Business Intelligence (BI) and/or Business Analytics (BA) platforms are crucial tools for all business organizations striving to make more accurate, data-driven decisions, enhance operational efficiency, and gain valuable insights into their business’s performance. There are dozens of BI and BA tools available, but five stand out based on their widespread adoption and robust feature sets: Tableau, Microsoft Power BI, Qlik Sense, Domo, and SAS Viya. In this article, we’ll explore the key features, pros, and cons of each of these platforms to help you choose the right tool for your needs… if it is indeed one of these platforms. There are others, of course, including ORI, which stands out due to its best-in-class data integration, ongoing management, and fastest time-to-value in the industry. (Note: if you’re more specifically looking for help with demand planning, have a look at our complete overview of top demand planning software tools.)

So what are the top 5 best BI tools or business intelligence platforms?

Here’s a more detailed look at each of these top BI software tools.

1. Tableau: Leading data visualization BI tool

Tableau, acquired by Salesforce in 2019 for $15.7 billion, is widely regarded as one of the most powerful and user-friendly data visualization platforms available, consistently ranking among the top BI tools. It is designed to help users create interactive and shareable dashboards that display data in a visually appealing way, making it easier to identify trends, patterns, and insights.

Key features

• Data connectivity: Tableau supports a broad range of data sources, including SQL databases, cloud services, spreadsheets, and big-data technologies.
• Visualization capabilities: Known for its drag-and-drop functionality, Tableau offers a wide range of visualization options, from basic charts to complex heatmaps and geographic maps.
• Real-time analytics: Tableau offers real-time data connectivity, allowing businesses to perform live analytics as new data streams in.
• Dashboard sharing and collaboration: Users can easily share dashboards and collaborate on findings via Tableau Server or Tableau Online.
• Mobile compatibility: Tableau’s mobile apps allow for seamless access to reports and dashboards on smartphones and tablets, an increasingly important feature.

Pros

• User-friendly interface: Even non-technical users can create sophisticated-looking visualizations without a steep learning curve.
• Comprehensive visualization options: Tableau is particularly known for its ability to produce visually compelling and interactive data visualizations.
• Large online community and resources: Tableau has a strong user community, offering a wealth of resources, from training materials to forums and online events.
• Scalability: Suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises, with options to scale and integrate with other Salesforce tools.

Cons

• High cost: Though it is technically suitable for less-than-large businesses, Tableau can be expensive, especially for small or mid-sized businesses. The cost of licensing either Tableau Server or Tableau Online can be a significant investment, so be sure to work with your sales representative for a robust demo period before committing your dough.
• Steep learning curve for more advanced features: While basic features are intuitive, mastering advanced functions and/or building complex dashboards can require significant time to learn the ropes.
• Limited data preparation capabilities: Some say Tableau’s data preparation features are not as robust as some other platforms, which may require external tools for data prep, depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.

2. Microsoft Power BI: Comprehensive, cost-effective business analytics software

Microsoft Power BI is a cloud-based business analytics platform that enables users to easily visualize data and share insights across an organization. Power BI integrates seamlessly with Microsoft’s suite of products, including Excel, Azure, and SQL Server, making it an appealing option for businesses already using Microsoft’s tools.

Key features

• Data connectivity: Power BI supports a wide range of data sources, including on-premise databases, cloud services like Azure, and third-party apps such as Google Analytics and Salesforce.
• Power Query for data transformation: Power BI includes the Power Query feature for transforming and cleaning data before analysis, which adds flexibility to the data preparation process.
• AI integration: Power BI features built-in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, including machine learning models and natural language queries.
• Real-time analytics: Real-time dashboards and streaming data are supported, which is crucial for businesses requiring up-to-the-minute reporting.
• Customizable dashboards and reports: Create personalized dashboards and reports with a user-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
• Mobile access: Power BI’s mobile app allows users to access reports and dashboards on the go, and integrates seamlessly with the desktop version.

Pros

• Affordable pricing: Power BI offers an attractive pricing structure, including a free version for individual users and affordable per-user pricing for large enterprises.
• Seamless Microsoft integration: As noted above, for businesses already using Microsoft products, Power BI provides ready integration with other tools such as Excel, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams.
• Easy to use for beginners: Power BI’s basic interface is intuitive and accessible to users without a technical background, making it easier to get started.
• Continuous improvement: Microsoft consistently adds new features and updates, keeping Power BI competitive and relevant.

Cons

• Limited advanced visualization capabilities: While Power BI offers many useful charts and visualizations, some advanced options (for example, from Tableau) are not possible with Power BI (at least, not yet).
• Performance issues with ultra-large datasets: Users report Power BI can become slow or bogged-down when working with extremely large datasets, requiring teams to carefully manage data models and requests.
• Steep learning curve for advanced features: While it is easy to get started with Power BI, learning how to use advanced features, such as DAX (Data Analysis Expressions), can take time. This is generally the case with most BI tools, however.

