Metabase vs MicroStrategy: An In-Depth Comparison
Introduction
Choosing the right business intelligence (BI) tool is crucial for data-driven decision-making. Metabase and Microstrategy are prominent players in the BI space, each offering unique features and capabilities.
This comparison will delve into their functionalities, user experiences, and overall performance to aid businesses in selecting the most suitable option. We'll also explore how Sourcetable can serve as an alternative with its modernized, spreadsheet-like interface that syncs with your data for reporting and data analytics.
What is Metabase?
Metabase is an open-source analytics tool designed to provide a user-friendly experience for data analysis. It is accessible to a wide range of users, offering a clear and intuitive user interface that simplifies the process of querying and visualizing data.
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Metabase is an open-source analytics tool designed to provide a user-friendly experience for data analysis. It is accessible to a wide range of users, offering a clear and intuitive user interface that simplifies the process of querying and visualizing data.
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Features of Metabase
- Connectivity to over 20 types of data sources, facilitating versatile data analysis without the need for extracts.
- Availability of a free open-source tier, making it a cost-effective solution for analytics.
- Provision of a Pro plan that operates on a pay-as-you-go basis to accommodate growing business needs.
- A hosted plan option, offering a managed service for ease of use.
- Support for single sign-on to streamline user access within organizations.
- Comprehensive permissions and auditing features to ensure data governance and security.
- Embedded analytics capabilities allowing integration into other applications or services.
- Compliance with GDPR, ensuring data protection and privacy standards are met.
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Deployment and Trust
- An Enterprise plan tailored for larger organizations requiring advanced features and support.
- Trusted by over 50,000 companies, indicating a strong market presence and reliability.
- Compatibility with docker deployment, offering flexibility in installation and scalability.
What is MicroStrategy?
MicroStrategy is a business intelligence (BI) platform that integrates artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance data analytics and visualization across organizational levels.
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MicroStrategy is a business intelligence (BI) platform that integrates artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance data analytics and visualization across organizational levels.
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AI Integration
MicroStrategy was the pioneer in embedding AI technology into its BI platform, through MicroStrategy ONE, which facilitates AI at every level of an organization.
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Data Interaction and Visualization
The platform's AI capabilities enable convenient data visualization and interaction, allowing users to engage with data easily and ask complex questions using natural language.
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Accelerated Decision-Making
MicroStrategy AI accelerates the time to action, providing quick and efficient insights for decision-making processes.
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User Accessibility
Designed to cater to a wide range of users, not just data specialists, MicroStrategy AI serves the needs of everyone within an organization, fostering a data-driven culture.
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Industry Trust and Ecosystem
Trusted by innovative companies, MicroStrategy maintains a global partner ecosystem, enabling users to create tailored solutions and AI bots, leveraging diverse data visualizations.
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Metabase Key Features
Scalability and Self-service Analytics |
Metabase provides features for scaling and delivering self-service analytics. Organizations can embed Metabase within their applications for internal or customer-facing analytics. |
Authentication Options |
Paid plans offer advanced authentication methods such as SAML and JWT. Google Sign-In is supported for multiple domain authentication. |
Permission Controls |
Enhanced permissions on paid plans include data sandboxing for row and column-level access, and extensive management options across SQL snippets, applications, and databases. |
Group Management |
Group managers can oversee user roles and permissions, streamlining administrative tasks. |
Customization and Embedding |
Interactive embedding capabilities allow for integration of Metabase into other applications. Appearance and user experience can be customized to fit brand requirements. |
Dashboard Subscriptions and Alerts |
Manage dashboard subscriptions and alerts with customized filters, domain whitelisting, and recipient suggestions to enhance user engagement. |
Moderation and Caching |
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Data Portability |
Exporting application data enables easy migration or backup of Metabase instances. |
Key Features of Microstrategy
Data Source Connectivity |
Microstrategy connects to a diverse range of data sources including relational databases, flat files, big data repositories, social media platforms, and cloud systems. This ensures comprehensive data access for analytics. |
