Data Discovery Tools

Cloud BI Solutions

Legacy BI Tools

In-House Dev Solutions

Data Visualization Tools

SISENSE

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ALTERNATIVESSISENSE VS

Comparing Business Intelligence & Analytics Solutions

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Sisense BI Software Overview....................................................................

The BI Landscape............................................................................................

Award-Winning Sisense Technology.......................................................

Unique Business Benefits of Sisense......................................................

Analyst Reports...............................................................................................

Embedded Analytics Partnership..............................................................

Customer Success Stories..........................................................................

Free Trial............................................................................................................

Additional Resources...................................................................................

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www.sisense.com

5 Most Popular Types of BI Solutions Comparison.............................

Sisense BI Software OverviewSisense simplifies business intelligence (BI) for organizations who struggle to make sense of large and scattered data by providing a complete solution for preparing, analyzing and visualizing complex datasets. Using Sisense as a BI tool, anyone can understand their data, no matter how complex it is.

Sisense makes data analysis agile, flexible and able to produce actionable results for companies within days, rather than months. We do this by using an out-of-the-box solution with award-winning technology that doesn’t require lengthy implementation or training, and allows businesses to be up and running quickly.

Sisense’s unique technology allows business users and analysts to freely explore their data, without relying on a patchwork of tools or extensive IT assistanceeven, and especially, in complex scenarios.

Sisense’s In-Chip™ Engine enables users to analyze massive amounts of data at unprecedented speed, while its Single-Stack™ architecture eliminates the assembly line of tools which would have usually been necessary to deal with difficult data (database, ETL, visualization tools).

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By replacing a series of tools with one agile solution, Sisense covers the full scope of data analysis - from preparation to visualization.

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In a world of growing data complexity, Sisense occupies a unique spot within the BI landscape.

First generation, legacy BI tools have strong data crunching capabilities, but the process is cumbersome, IT-centric and slow; whereas modern day data discovery tools are much easier to use, but buckle under the pressures of big or disparate data, forcing users to rely on additional third party tools to ensure steady and accurate results.

Sisense offers the best of both worlds: the robust, end-to-end capabilities of legacy tools, with the agility and self-service of modern data discovery. This is achieved by leveraging Sisense’s proprietary In-Chip™ technology to process large volumes of disparate data while dramatically simplifying data preparation. Data analysts can manage intricate data models in a simple visual environment with minimal scripting and coding, without having to rely on data warehouses or pre-indexing the data, while business users are free to explore complex, multi-source data with any ad-hoc question using interactive web dashboards that anyone can understand.

The BI LandscapeSisense is the only business intelligence tool that lets you

instantly analyze and visualize both big and disparate datasets

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5 Most Popular Types of BI Solutions Compared

Comparison PointsThis whitepaper compares Sisense to several types of BI solutions based on the following criterion:

CRITERION DESCRIPTION

End-to-End Solution Does not require additional tools from third party vendors

Supported Data Simple (small, a few sources) / Complex (big, multi-source)

Scalability (Data / Users) The volume of data a single server can process and the number of concurrent users

Time to Deployment The time it takes to launch the BI solution

Data Preparation The ability to clean, structure and join data sources for analysis

Customization & Embeddability Embedded analytics, extensibility, API sets, white labeling, custom visualizations, plugins and CSS customizations

Agility The ease of asking new business questions and receiving answers quickly

Required Technical Expertise The technical expertise required for setup and management, ease of use

Software/Hardware/Operational Costs Average costs considering different external and intrinsic factors

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1 Data Discovery BI Tools

Data Discovery BI Solutions Overview:

Data Discovery solutions provide a number of tools to take you from start to finish in your data analysis process, including managing, visualizing and integrating data. The problem is, they are often complex to deploy and use more costly technology. The most common example of a stand-alone, memory intensive technology is in-memory processing Since in-memory processing loads the entire database from storage to RAM for analysis purposes, the reliance on RAM becomes problematic

- with companies either needing to purchase additional RAM, which is expensive on larger scales; or alternately to leave some of their data ‘out of the picture’ in order to accommodate the memory limitations.

