Oracle BI Foundation
September 18, 2014

Oracle BI Foundation

John WilsonMay | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

11

Modules Used

  • Enterprise BI Platform
  • Enterprise Reporting

Overall Satisfaction with Oracle BI Foundation Suite

We use Oracle BI Foundation Suite enterprise wide across the organization. It serves as our primary reporting tool for corporate reporting and fulfills regional reporting needs.

Pros

  • Centralized Dashboards that answer key business questions regarding performance and need to knows. The tool is dynamic in that is can provide not only individual queries, but also enterprise wide dashboard reports.
  • Dynamic reporting for one to 1000s of users depending on the server infrastructure.
  • Javascript and SQL integration allow you to create customized reports to meet just what your users need.

Cons

  • The tool has a high learning curve and can take time to master.
  • The tool cannot uptake data in other formats easily. The data must be structured in specific tables and set up in the middle layer.
  • Due to the complexity of the tool, there can be bugs in the development that occur at random which can be difficult to trace to the tool or the environment.
I have used SQL Server, SAS deployed over the web, SPSS, Tableau and Salesforce. Each has their own positives and negatives. I was not directly involved in the selection process, but have participated as a BI representative using the tools. OBI is less complicated than SAS, but harder to use that Tableau or Salesforce. However, with complexity comes more power to service a diverse audience.
The tool serves our needs well, but not completely. The pace of change with BI among the end users makes one need updates that OBI is planning.
Well suited for a large scale enterprise need for reporting. Good security layers. Complex environment and likely requires multiple people involved in the implementation. Thoroughly examine your own companies BI needs before implementing as BI tools are not one size fits all. Ask about training and support options, the different layers of the tool (front end, middle ware and end user layer).

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