2022 8648752253 BI BuyersGuide

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
BUYER’S GUIDE
1
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE BUYER’S GUIDE
MARKET OVERVIEW
The process for evaluating and selecting business intelligence software can be complex. These complexities
are growing even wider when organizations consider emerging analytic capabilities like AI and machine
learning. Augmented analytics – which uses machine learning to change how analytic content is developed
and used – is set to become the dominant driver of new BI buying by 2022. If your use cases involve a large
degree of manual data analysis, augmented analytics products may be an immediate consideration.
Automation is impacting virtually every industry and business process, and data analytics software is set to
become the next frontier. The technology behind automating analytics is heavily reliant on AI and machine
learning. While some organizations are using this functionality already to speed past manual data tasks, BI
solution providers are increasingly tying automation to natural language processing. This will soon enable an
entire swath of business users to run complex analysis just by asking a question.
Auditable (or explainable) AI is an emerging field in machine learning that addresses how black box decisions
of AI systems are made. In data analytics, users want to be able to inspect and understand the steps and
models involved in decision making. And given the pervasive nature of AI-powered business intelligence
tools entering the marketplace, this technology is quickly becoming mainstream. AI will continue to be a
game-changer for BI users, especially those without technical data science skills. However, the best AI-
focused data analytics tools can explain the processes behind each prediction.
Business user ease of use and complexity of analysis are two top-of-mind considerations for buyers in the
current space. Product support capabilities and services offered are also key attributes that require some
thought. Common support packages include assistance for non-technical users who require self-service,
but there’s also sometimes deployment assistance, dedicated use case representatives, and user training
modules that can be a great help.
The BI and analytics marketplace is mature and crowded with excellent software tools for a variety of use
cases, verticals, deployment methods, and budgets. There are very large providers we refer to as ‘mega-
vendors’, like Microsoft, Tableau Software and Qlik. There are also lesser-known innovators with interesting
products that play in niche areas, such as Looker, Pyramid Analytics and Yellowfin BI.
Cue the process of seeking out, evaluating, choosing, purchasing, and deploying a BI and data analytics
solution. Solutions come in a variety of flavors—ranging from traditional enterprise reporting to data discovery
and augmented analytic options. Each features a particular set of capabilities, strengths, and drawbacks.
Choosing the right vendor and solution is a complicated process—one that requires in-depth research and
often comes down to more than just the solution and its technical capabilities.
Solutions Review has developed this Buyer’s Guide to assist buyers in search of the best possible tool to fit the
needs of their organization. This resource features 10 important questions to ask during the buying process,
and full, one-page vendor profiles that provide a solution overview, three key features, contact information,
and our own ‘Bottom Line’ analysis. Companion research, including our popular Vendor Comparison Matrix,
can be found at solutionsreview.com.
Timothy King, Senior Editor

Solutions Review Map Key
B This solution offers Embedded BI
© 2022 | Solutions Review | 500 West Cummings Park | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 | USA 2
5 Questions You Should Ask When

Evaluating A Business Intelligence Solution
What is my budget?
Your organization’s budget is going to play a major role in deciding the type of analytic tool you wind up selecting. Large solution
providers with expansive product portfolios for enterprise use cases are unlikely to be budget-friendly. However, startups and
emerging vendors trying to make a splash may offer more competitive pricing, especially in this marketplace where there are
plenty of excellent solutions. Matching your budget with a provider’s technical capabilities can sometimes reveal a bargain.
What business problem(s) am I trying to solve?

Purchasing a BI or analytics tool can be an overwhelming task. However, it is easier to narrow down the types of vendors and tools
under consideration when you outline specific business problems you are trying to solve. If you’re in a vertical-specific industry
that tracks against a distinct set of KPIs, that makes your search even easier. It’s best to align prospective solution providers with
overarching business goals.
Who are my BI users?

Are your users mainly going to be technical people like business analysts or data scientists, or line-of-business users? ‘Self-service’
has been one of the most popular buzzwords in the market for a several years now. Organizations are increasingly seeking software
tools that provide users of various skill levels to analyze data. Is that a relevant consideration for your situation?
What are my must-have capabilities?

Modern BI and analytic platforms offer a dizzying selection of features. Capabilities that were once considered advanced in nature
are now mainstream. Likewise, predictive analytics and visual data discovery are the industry-norm. This makes it difficult to pick
just one tool from the pack. Buyers are advised to jot down a shortlist of must-have features and then compare that against the
various offerings to see which best matches up to your specific use case.
What are my expectations?

It’s easy to get swept up in the hype that a flashy new BI platform will solve all of your company’s pain points overnight, but it’s best
to temper expectations. Vendor marketing campaigns and industry pundits sometimes inflate the true value that BI tools can bring
in the early stages. With nearly 3 in 4 BI initiatives set to fail within the first year, keeping a realistic outlook remains a key practice.
Its fine to get excited about solving critical problems, but the road to insight generation is not a one-size-fits-all approach.
5 Questions You Should Ask Your

Potential Business Intelligence Solution
Provider
Can your BI tool scale with my business?

Your current data sources, KPIs, business questions, and overall situation may very well change. It would be foolhardy to select a BI
platform based only on how it can serve you at the current time. Very little remains static, so what may seem like the best possible
solution now could be virtually useless in two, three or five years down the road. Weigh the vendor’s current capabilities with its
ability to scale as your organization grows.
Can you provide customer recommendations?

You’ll want to ask prospective vendors to provide references that can show how their software helped other customers achieve
positive ROI. In-vertical references are best, so we recommend seeking first-hand accounts from similar size organizations that do
business in related industries and analyze similar data sources. It’s not about securing the best overall tool; it’s about selecting the
best solution for your specific set of circumstances.
Is there a support package included? What does it include?

The rise in self-service has been a difference maker for many organizations. However, this requires solution providers to offer
support services to keep non-technical users on their feet. You’ll want to find out what types of services are offered with the
purchase of a license. Popular support add-ons range from deployment assistance and dedicated customer service representatives
to user training, certification, and even community forums.
What is the total cost of ownership (TCO)?

There are usually outside costs associated with the purchase of a new BI platform, but does that come with subscription pricing,
third-party expenses, or hidden operation fees? There can be many surprises hidden below the surface. Stakeholders will want
to find out whether there are expenditures for user training, upgrading, troubleshooting or consulting as a result of re-engineering
processes that are being automated.
How long does deployment take?

Once you decide on a BI and analytics product, it takes time to get up-and-running. Have a discussion with the vendor representative
about what that looks like, and how it will impact existing business systems and protocols in the interim. Does the solution provider
offer on-site or remote help with deployment? These are vital questions that have a direct impact on the cost of the tool and the
impact on ROI.
Solution Provider Profiles

7 ....................................................................................... Altair
8 ....................................................................................... Alteryx
9 ....................................................................................... Amazon Web Services (AWS)
10 ..................................................................................... AnswerRocket
11 ..................................................................................... BOARD
12 ..................................................................................... Domo
13 ..................................................................................... Hitachi Vantara
14 ..................................................................................... IBM
15 ..................................................................................... Infor Birst
16 ..................................................................................... Incorta
17 ..................................................................................... Looker (Google)
18 ..................................................................................... Microsoft
19 ..................................................................................... MicroStrategy
20 ..................................................................................... Oracle
21 ..................................................................................... Pyramid Analytics
22 ..................................................................................... Qlik
23 ..................................................................................... Salesforce
24 ..................................................................................... SAP
Solution Provider Profiles

