SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO)
What is SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO)?
BI suite consisting of Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence and Analysis with a focus on reporting, analysis and dashboards, among others.
About SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO)
Self-description of the vendor
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SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO) BARC Review & Rating
Provider and product description
SAP was founded in Germany in 1972 as a business applications company. The vendor now employs more than 109,000 people worldwide and has a turnover of €34 billion, making it one of the largest business software vendors in the world.
SAP’s current strategy is centered around two core pillars: “AI-First” and “Suite-First”. This strategy aims to address customer needs for business transformation with AI, while leveraging SAP’s comprehensive suite of business applications. “AI-First” emphasizes the importance and use of AI in product development, focusing not only on integrating AI but also rethinking the user interaction with SAP products. “Suite-First” means delivering a seamless suite experience and end-to-end business processes across SAP’s product portfolio.
SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) – consisting of multiple existing and new services – was launched in February 2025 as SAP’s new end-to-end data & analytics solution. Among others, it includes data management services such as SAP Datasphere, SAP BW and SAP BW/4HANA, planning and analytics front-end SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC), AI assistant Joule and prebuilt content as well as intelligent applications. SAP BDC plays a crucial role in both the “AI-First” and “Suite-First” aspects of SAP’s strategy. To serve the “AI-First” strategy, it provides the necessary data foundation. In terms of the “Suite-First” strategy, the platform aims to build an integrated view of data across the SAP Business Suite.
SAP’s strategic direction for analytics centers around SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC). The SAP BusinessObjects (BO) Business Intelligence (BI) Suite (SAP BO BI) is part of SAP’s on-premises and managed cloud BI portfolio, which incorporates various end-user business intelligence tools with a moderate level of integration. The suite contains some strong individual products for reporting as well as several clients for various types of analysis. It also offers good capabilities for building customized guided BI applications that can be published to the web or mobile devices.
SAP has set BusinessObjects BI – including all related components (SAP Crystal Reports, SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence, SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office and SAP Lumira) – on maintenance by ensuring support until 2031 according to the latest statement of direction.
After a slight delay, the vendor made the SAP BusinessObjects BI 2025 release generally available in March 2025. This release will be supported until 2027. Simultaneously, SAP announced a BI 2027 version, which is scheduled to be delivered in 2027, with mainstream support until 2029. The vendor has committed to keeping BusinessObjects available both on-premises and as a managed cloud solution beyond 2030. The main components – Web Intelligence and Crystal Reports – are being enhanced with new features. SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office (Standard and SAC version) and SAP Lumira Designer will be maintained and supported without adding new features.
One of the recent improvements in Web Intelligence was the renewal of its dashboard capabilities. New visualizations (widgets) are intended to provide more modern layouts for desktop and mobile devices. Moreover, a new Web Intelligence Document eXtract (WIDX) format allows users to export and interact with dashboards offline. Improvements have also been made to the user interface and the performance of Crystal Reports Desktop Viewer.
Strengths and challenges of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO)
BARC’s viewpoint on the product’s strengths and challenges.
Strengths
- Suite of several mature tools with functionality ranging from formatted reporting to analysis.
- Mature functions for report distribution.
- Several business-user-oriented modules in Web Intelligence and Analysis for Office.
- Mobile deployment using mobile clients and HTML5 output.
- Experience in large installations.
Challenges
- Integration between the tools in the suite is mostly at data level only.
- Long release cycles and not much innovation in the suite due to the fact that the strategic data & analytics offering is SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC).
- Not a very strategic BI and analytics offering going forward. While the statement of direction is still unambitious and not reliable, it is clear that SAP Business Data Cloud (which includes SAP Analytics Cloud) is the future.
SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO) User Reviews & Experiences
The information contained in this section is based on user feedback and actual experience with SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO).
The information and figures are largely drawn from BARC’s The BI & Analytics Survey, The Planning Survey, The Financial Consolidation Survey and The Data Management Survey. You can find out more about these surveys by clicking on the relevant links.
Why users buy SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO) and what problems they have using it
- Get independent information on software solutions, market developments and trends in data, analytics, business intelligence, data science and corporate performance management.
- Make data & analytics decisions based on numbers, data, facts and expert knowledge
- Access to all premium articles and all our research, including all software comparison studies, scores and surveys.
- Unlimited access to the BARC media library
- Consume unlimited content anywhere
Full user reviews and KPI results for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO)
All key figures for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO) at a glance.
