Knowage vs Windward Core comparison

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1,100 views|868 comparisons
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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Knowage and Windward Core based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The concept of engines is quite powerful allowing the user to work with report authoring/provisioning tools of their choice.""The embedding feature is great.""I can't name the features the way the Knowage community calls them because I still don't know the lingo. However, I can describe them. I like the ability to join more than one report, set all fields on one end, and replicate that on the other reports. I like that a lot. I think it's one of the features that got me using Knowage. They have tables, and I like that too. They took SQL scripts and many other scripts and enabled them to even correlate with Python. That's also one of the best things about Knowage. You could also decide to get information per user role, and this is also a feature that I like in Knowage.""We can easily do our own customizations."

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"The solution is very flexible, so you can create anything you want. Think of the possibilities you have in Excel or in Word, because these are the two document generators that are used the most. I only use Word, but I can use nearly every feature in Word, including making charts and tables, and produce those features in Windward, parametrically.""The two features that I like the best are the ability to generate Word and Excel documents, and the ability to create my templates directly inside those software sets. It's absolutely critical for me as a user to have design and layout control, because all of my reports are very, very customized. I have to have control over the ability to generate and to control what they look like.""Technical support is ​very good. They reply immediately and follow-up with any questions.​""The integration with MS Office is an advantage, creating a better user experience.""It's very feature-rich. You can create tables, you can create graphs, you can import pictures, and those features are also easy to use.""We can develop any report at least five times faster.​""AutoTag is valuable because it integrates with MS Word and makes it easy for our users to create template documents and reports. It allows our users to design the templates based on differing needs.""One of the things they added in the last two or three years is PODs, Portable Object Doclets. One of our clients said they wanted to use PODs. They're a good way to make some constructs modular and keep things in one place."

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Cons
"Development of SpagoBI has now been moved to Knowage. Users interested in further developments of the platform will have to look there.""The only challenge here is that it's a Java-based platform. It requires very high technical skills.""The dashboard components could be better.""It would be better if more resources were available to help us learn how to use it. I wanted to use Knowage for a more extended period, but learning materials around the product were not really available and were not really straightforward. I've also seen inconsistencies between versions. For example, under the tools, especially in the cockpit, the way you create reports is now different. You will also find some configurations within a particular state, like a line chart, which differs from version to version. I think consistency is an essential feature in a product, especially for business intelligence products."

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"There are some Excel formatting things that you lose when you implement a template: some default Excel validation scripts, macros. You could create them in Excel if you were just using Excel, but in creating a template that generates a report, some of those validation things are lost.""Their PDF needs improvement. We've run into some issues when we tried to generate a Word document. If we try to generate the same document in PDF, sometimes it doesn't look exactly the same.""The error reports also need improvement. If you don't key it in right, it's a little hard to find the root cause. It gives you information as much as it can, but it doesn't really hone in and tell you explicitly what you should do to correct the problem.""It is software, so there are always times where things don't work. Most of the time issues happen when trying to move to a new version. There might be problems with reports that were created in an older version, so either we have to make a tweak to the templates or we report it to them and get them to make an adjustment to their software.""It needs better support for upgrades and more control over layout of elements. Upgrades tend to break existing output. Elements do not position where expected due to insertion of blank lines and page breaks. It takes time to fix these through trial and error.""About six months ago, we raised the possibility of improving the way they manage the HTML 5. Sometimes, when you insert a lot of data in the data source, you get an error because it is not managing HTML 5 features well. I believe they have addressed this in later versions of their product.""One thing that frustrated us a little bit is that we have to use the Office PDF generation, because the native PDF generation is always slightly different compared to the one in Office. The formatting is just a little bit off here and there... This means that we need to have Office installed on the server to be able to generate these documents via API.""A lot of clients who want to use this don't have the technical background for the SQL portion of gathering the data. If Windward were to make a more user-friendly SQL extract front-end, that would help a lot of clients to leverage the application a lot more."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It allows the implementation of an effective reporting system using internal skills at a limited upfront cost."
  • "Knowage is open-source, and an enterprise edition is also available."
  • More Knowage Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "I can't advise anybody about pricing and licensing, but it was competitive. A lot of things we did look at were all volume-based, so it was a case of you buy a license to generate this many reports a year, and that's not something that I'm particularly interested in because it doesn't give you any idea - if we have future growth, or if we have a lean year - for budgeting reasons it's more difficult. With Windward it's a straight out license fee, whether we generate one page or we generate a million, it makes no difference."
  • "​They are fair and flexible. They are willing to work with your current architecture to make sure you have the best deal.​"
  • "CapEx fits our requirements, OpEx is higher due to the 20% service and maintenance cost, where we normally pay 15%."
  • "It is absolutely worth the value. They have flexibility, depending on what you're looking for from a buying standpoint. The current pricing models are quite flexible, with the ability to use it on an as-needed basis, or to get a perpetual license that covers a customer that might have extensive needs. I think it's pretty good."
  • "For what you're getting, it's an extremely good value."
  • "The only problem with the pricing of Windward is the limitation on the number of reports generated. It is costly in that sense. If you want to increase, you have to pay more, based on the number of reports generated per day. It is not the same with Crystal Reports. With the latter, you buy a license at one point in time and that's it."
  • "From my experience in this field, the product is reasonably priced, at least with the RESTful engine implementation. It's definitely not a cheap option. People say, "That's a fair amount of money to pay for a document generation tool." At the same time, you do get good functionality and the support is good."
  • "Pricing is something I complain about. Production pricing is okay, but for a testing environment the pricing looks a bit high to me."
  • More Windward Core Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:It's an open-source product; we use the open-source edition for Knowage.
    Top Answer:The integration could be better. We've been struggling a bit with embedding it without the need to log on. The dashboard components could be better. They could do a lot more. If you compare it with… more »
    Top Answer:We primarily use the solution to embed reports. We are using it as a server to share our embedded reports.
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    Ranking
    19th
    out of 50 in Reporting
    Views
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    Rating
    7.0
    24th
    out of 50 in Reporting
    Views
    834
    Comparisons
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    Also Known As
    SpagoBI
    Windward, Windward Studios
    Learn More
    Overview