25 ..................................................................................... SAS
26 ..................................................................................... Sigma Computing
27 ..................................................................................... Sisense
28 ..................................................................................... Tableau Software
29 ..................................................................................... TARGIT
30 ..................................................................................... Tellius
31 ..................................................................................... ThoughtSpot
32 ..................................................................................... TIBCO
33 ..................................................................................... Yellowfin
34 ..................................................................................... Zoho
Altair
Altair offers an open, scalable, unified, and extensible data analytics platform with www.altair.com
integrated data transformation and predictive analytics tools. Desktop-based
data preparation is available via Altair Monarch, while Knowledge Hub features
team-driven data prep and a centralized data marketplace to speed collaboration
and governance. Machine learning and predictive analytics are made available
inside Knowledge Studio. Altair Panopticon houses the company’s streaming
processing and real-time visualization capabilities.
Key Features
Data Preparation
Altair allows users to prepare data via desktop, server and web browser. Monarch lets you connect to data sources
and transform it while Monarch Server features self-service data prep across the enterprise. Altair Knowledge
Hub adds machine learning and collaboration to the mix for browser and cloud-based data preparation.
Machine Learning
Altair’s machine learning and predictive analytics visualizes data and generates explainable results without
requiring code. Knowledge Studio includes pre-build data preparation and data science functions and integrates
with common programming languages as well.
Data Visualization
Altair’s real-time data visualization enables users to program sophisticated business logic and data functions
using a completely visual user interface. The platform is designed with business users in mind, and includes a
stream processing engine called Panopticon Streams.
Bottom Line
Altair updated its entire line of data analytics software in June 2020, calling it “the most significant software update
release in company history.” As part of the release collection, the vendor added automated machine learning
(AutoML) to its Knowledge Studio predictive analytics solution. This update helps to optimize the modeling
process while also giving users insights and understanding into how results are achieved. The company’s April
2020 Panopticon release saw the company add speed and flexibility enhancements. Altair serves customers in a
number of verticals and is best used by technical data analysts and scientists.
Alteryx
Alteryx is a self-service data analytics software company that specializes in 3345 Michelson Dr
data preparation and data blending. Alteryx Analytics allows users to organize,
Irvine, CA
clean, and analyze data in a repeatable workflow. Business analysts find this tool
particularly useful for connecting to and cleansing data from data warehouses, United States
cloud applications, spreadsheets and other sources. The platform features tools +1 (888) 836 4274
to run a variety of analytic jobs (predictive, statistical, spatial) inside a single www.alteryx.com
interface. Alteryx went public in 2017.
Key Features
Data Preparation and Blending
Alteryx Designer provides access to all relevant data by connecting to and cleansing data from data warehouses,
cloud applications, spreadsheets and more. Users can create datasets for analysis or visualization using data
quality, integration, and transformation tools.
Scalable Sharing and Collaboration

Alteryx Server provides a flexible server architecture that can be deployed on-prem or in the cloud. It allows
users to schedule and automate workflow execution for data delivery, and offload data preparation, blending,
and analytics into a production-ready environment. Analysts can store, share and publish analytic workflows
and applications cross-organization while extending Alteryx processes with APIs and macros into internal apps.
Data Discovery
Alteryx Connect contains a variety of data discovery tools. It allows users to work with metadata to better
understand where data comes from and how it is being used. Included search capabilities provide analysts
with the ability to find and reuse information contained in analytic apps, workflows, macros, visualizations,
dashboards, and data science models.
Bottom Line
Alteryx offers an expansive platform with many noteworthy analytic features, and its foray into data science tools
figures to be a boon to citizen data scientists. In addition, the company acquired Menlo Park-based ClearStory
Data in April 2019. Most known for its smart data discovery and automated data preparation features, the merger
will enable Alteryx to create a natural extension of its own technology that will enable it to grow its data science
capabilities. Alteryx also launched a new version of its Analytic Process Automation platform in May.
Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers business intelligence functionality through 1200 12th Ave. South
its cloud-native and serverless BI service called Amazon QuickSight. QuickSight
Seattle, WA 98144
is embeddable and features built-in machine learning as well. The product lets
you create and publish interactive BI dashboards that can be queried using United States
natural language. It can automatically scale to thousands of users without any +1 (206) 266-1000
infrastructure, and touts pay-per-session pricing so customers only pay when aws.amazon.com
users access dashboards or reports.
Key Features
QuickSight Q
Amazon QuickSight Q enables the use of natural language query by giving anyone in an organization the ability
to ask business questions and receive accurate answers with relevant visualizations.
Embedded Analytics
AWS lets you embed interactive dashboards and visualizations without needing to build applications. QuickSight
also offers embedded themes via 1-click embedding and custom branded email reports.
ML Insights
QuickSight’s ML Insights feature provides a deeper understanding of insights in data by offering out-of-the-box
features for discovering hidden trends, identifying business drivers, and performing what-if analysis.
Bottom Line
In addition to a broad range of data analytics tools within its AWS ecosystem, Amazon Web Services offers
its own native BI capabilities inside Amazon QuickSight. QuickSight can be used for a number of different use
cases and by organizations large or small. Its serverless architecture enables it to easily scale without setup
or configuration. Enterprise functionalities include broad data source support, global collaboration and multi-
tenancy, built-in security and compliance, and mobile app support.
AnswerRocket
AnswerRocket offers a search-powered data analytics platform designed for 5775 Glenridge Dr
business users. The product enables you to ask business questions in natural
Atlanta, GA
language, and no technical skills are needed to run reports or generate analysis.
AnswerRocket features a combination of AI and machine learning, as well as United States
advanced analytic functionality. The platform can also automate manual tasks +1 (678) 608-0053
and answer ad hoc questions quickly. AnswerRocket is mobile-friendly and www.answerrocket.com
includes native voice recognition. The company was founded in 2013 and is
based in Atlanta, Georgia.
Key Features
Mobile-Responsive and Cloud-Based
AnswerRocket is a cloud-based platform that works across any operating system and device type on-demand.
The companion mobile application is available in the Apple App Store. Voice recognition enables you to ask
questions in natural language, and the built-in notification system alerts users when there are key updates or
changes to relevant data and performance in real-time.
IQ Boosters
AnswerRocket’s augmented analytics can answer the same simple questions as traditional business intelligence
tools plus more complex “why” and “how” queries. IQ Boosters explore the relationships between your data and
can evaluate hundreds of thousands of metric combinations within seconds to pinpoint business-critical insight.
Users receive a full diagnosis of variables impacting each answer.
Flexible Dashboards
Dashboards are customizable and self-service, and asking questions automatically builds a dashboard so users
can see an overview of answers, follow-ups, and drill-downs. Users can convert dashboards into presentations
without leaving the platform, as well as publish and share progress and projects across teams via the collaboration
suite.
Bottom Line
AnswerRocket features a breadth of augmented data discovery capabilities and was created for non-technical
users. IQ Boosters sift through thousands of variables to pinpoint the most important data points to explore.
Analytics can be accessed via desktop or mobile, and users can ask questions by typing or speaking. Dashboard
building can be automated on the fly from natural language questions as well. AnswerRocket can be run on-prem
or in the cloud via the major public cloud providers. The product is best suited for organizations in consumer
goods, e-commerce, and the financial services.
Board
BOARD combines business intelligence, performance management, and Piazza Bernasconi 5
predictive analytics into one platform. As a result, any change to data, data
6830 Chiasso
models, security profiles or business rules is immediately propagated to every
application. The solution provides all the tools required to create and update Switzerland
databases, data presentations, analyses, and process models. The company +41 91 697 54 10
also offers BOARD Cloud, a SaaS version of the platform, backed by Microsoft www.board.com
Azure.
Key Features
Data Discovery
Interactive search-based data discovery works across screens, data, metadata, and applications. BOARD allows
any search result to be used immediately as a driver for further analyses or as an element for creating new
reports using the tool’s drag-and-drop self-service analysis UI.
Simulation
Users can translate business processes into sophisticated analytical models that enable users to assess the
impact of decisions on their organization’s performance. BOARD offers the capability to manage real-time
changes to models, data allocation across dimension and hierarchies, and data calculation and aggregation.
The Reverse Algorithm extends these features also to calculated fields.
Scorecarding
BOARD offers all the functionalities needed to translate company strategy into scorecards and strategy maps
so organizations can communicate and roll out key objectives. The unified BI and Performance Management
environment allows users to analyze any trend highlighted by the scorecard and explore events affecting KPIs
the lowest level of detail.
Bottom Line
BOARD is offered on-prem or in the cloud, and the platform unifies any data source into a single logical view.
BOARD is based on a proprietary data management technology called HBMP that was designed to enhance the
performance of in-memory computing. The company’s flagship solution offers two authentication layers and
advanced security management so users can delegate security administration to other key users. BOARD was
founded in 1994 and has customers in a wide array of verticals. The provider was acquired by US-based private
equity investor Nordic Capital in early 2019.
Domo
Domo offers a cloud-based analytics and business intelligence platform for 772 E. Utah Valley Dr
decentralized use cases. The provider added new R and Python integration
American Fork, UT
capabilities, as well as support for embedded BI in recent months. Domo
Everywhere enables users to embed interactive Domo cards in portals, on United States
web properties and inside applications. The company’s platform is highly +1 (800) 899-1000
customizable, and the Analyzer feature can be tailored to filter out unnecessary www.domo.com
data. Domo went public in June 2018.
Key Features
Domo Publish
Domo Publish allows organizations to share data and insights with customers, partners and vendors, enabling
customers to build their own content based on shared data. The tool also provides users the ability to replicate
and publish Domo pages and cards securely leveraging personalized data permissions (PDP).
Domo Embed
Domo Embed enables viewers to explore data by drilling, filtering or choosing a different chart type. Users can
limit access to the intended audience with SSO authentication and user-level card sharing controls, as well as
personalize the data shown to individual users who are viewing the same card. Domo card embedding uses
iframes or JavaScript embed codes to ensure widespread compatibility.
Domo Integration Cloud

