Azure Analysis Services vs. Zendesk Explore

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Azure Analysis Services
Score 7.7 out of 10
N/A
Azure Analysis Services delivers enterprise-grade BI semantic modeling capabilities with the scale, flexibility, and management benefits of the cloud. Azure Analysis Services helps transform complex data into actionable insights. Azure Analysis Services is built on the analytics engine in Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services.N/A
Zendesk Explore
Score 8.8 out of 10
N/A
Zendesk offers Explore, a business intelligence and customer analytics tool which integrates with the Zendesk suite featuring ticket analytics, custom fields, dashboards, and other features. Zendesk is migrating customers of the BIME analytics product, which is approaching end of support, to Zendesk Explore in 2019.N/A
Pricing
Azure Analysis ServicesZendesk Explore
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Azure Analysis ServicesZendesk Explore
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Azure Analysis ServicesZendesk Explore
Considered Both Products
Azure Analysis Services
Chose Azure Analysis Services
Microsoft Azure Analysis Services is the best tool available in market in present scenario and it justifies it's role. The solution is packed with lot of functionalities which helps in taking useful decision. The integration and deployment part is easy and need less time and …
Chose Azure Analysis Services
Azure Data Factory
Chose Azure Analysis Services
The best thing about it is the ability to create a query and drill down the data to a more granular level when needed. The best thing about Azure Analysis Services is. It provides secured access anytime from anywhere, it also provides REST API for this, which is very easy to …
Chose Azure Analysis Services
The platform has vast number of features and modules. The UI is sleek and once you get to use to it, you will be able to do a lot of stuff. Also support for data sources is more in Azure Analysis Services.
Chose Azure Analysis Services
We have used the IBM cloud which was truly a specific nightmare for our team. User experience, layout, and design is big for us as it understandably is with many people. Even if any type of program can technically do all that we need it to, we still found our team will not be …
Chose Azure Analysis Services
I had used SAP at a different Organization and the organization where I used Azure Analysis Services was already having it and hence I had to use it. Both have their own sets of pros and cons to look into. To be honest I liked SAP more than Azure Analysis Services
Chose Azure Analysis Services
A different UIUX between both products, but some would say Cloud Platform is easier to be used. Performance-wise both functions to their fullest ability so it boils down to the company's decision to select which products to be implemented. Would definitely not go wrong choosing …
Zendesk Explore
Chose Zendesk Explore
Zendesk Explore stands out against Freshchat and Freshdesk for it's deeper analytics capabilities and seamless integration with Zendesk ecosystem. While Freshdesk offers reporting, it lacks on the same level of granular insights and customization that Zendesk Explore provides. …
Chose Zendesk Explore
I selected Zendesk Explore only to provide an easy and quick access for my managers and supervisors regading metrics and volume trends. Is not the most flexible nor complete data visualization tool, but works well for day-to-day follow ups.
You need to use another tool if you …
Chose Zendesk Explore
N/A - the company had already implemented Zendesk Explore when I was hired.
Chose Zendesk Explore
What's good with Zendesk Explore is that data is already provided since it's included in the package. We get the data from Zendesk Support and make a report in Zendesk Explore.

It provides suggested templates and report formats also which you don't get on the other platforms. …
Chose Zendesk Explore
Zendesk Explore is more user friendly and the software plus maintenance cost is less. The report section is more detailed and no lag while creating report for a large data source. The report segments and formats are editable which make it more convenient to make a report …
Chose Zendesk Explore
We tried other reporting and Zendesk Explore was by far the best as it was already implemented into our support system we were already using; Zendesk. The main selling point for us, is that all of the reports are customizable and that no coding knowledge is needed to build out …
Chose Zendesk Explore
Zendesk Explore is better than Freshservice Analytics. In Freshservice, even though the interface is more attractive, the functions are not as good as Zendesk Explore. Reports and dashboards are hard to build, and the materials to learn are not as good as the materials on …
Chose Zendesk Explore
For support data, we have only used Explore because it came with our ZenDesk membership. So I can't speak to other solutions! That said, it's awesome to have Knowledge Base and support data in one place.