Unfortunately, datasets larger than several dozen of gigabytes often slow down or even break these types of stand-alone tools. The challenge is compounded with multi-user applications, since each user requires additional memory space for user-specific operations.

When it comes to data analytics, it is not recommended to limit the amount of data and users you can support as this will limit your growth as a company and create a slow and limited experience for end users.Similarly, many of the most popular stand-alone solutions have their own proprietary scripting language needed for data preparation, requiring companies to recruit or outsource dedicated technical expertise. This also makes extensibility and agility challenging since business users are more dependent on technical teams.

Bottom line: Though data-discovery solutions can provide a full stack BI tool, they are often built on in-memory technology that prevents the solution from scaling past just 100GB of data or forces companies to invest in expensive additional hardware and human resources. That’s why Sisense is built as a Single-Stack™ BI solution - using a single tool that provides a complete solution for data preparation, analysis and visualization, but does so without forcing the organization to rely on massive deployments, troves of specialized personnel, or maintaining multiple separate components, modules or tools. You can see the impact of using a Single-Stack™ approach in this infographic.

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Comparison: Sisense vs. Data Discovery Tools

CRITERION SISENSE DATA DISCOVERY TOOLS

End-to-end solution Yes Yes

Supported Data Complex data Simple data

Scalability (data / users) Terabytes Gigabytes

Time to deployment Days/Weeks Months/Years

Data preparation Yes Moderate - Requires proprietary scripting

Customization & Embeddability High Moderate

Agility High Moderate

Required technical expertise LowModerate - Data modeling: high,

data visualization: low

Software costs Moderate Moderate

Hardware costs Low Varies - Higher as data grows

Operational costs Low Moderate

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2 Legacy Business Intelligence Tools

Legacy BI Tools Overview:

Legacy tools were the go-to business analytics solution in the early days of BI. These include large-scale enterprise software that aim to provide a comprehensive solution to all of an organization’s data needs, from storage to reporting. They usually function as part of a larger IT ecosystem provided by the same vendor - with various modules to support analytical querying, database management and visualization.

While legacy systems can generally serve as robust BI platforms, capable of processing both big and disparate data, they usually suffer from a distinct lack of agility and ease of use. The typical BI project owner with these tools would have to be

very technically-oriented, with larger deployments being managed by entire teams of developers, IT professionals or consultants - who must devote days or weeks to generate new reports, add data sources or make changes to the underlying data model.

Implementation typically takes months or more, requiring the entire organization to adapt and adjust itself to the processes dictated by these platforms. A secondary result is that these tools generally rack up considerable total costs of ownership - both in initial licensing costs, and in the need to keep professionalized staff on payroll for maintenance and day-to-day operations.

Legacy BI tools are powerful, robust and rich in analytical capabilities; however this comes at the expense of their ability to provide governed data discovery and self-service BI for business users. These tools can produce great results, but you'll have to wait a long time - and spend a lot of money - before you see them.

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Comparison: Sisense vs. Legacy Tools

CRITERION SISENSE LEGACY BI TOOLS

End-to-end solution Yes Yes

Supported Data Complex data Complex data

Scalability (data / users) Terabytes Terabytes

Time to deployment Days/Weeks Months/Years

Data preparation Yes Yes

Customization & Embeddability High Low

Agility High Low

Required technical expertise Low High

Software costs Moderate High

Hardware costs Low High

Operational costs Low High

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3 Data Visualization Tools

Data Visualization Tools Overview:

Data visualization tools are used to present data in a variety of colorful graphics that are easier for business users to consume than lists of numbers.