Domo Integration Cloud enables users to prepare data with visual integration flows and access and control
it through the tool’s governance framework. Integration Cloud also includes a new data pipeline tool called
Integration Studio, as well as its Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) Driver. The product is rounded out by an
API manager and third-party developer kit so users can build custom data connectors.
Bottom Line
Domo is a cloud-based executive management platform that enables organizations to see key data in real-time
from across the enterprise in one place and on any device. The company offers prepackaged dashboard content
and functionality for filtering and sorting data visually in Domo Analyzer. Within the last calendar year, Domo has
released a new multi-cloud data offering with 100 new modern BI features, as well as an updated version of its
Domo Everywhere embedded analytics tool.
Hitachi Vantara
Hitachi Vantara’s Pentaho Business Analytics platform allows organizations 2845 Lafayette St
to access and blend all types and sizes of data. The product offers a range of
Santa Clara, CA
capabilities for big data integration and data preparation. The Pentaho platform
is purpose-built for embedding into and integrating with applications, portals, United States
and processes. Organizations can embed a range of analytics, including +1 (866) 660-7555
visualizations, reports, ad hoc analysis, and tailored dashboards. It also extends www.hitachivantara.com
to third-party charts, graphs and visualizations via an open API for a wider
selection of embeddable analytics. Pentaho is offered in on-prem and cloud
versions.
B
Key Features
Data Integration
Data integration allows users to blend, orchestrate and analyze data from virtually any source. Pentaho can be
deployed on a variety of public or private cloud providers, including Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.
Users can also integrate and analyze Amazon Redshift, Hadoop and other big data sources in the cloud.
Graphical Dashboards
Graphical dashboards are web-based and feature a drag-and-drop design that includes rich navigation, drilling
and a library of filter controls. Users can custom-build dashboards that are uniquely tailored to their organization,
and portal and mash-up integration connects business analytics with other applications.
Security
Administrative capabilities include analytics security, content permissions, versioning, locking and expiration for
streamlined management. Backup, recovery and business continuity are also key tenets of the Pentaho Business
Analytics product.
Bottom Line
Pentaho was acquired by Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) in 2015. Post-merger, Pentaho had been offered as a
standalone software platform until recently when Hitachi combined the Pentaho, HDS and Hitachi Insight Groups
into a new unit called Hitachi Vantara. The Pentaho data platform is unique because it encompasses data
integration and BI and analytic capabilities. Self-contained ETL and integration, data preparation, data storage
and security make Hitachi an excellent choice for companies that want to implement only a single product.
IBM
IBM offers an expansive range of BI and analytic capabilities under two distinct 1 New Orchard Rd
product lines. The Cognos Analytics platform is an integrated self-service
Armonk, NY
solution that allows users to access data to create dashboards and reports.
IBM Watson Analytics offers a machine learning-enabled user experience that United States
includes automated pattern detection, support for natural language query and +1 (800) 426-4968
generation, and embedded advanced analytics capabilities. Cognos is IBM’s www.ibm.com
‘flagship’ BI and analytics tool, where Watson is the vendor’s entry into the
emerging AI-powered tools arena.
Key Features
Reporting and Visualization
IBM’s intuitive interface enables any user to author content on the fly, and dashboards can be created using drag-
and-drop on desktop or mobile. The visual data explorer automatically recommends the best visualizations for
particular data templates. Users can take advantage of on-demand menus for access to full capabilities within
one interface in order to create ad hoc reports without IT oversight.
Data Modeling
Users can do data modeling via a completely web-based experience that features direct reporting from data
sources and automatic data model generation based on keywords.
Data Governance
Data is protected with layers of permissions, authentication, and history. Data protection controls are including
whether a user is creating one report for many or many are creating one report. Additional capabilities include
scheduling and alerts.
Bottom Line
IBM has made real strides to modernize its analytic offerings, and with great success. Cognos remains one of the
most widely adopted BI platforms in the enterprise, and Watson Analytics is on the cutting edge of AI-influenced
tools. IBM’s BI software can be deployed both on-prem or as a hosted solution via the IBM Cloud. The company’s
complete analytics portfolio also includes its SPSS Predictive Analytics, IBM Data Science Experience, and IBM
Planning Analytics tools.
Infor Birst
Infor offers a cloud-based analytics solution that connects an organization using 153 Kearny St
a network of interwoven virtualized BI instances. The provider’s flagship product
San Francisco, CA
is its Networked BI platform. The tool features an adaptive user experience,
multi-tenant cloud architecture, user data tier, and a completely virtualized data United States
ecosystem. These capabilities enable use of BI across multiple regions, product +1 (866) 940-1496
lines, departments, and customers. Infor acquired Birst in April 2017. www.birst.com
Key Features
Adaptive User Experience:
The platform combines dashboards and data discovery into an integrated HTML5 interface. The interface is the
same weather it is viewed on the desktop or mobile version. Birst’s 2-tier analytics allow extension to other tools
like Excel, R, and Tableau.
User Data Tier

Birst automates data unification and refining from any enterprise source. The Infinite Connectivity Framework
allows scalable access to the chosen source. It uses ‘smart’ technologies to create a Unified Business Model (or
business-ready Data Tier) that all users can utilize.
Multi-Tenant Cloud Architecture

