TrustRadius: an HG Insights company

Save this comparison

Save this comparison

Add Product

Recommended Comparisons

    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    ibi WebFOCUS

    Score7 out of 10
    N/AThe ibi™ WebFOCUS® product is an enterprise business intelligence and analytics solution equipped with data management, visual discovery, predictive analytics, and visualizations. Combining these capabilities and data science in one unified containerized platform, the WebFOCUS® solution can be used to make data-driven decisions across the enterprise and provide reports, dashboards, and customer-facing applications at scale.N/A

    Tableau Desktop

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/ATableau Desktop is a data visualization product from Tableau. It connects to a variety of data sources for combining disparate data sources without coding. It provides tools for discovering patterns and insights, data calculations, forecasts, and statistical summaries and visual storytelling.

    $75

    per month

    Pricing
    ibi WebFOCUSTableau Desktop
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    $75
    per month per user
    Tableau Enterprise
    $115
    per month per user
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    ibi WebFOCUSTableau Desktop
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsAll pricing plans are billed annually.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    ibi WebFOCUSTableau Desktop
    Considered Both Products
    IBI (Information Builders)
    Chose ibi WebFOCUS
    We've looked at Tableau as an alternative and the visuals are good in Tableau. One way that WebFOCUS beats Tableau is it doesn't have any issues with a set number of columns in a report. When you need to have an Excel output, which happens, WebFOCUS is far superior. The …
    Incentivized
    Chose ibi WebFOCUS
    Webfocus handles the side of our business that is involved with our catalogs. Our catalogs is a huge revenue driver for us and this tool has been extremely useful with planning feature catalogs. Tableau is used more for marketing and merchandising purchases since we can filter …
    Incentivized
    Chose ibi WebFOCUS
    Above average. Feature wise [Information Builders WebFOCUS] stands out. User friendliness is OK. It can handle the most complex tasks and its extensions with for example R make it extremely versatile. Support is lagging in western Europe, although i am more than happy with …
    Incentivized
    Chose ibi WebFOCUS
    I found WebFOCUS a great tool for reporting purposes as I have used it for a long time. They should compare themselves with new reporting tools like Tableau and Splunk. Tableau's interface is mind blowing. IBI should learn from Tableau and how they have penetrated the big data …
    Tableau
    Chose Tableau Desktop
    Tableau is a lot easier to visualize data and the dashboards are more robust. We didn’t use WebFOCUS to its greatest extent but getting up to speed on Tableau was easy. Training is also better in Tableau and the user community is very knowledgeable. We selected it as our …
    Incentivized
    Chose Tableau Desktop
    In tableau you can achieve things really quickly and it has the power to show you insight data very easily. Tableau is also economical in comparison to what these tools cost. It's a full value tool.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Would buy again
    51 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    91%
    Delivers good value for the price
    49 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    54 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    37 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    43 Answers
    Features
    ibi WebFOCUSTableau Desktop
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of ibi WebFOCUS and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    ibi WebFOCUS
    7.7
    11 Ratings
    6% below category average
    Tableau Desktop
    8.3
    167 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Pixel Perfect reports7.06 Ratings8.8139 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards9.011 Ratings8.4166 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates7.011 Ratings7.8145 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of ibi WebFOCUS and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    ibi WebFOCUS
    9.3
    13 Ratings
    14% above category average
    Tableau Desktop
    8.7
    164 Ratings
    8% above category average
    Drill-down analysis8.013 Ratings8.6159 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities10.013 Ratings9.2162 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages9.08 Ratings7.7122 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration10.012 Ratings9.2157 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of ibi WebFOCUS and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    ibi WebFOCUS
    8.2
    11 Ratings
    1% below category average
    Tableau Desktop
    8.1
    158 Ratings
    3% below category average
    Publish to Web10.09 Ratings7.3149 Ratings
    Publish to PDF8.09 Ratings7.9149 Ratings
    Report Versioning6.010 Ratings8.2116 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling10.011 Ratings9.2123 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers7.03 Ratings8.073 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of ibi WebFOCUS and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    ibi WebFOCUS
    6.3
    10 Ratings
    24% below category average
    Tableau Desktop
    8.4
    156 Ratings
    5% above category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)6.08 Ratings9.0154 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization7.09 Ratings8.2149 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics6.07 Ratings8.6126 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings8.02 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of ibi WebFOCUS and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    ibi WebFOCUS
    9.0
    11 Ratings
    6% above category average
    Tableau Desktop
    8.7
    142 Ratings
    3% above category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)8.011 Ratings9.0139 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model10.011 Ratings8.0119 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)10.011 Ratings8.8129 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)8.04 Ratings8.877 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings9.03 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of ibi WebFOCUS and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    ibi WebFOCUS
    5.9
    11 Ratings
    28% below category average
