A Comparative Capability Assessment of Contemporary Business Intelligence and Data Visualization Platforms

Abstract

Business Intelligence (BI) platforms increasingly combine data connectivity, preparation, modeling, visualization, analytics, natural-language interaction, collaboration, and deployment within integrated environments. This study presents a comprehensive comparative capability assessment of five widely used BI platforms—Zoho Analytics, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, Domo, and Qlik. To ensure rigor and reproducibility, the evaluation defines eight common capability dimensions and explicit operational indicators for each dimension. Evidence is synthesized from peer-reviewed literature and detailed vendor documentation. A three-level evidence-based coding scheme—High (5), Medium (3), and Basic (1)—is applied alongside lifecycle-weighted criteria to compute a Weighted Capability Index (WCI). The baseline evaluation yields scores of 5.00 for Power BI, 4.70 for Domo, 4.60 for Qlik, 4.50 for Zoho Analytics, and 3.80 for Tableau. Systemic sensitivity analysis (±5 percentage points across all criteria) reveals rank stability for Power BI (1st) and Tableau (5th), while mid-tier ranks shift depending on specific modeling and NLP priorities. The paper provides a transparent comparative model for academic researchers and enterprise decision-makers.