Birst can be deployed in the public cloud, AWS or the private cloud (as a virtual appliance) with the same code base,
upgrade path, and support level. It broadens query performance through intelligent caching, pre-aggregation, and
optimized SQL generation.
Bottom Line
Birst is a data warehouse, reporting and visualization platform that operates independent of its parent company
Infor. Customers most commonly use the product for BI provisioning, and because it is cloud-based, decentralized
analytics as well. Reference customers speak highly of Birst’s service and support offerings, though some users
note that interface integration needs some work. Birst introduced a new set of Smart Analytics solutions (powered
by Infor’s Coleman AI) in January 2019. In May 2019, the company unveiled Birst 7 featuring a new user interface,
enhanced data modeling features, and an updated administration module with auditing capabilities.
Incorta
Incorta’s Direct Data Platform speeds up data ingestion and provides hastened 2855 Campus Dr
join performance. The vendor has dubbed its product “The Industry’s First No-
San Mateo, CA
ETL Data Warehouse.” Incorta features a Direct Data Mapping engine which
provides real-time aggregation of complex business data without needing a United States
data warehouse. Users can drill from top line, aggregated KPIs, all the way to +1 (650) 250-1481
supporting transaction records with one click. Incorta also enables you to drill www.incorta.com
anywhere with user-defined drill paths and hierarchies.
Key Features
Data Acquisition
Incorta lets you connect to any database enterprise application, data stream, and data file format using more
than 240 data connectors. The product also enables ingestion and aggregation of data in real-time.
Data Mapping
The Direct Data Platform can run sub-second queries quickly and join additional data sources without impacting
performance. The enriched metadata and map combined with smart query routing eliminate the need to
transform data.
Data Enrichment
Incorta takes advantage of an embedded Spark cluster that auto-scales for machine learning and large-scale
data processing.
Bottom Line
Incorta consolidates data management and analytics into a single integrated platform for data acquisition,
storage, analysis, visualization, and reporting. It combines an open data lake with in-memory analytics for durable
storage and responsive queries. The unique Direct Data Mapping feature enables users to ask questions and
quickly explore in any direction. Incorta recently released version 5 of its flagship offering and a new mobile
analytics app. The company also raised $120 million in Series D funding in June.
Looker (Google)
Looker offers a BI and data analytics platform that is built on LookML, the 101 Church St
company’s proprietary modeling language. The company’s embedded analytics
Santa Cruz, CA
functionality in Powered by Looker utilizes modern database technologies and
an agile modeling layer that allow users to define data and control who can United States
access it. Analytics can be deployed as an embedded iFrame or using Javascript. +1 (888) 960-2331
Organizations can use Looker’s full RESTful API or the schedule feature to deliver www.looker.com
reports by email or webhook. Looker is based in San Francisco and was founded
in 2011.
B
Key Features
Agile Modeling Layer
The agile modeling layer allows users to define data and control who can access it. This assures that data means
the same thing to everyone regardless of how it is accessed. Complex join logic that is specified in SQL can also
be done in LookML, ensuring that all users are referencing the same centralized dimensions and metrics.
Data Modeling
LookML lets users define specific data models and reference it in other locations. Any complex join logic that
can be specified in SQL can be done in LookML once and be used by any user. The language also allows users
to define their organization’s business logic so it can be used by the entire company.
Looker Blocks
Looker Blocks are pre-built pieces of code that organizations can leverage to accelerate analytics projects. Users
can reuse the work others have already done instead of starting from scratch then customize the blocks to
exact specifications. Some examples include optimize SQL patterns, fully built-out data models, and weather
and demographic data.
Bottom Line
Looker can be embedded in websites, portals and applications. The product’s application for web analytics
touts filtering and drilling capabilities, enabling users to dig into row-level details at will. Recent sales analytics
and developer tools added in expand Looker’s suite of purpose-built applications which already includes Looker
for Digital Marketing and Looker for Web Analytics applications. The launch of Looker 7 was highlighted by the
addition of customizable BI experiences to drive collaboration, enterprise security enhancements, and hosting
and management capabilities.
Microsoft
Microsoft is one of a handful of major players in enterprise BI and analytics. One Microsoft Way
The company’s flagship platform, Power BI, is cloud-based and delivered on the
Redmond, WA
Azure Cloud. On-prem capabilities also exist for individual users or when power
users are authoring complex data mashups using in-house data sources. Power United States
BI is unique because it enables users to do data preparation, data discovery, +1 (425) 882-8080
and dashboards with the same design tool. The platform integrates with Excel www.azure.microsoft.com
and Office 365, and has a very active user community that extends the tool’s
capabilities.
Key Features
Embedded Analytics
Power BI offers embedded analytics in two different iterations, first for ISVs and developers, and another for
enterprises. The platform’s Azure-based API set enables organizations to embed organizations even when
they’ve already designed an app. No matter where the data lies, Power BI allows users to embed visuals into
apps, portals, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams.
Self-Service BI and Enterprise Reporting

Power BI Server provides organizations access to SQL Server Reporting Services in a single, on-prem solution.
Users can author reports with Power BI Desktop, publish them with Power BI Report Server, and share reports
for users to consume on the web and across a range of devices.
Community Support
Microsoft has an expansive web of partners, resellers, and individual users. The company’s products, including
the Power BI Suite, are extended as a result of this community framework. Prominent community resources
include prebuilt apps, video tutorials, visualizations, and individual user forums.
Bottom Line
Microsoft offers perhaps the most robust BI and analytic product portfolio of any provider included in this buyer’s
guide. The company’s Power BI platform is offered in ‘desktop’ and ‘premium’ versions, and connects to Excel
spreadsheets, on-prem data sources, big data, streaming data, and cloud services. Microsoft enables organizations
ease of use when running complex data analysis, and cost is a major benefit of the platform. However, its cloud-
only approach and inability to handle very large data volumes is a caution buyers should be aware of.
MicroStrategy
MicroStrategy provides out-of-the-box gateways and native drivers that connect 1850 Towers Crescent Plz
to any enterprise resource, including databases, mobile device management
Tysons Corner, VA
(MDM) systems, enterprise directories, cloud applications and physical access
control systems. Its embedded analytics tool allows MicroStrategy to be United States
embedded in other web pages and applications such as portals, CRM tools, +1 (703) 848-8600
chatbots and even voice assistants like Alexa. The product enables users to www.microstrategy.com
build custom visualizations, connectors and applications, and proprietary APIs
allow organizations to create custom product offerings and branded mobile
applications.
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Key Features
Advanced Analytics
MicroStrategy provides an extensive library of native analytical functions and scoring algorithms, along with
an SDK to integrate with 3rd-party and open source statistical and data mining products. Users can also utilize
historical data, create real-time forecasts, and take advantage of more than 300 OLAP, mathematical, financial,
and data mining functions.
Data Connectivity
The platform can connect to any enterprise resource, including more than 100 enterprise database and other
information assets. MicroStrategy enables users to analyze every kind of data.
Data Discovery
Organizations can access, explore, and analyze data with self-service analytics. The platform employs a variety of
native connectors that allow users to connect to any type of data from spreadsheets to Salesforce and Hadoop.
In addition, data from multiple sources can be blended, and users can define relationships across tables or
sources with drag-and-drop controls.
Bottom Line
MicroStrategy merges self-service data preparation and visual data discovery in an enterprise BI and analytics
platform. MicroStrategy 2020 touts a ‘HyperIntelligence’ module that provides new ways for users to access
data. Through this capability, MicroStrategy 2020 provides contextual insight via new apps for iOS and Android
that work on any device. The latest version includes updated Dossier functionality via a new free-form canvas
that users can leverage to create interactive designs, compound grids for data representation, custom-shaped
geographies for mapping visualizations, and dossier-to-dossier linking.
Oracle
Oracle offers a broad range of BI and analytics tools that can be deployed on- 500 Oracle Pkwy
prem or in the Oracle Cloud. The company provides traditional BI capabilities
Redwood Shores, CA
inside its Business Intelligence 12c solution. Oracle Data Visualization provides
more advanced features, and allows users to automatically visualize data as United States
drag-and-drop attributes, charts, and graphs. The tool also enables users to save +1 (650) 506-7000
snapshots of an analytical moment-in-time via story points. Oracle has greatly www.oracle.com
expanded its feature capabilities in recent months to include data discovery and
data science tools as well.
Key Features
Advanced Analytics
Oracle extends its database into an advanced analytics platform through two components: Oracle R Enterprise
and Oracle Data Mining. These capabilities allow users to do real-time analytics that deliver insight into key areas
such as churn prediction, product recommendations, and fraud alerting.
Data Visualization
Oracle Data Visualization provides a simple point-and-click data upload function that allows users to see data
visualized automatically. As a result, visuals are presented contextually. Users can add new data and see
intelligent updates in real-time, and highlighting one visual automatically enables viewing related information.
Oracle Big Data Discovery