While data visualizations themselves are valuable, data visualization tools cannot be considered a complete analytics solution since they do not provide: data management capabilities (data preparation / data compilation), advanced analytics, or scalable data storage and integration features.Conversely, some of data visualization tools today

cost as much as full-fledged analytics solutions. Many buyers are sold on the front-end (pretty dashboards), not realizing that the software lacks a back-end to actually get the data in a format that can be plugged into a data visualization tool.

The easiest way to understand the limitations of data visualization software is to request a POC (Proof of Concept) using your own data, not sample data, to see how accurately and quickly the tool can get your messy data into a format that can be visualized.

Bottom line: A data visualization tool is a fine solution for simple data, but it’s only half a solution for complex data. Many problems will arise from having only a data visualization tool, including the most costly - the need to invest in third-party ETL solution for data management, as well as the extra skillset to manage it.

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Comparison: Sisense vs. Data Visualization Tools

CRITERION SISENSE DATA VISUALIZATION TOOLS

End-to-end solution Yes No

Supported Data Complex data Simple data

Scalability (data / users) Terabytes Gigabytes

Time to deployment Days/Weeks Weeks/Months

Data preparation Yes - Minimal IT support to add data No - Requires third-party software for ETL

Customization & Embeddability High (Open developer API sets) Moderate (Often no API)

Agility High Low - Managing multiple tools

Required technical expertise Low Low

Software costs Moderate Moderate

Hardware costs Low Low

Operational costs Low Varies; based on cost of additional software

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4 Cloud BI Solutions

Cloud BI Solutions Overview:

Many expect that choosing a cloud platform as a BI solution is the best way to get analytics tool with the maximum level of self-service. Businesses hope to experience fully managed Cloud BI the same way they experience other fully cloud-based self-service applications like Salesforce.com and Google Analytics.   Unfortunately this is not the case, and here’s why: While Cloud BI takes care of the hardware and maintenance work, it still requires intensive data preparation overhead and therefore personnel with advanced IT skills for data management. Adding and synchronizing data becomes a constant battle, since BI software is best deployed to be as “close” as possible to the data it feeds off of in order to minimize the overhead of transferring data from sources to BI software.

Additionally, data that is transferred over the open Internet needs to be encrypted and then decrypted - slowing the data management process down by an additional 60%. The ongoing introduction of new data sets or sources quickly becomes very resource-heavy. The fact that Cloud BI solutions derive processing power by depending on third-party or legacy approaches further slows its performance.  

Bottom Line: Cloud BI solutions often require countless service hours, an expensive ROI model, and a rigid data-driven environment with little tolerance for change. Quite the opposite of the personal control Cloud BI implies with its self-service association. If a BI solution is not self-service on-premises, it sure won’t be self-service in the cloud, so test it on your own data before making an investment.

Sisense Cloud Options:Sisense can be deployed on third-party cloud platforms and solution, like AWS and Microsoft Azure. Companies can use Sisense's powerful technology for easy and accurate data management. On top of that, Sisense Web offers an extremely easy browser-based analysis and visualization solution.

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Comparison: Sisense vs. Cloud BI Solutions

CRITERION SISENSE CLOUD BI SOLUTIONS

End-to-end solution Yes Yes

Supported Data Complex data Simple data

Scalability (data / users) Terabytes Varies - typically GB scale

Time to deployment Days/Weeks Weeks/Months

Data preparation Yes Varies - often require scripting

Customization & Embeddability High (Open developer API sets) Low

Agility High Moderate

Required technical expertise Low Low

Software costs Moderate High

Hardware costs Low Low - No direct hardware costs

Operational costs Low Low - No direct operational costs

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5 In-House Development

In-House Dev Solutions Overview:

For organizations with strong engineering teams there is often a debate whether to build or buy a  BI solution. At the heart of this decision is an assessment of an organization’s technical capabilities and understanding the risks that arise when relying on internal development teams.Specifically, engineering is an expensive resource not only focused on internal systems but also developing products and service. By contrast BI projects are long-term and require constant iterations resulting in a serious cost to divert expensive technical  resources to non-core activities like BI.

