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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Looker

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/ALooker is a BI application with an analytics-oriented application server that sits on top of relational data stores. It includes an end-user interface for exploring data, a reusable development paradigm for data discovery, and an API for supporting data in other systems.N/A

    MicroStrategy Analytics

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/AMicroStrategy Analytics is an enterprise business analytics and mobility platform. Key features include automatic big data analysis and reporting, data discovery and visualization, digital security credentials, and support for mobile devices.N/A
    Pricing
    LookerMicroStrategy Analytics
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    LookerMicroStrategy Analytics
    Free Trial
    YesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    YesNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeRequiredNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsMust contact sales team for pricing.Must contact sales team for pricing information.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    LookerMicroStrategy Analytics
    Considered Both Products
    Google
    Chose Looker
    Tableau has an adoption issue of having to upgrade to the most recent Tableau reader. In my experience it was very difficult to get the sales team to do this. microstrategy was the most overly complicated reporting software I have ever used. You need a consultant to do …
    Incentivized
    Chose Looker
    I evaluated everything under the Gartner BI quadrant (i.e., Tableau, Birst, MS SSRS, MicroStrategy, etc.) — from the niche players, all the way through the powerhouse (supposed) "leaders" in BI. Looker was a nice fit for my company, because all though we are quite large (in …
    Incentivized
    MicroStrategy
    Chose MicroStrategy Analytics
    • Standardized & optimized data repository resulting in better pricing strategy and increase in revenue & profitability
    • Better decision making capability and efficient on-boarding of end users through a near real-time reporting platform
    • Four major investor segmentation reports for …
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    98%
    Would buy again
    60 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    98%
    Delivers good value for the price
    53 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    61 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    98%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    40 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    48 Answers
    No answers on this topic
    Features
    LookerMicroStrategy Analytics
    BI Standard Reporting
    Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Looker and MicroStrategy Analytics
    Feature
    Looker
    8.5
    116 Ratings
    4% above category average
    MicroStrategy Analytics
    10.0
    26 Ratings
    20% above category average
    Pixel Perfect reports8.195 Ratings10.023 Ratings
    Customizable dashboards9.0115 Ratings10.023 Ratings
    Report Formatting Templates8.499 Ratings10.024 Ratings
    Ad-hoc Reporting
    Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Looker and MicroStrategy Analytics
    Feature
    Looker
    8.6
    116 Ratings
    7% above category average
    MicroStrategy Analytics
    10.0
    24 Ratings
    22% above category average
    Drill-down analysis8.2112 Ratings10.022 Ratings
    Formatting capabilities7.9114 Ratings10.024 Ratings
    Integration with R or other statistical packages8.947 Ratings10.016 Ratings
    Report sharing and collaboration9.2116 Ratings10.023 Ratings
    Report Output and Scheduling
    Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Looker and MicroStrategy Analytics
    Feature
    Looker
    8.9
    112 Ratings
    7% above category average
    MicroStrategy Analytics
    10.0
    23 Ratings
    18% above category average
    Publish to Web8.494 Ratings10.022 Ratings
    Publish to PDF9.1100 Ratings10.023 Ratings
    Report Versioning8.775 Ratings10.020 Ratings
    Report Delivery Scheduling9.297 Ratings10.022 Ratings
    Delivery to Remote Servers00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Data Discovery and Visualization
    Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Looker and MicroStrategy Analytics
    Feature
    Looker
    7.0
    113 Ratings
    13% below category average
    MicroStrategy Analytics
    10.0
    22 Ratings
    22% above category average
    Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)8.2109 Ratings10.020 Ratings
    Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization8.297 Ratings10.019 Ratings
    Predictive Analytics4.66 Ratings10.018 Ratings
    Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Access Control and Security
    Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Looker and MicroStrategy Analytics
    Feature
    Looker
    8.4
    112 Ratings
    1% below category average
    MicroStrategy Analytics
    10.0
    21 Ratings
    16% above category average
    Multi-User Support (named login)8.7106 Ratings10.019 Ratings
    Role-Based Security Model8.393 Ratings10.020 Ratings
    Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)8.2106 Ratings10.020 Ratings
    Report-Level Access Control8.345 Ratings10.01 Ratings
    Single Sign-On (SSO)00 Ratings10.09 Ratings
    Mobile Capabilities
    Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Looker and MicroStrategy Analytics
    Feature
    Looker
    6.3
    84 Ratings
    22% below category average
    MicroStrategy Analytics
    9.7
    19 Ratings
    21% above category average
    Responsive Design for Web Access7.781 Ratings10.019 Ratings
    Mobile Application5.01 Ratings10.015 Ratings
    Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile7.575 Ratings10.019 Ratings
    Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
    Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Looker and MicroStrategy Analytics
    Feature
    Looker
    -
    Ratings
    MicroStrategy Analytics
    10.0
    8 Ratings
    25% above category average
