SAP Analytics Cloud has been ranked top in the Innovation category in a comprehensive international Business Intelligence vendor survey performed by BARC, the Business Application Research Center.
It was also recognised as one of the top performers in several other tightly contested categories, including: dashboarding-focused products, data discovery, integrated performance management and planning software.
It's no surprise to us that SAP Analytics Cloud was judged to be a top performer in all three data categories: business intelligence, augmented analytics and planning. After all, it's one of the few solutions on the market which integrates these capabilities into a single application, rather than splitting them across several apps, as we’ve seen with other BI vendors.
Top-ranked in Innovation, Cloud Business and Mobile Business Intelligence
Looking at the results in a little more detail, SAP Analytics Cloud is the clear leader in Innovation, Cloud BI and Mobile BI. In our opinion this is testament to the frequency of new feature releases in response to market needs, and the priority which SAP has placed on developing a detailed understanding of current business needs when it comes to analytical tools.
https://bi-survey.com/product/sap-analytics-cloud
Top Performer in 5 Business Intelligence peer groups
SAP Analytics Cloud is on the top performers’ matrix in each of the following categories: dashboarding-focused products, data discovery, integrated performance management and planning software for large BI vendors. Again, the rationale is clear. SAP Analytics Cloud offers a wide spectrum of capabilities which enables businesses to meet diverse analytical needs within in one simple cloud solution, and more importantly, to transition between them smoothly.
https://bi-survey.com/business-intelligence-software-comparison
Current usage vs planned usage
One interesting element of the survey is a comparison of the current usage of the featured tools versus the planned usage. This helps us understand any variance between our perception of market needs and the actual features that are provided within the acquired solution.
For SAP Analytics Cloud, it is interesting to look at the balance between planned and actual use for different feature groups, particularly for advanced analytics and planning. These are features that might be “invisible” i.e. their importance is underappreciated before acquisition (not contemplated for future usage), but once they are implemented with proof of concepts, internal demand for the feature increases due to the huge potential and competitive advantage that the specific feature demonstrates.
Current vs planned use
https://bi-survey.com/product/sap-analytics-cloud
Wrapping-up: SAP Analytics Cloud offers both flexibility and potential
It is always useful to have a reference point to assess whether our perception of SAP Analytics Cloud as an analytics providers is aligned with the perception of the customers that are using the software on a day-to-day basis.
The results of this survey are encouraging, not just because they support our own view of SAP Analytics Cloud as the top performing solution, but also because they reflect the demand we’re seeing from clients.
This is particularly true of the increasing demand from the market for analytics and planning to be integrated within a single cloud solution that can meet more than 90% of current business needs within data analytics. From the experts, to the customers, to our own analysis, it’s reassuring to see this level of agreement.