Big Data Discovery allows organizations to find, explore, transform, and analyze big data. Users can browse an
interactive big data catalog and use familiar keyword search and guided navigation. The tool provides access to
personal and shared big data projects, and provisioning of personal data via self-service.
Bottom Line
Oracle offers traditional reporting and dashboards via the Business Intelligence 12c tool. Modern product
capabilities are included in Oracle Data Visualization, which provides advanced data visualization, data preparation,
self-service, and advanced analytics. The company’s Big Data Discovery feature set is a Hadoop-based data
science platform that supports both on-prem and web-based authoring. Oracle’s software is largely available in
both desktop and cloud versions. However, organizations that are not already “Oracle shops” may have trouble
with deployment.
Pyramid Analytics
Pyramid Analytics offers data and analytics tool through its flagship platform, Jollenmanhof 22
Pyramid v2020. The solution touts a server-based, multi-user analytics OS
1019GW Amsterdam
environment that provides self-service capabilities. Pyramid v2020 features a
platform-agnostic architecture that allows users to manage data across any Netherlands
environment, regardless of technology. The tool enables those users to prepare, +1 (203) 202-3500
model, visualize, analyze, publish, and present data from web browsers and www.pyramidanalytics.com
mobile devices. The company’s product portfolio remains highly integrated with
Microsoft’s BI tools, offering an enterprise front-end to Microsoft SQL Server
Analyses Services (SSAS). However, Pyramid has attempted to differentiate
itself with its new product portfolio.
Key Features
Analytics OS
Pyramid v2020 is an adaptive platform that provides different capabilities and experiences based on user needs
and skills. It manages content as a shared resource, and is designed to support self-service analytics. The
platform is agnostic and can be deployed in any environment on any device. It features six analytics modules:
model, formulate, discover, illustrate, present, and publish.
Hybrid Deployment
The platform can be deployed in any environment. It features an open, flexible, multi-tiered architecture that can
be scaled out and up by tier. Analytics OS can run on any Java-based platform, and offers a scalable repository
that uses optimized container images that can be deployed in any ANSI SQL-compliant setting.
Data Modeling
Pyramid v2020 features modeling on any ANSI-SQL-compliant source, big data engine, Microsoft engine, or
Pyramid’s internal in-memory engine. In-place modeling allows users to model data where it lives via shared
queries to SQL, Apache/Hadoop engines, ANSI SQL, or to centralized locations like Pyramid’s in-memory (IMDB)
or SQL Analysis Services.
Bottom Line
Pyramid v2020 includes SAP BW Integration, which enables users to directly connect to SAP BW and natively
interact with cubes and queries without ingesting data. Users can mash their SAP data with other sources as
well. An ETL 2.0 feature (designed for power users and data scientists) upgrades the Pyramid Analytics data
modeling and wrangling capabilities. The new Augmented Machine Learning Server in v2020 lets administrators
create standard environments for specific machine learning projects. Users can then standardize distinct Python
environments to ensure machine learning execution.
Qlik
Qlik offers a broad spectrum of BI and analytics tools, which is headlined by the 150 N. Radnor Chester Rd
company’s flagship offering, Qlik Sense. The solution enables organizations to
Radnor, PA
combine all their data sources into a single view. The Qlik Analytics Platform
allows users to develop, extend and embed visual analytics in existing United States
applications and portals. Embedded functionality is done within a common +1 (888) 828-9768
governance and security framework. Users can build and embed Qlik as simple www.qlik.com
mashups or integrate within applications, information services or IoT platforms.
Qlik has added a slew of augmented analytics features in the last calendar year.
B
Key Features
Associative Engine
The in-memory engine allows users to combine an organization’s entire library of data. Users can index every
possible relationship with data to explore relationships in any direction. There are no pre-aggregated data and
predefined queries, and users can create analytics without having to build new queries.
Data Discovery
QlikView allows organizations to create business-driven data discoveries with guided analysis paths that are
customizable and tightly governed. It features top-down control of analytics apps, permissions, and data
management. In addition, granular control of dashboards, layouts, and design allows for centralization of
applications. QlikView also offers data integration, advanced reporting and global search.
Security
Qlik offers a single governance framework to allow for common security, manageability and re-usability. The
platform can be deployed on one server and scale to address processing requirements whether on-prem or
cloud. Included high performance in-memory analytics handle data while aligning to a specific security model.
Bottom Line
Recent capabilities included in Qlik Sense Enterprise are aimed at advancing the company’s foray into 3rd-
generation BI, which include data democratization, augmented analytics, and embedded analytics. In addition
to deploying Qlik Sense on Qlik Cloud Services, customers can use the platform on Kubernetes in the public
or private cloud of choice. Every Qlik deployment option now works as part of Qlik’s multi-cloud deployment
framework that can be managed as one instance. Core capabilities of Qlik Sense Cloud Business includes self-
service app creation, visual data preparation, smart search, and automated AI-generated insights.
Salesforce
The Salesforce Einstein Analytics platform is available in a number of flavors Landmark at One Market
based on role, industry and included features. The product’s automated data
San Francisco, CA
discovery capabilities enable users to answer questions based on transparent
and understandable AI models. Users can also tailor analytics to their use case United States
and enhance insights with precise recommendations and specific guidance. +1 (844) 848-1057
Einstein lets you create advanced experiences using customizable templates, www.salesforce.com
third-party apps, or custom-build dashboards as well.
Key Features
Data Management
Einstein includes built-in data management that enables users to connect and clean all kinds of data. Users can
sync Salesforce and non-Salesforce data via pre-packaged connectors for enterprise applications, database
services, data warehouse, and file-based data source and website analytics. There’s also self-contained ETL,
visual data preparation, and a scalable data mart.
No-Code AI
Einstein’s AI provides predictions and real-time recommendations, and requires no technical coding experience.
The AI produces narrative explanations and natural language generation, as well as model transparency and
predictive and prescriptive analytics. The tool also includes “one-click” storytelling and automated discovery.
Discovery and Analytics Studio