Features
Azure Analysis ServicesZendesk Explore
BI Standard Reporting
Comparison of BI Standard Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
8.7
Ratings
6% above category average
Zendesk Explore
9.0
Ratings
10% above category average
Pixel Perfect reports8.90 Ratings7.10 Ratings
Customizable dashboards8.70 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Report Formatting Templates8.50 Ratings9.90 Ratings
Ad-hoc Reporting
Comparison of Ad-hoc Reporting features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.0
Ratings
11% above category average
Zendesk Explore
8.3
Ratings
3% above category average
Drill-down analysis9.00 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Formatting capabilities8.90 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Integration with R or other statistical packages8.90 Ratings4.80 Ratings
Report sharing and collaboration9.00 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Report Output and Scheduling
Comparison of Report Output and Scheduling features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.0
Ratings
8% above category average
Zendesk Explore
8.4
Ratings
1% above category average
Publish to Web9.10 Ratings6.90 Ratings
Publish to PDF8.90 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Report Versioning9.40 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Report Delivery Scheduling9.00 Ratings8.90 Ratings
Delivery to Remote Servers8.70 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Data Discovery and Visualization
Comparison of Data Discovery and Visualization features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.1
Ratings
13% above category average
Zendesk Explore
7.2
Ratings
10% below category average
Pre-built visualization formats (heatmaps, scatter plots etc.)9.30 Ratings6.60 Ratings
Location Analytics / Geographic Visualization9.20 Ratings7.10 Ratings
Predictive Analytics8.80 Ratings5.50 Ratings
Pattern Recognition and Data Mining00 Ratings9.40 Ratings
Access Control and Security
Comparison of Access Control and Security features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
9.3
Ratings
9% above category average
Zendesk Explore
9.1
Ratings
7% above category average
Multi-User Support (named login)9.30 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Role-Based Security Model9.40 Ratings9.50 Ratings
Multiple Access Permission Levels (Create, Read, Delete)9.20 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Single Sign-On (SSO)9.50 Ratings10.00 Ratings
Report-Level Access Control00 Ratings8.60 Ratings
Mobile Capabilities
Comparison of Mobile Capabilities features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
8.8
Ratings
11% above category average
Zendesk Explore
7.8
Ratings
1% below category average
Responsive Design for Web Access8.50 Ratings6.10 Ratings
Mobile Application9.50 Ratings8.30 Ratings
Dashboard / Report / Visualization Interactivity on Mobile8.50 Ratings9.00 Ratings
Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding
Comparison of Application Program Interfaces (APIs) / Embedding features of Product A and Product B
Azure Analysis Services
8.9
Ratings
13% above category average
Zendesk Explore
5.9
Ratings
28% below category average
REST API8.90 Ratings5.40 Ratings
Javascript API8.70 Ratings5.90 Ratings
iFrames9.00 Ratings5.50 Ratings
Java API8.90 Ratings5.60 Ratings
Themeable User Interface (UI)8.60 Ratings6.20 Ratings
Customizable Platform (Open Source)9.20 Ratings7.00 Ratings
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User Ratings
Azure Analysis ServicesZendesk Explore
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(0 ratings)
9.5
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Azure Analysis ServicesZendesk Explore
Likelihood to Recommend
Microsoft Azure Analysis Services is best tool which is well suited for many type of scenarios. Like if the organization is dealing with a lot of critical data and need some better analysis and insights for that data then tool serves the best. It helps in depth analysis and getting the desired result which helps in making big decision for any organization. We can create role based access for sensitive data hence it is very helpful for security point of view. Helps in making the business more productive and taking decision based on facts. It is less appropriate for scenarios like where data amount is less and the solution is very costly and someone can get a cheaper solution. Also not suited for environment where user directory do not exist because without the help of user directory role could not be created hence proper utilization of this tool will not be possible.
Read full review
Compared to other analytics functions of other Ticket Management System, Zendesk Explore is the easiest to learn. Moreover, the learning curve is high. Once you pick up the fundamentals, you will be able to create all types of analytic reports. In addition, if you know basic coding or SQL, you can create your own metrics and attributes to capture extremely specific elements such as the tickets that contain a certain word or etc.
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Pros
  • You can import data from various sources (i.e. Oracle, Azure SQL...)
  • You can store data models
  • You can elaborate data and create insights
  • Perfect integration with Excel and Power BI
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  • As with most "suite" products, if you already use other Zendesk features (Chat, Talk, etc), then Zendesk Explore adds an extra facet to the customer experience. The more we know about our clientele, the better we can understand/anticipate their needs.
  • I like that we can get as in-depth as we feel is necessary. For example, is just one customer having an issue? Or are many experiencing a similar problem? We can better rack this type of trend using Explore.
  • Our team can dive deep into the data based on exactly what we're looking for. If the marketing team wants a certain kind of segment, we can give them that info. If we want to sort by date or another set of parameters, we can do that as well.
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Cons
  • Microsoft Azure Analysis Services is very costly solution and in that price we can get some better business intelligence tool with lot more of capabilities
  • The dashboard or we can say user interface is complex and need time to understand and gain expertise in order for proper working.
  • It needs continuation monitoring which is sometime a big task.
  • Sometime, the tool shows unusual behavior and become unstable, so we need to clear temp files for proper functioning.
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  • More detailed pieces of training on where to find datasets/queries.
  • Have demo reports to do live trainings; instead of watching videos.
  • Have a key as to what all of the datasets mean.
  • Have a pop-up that analyzes the data "looks like your csat dropped this week!" etc...
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Usability
No answers on this topic
I rate Zendesk Explore 8 out of 10 for it's overall usability because it offers powerful reporting and analytics with an easy to navigate interface and intuitive dashboards. It helps improve customer satisfaction by providing valuable insights into ticket handling, agent performance and customer satisfaction. Though the complex query builder can be challenging for non technical users.
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Support Rating
No answers on this topic
Zendesk Community is extremely useful for Zendesk Explore beginners. The live support provided by Zendesk will also help a lot. If you don't know anything you can ask live support right away. However, one drawback of Zendesk Community and Support is the creation of complex reports on Zendesk Explore. Zendesk Community and Support cannot really help you much if you are trying to build a complex report as they are not a complete expert on it as well.
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Alternatives Considered
We have used the IBM cloud which was truly a specific nightmare for our team. User experience, layout, and design is big for us as it understandably is with many people. Even if any type of program can technically do all that we need it to, we still found our team will not be as motivated or satisfied using it compared to something more visually appealing and smooth.
Read full review
Zendesk Explore stands out against Freshchat and Freshdesk for it's deeper analytics capabilities and seamless integration with Zendesk ecosystem. While Freshdesk offers reporting, it lacks on the same level of granular insights and customization that Zendesk Explore provides. Compared to Freshchat which focuses more on live chat and conversational analytics Zendesk Explore excels in historical trend analysis and comprehensive dashboarding. We choose Zendesk Explore for it's robust reporting and drill down capabilities.
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Return on Investment
  • Website analytics; We have realized so many benefits like traffic analysis, CRM, click-through funnels, and many more.
  • Aas allows us to do complex calculations and aggregations at slight efforts. It accommodates DAX expression, which in return is simple to apply.
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  • Positive impact of around 5 hours/week in Dashboard building and visualization
  • 10 hours from Product to review dashboards and find potential patterns
  • Enabler to find opportunities based on agents´ occupancy rates
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ScreenShots