    Knowage (formerly SpagoBI) has a 14-years history. The actual release is the 6.3.

    Knowage offers FULL ANALYTICAL CAPABILITIES, with a special focus on big data analytics and comprehensive support to rich and multi-source data analysis. Knowage provides different modules, each one focused on a specific domain but mutually combinable (Big Data, Smart Intelligence, Enterprise Reporting, Location Intelligence, Performance Management, Predictive Analysis). Moreover, Knowage is an OPEN SOURCE solution: the source code is freely accessible, everyone is allowed to join the community and build the own business solution to ensure strategic decision-making and improved productivity.

    Knowage suite is supported by Engineering Group, the leading Italian software and services company, with about 10,000 people and more than 50 offices worldwide. Maintenance and support services (such as trainings, migration support, proof-of-concepts, etc) are provided by Engineering Group (KNOWAGE Labs) under subscription.

    What is Windward Studios?

    For over a decade, Windward has been a leader in the software development industry by creating the most innovative and advanced document automation and reporting software on the planet. 

    Data-Driven Document Automation

    Generate stunning documents that incorporate relevant data easily and seamlessly.

    Visually Striking Designs

    Our software provides innovative tools and features to build beautiful designs and stunning layouts, all within the familiar Microsoft Office Suite. Your imagination is the only limitation.

    Agile Document Logic

    We offer the best document automation software for the new millennium. With our conditional logic functionality, you can swiftly personalize the document content to gratify your end users. 

    Huge Time Saver

    Looking for faster template creation that enables you to keep pace with your business?  With our software, template creation takes minutes and you do not need any programming experience to get it done.

    Exceptionally Intuitive Interface

    Our program's design offers documents that can be edited, customized and designed using MS Office. Enjoy a stress-free document automation experience in programs you already know.

    Efficient Savings

    Significantly reduce the resources and time required for template development by using our streamlined template design and document automation tools. 

    Offer
    Learn more about Knowage
    Revolutionize Your Automated Document Generation Process


    WindWard Core makes customized document automation fast and simple. Install WindWard Core and start designing your own templates in a matter of minutes!

    Sample Customers
    FIAT Group, Italian air navigation service provider, Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Telecom Italia, ASL Genovese, San Giovanni Battista University Hospital
    HAL, Inc., Axe Group, White Clark Group, Blueprint Software, Aspect Security, Nucleus Software, LeBlanc’s Food Stores, South Sound 911, Aegon, Barclays, Fidelity Investments, ArisGlobal LLC, USDA, RepLink, AON Hewitt
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider25%
    Computer Software Company25%
    Healthcare Company13%
    Hospitality Company13%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company19%
    Government11%
    Real Estate/Law Firm10%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm21%
    Healthcare Company21%
    Computer Software Company21%
    Insurance Company7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company16%
    Financial Services Firm14%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Real Estate/Law Firm7%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business37%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise32%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business30%
    Midsize Enterprise21%
    Large Enterprise49%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business61%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise26%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business20%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise61%
    Buyer's Guide
    Reporting
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Tableau, Oracle and others in Reporting. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Knowage is ranked 19th in Reporting with 18 reviews while Windward Core is ranked 24th in Reporting. Knowage is rated 7.6, while Windward Core is rated 8.8. The top reviewer of Knowage writes "Easy to customize, cross-platform capable, and very stable". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Windward Core writes "It has streamlined a lot of our reporting processes". Knowage is most compared with Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, Pentaho Business Analytics, SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform and TIBCO Jaspersoft, whereas Windward Core is most compared with Docmosis, SAP Crystal Reports, Nintex Document Generation, CA Easytrieve Report Generator and Templafy.

    See our list of best Reporting vendors.

    We monitor all Reporting reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.