Secondly, knowledge of the actual needs rests with the business rather than IT leading to significant risk that the BI solution will be misaligned with requirements. Lastly, due to differences in priorities between R&D and business, users experience excessive delays in getting the data or analysis in a time that is actionable, failing to deliver results.

Deciding to develop a solution internally oftens runs the risk of investing expensive technical resources towards a non-core activity with a highly uncertain result. A careful assessment of risk versus rewards should be conducted.

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Comparison: Sisense vs. In-House Dev Solutions

CRITERION SISENSE IN-HOUSE DEV SOLUTIONS

End-to-end solution Yes Depends on competencies

Supported Data Complex data Often fixed

Scalability (data / users) Terabytes Depends on competencies

Time to deployment Days/Weeks Months/Years

Data preparation Yes Yes

Customization & Embeddability High - Embedded analytics option Yes

Agility High Varies

Required technical expertise Low Varies

Software costs Moderate High initial investment

Hardware costs Low Varies

Operational costs Low Varies

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InstantDeployment

Unparalleled Scalability

Agile Analysis

No Data Preparation Nightmare

Lowest TCO

MinimalIT

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Unique Business Benefits of Sisense Solution

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Award-Winning Sisense Technology

In-Chip Engine™Sisense’s In-Chip Engine™ is proprietary technology that lets you run any ad-hoc query and receive answers on the spot, without the need to prepare data in advance for each new question.

The Sisense’s In-Chip Engine™ maximizes existing computational resources, including disk storage, RAM and CPU cache for the most efficient compression techniques, and  uses advanced and innovative querying algorithms to bypass limitations imposed by the operating system.

Therefore, only a fraction of the data must be stored in RAM in order to attain the same or better performance as other BI solutions, making Sisense the fastest BI solution- especially on big and disparate datasets.

Our In-Chip technology allows Sisense to achieve a definite edge on other BI solutions in terms of performance, even at terabyte-scale datasets, and at much lower hardware costs.

An Investors Dashboard with Sisense

Single-Stack™ ArchitectureSisense’s Single-Stack ™ solution describes our instantly deployed, end-to-end BI software that includes everything you need to prepare, analyze and visualize data of any type and size. Our Single-Stack™ architecture takes you from data integration to visualization with a single BI solution.

Using our Single-Stack™ solution eliminates the need to use additional tools, saving companies the need to invest in data warehouses, visualization tools or professional services. With no DBA required to manage the platform, no manual mashups to maintain, and no special scripts to learn, Sisense Single-Stack™ is able to provide a complete business intelligence platform at unmatched TCO.

Ewa Jakubowska, Data Analyst at NetBet

Sisense has saved our lives. We were struggling to put together

information from many data sources, and now a big report that previously took days,

takes just minutes with Sisense.

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Analyst Reports

Sisense a Proven Leader in Customer ExperienceSisense puts customer experience as a top priority by simplifying business intelligence for complex data, making it immediately accessible for every business user, and ensuring customer success starts from the first moment of customer interaction and continues through execution. Both our customers and top BI analysts have recognized Sisense at the forefront of customer success, continuously ranking Sisense as leading tool in Customer Experience.

In Dresner’s Wisdom of Crowds 2016 Report that surveys of over 1,500 top BI professionals and executives, Sisense was named as a leader in Customer Experience as determined by our score in technology and service, and Vendor Credibility, determined by the value and confidence the market has in the product.

Another validation of the customer focus was recently revealed in Gartner’s 2016 Magic Quadrant for BI and Analytics that reported: “[Sisense] Clients’ rating for business benefits achieved was in the top quartile of all the Magic Quadrant vendors.”

With scores generally above the overall sample, Sisense is an overall leader for both Customer Experience and Vendor Credibility

models. Its overall score rose for 2016, with key improvements across virtually all categories of measurement including sales, value, product, and integrity. It has a perfect

recommend score.