    REST API00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Javascript API00 Ratings10.07 Ratings
    iFrames00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Java API00 Ratings10.04 Ratings
    Themeable User Interface (UI)00 Ratings10.05 Ratings
    Customizable Platform (Open Source)00 Ratings10.06 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    LookerMicroStrategy Analytics
    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
    LookerMicroStrategy Analytics
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.7
    (117 ratings)
    10.0
    (47 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.5
    (7 ratings)
    9.9
    (27 ratings)
    Usability
    8.8
    (12 ratings)
    3.2
    (5 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Performance
    6.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.8
    (14 ratings)
    2.2
    (5 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (4 ratings)
    Configurability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    8.5
    (51 ratings)
    8.0
    (18 ratings)
    Data Sources
    7.3
    (51 ratings)
    8.8
    (18 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    Professional Services
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    LookerMicroStrategy Analytics
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Google
    Looker is ideal if you are heavily invested in Google Services, particularly marketing related services, and you with to quickly create reporting dashboards for that data. It gets more difficult when you try to tie in data from other services, and I would not use this were I already using BI package - it is not anywhere near as well supported or as widely known as some of its major competitors, but what it does do, it does do well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    MSTR is great for any organization that is looking for a way to deliver complicated data in an uncomplicated way. From business teams to marketing and finance, several departments benefit from using MSTR to keep track of KPIs enabling teams to make optimizations along the way. MSTR provides great visual representations of data enabling team members to distill thousands of data points into easily digestible charts and graphs
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Google
    • Show visited pages - sessions, pageviews - which programs are viewed the most.
    • Displays session source/medium views to see where users are coming from.
    • It shows the video titles, URLs, and event counts so we can monitor the performance of our videos.
    • It gives a graphic face to the numbers, such as using bar charts, pie graphs, and other charts to show user trends or which channels are driving engagement.
    • Our clients like to see the top pages visited for a month.
    • I like the drop-and-drag approach, and building charts is a little easier than it was before.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    • They sell the product well, and make promises you will actually believe
    • "checks the box" for most features a company would need. Doesn't actually deliver them though
    • They answer the phone in a timely manner. Can't answer your questions or provide support, but the queue time isn't bad
    • They have online documentation. It's not up to date, and likely doesn't reflect the version of software you are using, but hey... they can point to it.
    Read full review
    Cons
    Google
    • I wish I could get more granular in the Google ad data, such as down to the campaign type, instead of having to see only all campaigns.
    • The setup can be time-consuming if you're not using the product regularly.
    • Editing the dashboard requires a few logins; I wish it was more seamless.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    • The graph options are not as robust as an Excel user might want.
    • The metadata layer can sometimes be slower, and it takes a long time for reports to run.
    • Viewing the data feed entered can be cumbersome at times, in terms of validation with reports.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Google
    I give it this rating because it deems as effective, I am able to complete majority of my tasks using this app. It is very helpful when analyzing the data provided and shown in the app and it's just overall a great app for Operational use, despite the small hiccups it has (live data).
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    I would always choose to renew MicroStrategy as long as they lead the market in features, functionality and price. The support of MicroStrategy is timely and professional, I frequently get answers to my questions within 24 hours and normally have solutions within 48 hours. Training available for MicroStrategy completely covers everything required to be able to expertly use MicroStrategy and understand data warehousing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Google
    Looker is relatively easy to use, even as it is set up. The customers for the front-end only have issues with the initial setup for looker ml creations. Other "looks" are relatively easy to set up, depending on the ETL and the data which is coming into Looker on a regular basis.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    The standard grid reporting could look more like the styling and object used for the Import and Visual Insight products. In addition, object properties almost seem to be hidden when first using the product. It's as if they are asking the engineers to only use the presets we make available...and, these presets are 10+ years old. On the positive side, Microstrategy seems to be the only product, not named Cognos, which can scale to Big Data. The product is "hackable" via the SDK or tricking the Intelligence Server to do uncommon things. The Microstrategy development team also seems to be very involved with their OEM partners; especially when it comes to features and enhancements. A large majority of the improvements we suggested have made it into the product or on the roadmap for future enhancements. Only suckas fall for the shiny objects from most other vendors; Microstrategy is really the only choice for Enterprise BI.