- Get independent information on software solutions, market developments and trends in data, analytics, business intelligence, data science and corporate performance management.
- Make data & analytics decisions based on numbers, data, facts and expert knowledge
- Access to all premium articles and all our research, including all software comparison studies, scores and surveys.
- Unlimited access to the BARC media library
- Consume unlimited content anywhere
Individual user reviews for SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BO)
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Bereits im Unternehmen eingeführt und skalierbar in der Anwenderzahl. Integration mit SAP Data Services. Integration der technischen und betriebswirtschaftlichen Metadaten; man kann z. B. feststellen, bei welchen Änderungen im Datenmodell welche Fachanwendergruppen und Berichte betroffen sind.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Eine Umstellung innerhalb der SAP-Frontend-Familie und ein Redesign des Datenmodells stehen an. Mit der Umstellung auf OLAP-Cubes wird die Anwendung deutlich schneller; keine LKi- oder CoPilot-Anwendung integrierbar.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Evaluierung eines Tools mit KI-Support und guter Metadaten-Unterstützung.
How would you sum up your experience?
Seit 2019 hat sich viel am Markt für BI-Tools getan, eine neue Evaluierung würde wahrscheinlich zu einem anderen BI-Tool führen.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Automatisierung und Verteilung an Empfänger, auch mit komplizierter Rechteverteilung, sind sehr leistungsfähig und schnell.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Der Support von SAP verlangt von dem Anwender einen hohen Aufwand bei den einzureichenden Unterlagen für ein Fehlerticket. Antwortzeiten für ein Angebot lagen jüngst bei sechs Wochen und erforderten diverse Nachfragen.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
–
How would you sum up your experience?
Es ist ein sehr leistungsstarkes Werkzeug, insbesondere bei sehr hohen Userzahlen und bei vollständiger Integration in ein vorhandenes Rollen- und Rechtesystem.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Die Weiterentwicklung in BO 2025 ist signifikant.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Mangelnde und einfache IT-Anbindung mit SAC. Mangelnder Sales-Push für BO, ausschließlich Fokus auf SAC. Kunden überlegen, BO zu ersetzen. Es ist dann oft genau nicht SAC, sondern häufig Power BI.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Gute Datengrundlage (Data Warehouse) etablieren. Gute Universen erstellen, die sowohl Standard-Reporting als auch Self-Service/Ad-hoc-Abfragen unterstützen. Keine Datenfriedhöfe als Reports erstellen. Keine eierlegende Wollmilchsau-Reports erstellen. Im Standard bleiben. Kein SDK-Einsatz.
How would you sum up your experience?
Ein etabliertes Reporting- und Analyse-Tool mit einer bewährten BO BI Plattform. Granulare Autorisierung ist möglich.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Ability to merge multiple datasets. Ability to create complex reports and pull data from other data sources, other than a relational database. User-friendly interface with a powerful metadata management tool in Information Design Tool (IDT). Also, great security features that allow customers to only access their own data. The licensing model is also great, as it uses concurrent users, providing great value instead of having to license 200+ users.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
We are currently on Business Objects 4.3, which has limited visualization abilities outside of the tool. However, my understanding is that BI 2025 will have the ability to create widgets that will be accessible via our portal. That is a great additional feature.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Make sure the server requirements are met and exceeded. Utilize contexts well to help users' ability to create workable reports without the fear of reporting non-compatible objects. So, be sure to make universe design the top priority when setting up the environment.
How would you sum up your experience?
SAP Business Objects Web Intelligence has proven to be a great reporting tool, as many vendors are unable to provide the reporting that we can offer our users by having such a strong reporting tool. Web Intelligence allows users to create customized reports for themselves without having to rely on the vendor to build the report for them.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Integration in Microsoft Office.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
–
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Umgang mit Microsoft Excel sollte bekannt sein.
How would you sum up your experience?
Teilweise etwas längere Ladezeiten – ansonsten sehr benutzerfreundlich, wenn man die grundlegende Nutzung kennt.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Die Performance.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Die Übersicht des Backends.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Bessere Assistenten anbieten.
How would you sum up your experience?
Ordentliches und schnelles Tool.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Flexibler Einsatz für die Fachbereiche durch eigene Queries.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Grafiken sind auf Basis von Excel möglich. Strukturen müssen teilweise umständlich aufgebaut werden.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
–
How would you sum up your experience?
