The initial setup was not straightforward. Since it is a complete enterprise tool, it needs a certain level of expertise to set up the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. There are a lot of steps involved. You need to get the user accepted and you need to validate the data. So you need to understand the architecture of the application. I would rate the initial setup as moderate since it's not very easy or much difficult.

For a small enterprise, the installation would take one day. You must ensure you are on a supported platform like Windows or Linux and if your database is not on the server but in a different zone of the network, you need to ensure connectivity. You must also ensure the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform supports your organization's browser. These are the major things that must be taken care of before the installation.

Around 500 users are using the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform in my company. We are a team of around eight technical people involved in the deployment and maintenance of the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. If you run a SAP shop with ECC, the best solution is the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform because it's tightly integrated.

You'll get lots of offers from SAP when it comes to licensing. So there's an advantage. But if you are not a SAP shop, the licensing becomes a hindrance. So if you have SAP as a source, then I recommend people to go with SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform as it's a tool that works wonders.

I have been working on POCs where we use SAP data for BI, which was a nightmare. So if you have ECC and SAP in the back end, go with the SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform. If you have any other tools in the back end, then try to negotiate and see the use case.

The setup is straightforward after you have done it at least once. You would need some hand-holding the first time.

The installation can take anywhere from three to five days. The solution has installers that are directly available for download from the SAP download center. There are certain prerequisites that have to be carried out on the server. The host has to be prepared, there's a runtime environment and a database that needs to be pre-installed. We use two to three admin people per deployment. 

The initial setup was a bit complex.

The implementation took about six months. We installed the development systems first, followed by the quality system, test system, and production system.

We have a team of six to deploy and maintain this solution.

When we implemented BusinessObjects, the setup was straightforward. After SAP bought BusinessObjects, it gradually became more and more stepwise. There are too many steps, and they take too much time. For maintenance and deployment, we have a team of fewer than 10 people, including the developer.

Setting up SAP BusinessObjects BI Platform can vary in complexity depending on the customer's specific use case. For us, the process was generally straightforward. We identified the tables the customer wanted data from and extracted and injected the data accordingly. Visualization and analytics were then tailored to their specific needs. The deployment process, from development completion to implementation, involved collaboration with staff and followed a systematic approach.

I'm not sure about the initial setup. I wasn't a part of the deployment process. 

SAP's deployment is not straightforward. As compared to how it used to be 10 years ago, it is not that difficult. That's because SAP has worked on things that were lacking when it comes to deployment. They also worked on the other factors such as how good the support is, how good the product is, and how much help is provided on the internet. They have a user community of experienced people. They have worked on these factors, and now, it is much easier than it used to be about 10 years ago.

Its deployment cannot be compared with Tableau, Qlik, or Power BI because these are light tools. SAP has many more components than these solutions. SAP has more functionality, which makes the deployment a little bit tricky. When you have thousands of reports, it becomes more difficult. That's why its deployment needs more expertise than other tools. It is an enterprise solution, and at the end of the day, you need to scale it. When you have hundreds or thousands of reports, you need to scale your environment. When you have a large user base, you can come across issues, but it has improved over the period of time. 

I did not handle the implementation and therefore cannot speak to the process. I'm not sure if it's easy or difficult. 

We have our own support and architecture teams and they are able to handle any maintenance necessary if it comes up. We generally have five to six people who could handle such tasks. 

The initial setup of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform was easy since the solution is user-friendly.

The solution is deployed on-premises.

Since I have been working on it for 15 years, the setup isn't complicated. The deployment depends on the requirements. For example, if the customer wants to go for the clustered box, clustered since being on installation on multiple boxes, then it will take two days, three days, and sometimes five days. But if it is straightforward, then it's in it is a job of four hours.

Standalone, straightforward installation for a small client; it will take four hours for a new installation. And if we want to upgrade it, it will take around two and a half hours.

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform is in the middle range of difficulty. It is not easy or complex.

I rate the initial setup of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform a four of five.

We have three people who do the maintenance and support of the solution. They are data and BI engineers.

The deployment process is quite easy. We have a dedicated admin team to manage the queues of deployment. It is very easy to get that once we deploy the changes in dev, it can be easily moved across environments to different test environments and to the cloud. It also has the capability to roll back the changes if there are any issues that we identify, so I don't see any issues with the deployment process.

To set it up, provided we have all the infra support needed, it will mostly be handled by different teams, like database. From that perspective, maybe a couple of teams may be involved as repositories are mounted on top of database, but the installation side can be handled by one person. That can be possible if it is a small scale deployment with not too many clusters involved.

But if there are cluster servers and multiple servers needed to be deployed and linked, it may be worth having a considerable effort to deploy this solution. I'm mostly talking about the installation of the product. But it can be handled with a couple of people, provided we have the support from the infra team with the servers, with required specification for the server, as well as any other support needed, including admin support for the servers.

If it is standalone, a simple server installation can be completed in a day or two.

The initial setup was not that straightforward, but we were able to manage.

We have a lot of server process and configuration, plus the agents and everything. So from an administrative perspective, it is complex, but we were able to manage because of our technical expertise.

Because we did it internally, I believe it took us two to three months.

We got the environment ready, then the repository, it was packaged by phases and by project.

We launched an RFP related to an enterprise data warehouse, then we split this RFP in phases, with data integration, data modeling and then the BI. During the BI part, we used an implementation strategy to try to implement it.

It is pretty straightforward. We had no complications at all in installing it. We had some complications getting it to work with Epic, but once it was set up, it has been sitting there and doing its thing. We don't ever have to mess with it. It has been a solid product. It just works.

I was not a part of the initial setup. I can't speak to how long the deployment was or how easy or difficult the process ended up being.

In terms of upgrading, we have no need to at this point. 