Data Integration and Wrangling |
The platform offers data blending capabilities for integrating data from multiple sources. Its data wrangling feature facilitates data transformation and modification, optimizing it for analysis. |
Analytics and Data Mining |
With an extensive library of analytics functions such as OLAP, mathematical, financial, and data mining, Microstrategy supports complex data analysis. The data mining and predictive analysis features also allow incorporation of third-party tools. |
Visualization Tools |
Microstrategy's visualization library includes a variety of visualization tools like grids and graphs, as well as hundreds of open-source visualizations from D3 and others, enhancing data presentation. |
Real-Time Dashboards |
The real-time dashboards feature provides live data sourcing for up-to-the-minute monitoring and decision-making. |
Embedded BI |
The embedded BI feature includes development-ready portlets that can be integrated with enterprise applications such as IBM WebSphere, Oracle WebLogic, Microsoft SharePoint, and SAP NetWeaver without additional coding. |
Mobile Accessibility |
Microstrategy's capabilities extend to mobile platforms, making visualizations, reports, and dashboards instantly available on mobile devices for on-the-go analytics. |
Benefits of Metabase Pro in Business Intelligence
Comprehensive Permissions Management
Metabase Pro enhances data governance with advanced permissions, including row-level and column-level permissions. This granular control ensures secure access to data analytics.
Embedded Analytics and Customization
With embedded analytics, businesses can integrate Metabase Pro charts and dashboards directly into their applications. White-labeling and customization options allow for a tailored analytics experience that aligns with brand identity.
Support and Success Team
Businesses benefit from the expertise of a world-class success team, offering technical support and assistance with onboarding and offboarding processes, which streamlines user management.
Operational Efficiency
Metabase Pro's usage analytics, subscriptions, and alerts optimize the monitoring and reporting workflows. Caching mechanisms enhance the performance of analytics delivery.
Advanced Configuration and Syncing
Exporting configurations and content as YAML files, along with the ability to sync environments, ensures consistency across business intelligence operations. Template creation from configuration settings further simplifies setup procedures.
Role-Based Data Access
Role-based permissions on databases using connection impersonation provide a secure and compliant environment for managing data access in line with organizational roles and responsibilities.
Disadvantages of Using Metabase for Business Intelligence
Complex Query Limitations
Metabase presents difficulties when linking data for complex queries, hindering advanced analytical tasks.
Performance Issues
Performance declines with simultaneous multi-user access, and Metabase experiences significant delay and latency with larger data sets. Reports and data rendering are slow, affecting user experience negatively.
Update and Integration Challenges
Updating Metabase can be challenging, and it lacks efficiency in joining different databases, which is crucial for comprehensive data analysis.
Data Governance and Customization
The scope of data governance is limited, and there are few options for chart customization, restricting tailored data visualization.
Scalability and Authentication Support
Metabase struggles under large loads and does not support Azure SSO in its free edition, limiting scalability and enterprise integration.
Frequently Asked Questions About Metabase
How can I use the Trend Widget in Metabase?
You can use the Trend Widget in Metabase to visualize data trends over time. It allows you to filter data by date to analyze changes and patterns.
What should I do if I encounter a 550 5.7.60 SMTP error in Metabase?
If you encounter a 550 5.7.60 SMTP error, it is likely related to the SMTP setup in Metabase. You may need to check your SMTP configuration settings for any errors or misconfigurations.
Can Metabase be used to display comments on Postgres tables?
Yes, Metabase can be used to display comments on Postgres tables, allowing you to view and understand the context or descriptions of your data.
Is it possible to edit data in Snowflake or Athena using Metabase?
No, Metabase does not allow editing of data in Snowflake and Athena. It is designed for data visualization and exploration rather than data modification.
Does Metabase support JWT embedding?
Yes, Metabase supports JWT embedding, which enables secure integration of Metabase charts and dashboards into other applications.
Use Cases for Metabase
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Bringing company-wide transparency to customer care
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Helping teams get insights from their data
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Transforming data analysis
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Embedding analytics in SaaS platforms
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Creating efficient business reporting systems
Advantages of Using Microstrategy for Business Intelligence
Reporting Flexibility and Efficiency
Microstrategy's versatility allows it to serve various industries, from finance to retail, by providing detailed policy level reports and facilitating month-end summary reports for general ledgers. Its capacity for handling large volumes of data ensures comprehensive financial decision-making support.