Es ist ein Tool, das für uns funktioniert, aber es ist keine State-of-the-Art-Lösung.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Excel-ähnlich, einfach für die Anwender.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Fehlender Migrationspfad der Vorgängerlösung (SAP BEx).
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Bei Umstieg von BEx - vorher aufräumen, um unnötige Umstellungen zu vermeiden.
How would you sum up your experience?
Nachfolger der Vorgängerlösung, weniger gut integriert, mehr Aufwand.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Gute Werkzeuge für die Data Analysten.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Performance. Support durch SAP.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Das System würde ich zur Einführung nicht empfehlen. Produktstrategie des Herstellers ist unklar.
How would you sum up your experience?
Für einfaches Reporting gut geeignet.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Integration in Excel. Man kann sich flexibel selbst Abfragen bauen oder Sichten zurecht ziehen.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Nicht mehr State-of-the-Art. Wenig grafische Möglichkeiten. Dashboards müssen in Excel erstellt werden und werden aufwändig verknüpft.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Analysis for Office ist alt und sollte heute nicht mehr eingeführt werden, stattdessen SAP Analytics Cloud oder wenn man sich von SAP lösen kann, lieber Power BI einsetzen.
How would you sum up your experience?
Die Datenmodelle im Hintergrund sind entscheidend, aber ansonsten kann man mit dem Tool schon sehr viel, sehr schnell analysieren.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Die Modellierung im BO-Universum.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Fortschrittliche Anlaysefunktionen.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Bindet die Endanwender möglichst früh in die Prozesse ein und stellt sicher, dass die Prozesse in allen Abteilungen und Gesellschaften einheitlich sind.
How would you sum up your experience?
Im Großen und Ganzen sehr gut.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Fiabilité.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Tres versatile couvrant tant l'operationnel que le decisionnel.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Choisissez le bon sponsor.
How would you sum up your experience?
Très bonne. La version visuelle 4.3 est une régression par rapport à la 4.2.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Ce n'est pas l'outil en tant que tel mais l'accès à la data qu'il offre.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Une fois extraite pour l'analyse des données souvent export.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Accorder beaucoup d'attention à la construction des Univers, à la performance (rapidité d'accès aux données) et à la qualité des données.
How would you sum up your experience?
Plutôt bonne même si les versions historiques de BusinessObjects étaient plus facile d'utilisation que la version Web.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
For quick ad-hoc analysis it works well.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Software is not stable - seems to have a lot of issues with Microsoft Office Integration.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Rather look at the SAP Analytics Cloud Add-in for Microsoft Excel and SAP DataSphere.
How would you sum up your experience?
Overall does what it is designed to do.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Ability to handle volume. Good integration with SAP ERP and SAP BW. Ability to schedule reports. Cross functional module reporting ability.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Format flexibility. Not as appealing as Power BI.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Extremely useful if you are on SAP ERP. Under rated because of tight integration only with SAP.
How would you sum up your experience?
Great reporting tool. Lot of potential. Product should get more attention of product vendor (SAP) as well as those using SAP as their ERP.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Good integration to SAP ERP and good embedding into Microsoft Excel.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
It lack data modelling capabilities for end users. It does not live up to current standards to support dashboards, graphics and usability.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Consider SAP Analytics Cloud.
How would you sum up your experience?
Good but needs to be replaced with a cloud BI product.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Flexibilität in Verbindung mit Excel-Funktionalitäten.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Teilweise instabil bei größeren Arbeitsmappen mit vielen Queries.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Analysis sollte hauptsächlich nur von Experten genutzt werden. Andere User sollten eher auf Dashboardlösungen wie der SAP Analytics Cloud ausweichen.
How would you sum up your experience?
Analysis for Office lädt Enduser dazu ein, Ihre eigenen Berichte aufzubauen, was leider auch zu Wildwuchs und Problemen geführt hatte, da teilweise ganze Dashboards dort gebaut wurden, obwohl es für diese Anforderungen bessere Tools gibt.
Number of employees
Industry
Source
What do you like best?
Intuitive Benutzeroberfläche.
What do you like least/what could be improved?
Noch geringere Fehlerquote/weniger Bugs beim Release neuer BO Softwareversionen.
What key advice would you give to other companies looking to introduce/use the product?
Wenn viele SAP-Datenquellen im Einsatz sind, macht die Einführung von SAP BO Produkten Sinn, um einen großen Benefit zu generieren.
How would you sum up your experience?
Schon seit über 15 Jahren solide im Einsatz, weshalb es sich bewährt hat.