    Tableau Desktop
    8.0
    135 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access9.011 Ratings8.2124 Ratings
    Mobile Application3.32 Ratings7.097 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.08 Ratings8.8117 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of ibi WebFOCUS and Tableau Desktop
    Feature
    ibi WebFOCUS
    8.6
    3 Ratings
    10% above category average
    Tableau Desktop
    9.0
    64 Ratings
    14% above category average
    REST API10.01 Ratings9.256 Ratings
    Javascript API8.02 Ratings9.051 Ratings
    iFrames8.02 Ratings9.249 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)8.03 Ratings8.453 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)9.01 Ratings8.446 Ratings
    Java API00 Ratings10.046 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    ibi WebFOCUSTableau Desktop
    Small Businesses
    Cyfe
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Cyfe
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Zendesk Explore
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Zendesk Explore
    Score8.7 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score9.7 out of 10
    Jaspersoft Community Edition
    Score9.7 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    ibi WebFOCUSTableau Desktop
    Likelihood to Recommend
    7.0
    (16 ratings)
    8.7
    (194 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.6
    (5 ratings)
    8.9
    (39 ratings)
    Usability
    8.0
    (3 ratings)
    8.6
    (63 ratings)
    Availability
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (10 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    6.1
    (9 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    7.0
    (56 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.4
    (4 ratings)
    Online Training
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (4 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (34 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.1
    (2 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.4
    (12 ratings)
    8.4
    (115 ratings)
    Data Sources
    9.4
    (12 ratings)
    7.9
    (115 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.0
    (3 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    ibi WebFOCUSTableau Desktop
    Likelihood to Recommend
    IBI (Information Builders)
    I would less recommend it because it looks like IBI is receding a bit from the European market. I would not be certain for future support. Knowledge in the market in western Europe is limited Functional wise the application suits almost all situations. I would for sure recommend it purely based on its capabilities
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    The best scenario is definitely to collect data from several sources and create dedicated dashboards for specific recipients. However, I miss the possibility of explaining these reports in more detail. Sometimes, we order a report, and after half a year, we don't remember the meaning of some data (I know it's our fault as an organization, but the tool could force better practices).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    IBI (Information Builders)
    • One thing that has always been good at WebFOCUS is how they interact with the customer on items. They take suggestions and implement them. In addition technical support is timely and very detailed.
    • I think they keep up with and lead in implementing new technologies in the BI space. One case of this are the ability for user to create their own easy dashboard using the green plus buttons. Also the ability to link d3 into and have the ability to implement new types of graphs is nice.
    • I have been to a spoke at one of their user conferences and they are worth going to. In addition to all of the great seminars the interaction you get with vendors and other users is key in the growth of your knowledge. I've learned so much for my time at these conferences.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • An excellent tool for data visualization, it presents information in an appealing visual format—an exceptional platform for storing and analyzing data in any size organization.
    • Through interactive parameters, it enables real-time interaction with the user and is easy to learn and get support from the community.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    IBI (Information Builders)
    • The newest versions of WebFOCUS have an unnecessarily complicated security layout that makes configuration difficult to accomplish without bringing in the vendor for installs.
    • This software tries to cover too many bases allowing you to switch from writing code manually to creating reports using only GUI tools. This sometimes complicates screens and functionality where the two methods don't always work well together. -though its nice to have the choice.
    • The sales force is not as top notch as many software companies
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Pricing should be more user-friendly and usage-driven
    • Making edits to the production reports is fairly tough and has a vast scope of additional capabilities
    • Tableau Desktop should be able to differentiate itself from the Tableau server else there is no major meaning of two different products being offered
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    IBI (Information Builders)
    This software is deeply engrained with my organization and has become a tool that would not easily be replaced without spending more money and resources to get the same results. License cost is comparable to other report writing tools and the capabilities are greater than the competition without having to buy multiple apps to do the same thing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Our use of Tableau Desktop is still fairly low, and will continue over time. The only real concern is around cost of the licenses, and I have mentioned this to Tableau and fully expect the development of more sensible models for our industry. This will remove any impediment to expansion of our use.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    IBI (Information Builders)
