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Oracle Essbase pros and cons

Vendor: Oracle
4.0 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Oracle Essbase enables sophisticated analysis, allowing users to define dimensions and hierarchy beforehand for effective data drilling and slicing.
Essbase is stable, low-maintenance, and reliable, even when handling large volumes of data.
It is highly efficient, scalable, and capable of integrating with other systems like Hyperion Planning.
Essbase offers fast performance compared to other databases, facilitating advanced modeling and data exploration.
It provides flexibility for creating customizable analysis and reporting, including ad hoc report generation.

CONS

The programming language's forecasting functions in Oracle Essbase have limited features.
There is a need for integration with application performance management and version control management tools.
Oracle Essbase is expensive and there is room for improvement in cost-effectiveness.
The initial setup process can be complex and could be simplified.
There is a lack of a financial consolidation module, requiring manual work for financial statement analysis, CAPEX and OPEX analysis, and financial consolidation.
 

Oracle Essbase Pros review quotes

RANOJOY PAUL - PeerSpot reviewer
May 9, 2024
It is very fast compared to other normal databases, like SQL and MySQL.
DA
Jul 29, 2025
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.
Prithwish Kumar Ghosh - PeerSpot reviewer
May 9, 2024
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.
Learn what your peers think about Oracle Essbase. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
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Pratik Phapale - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 1, 2024
Essbase is a kind of backbone, or back end, for systems like Hyperion Planning.
Bhavya N - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 15, 2025
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.
SR
Sep 23, 2022
The solution is stable and reliable.
SK
Oct 11, 2022
I have found the most valuable aspect is the user-friendly environment and current features.
reviewer1760025 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 12, 2022
Unlike relational, where you're linking together multiple tables, with Essbase, you basically define what the dimensions are beforehand, and you define the hierarchy, and then load the data. This allows you to do a pretty sophisticated analysis so that you can drill into it and slice and dice the data.
MA
Oct 12, 2023
The solution is scalable.
SE
Sep 28, 2023
It is highly efficient and easily scalable, particularly for handling large databases.
 

Oracle Essbase Cons review quotes

RANOJOY PAUL - PeerSpot reviewer
May 9, 2024
The reporting tool of Essbase needs improvement.
Prithwish Kumar Ghosh - PeerSpot reviewer
May 9, 2024
The consolidation engine, which is HFM or FCCS, needs some room for improvement.
Pratik Phapale - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 1, 2024
The main concern is that Oracle is ending on-premises server support, so it would be better if there was a cloud platform available for Oracle Essbase.
Learn what your peers think about Oracle Essbase. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer2748903 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 8, 2025
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 include the financial consolidation module that is available in EPM.
SR
Sep 23, 2022
It's an expensive product to use.
SK
Oct 11, 2022
I would like to see an integration with application performance management and a version control management tool.
reviewer1760025 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 12, 2022
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.
MA
Oct 12, 2023
The initial setup is pretty complex.
SE
Sep 28, 2023
There is room for improvement in terms of cost-effectiveness.
Bikramjeet Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 27, 2023
They should improve the solution's performance.