Users can build AI-powered analytics apps from scratch or via a package of pre-built templates. Einstein Analytics
Fast Start templates enable you to create an app to get best-practice datasets, dashboards, and KPIs that matter
most. Creation is as simple as answering questions in the configuration wizard that generates a curated analytic
experience.
Bottom Line
Salesforce offers a growing number of modern BI and analytics capabilities, as well as augmented data discovery
and preparation. The platform can host both Salesforce and non-Salesforce data, though Einstein remains
natively integrated with the Salesforce business application ecosystem. Salesforce touts perhaps the largest
partner ecosystem of any provider listed in this buyer’s guide that makes use of the vendor’s embedded content
features. Salesforce acquired in Tableau Software in June of 2019, a move that has enabled it to merge the two
offerings together to offer customers a full-featured BI portfolio in the near future.
SAP
SAP offers a broad range of BI and analytics tools in both enterprise and Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 16
business-user driven editions. The company’s flagship BI portfolio is delivered
69190 Walldorf
via on-prem (BusinessObjects Enterprise), and cloud (BusinessObjects Cloud)
deployments atop the SAP HANA Cloud. SAP also offers a suite of traditional BI Germany
capabilities for dashboards and reporting. The vendor’s data discovery tools are +49 (0) 6227 / 7-47474
housed in the BusinessObjects solution, while additional functionality, including www.sap.com
self-service visualization, are available through the SAP Lumira tool set. SAP is
popularly chosen as a company-wide BI standard, especially if an organization
also plans to use the company’s application offerings.
Key Features
Dashboards
BusinessObjects dashboards allow users to personalize drag-and-drop functionality and interactive gauges,
charts and widgets. In addition, dashboards provide IT and business users with direct connectivity to live data
sources. Dashboards can also be embedded so users can view them wherever necessary.
Self-Service Data Visualization

SAP Lumira allows organizations to create interactive maps, charts, and infographics. Users can import data
from Excel and many other sources, perform visual BI analysis using intuitive dashboards, and securely share
insights and data stories cross-enterprise.
Predictive Analytics
SAP offers predictive analytics in both on-prem and cloud versions. The capability allows organizations to
automate data preparation, predictive modeling, and deployment via in-database predictive scoring for a wide
variety of target systems. Users can also leverage advanced visualization capabilities and integrate with R.
Bottom Line
SAP’s BI and analytics tools are available through a number of deployment channels. As a result, the company’s
legacy BI functionality can be integrated into its newer offerings for modern use cases. SAP is available on-prem
and in the cloud via its own HANA cloud platform. Organizations typically deploy SAP via a ‘vendor stack’, which,
in this scenario where product offerings are so far advanced, is not a major issue. According to Gartner, product
quality is a problem given the company’s attempt at developing two parallel product lines (BusinessObjects
Enterprise, BusinessObjects Cloud).
SAS
SAS is the largest independent vendor in the BI marketplace. The company’s 100 SAS Campus Dr
flagship platform, SAS Visual Analytics, is available on-prem or in the cloud.
Cary, NC
Visual Analytics allows users to visually explore data to automatically highlight
key relationships, outliers, and clusters. Users can also take advantage of United States
advanced visualizations and guided analysis through autocharting. SAS has +1 919-677-8000
made its name as a result of advanced analytics, as the tool can ingest data www.sas.com
from diverse data sources and handle complex models. In addition to BI, SAS
offers data management, IoT, personal data protection, and Hadoop tools.
Key Features
Advanced Analytics
Dynamic charts and graphs enable fast data interaction via automated and interactive processes that work in
both batch and real-time environments. Users can apply quality-tested algorithms that are constantly updated to
reflect the latest statistical methodologies. SAS features a wide variety of analysis methods as well.
Visual Data Discovery