    Best BI tool/product I have used. The others don't compare overall. Some can look fancier, but when you actually use them with large data and data from numerous systems/sources that is where most of the competition falls away. I also don't like downtime. I have basically none for a large user base with WebFocus. Even SAP Crystal Reports went down for 4 days once - 4 days because the admin password got locked out due to a glitch and we had zero reports for 4 days. WebFocus has never had more than a few minutes of downtime. It's like a tank that just keeps rolling. There is no other choice for reliable BI.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop has proven to be a lifesaver in many situations. Once we've completed the initial setup, it's simple to use. It has all of the features we need to quickly and efficiently synthesize our data. Tableau Desktop has advanced capabilities to improve our company's data structure and enable self-service for our employees.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    IBI (Information Builders)
    Tracking availability formally for almost two years and we are at 99.8%
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    When used as a stand-alone tool, Tableau Desktop has unlimited uptime, which is always nice. When used in conjunction with Tableau Server, this tool has as much uptime as your server admins are willing to give it. All in all, I've never had an issue with Tableau's availability.
    Read full review
    Performance
    IBI (Information Builders)
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop's performance is solid. You can really dig into a large dataset in the form of a spreadsheet, and it exhibits similarly good performance when accessing a moderately sized Oracle database. I noticed that with Tableau Desktop 9.3, the performance using a spreadsheet started to slow around 75K rows by about 60 columns. This was easily remedied by creating an extract and pushing it to Tableau Server, where performance went to lightning fast
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    IBI (Information Builders)
    They have extremely knowledgeable techs that I have worked with over the years. Some have actually become really good friends of mine. I see them often at local user groups and when we show them how we are using their tools to save millions of dollars throughout the company
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Tableau support has been extremely responsive and willing to help with all of our requests. They have assisted with creating advanced analysis and many different types of custom icons, data formatting, formulas, and actions embedded into graphs. Tableau offers a weekly presentation of features and assists with internal company projects.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    IBI (Information Builders)
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    It is admittedly hard to train a group of people with disparate levels of ability coming in, but the software is so easy to use that this is not a huge problem; anyone who can follow simple instructions can catch up pretty quickly.
    Read full review
    Online Training
    IBI (Information Builders)
    It's hit and miss, the last class was overcrowded and people were having trouble connecting which took up much of the time. Instructors vary
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    I think the training was good overall, but it was maybe stating the obvious things that a tech savvy young engineer would be able to pick up themselves too. However, the example work books were good and Tableau web community has helped me with many problems
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    IBI (Information Builders)
    Plan ahead on what data will be accessible and the type of security required on the database and if you will want to use security that is built into the software. It is worth consulting with the vendor on what your plan is and how they recommend you proceed in order to get results you are happy with.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    Again, training is the key and the company provides a lot of example videos that will help users discover use cases that will greatly assist their creation of original visualizations. As with any new software tool, productivity will decline for a period. In the case of Tableau, the decline period is short and the later gains are well worth it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    IBI (Information Builders)
    Webfocus handles the side of our business that is involved with our catalogs. Our catalogs is a huge revenue driver for us and this tool has been extremely useful with planning feature catalogs. Tableau is used more for marketing and merchandising purchases since we can filter data based on website sales.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Tableau
    I have used Power BI as well, the pricing is better, and also training costs or certifications are not that high. Since there is python integration in Power BI where I can use data cleaning and visualizing libraries and also some machine learning models. I can import my python scripts and create a visualization on processed data.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    IBI (Information Builders)
    No answers on this topic
    Tableau
    Tableau Desktop's scaleability is really limited to the scale of your back-end data systems. If you want to pull down an extract and work quickly in-memory, in my application it scaled to a few tens of millions of rows using the in-memory engine. But it's really only limited by your back-end data store if you have or are willing to invest in an optimized SQL store or purpose-built query engine like Veritca or Netezza or something similar.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    IBI (Information Builders)
    • We are not yet a success story. Though we've been implementing WebFOCUS for over a year, we have very few products in our Production portal. Of course, this is not all the responsibility of Information Builders, but we were ill-advised by our 'training coordinator' in our training of staff and coming up to speed with the tools has been very slow.
    • Once skilled analysts and professional IT staff achieve a grasp of the products, they are able to very quickly create polished and well-received products.
    • The DW/BI project has helped us to establish standards and protocols of communication that will allow us to more quickly meet knowledge transfer requirements
    Read full review
    Tableau
    • Tableau was acquired years ago, and has provided good value with the content created.
    • Ongoing maintenance costs for the platform, both to maintain desktop and server licensing has made the continuing value questionable when compared to other offerings in the marketplace.
    • Users have largely been satisfied with the content, but not with the overall performance. This is due to a combination of factors including the performance of the Tableau engines as well as development deficiencies.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots