is that it's a Java-based platform. It requires very high technical skills."

Pricing

Enterprises report that Knowage offers an open-source option, which many utilize as it is free to use under the Mozilla Public License. Users often customize on top of the community edition. Knowage also provides an enterprise edition with varied licensing models. Opinions on the pricing and options are mixed, with some expressing partial satisfaction. Licensing is generally viewed as accommodating, supporting both community and commercial use.

"Knowage is open-source, and an enterprise edition is also available."
"It allows the implementation of an effective reporting system using internal skills at a limited upfront cost."

Popular Use Cases

Organizations utilize Knowage for creating centralized data warehouses that facilitate integration, analysis, and retrieval of healthcare data for clinical and financial analytics. It aids in generating graphical reports, dashboards, and cockpits without third-party tools. Users employ Oracle scripts for profitability analysis and embedding reports for distribution. It supports big data concepts and simplifies ad hoc reporting, enhancing user experiences while enabling efficient data handling and business intelligence functionalities.

Service and Support

Knowage customer service is rated moderately, with some users finding it satisfactory and others considering it lacking, especially without support contracts. Experiences with technical support vary widely; some report effective assistance from commercial channels and community forums, while others rely on internal resources or struggle with community efforts. Paid support receives higher satisfaction. The open-source community provides a significant resource, although those without enterprise editions feel limited in official support options.

Deployment

Knowage's initial setup is generally straightforward, especially when deploying on personal computers, but there are some complexities. Users report challenges with configuring Java runtime and Apache server, and some manual steps are necessary. Organizations find that expertise is beneficial for quicker implementation. Most difficulties stem from security, permissions, and complex reporting requirements. Though setup requires some effort, knowledgeable teams manage deployment efficiently, with ongoing maintenance by existing IT personnel. Improvements in newer versions have addressed earlier issues.

Scalability

Users report mixed experiences with the scalability of Knowage. Some found no problems with scalability, citing support for clustering and high availability. Others faced challenges, mainly due to documentation gaps or needing proper ETL models for scaling. There were mentions of moderate scaling potential and impressive performance with increased user counts, although some required cloud environment upgrades for larger organizations. Restarting services was occasionally necessary when using Mobile and Desktop Editions.

Stability

Knowage shows variability in stability. Some experience no issues, while others face challenges with resource demands, deployment errors, and bugs. Initial setup might require substantial hardware configurations, especially on-prem. Community support aids problem resolution, though responses can be slow. Stability issues occurred in earlier versions but improved over time. For some, the transition from SpagoBI involved problems with volume processing, but satisfaction with stability increased. Java resource consumption is notable, but Knowage generally remains reliable.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our Knowage Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

17%

Real Estate/Law Firm

11%

Hospitality Company

10%

Insurance Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

University

Educational Organization

Logistics Company

Legal Firm

Manufacturing Company

Marketing Services Firm

Recruiting/Hr Firm

Performing Arts

Comms Service Provider

Consumer Goods Company

Retailer

Healthcare Company

Transportation Company

Media Company

Compare Knowage with alternative products

Learn more about Knowage

Knowage offers FULL ANALYTICAL CAPABILITIES, with a special focus on big data analytics and comprehensive support to rich and multi-source data analysis. Knowage provides different modules, each one focused on a specific domain but mutually combinable (Big Data, Smart Intelligence, Enterprise Reporting, Location Intelligence, Performance Management, Predictive Analysis). Moreover, Knowage is an OPEN SOURCE solution: the source code is freely accessible, everyone is allowed to join the community and build the own business solution to ensure strategic decision-making and improved productivity.

Knowage suite is supported by Engineering Group, the leading Italian software and services company, with about 10,000 people and more than 50 offices worldwide. Maintenance and support services (such as trainings, migration support, proof-of-concepts, etc) are provided by Engineering Group (KNOWAGE Labs) under subscription.

Knowage was previously known as SpagoBI.

Knowage customers

FIAT Group, Italian air navigation service provider,
Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Telecom Italia, ASL Genovese, San Giovanni Battista University Hospital