SAS Visual Analytics provides visual data exploration that automatically highlights key relationships, outliers and
clusters. Users can create interactive reports and dashboards that summarize key performance metrics, and
share them via the web and on mobile.
Microservices Architecture
SAS Viya is the company’s microservice architecture that allows users to easily navigate between on-prem cloud
data stores and deployments. This update is a boon to existing customers, as one of the cautions with the SAS
platform was poor interoperability between cloud and on-prem implementations.
Bottom Line
SAS is a major player in enterprise BI and analytics software. The company’s advanced and predictive analytic
technologies, which include forecasting, text analytics, and decision trees, are excellent. Data scientists can
extend these capabilities using the integrated Visual Statistics tool. SAS caters to a wide range of verticals, and
users particularly enjoy ease of use in accessing Hadoop and NoSQL data. The company recently added new
machine learning, computer vision, and natural language processing capabilities to its flagship platform. These
developments are part of the company’s billion-dollar investment in AI.
Sigma Computing
Sigma Computing offers a no-code business intelligence and analytics solution 90 New Montgomery St
designed for use with cloud data warehouses. The product features an intuitive,
San Francisco, CA
spreadsheet-like user interface that provides users with the familiarity of Excel.
Guided data warehouse access ensures that data remains secure, compliant, United States
and in context. When users take action in Sigma, it automatically translates www.sigmacomputing.com
them into SQL. All queries are run live against the cloud data warehouse, and
the results are passed back to Sigma. Sigma Computing was founded in 2014.
B
Key Features
Visual Data Modeling
Sigma’s spreadsheet-like UI lets users collaborate using SQL and/or visual modeling to build contextual model.
Models are live and adaptable, and you can also pre-model joins between data sources and models in a way that
gives non-technical users a guided path for exploration.
Embedded Analytics
Sigma enables the simple creation of interactive dashboards that can be embedded into internal or external
applications. The product also lets users control who can see what in the embedded analytics, including the
ability to securely view only their own data while not needing a login.
Security
Sigma sits atop a cloud database and uses a secure connection to query your data warehouse directly. It writes
a query to access the data needed to answer your question and returns the results in the browser. Other key
security features include immutable hosts, container checking, and threat detection.
Bottom Line
Sigma Computing recently announced the release of a collection of major updates to its cloud BI and analytics
platform which are highlighted by interactive dashboards that enable collaboration between technical and non-
technical users. Sigma also unveiled a new Application Embedding capability that allows dashboards to be
embedded into applications with inherited access roles and permissions. The new dashboards provide more
choices for managing data updating in real-time as underlying data and analysis change. Sigma is a vendor to
track closely in 2022.
Sisense
Sisense is a global business analytics software company with offices in New 1359 Broadway
York City, Phoenix, Tokyo, and Tel Aviv. The company’s BI software makes it easy
New York, NY
for organizations to reveal business insight from complex data in any size, and
from any source. Sisense allows users to combine data and uncover insights United States
in a single interface without scripting, coding or assistance from IT. Its BI and +1 (646) 432-1507
analytics platform is sold as a single-stack solution with a back end for preparing www.sisense.com
and modeling data. It also features expansive analytical capabilities, and a front-
end for dashboarding and visualization.
B
Key Features
Data Preperation
Organizations can prepare, manage, and secure data without supplemental technology or IT involvement. Users
can access information from any data source, drag-and-drop to combine, and clean up defects for error-free
analysis and better insights.
Interactive Analytics
Sisense turns any user into an analytics expert with advanced capabilities, instant response time, and smart
shortcuts. Organizations can filter, explore, and mine data for answers to important business questions.
Data Engine
Sisense hastens data connection so organizations can get up-and-running with ease. The solution is offered on a
single-stack, browser basis. Users are enabled to take advantage of accessibility and mobility on data, and data
and dashboards can be shared with everyone inside an organization.
Bottom Line
Sisense offers a single platform that runs on in-chip technology for visual data discovery on web-based dashboards.
Due to unique technology and an emphasis on end-user experience, Sisense is most appropriate for organizations
that want to analyze large amounts of data from multiple sources. The company’s OEM partner network is strong,
and users report high praise for customer experience. The ability for organizations to white label Sisense and use
APIs to extend analytic content are also major value-adds. Sisense unveiled a new AI-driven analytics platform
called Sisense Fusion in February 2021.
Tableau
Tableau offers an expansive visual BI and analytics platform, and is widely 837 North 34th St
regarded as the major player in the marketplace. The company’s analytic software
Seattle, WA
portfolio is available through three main channels: Tableau Desktop, Tableau
Server, and Tableau Online. Tableau connects to hundreds of data sources and United States
is available on-prem or in the cloud. The vendor also offers embedded analytics +1 (206) 633-3400
capabilities, and users can visualize and share data with Tableau Public. Tableau www.tableausoftware.com
was acquired by Salesforce for nearly $16 billion in June 2019.
Key Features
Tableau Desktop
Tableau Desktop provides visual data discovery, and connects to big data, an SQL database, or cloud apps like
Google Analytics and Salesforce. Users can access and combine disparate data without writing code, and power
users can pivot, split, and manage metadata to optimize data sources.
Tableau Server
Tableau Server provides a governed approach to self-service analytics that allows central management of
metadata and security rules. Tableau integrates with existing security protocols, and users can maintain
database security with pass-through data connection permissions and row-level filtering. Flexible deployment is
also a key tenet.
Tableau Online
Tableau Online is fully hosted in the cloud, so organizations can avoid configuring servers, managing software
upgrades, and scaling hardware capacity. Users can connect to cloud databases like Amazon Redshift and
Google BigQuery, and live query on-prem databases or schedule extract refreshes.
Bottom Line
Tableau 2021 features the introduction of Business Science, a “new class of AI-powered analytics” that enables
business users to take advantage of data science techniques. Business Science is delivered via Einstein Discovery.
The release also touts key additions aimed at simplifying analytics at scale and expanding the Tableau ecosystem
to help different user personas understand their environment. Subsequent patches have seen the product get new
augmented analytics tools and enterprise-focused subscription plans.
Targit
TARGIT’s flagship BI product is Decision Suite, an integrated platform that offers Aalborgvej 94
visual data discovery, self-service analytics, reporting, and dashboards. The
9800 Hjørring
solution features a range of deployment options, and users can access the tool
through Windows, web, or mobile clients. Organizations can also embed TARGIT Denmark
into the applications they use most. TARGIT touts an in-memory database and +45 96 23 19 00
back-end tool set, which means the platform can be run as a complete end-to- www.targit.com
end solution. TARGIT was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Cambridge,
Massachusetts. The company was acquired by GRO Capital in February of 2017.
Key Features
Data Integration
TARGIT offers four data integration delivery types: self-service, in-memory databases, multidimensional
databases, and direct to data source. In addition to connecting to a range of data sources with TARGIT InMemory
drag-and-dropETL, users can utilize complex ETL with the vendor’s proprietary scripting language (only SQL
skills needed).
Embedded Analytics
Decision Suite can be accessed on applications that organizations use most with embedded BI via TARGIT
Anywhere. Users can embed the solution on company portals, business applications, or public-facing websites.
The client is lightweight and provides the same dashboards, reports, and analyses that are present within the
tool itself.
Data Discovery
TARGIT includes out-of-the-box connectors to CSV, Excel, Google Docs, and more. Users can also add other
popular providers for additional access to in-house data sources. The tool features both personal and enterprise
modes of the module, and the user interface is built for business users with no SQL or programming skills
required.
Bottom Line
TARGIT offers a modern BI and analytics platform that includes built-in data integration capabilities. The solution
runs securely on-prem, in the cloud or in a hosted environment. TARGIT Decision Suite supports all major
relational and multidimensional database technologies. The provider’s 2019 platform refresh included an entirely
new design experience, fully integrated reporting, super intelligent documents, and new mobile apps. TARGIT has
also upgraded to the tool’s installer to improve the entire upgrade and installation process.
Tellius
Tellius offers a search and AI-powered data analytics platform. The product 12700 Sunrise Valley Dr
features a proprietary Genius AI Engine that is designed to allow business users
Reston, VA
ask questions about their data. Tellius has natural language processing that
interacts with users in plain language and creates narratives alongside data United States
visualizations as well. The tool can also provide personalized recommendations +1 (703) 673-0113
by anticipating needs and automatically offering related insights and suggestions. www.tellius.com
Tellius is built on the Apache Spark distributed architecture.
Key Features
Self-Service Analytics
Tellius search-driven analytics enable cross-organization self-service. Natural language query allows users to
ask questions while the machine learning learns your business vocabulary. Conversational analytics help to
facilitate a dialogue between user and data to produce context.
Genius Insights
Tellius hastens data analysis with machine learning algorithms that automatically discover trends and relationships
in your data. AI-powered insights are available to any user through natural language query, dashboards, and data
story building. There is no need for manual pre-processing of data.
Automated Machine Learning

Automated machine learning enables users to build and evaluate models automatically, create and tune custom
models, and productionalize models and collaborate with others. Tellius also maintains a library of machine
learning models for regression, classification, time series analysis, clustering, and recommendations.
Bottom Line
Tellius is a key player in the burgeoning augmented analytics space. Its platform supports complex analytical
search and other ad hoc comparisons and calculations. Recommendations are based on user questions and
user’s learned behavior. Explainable AI is a main feature of the product, and the Genius Insights Engine helps
users understand why something has changed, as well as get answers to questions automatically by analyzing
a combination of data points. The company released a new Quick Start capability inside a major platform update
last May.
ThoughtSpot
ThoughtSpot offers an artificial intelligence-driven analytics platform that 1 Palo Alto Square
features what the company dubs ‘the world’s first relational search engine.’ The
Palo Alto, CA
tool combines relational search with a custom-built, in-memory relational data
cache to speed up queries that are run over many lines of data. ThoughtSpot United States
connects with any on-prem, cloud, big data, or desktop data source. ThoughtSpot +1 (800) 508-7008
includes a feature called Answer Explorer that helps users find the right questions www.thoughtspot.com
to ask by serving up suggestions based on terms frequently used with similar
data sets. This allows users to accept suggestions to filter, add or compare
metrics, or break them down by dimensions. The company is located in Palo
Alto, CA, and was founded in 2012.
Key Features
Relational Search
Use search to build charts and dashboards for even the most complex queries. The tool always shares how a
search is computed, so there is no end-user interpretation. An automatic search index, guided search suggestions,
and search inspector are integral parts of the relational engine.
SpotIQ AI Engine
SpotIQ uses built-in artificial intelligence to run advanced analytics algorithms on many data points and
automatically reveal insights that are uniquely actionable. Users guide machine logic to ensure relevant machine-
discovered conclusions.
BI & Visualization Server