Excerpt from the 2016 Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study

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Sisense was named in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for BI and Analytics and singled out as having one of the most powerful OEM partnership offers: “Sisense has a strong OEM partner network.” Gartner’s annual report on Business Intelligence and Analytics is considered the most well-researched and highly-regarded point of reference to understand the layout of the BI landscape, which is why we are proud that Gartner highlighted that many companies have chosen Sisense as their embedded analytics solution:

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Partner with the Best: Sisense’s Embedded Analytics Solution

Today, many companies are delivering insights into the everyday workflow of their users through embedded analytics and business intelligence. Embedded analytics is when analytical capabilities such as data management, reporting and visualization are built into other business applications and solutions, allowing users to access insights from their data in easy-to-understand reports and dashboards.

Sisense embedded analytics partnership provides a solution built to deliver high-quality, white-labeled, interactive data analytics that is scalable, very flexible, and gives companies an immediate ROI. Sisense OEM partnership provides a solution built to deliver high-quality, white-labeled, interactive data analytics that is scalable and cost effective.

Becoming an OEM partner with Sisense is the easiest and most effective way to offer business intelligence to your clients since we offer fast time to market using an established, stand-alone BI solution and technology. Many of the resource allocation and budget limitations dissipate by embedding a BI solution, especially since Sisense technology is built on cost effective infrastructure and can easily scale to your current and future data needs.”

Because Sisense is hugely scalable and can be easily white-labeled and embedded, we are already making our investment back-and it's

been just months.Adam Clark, Product Manager at EEG Events

This year, Sisense was named in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for BI and Analytics and singled out as having one of the most powerful OEM partnership offers: “Sisense has a strong OEM partner network.” Gartner’s annual report on Business Intelligence and Analytics is often considered the most well-researched and highly-regarded point of reference to understand the layout of the BI landscape, which is why we are proud that Gartner highlighted that many OEMs have been choosing Sisense as their embedded analytics solution.

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Just Ask The World’s Leading Companies

Sisense has been adopted by thousands of companies across the world, from innovative startups to Fortune 500 enterprises, including NASDAQ, eBay, Philips and many more. Sisense also has won numerous awards and captured the hearts of analysts, business users and IT professionals.

Sisense is taking big data analytics by storm.

Sisense tools show a small laptop can crunch big data.

Makes analyticsdead simple!

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Customer Success Stories

We see all our customers as partners and therefore Sisense provides the dedicated support, training and maintenance as it’s needed, when it’s needed. See why so many companies have chosen Sisense as their BI solution.

Read Case Studies

James Davison, Senior Data Analyst, Celestica

With Sisense, you can easily get value from your data without training or experience since it's just so easy to produce quality, insightful analytics- a

tool with no learning curve.

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Start Your Free Trial of Sisense

As you see, Sisense is the ultimate business intelligence tool for simplifying complex data preparation and analysis. Start a free trial today, and within minutes you’ll be able to:

Connect to any number of structured and unstructured data sources

Join tables from multiple sources with minimal scripting and coding

Easily prepare and analyze big or disparate data sets

Create interactive web dashboards and reports

Start Free Trial Now

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Explore Additional Resources

Additional Resources Related Posts & Whitepapers

Download Free TrialProduct DemoSchedule 90 min POCWhy SisenseDashboard Examples

All WebinarsData Modeling FundamentalsHow to Select a BI Vendor Top BI Trends of 2016100% ROI in 6 Months: A Case for Embedded Analytics

Related Webinars

How Much Should BI Cost You?Launch a BI Project in 5 Days7 Signs You’re Dealing with Complex DataTop BI Pitfalls4 Design Principles for Creating DashboardsUltimate Guide to Comparing Embedded Analytics

Developers Community

Case Studies

Access the help of thousands of developers from around the world, including the experts and solution architects at Sisense: Join Developers Community

See why leading companies all over the world have chosen Sisense: Read Case Studies

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