The initial setup is quite straightforward and simple. It's not overly complex. 

A complete portfolio will take about six months. 

The initial installation is quite simple for me, but for inexperienced users, it may be difficult.

It's straightforward.

The initial setup of the solution is simple and the documentation provided was straightforward. It was not a difficult task.

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence Platform has a complex setup, and could still be simplified, especially if you want to increase your capacity, which could be difficult in the SAP side.

SAP Business Objects when compared to Linux/AIX/Sun-Solaris is complex to install on Windows due to version/patch issues, and we had to put in requests for patches. Business users who used Web Intelligence were able to find some Java script plug-ins that needed to be installed.

I was not involved in the technical set up of the tools.

The initial setup is straightforward. I have been using it since 2005. I have migrated from Duo 6.5 to XAR2, then to 3.1, and finally to 4.5 and 4.2. The deployment has never been that difficult. The migration is still easier in 4.2 and 4.3 than in previous versions. In earlier versions, you have the same folders and structures. However, this limitation is no longer there when migrating from 4.2 to 4.3.

I didn't install it, however, it's not simple as just using a cloud group. You have to install it and provide services. I'm using the onsite version. It is, I'd say, relatively complex.

I'd rate the solution a three out of five in terms of the ease of setup.

The setup is straightforward.

Integrating earlier versions like 3.0 and 3.1 with SAP was challenging, especially when you have multiple domains, for example, and you are in the SAP domain and also if you want to integrate with SAP America. So if you want to have a multi-domain environment, that is a little bit challenging.

That is also one issue which we have faced. There are multiple changes, even from the Windows side. Otherwise, we have certain challenges in that configuration.

The initial setup was easy because I specialize in implementation.

Initial setup was straightforward.

BusinessObjects' installation is comparable to Tableau, but BusinessObjects requires a skilled administrator for management and maintenance because it's a little more complex than Tableau.  

The installation was a medium difficulty level because we do not have complex scenarios in our use case. There are some complex portions but there were no roadblocks that prevented us from continuing.

The installation of SAP BI is an extensive function. Typically with an SAP installation, you need a combination of on-premise and cloud. The cloud functionality is still evolving and maturing. As compared to Power BI, it would take a lot more work. However, if I went the way of Lumira, I could use Lumira Desktop standalone, and I get to use the features.

The initial setup is simple, it took us two days to complete.

The initial setup was was not bad, but it was relatively complex. It did take some time to get it to work for us. 

I always recommend using a partner or consultant to deploy SAP BI. Not because it's difficult to install, that part is actually pretty easy, but to properly configure and customize application services and toolsets.

Initial setup is straightforward.

The initial setup is not easy. We need a very experienced developer and they need to get enough training from SAP in order to be able to do anything effectively. It's not like other reporting tools that are really easy to use or easy to install and maintain. This one is complex and takes work and inside knowledge. 

There isn't too much maintenance required. You just need to update it every once in a while. 

See earlier comments but a vanilla install is not too complex.  The moment it is not vanilla it becomes quite complex. The SAP website for software management, downloads, licenses etc makes the Da Vinci Code look simple.

I joined after it was implemented.

It was smooth.

Setting up SAP BBIP initially is more difficult than Tableau, as it requires numerous additional components, making it a tedious process.

I would say it's mostly straightforward, because it has a wide range of compatible operating systems and also it was easy to install. The whole software is bundled and provided to the consumer.

It’s a straightforward and simple tool to install.

N/A

We've found the initial setup to be pretty straightforward. It's not so complex. A company shouldn't have any trouble with the implementation process.

Depending on whether you are doing a simple, one-machine install (single-stack) or clustering according to the sizing recommendations from SAP, it can go from easy to more difficult. But the process is thoroughly documented.

The wizard is pretty straightforward. The configuration and connections were also aided by a wizard.

Its installation was straightforward.

Setup was quite complex due to the number of environments being used (Dev/SIT/UAT/Prod) and the integration between BI and EIM products. It is even harder now that we use SAP HANA.

If you have the skills and time, initial setup will be easy.

The security set up is complex, and there are compatibility issues with Internet Explorer.

Depends on the deployment. Can be very complex in a 100% fail over/fault tolerant/load balanced scenario.

The setup was a little complicated. It's not as easy to install it and there is not much information on the internet, so you have to depend on yourself. When you compare it to other applications, like BMC, HP, Dell, and IBM, there are many users who have experience with the solution and share their knowledge on the internet, but there is not much information online for SAP.

The initial setup is not straightforward. It's pretty complex.

The installation configuring environment is not so easy to work with. Also, the connection of the SAP Analytics Cloud is very complex.  It's not very easy to configure the environment.

The time I need to configure and install the solution is about one week for the BusinessIntelligence Platform solution, On premise. Another week is required for the connectivity aspect and settings of the Cloud (Analytics).

Fairly straightforward but, not as easy as the vendor made it sound. As with most things it was not just a flip of the switch.

I wasn't involved in the initial setup.

It was on medium level.

Straightforward

It was complex because we were upgrading from a previous version with a different architecture.

The initial setup was straightforward.

It was straightforward.

The initial setup was not that complex as SAP has all the documentation in place. However, initially, we went for suboptimal sizing, which in the first few months led to performance issues. We had to reconfigure, do the proper sizing, and give the right memory requirements to meet our performance expectations.

It's straightforward but you need the expertise.

It can be easy or complex depending upon the scenario and complexity of your data warehouse.

It's complex and has technical challenges.

Setup was straightforward, but the customization and implementation process was complex.

The initial setup is pretty straightforward.

It's dependent to the client requirement. As I said earlier if sizing is done properly then you will not face any issues. If not, you may face issues if your utilization is high and resources are low.