Intelligent query generation allows any user to search across complex schemas using natural language. Automatic
visualizations provide every user the ability to create their own interactive visuals. Users can also create shared
metadata models complete with business logic on combined datasets so answers remain consistent.
Bottom Line
ThoughtSpot’s analytics platform is heavily influenced by artificial intelligence and automation. While it may seem
complex, ease of use is actually a strength of the product. It features a full-stack architecture and intuitive insight
generation capabilities via the in-memory calculation engine. A distributed cluster manager provides customizable
scaling options, and support for existing ETL solutions ensures proper connectivity to desired data sources. The
ThoughtSpot Embrace service allows you to run search and AI analytics directly in existing databases, and adds
support for Google Cloud Storage as well. ThoughtSpot raised $100 million in venture capital in 2021.
TIBCO
TIBCO’s product capabilities are expansive, and range from data integration and 212 Elm St
API management to visual analytics, reporting, and data science. The company’s
Somerville, MA
BI and analytics portfolio comes in two main iterations: TIBCO Spotfire and
TIBCO Jaspersoft. TIBCO Spotfire is the company’s more modern platform. It United States
features interactive visualization, data preparation, enterprise-class governance, +1 (617) 702-1600
and advanced analytic capabilities. TIBCO Jaspersoft supports traditional www.tibco.com
reporting and embedded BI functionality. TIBCO is publicly traded and based in
Palo Alto, California.
Key Features
AI-Driven Search and Data Discovery
Spotfire Smart Data Catalog allows users to visually interact with data to automatically discover relationships,
sentiments, and recommendations via built-in artificial intelligence. Any user can create best practice visualizations
via the Recommendations Wizard so anyone can view a guided experience that helps communicate complex
concepts.
Data Access
Users can connect to and blend data from files, relational and NoSQL databases, OLAP, Hadoop, and web
services. Cloud applications like Google Analytics and Salesforce are also supported. Streaming data sources
like IoT, social, and messaging can be integrated with at-rest data for real-time contextual analysis.
Big Data Analytics

TIBCO’s Insight Platform combines live streaming data with queries on large-at-rest volumes. Spotfire can
identify historical patterns running directly against Hadoop and Spark. Patterns can also be applied to streaming
data for predictive analysis. StreamBase and BusinessEvents support many approaches to insight execution
including R code running from many modeling environments.
Bottom Line
TIBCO offers perhaps the most feature-rich BI and analytics portfolio of any provider listed in this resource. In
addition, the traditional BI functionality offered in Jaspersoft, Spotfire provides expert users with the features
they need to run complex analysis. Spotfire users report satisfaction with the integration of TIBCO’s data science
tools, and a growing user community helps to offset what some see as an increasingly complex product to use.
However, license costs are a barrier to deployment. As a result, organizations commonly utilize other BI and
analytics tools alongside TIBCO.
Yellowfin
Yellowfin is an Australia-based BI and analytics company that specializes in 360 Elizabeth St
dashboards and data visualization. Its platform features a machine learning
Melbourne VIC 3000
algorithm called Assisted Insights that provides automatic answers in the form
of easy-to-understand best practice visualizations and narratives. Yellowfin Australia
comes pre-built with a variety of dashboards, and users can embed interactive +61 2-8404-4150
reports into third-party platforms, such as a web page, wiki, or company intranet. www.yellowfinbi.com
The company also offers native apps for mobile devices.
Key Features
Assisted Insights
Machine learning capabilities included inside Yellowfin provide immediate answers without the user having to
dig through data. Users ask the question they’re trying to answer, and the tool finds the data to analyze, runs it
through a series of steps to find the most statistically relevant results, and presents the answer.
Dashboards
Yellowfin allows users to see all their different data sources in one dashboard with high-level summary reports
and KPIs. The platform includes pre-built dashboards for web applications, and users can embed them into third-
party platforms. Users can monitor important metrics on any device with native mobile applications.
Data Visualization
Yellowfin includes more than 50 chart types, from trellis charts to GIS maps and infographics. The company’s
Location Intelligence capabilities allow users to merge spatial and traditional business data, and GeoPacks are
available to organizations without location information.
Bottom Line
Yellowfin has high customer ratings for ease of use and feature functionality. The company’s data platform is a
viable option for organizations that wish to deploy BI and analytics in the cloud. The most prominent use case for
Yellowfin is embedded BI, and the tool offers a completely web-based user interface. The Yellowfin 9.7 release
includes a new suite of Guided NLQ natural language query tools. Guided NLQ guides users through thousands of
comprehensively modelled question types and sequences so they can ask questions in plain language.
Zoho
Zoho Analytics (previously Zoho Reports) is a self-service BI and data analytics 4141 Hacienda Dr
tool that lets you incorporate data from a wide range of sources, blend it together,
Pleasanton, CA
and create cross-functional reports and dashboards. The product features a
simple drag-and-drop designer, as well as different visualization tools to drill United States
down to specifics. A “smart” assistant called Zia can answer user questions in the +1 (877) 834-4428
form of reports and KPI widgets via AI, machine learning and natural language www.zoho.com
processing. Users can share and publish reports and smart data alerts ping you
when outliers or anomalies happen. Zoho also includes a suite of integrations
for popular business apps.
Key Features
Broad Data Source Connectivity
Zoho data sync is automated and can be scheduled periodically. You can upload data from spreadsheets and flat
files like Excel, CSV, HTML, JSON, XML, and text files. Users can also feed data from online storage services like
Zoho Docs, Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, and Microsoft OneDrive. Data can be pulled from Web URL feeds as well.
Embedded BI
Zoho’s embedded BI capabilities enable users to embed interactive reports and dashboards within your
application. The product features a Single Sign-On API and SAML Authentication so customers can host a fully
branded analytics portal customized for your use case. Users can also customize their portal with rich design
elements like a login page, header, and business logo.
Zia
Zia is Zoho’s AI and machine learning engine that utilizes natural language processing to understand data and
automatically build reports and dashboards. Users can ask questions in natural language, and then Zia will
interpret it and generate the most appropriate chart from the relevant table. Over time, Zia independently adapts
to understand your unique data model.
Bottom Line
Zoho Analytics is a web-based BI tool best used for dashboard and report creation and features broad data
integration and data source connectivity. The solution includes a variety of charts, widgets, pivot tables and
tabular view components as well. Users can combine multiple reports into a single dashboard using the drag-and-
drop designer. Zoho also allows you to insert images, formatted text, widgets and web components in a designer
layout. Zoho dropped a new self-service and AI-powered version of its product in summer 2021.
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content within leading technology categories. Solutions Review’s mission is to connect buyers of enterprise
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Over the past four years, Solutions Review has launched ten technology buyer’s guide sites in categories
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data analytics, data integration, and cloud platforms.
Information for this report was gathered via a meta-analysis of available online materials and reports,
conversations with vendor representatives, and examinations of product demonstrations and free trials.
Solutions Review does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this publication and does not
advise technology users to base their vendor selection entirely on this research. Solutions Review disclaims
all warranties, expressed or implied, regarding this research, including any warranties of merchantability or
fitness for a particular purpose.

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BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

Timothy King, Senior Editor

B This solution offers Embedded BI

5 Questions You Should Ask When

What business problem(s) am I trying to solve?

Who are my BI users?

What are my must-have capabilities?

What are my expectations?

5 Questions You Should Ask Your

Can your BI tool scale with my business?

Can you provide customer recommendations?

Is there a support package included? What does it include?

What is the total cost of ownership (TCO)?

How long does deployment take?

Solution Provider Profiles

9 ....................................................................................... Amazon Web Services (AWS)

13 ..................................................................................... Hitachi Vantara

15 ..................................................................................... Infor Birst

17 ..................................................................................... Looker (Google)

21 ..................................................................................... Pyramid Analytics

Solution Provider Profiles

26 ..................................................................................... Sigma Computing

28 ..................................................................................... Tableau Software

Scalable Sharing and Collaboration

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Domo Integration Cloud

User Data Tier

Multi-Tenant Cloud Architecture

Self-Service BI and Enterprise Reporting

Oracle Big Data Discovery

Discovery and Analytics Studio

Self-Service Data Visualization

Visual Data Discovery

Automated Machine Learning

BI & Visualization Server

Big Data Analytics

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