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Google
    No objections
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    I've never had an issue with MicroStrategy not being available due to MicroStrategy application malfunction. It is very robust and only failures I've seen were due to user error or the platform the machine running the service failed some how.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Google
    Somehow resources heavy, both on server and client. I recommned at least 50Mbs data rate and high performance desktop comouter to be abke to run comolex tasks and configure larger amount of data. On the other hand, the client does not need to worry when viewing, the performance is usually ok
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    Being able to customize the performance based on the business need is extremely powerful. Proper configuration and understanding of the usage pattern is key, if the technical ability of the architect is not at top level, then the product will not be configured correctly which will lead to poor performance.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Google
    Never had to work with support for issues. Any questions we had, they would respond promptly and clearly. The one-time setup was easy, by reading documentation. If the feature is not supported, they will add a feature request. In this case, LDAP support was requested over OKTA. They are looking into it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    Good user community. Support team is available if you are under AMC. You get decent support after raising the support ticket. If it is product bug they will inform you and let you know which patch will resolve the same.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Google
    No answers on this topic
    MicroStrategy
    I have attended many trainings offered by MicroStrategy; both distance and in-person training. I earned my CRD (Certified Report Developer) certification via the online training. I found the training to be well organized and concise. Overall I will definitely continue to increase my knowledge with MicroStrategy via the online training offering.
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Google
    Very satisfied, easy to implement
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    We measured following KPI for the success
    • Increase in Business Feeds Loads
    • Reduction in Controllers Manual Work.
    • Conversion of Manual Work into Systematic Workflows.
    • Increase in Customer Spend
    • Reduction in Service costs
    • Reduction in time-to-market for new campaigns
    • Increase in cross sell and Up sell
    • Error reduction in customer Identification
    • Existing client retained
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Google
    Looker Studio, you can easily report on data from various sources without programming. Looker Studio is available at no charge for creators and report viewers. Enterprise customers who upgrade to Looker Studio Pro will receive support and expanded administrative features, including team content management. So it's good.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    Tableau is probably MicroStrategy Analytic's biggest competitor I've noticed over time, and I'm not sure why. Tableau only covers visualizations independently for each business user, which then creates the issues of every employee creating their own version of the data, and then you have 20 versions of the truth. A enterprise data warehouse and MicroStrategy's Visual Insight is a better method.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Google
    Perfect price to performance
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    Google
    No answers on this topic
    MicroStrategy
    This software is extremely scaleable, one can add more core servers which performs as a load balancing. The configurations available to manage usage patterns and daily activity are as high a caliber as any other enterprise level software. This product can be installed on both a windows and unix platform allow for integration on a budget.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Google
    • Looker has a poignant impact on our business's ROI objectives. As an advertising exchange we have specific goals for daily requests and fill, and having premade Looks to monitor this is an integral piece of our operational capability
    • To facilitate an efficient monthly billing cycle in our organization, Looker is essential to track estimated revenue and impression delivery by publisher. Without the Looks we have set up, we would spend considerably more time and effort segmenting revenue by vertical.
    • Looker's unique value proposition is making analytical tools more digestible to people without conventional analytical experience. Other competing tools like Tableau require considerably more training and context to successfully use, and the ability to easily plot different visualizations is one of its greatest selling points.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    MicroStrategy
    • MicroStrategy was helpful for reducing the amount of time we needed to spend number crunching large data sets, and in doing so, allowed me as the primary users to spend more time gleaning insights from the data that in turn informed our leadership team to make strategic decisions.
    • By creating numerous canned reports available to all members of the team through email distribution or basic access to the platform, we were able to reduce the time I spent showing people how to pull the data in Microsoft Excel by nearly 40% .
    • We ended up needing to make many changes to the way our DMP was feeding data into MicroStrategy due to incorrect reporting that caused complications in accounting and finance.
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Looker Screenshots

    Screenshot of a Looker dashboard with a geo chart.