3. Qlik Sense: Self-service business analytics and data exploration

Qlik Sense is a business analytics platform that empowers users to explore and visualize data through a (mostly) self-service interface. It offers both cloud and on-site software/platform options and is famous for its associative data model, which allows users to explore data in an interactive and intuitive manner.

Key features

• Associative data modeling: Qlik’s associative model enables users to explore relationships between different data points and uncover hidden insights across datasets without predefined paths.
• Data discovery: Qlik Sense focuses on data discovery and exploration, enabling users to analyze data dynamically and identify trends and outliers.
• Advanced analytics integration: Qlik Sense integrates with R and Python, allowing advanced users to implement statistical models and machine-learning algorithms.
• Self-service reporting and dashboarding: Users can create customized reports and dashboards on their own, with the ability to drill deeper into data for more granular insights when desired.
• Collaboration tools: Qlik Sense facilitates collaboration by allowing users to easily share dashboards and reports with other team members, promoting collective decision-making.

Pros

• Powerful data exploration: As mentioned above, the associative data model is a unique feature of Qlik Sense that sets it apart from competitors, allowing users to easily navigate and explore data and discover connections or patterns.
• Highly customizable: Users can individually tailor reports, dashboards, and visualizations to meet specific needs. Pretty much anything you can imagine is possible.
• Scalable: Qlik Sense is highly scalable and can accommodate a wide range of business sizes, from small teams to large enterprises.
• Integration with big data: Qlik Sense is capable of handling large data sets and integrating with existing big-data platforms, making it suitable for businesses that work with complex data sets.

Cons

• Steep learning curve: As a primarily self-service platform, Qlik Sense has a steeper learning curve compared to more straightforward BI tools like Power BI, especially for beginners who may struggle with its interface at first.
• Expensive pricing: While Qlik Sense offers significant flexibility depending on features desired and the number of users, the pricing can still be prohibitive for small businesses or startups.
• Complexity in data preparation: Qlik Sense’s data preparation process can be challenging, especially when dealing with complex datasets that may require advanced technical knowledge.

4. Domo: Cloud-based BI for enterprise-grade analytics

Domo is a cloud-based platform designed for business intelligence, data integration, and analytics. Known for its powerful cloud infrastructure and comprehensive data integration capabilities (as well as its cringeworthy advertising campaigns), Domo allows businesses to collect, manage, and analyze data from a wide array of sources in real-time.

Key features

• Cloud-native platform: Domo is built entirely in the cloud, making it easy to scale and access data from anywhere, without the need for on-site infrastructure.
• Data integration: Domo is the big dog when it comes to cross-platform integrations, offering more than 1,000 pre-built integrations with third-party applications, including Google Analytics, Salesforce, and social media platforms.
• Real-time analytics: Domo enables real-time data analysis, allowing businesses to stay up-to-date with the latest metrics and insights.
• Collaboration tools: Domo integrates social collaboration features, so users can easily share insights and communicate about data directly within the platform.
• Custom dashboards and reports: Domo allows users to build custom dashboards and reports with a drag-and-drop interface.
• Data governance: Domo includes features to help teams and executives enforce data governance, ensuring that data usage complies with internal policies and external regulations.

Pros

• Comprehensive data integration: As we touched on above, Domo excels at pulling data from a wide variety of sources, allowing for a comprehensive view of business performance from multiple perspectives.
• Real-time collaboration: The built-in collaboration features make it easy for teams to work together on data insights and decision-making.
• Cloud-based: Again, since it’s built from the ground up in the cloud, Domo allows for easy scaling and access from anywhere, reducing the need for dedicated IT support and hardware.
• User-friendly interface: The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for non-technical users to create dashboards and reports.

Cons

• High pricing: Domo can be prohibitively expensive, especially for smaller businesses or startups. The cost of Domo licensing is one of its primary drawbacks for many potential customers. But many find it worth the buy-in.
• Complex data preparation: Although Domo integrates with numerous data sources, it can be challenging to prepare complex data for analysis without additional technical expertise. It takes a while to “learn Domo” well enough to do what you want sometimes, and those who have learned Domo and other platforms sometimes complain that Domo makes things needlessly complicated.
• Limited advanced analytics features: While Domo excels in data visualization and multi-source integration, it lacks some of the advanced statistical and machine-learning capabilities found in other platforms (like SAS Viya; see below).
• Can be slow: Some users report that Domo can be very sluggish when loading visualizations such as complex dashboards and large reports or those that pull from multiple sources.

5. SAS Viya: Advanced analytics for big-data capability

SAS Viya is an advanced analytics platform designed to handle large-scale data analytics, machine learning, and data science. Known for its deep integration with artificial intelligence (AI) and its ability to process large datasets, SAS Viya is often chosen by larger enterprises that require robust and sophisticated analytics.

Key features

• Advanced analytics: SAS Viya offers cutting-edge analytics, including machine learning, deep learning, and AI capabilities, enabling businesses to extract deeper insights from their data.
• Big data support: The platform is built to handle and process massive datasets, making it ideal for enterprises dealing with big data.
• Cloud-based: SAS Viya is a cloud-based solution that can run on public or private clouds, providing flexibility in deployment.
• Collaboration and model management: SAS Viya enables users to collaborate on analytics projects and easily manage and deploy models across teams.
• Integration with Other SAS Tools: As you might expect the platform integrates seamlessly with other SAS tools, offering a complete suite of analytics solutions.

Pros

• Powerful Analytics and AI Capabilities: SAS Viya is one of the most advanced platforms for businesses needing sophisticated data analytics and AI tools.
• Big data handling: With its strong support for big data, SAS Viya is suitable for large enterprises and organizations that require complex data processing capabilities.
• Cloud flexibility: Being cloud-based, SAS Viya offers flexibility in how it is deployed, allowing businesses to scale resources as needed.

Cons

• High cost: SAS Viya can be prohibitively expensive for smaller organizations, especially considering its enterprise-level features.
• Complexity: Due to its advanced features and capabilities, SAS Viya requires highly skilled users, making it less suitable for those without a background in data science or analytics.
• Steep learning curve: Even for seasoned professionals, mastering SAS Viya can be time-consuming and challenging, especially when compared to simpler BI tools.

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Note: SAS Viya is a modern, cloud-native platform for data science and analytics, while SAS Business Analytics (formerly known as SAS Enterprise) is a comprehensive server-based platform for business analytics, offering a broader range of capabilities. The company says, “SAS Business Analytics combines SAS/ACCESS, SAS Add-In for Microsoft Office, SAS Data Preparation, SAS Studio and SAS Visual Analytics (on the SAS Viya platform) to provide all of the functionality needed to access, gather and visually explore all your data.” Viya is more flexible, however, and supports various programming languages (SAS, Python, R). We recommend consulting an SAS representative to dive more deeply into the differences and help you determine which is appropriate for your specific use case.

Bonus selection: ORI, purpose built for all-in-one S&OP, S&OE, and long-range planning

Operational Results Inc. was founded by one of the most respected and accomplished supply chain executives in the country. Today, ORI boasts the most thorough and effective solution in the industry and is trusted by elite companies including some of the world’s largest beverage businesses and restaurant chains.

Key features

• Extremely fast data engine: ORI’s Kinetic Data Engine is the fastest in the industry, up to 30x faster than many popular business intelligence systems.
• Data source agnostic: No matter where your data lives, you can get dynamic and actionable data insights that go beyond standard views. ORI is built on decades of industry success and the most intelligent technology in the industry.
• Access anytime, from anywhere: With ORI you can maintain continuity even if you’re migrating to a new ERP (enterprise resource planning) system. 

• Matchless cross-functional alignment: ORI’s Excellence Platform was built to serve the distinct purpose of ensuring constant alignment between sales, inventory, finance, and operations. It was purpose-built for cross-functional supply chain management.
• Highly affordable: Compared to other enterprise BI solutions, ORI provides greater value for less cost.
• Best-in-class data integration: Compared with similarly priced solutions, ORI’s data-integration is far superior, and customers benefit from ongoing product management and updates.
• Fastest time-to-value in the industry: ORI provides value nearly immediately, without lengthy integration processes or spool-up time.
• Robust metrics library and visualizations: ORI features an industry-standard metrics library and off-the-shelf visualizations for S&OP, S&OE and long-range planning, all at a much lower price.

The best business intelligence software for you depends on your needs

Choosing the right Business Analytics or Business Intelligence platform depends largely on your company’s size, data requirements, your budget, and the complexity of insights needed. In basic terms, Tableau shines in data visualization, Microsoft Power BI is affordable and integrates well with existing Microsoft products, Qlik Sense offers an intuitive, self-service data exploration experience, Domo is ideal for cloud-based organizations seeking comprehensive integrations, SAS Viya is unmatched for advanced analytics and robust AI capabilities, and ORI is the purpose-built BI leader for an all-in-one S&OP, S&OE, and long-range planning solution for large and mid-market product manufacturers. Each platform we’ve discussed has its strengths and weaknesses, and understanding these will help you make the right choice based on your specific needs. Ultimately, the ideal tool is one that aligns with your company’s goals, resources, and expertise, enabling you to unlock the full potential of your data.

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