Enhanced Data Visualization and Analytics
With its strong visualization capabilities, Microstrategy enables users to create live dashboards and perform ad-hoc analysis, thus providing valuable insights for informed decision-making. Its robust analytics tools are essential for examining large datasets efficiently.
Data Governance and Access
The software ensures secure data governance with a well-implemented security layer, enhancing trust in data integrity. Good data collection and access mechanisms streamline the process of gathering and utilizing information from multiple sources.
Speed and Mobile Accessibility
Microstrategy's performance is characterized by its speed, making business intelligence tasks more agile. Additionally, with a comprehensive mobile BI, users can access data and insights on the go, increasing operational flexibility.
Self-Service and Caching Capabilities
The self-serve BI feature empowers users to conduct their own analyses, reducing dependency on IT staff, while the caching of intelligence cubes improves the efficiency of data retrieval.
Comprehensive Business Intelligence Solution
Microstrategy's ability to build a complete BI solution and its proficiency in handling large volumes of data from diverse sources make it a scalable choice for businesses looking to consolidate their BI practices.
Disadvantages of Using Microstrategy for Business Intelligence
Cost and Implementation
Microstrategy is an expensive product with high implementation and licensing costs.Initial configurations require a significant time investment.There is a necessity for an MSTR Administrator to maintain the semantic layer, adding to the operational costs.
Usage and Functionality
The product's advanced features can be difficult to use and may require extensive training.Out-of-the-box capabilities may be limited, necessitating further customization.Setting up alerts and email distributions is a complicated process.Visual Insight and web dashboards have limitations and do not support HTML5.Limited web version functionality restricts customization options compared to the desktop version.
Data Management and Analysis
Microstrategy requires substantial data server load, impacting system performance.Effective data drilling is contingent upon robust backend data modeling.
Integration and Support
Integration with ESRI ArcGIS maps is dependent on internet connectivity, limiting offline usage.Support documentation, especially for Web Services, could use improvement.The user community and forums are not very active, which could hinder peer support.
Frequently Asked Questions About Microstrategy
What is MicroStrategy?
MicroStrategy is a Business Intelligence application and an enterprise-level Data Warehousing reporting tool.
What does the MicroStrategy metadata contain?
The MicroStrategy metadata is composed of project settings, MicroStrategy object definitions, and data warehouse connection information.
How does MicroStrategy store its metadata?
MicroStrategy uses a database repository to store metadata.
Can MicroStrategy be used for ad hoc and graphical reporting?
Yes, MicroStrategy can be used to create ad hoc reports as well as for graphical reports.
What are some capabilities of MicroStrategy for data analysis?
MicroStrategy can be used for analysis, direct analysis, conducting Composite Keys, and conditionally formatting metrics.
Use Cases for Microstrategy
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Streamlining data access for company representatives
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Data visualization for actionable insights
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Enabling enterprise analytics strategy for retail chains
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Democratizing data across an organization
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Informing commercial strategy with analytics
Why Sourcetable Is a Superior Business Intelligence Tool
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Simplified Reporting and Data Analytics
Unlike Metabase and Microstrategy, Sourcetable offers a streamlined approach to business intelligence by consolidating data analytics within a familiar spreadsheet interface. This integration reduces the complexity traditionally associated with BI tools.
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Unified Data Synchronization
Sourcetable syncs data from various services, providing a cohesive view of business metrics. In contrast, Metabase and Microstrategy may require more steps to consolidate data from multiple sources.
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User-Friendly Interface
With its spreadsheet-like interface, Sourcetable lowers the barrier to entry for users, making it accessible to a broader audience compared to the more specialized interfaces of Metabase and Microstrategy.
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Enhanced Accessibility
Sourcetable's emphasis on accessibility and ease-of-use allows users to explore data with minimal training, whereas Metabase and Microstrategy can have steeper learning curves.
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Streamlined Embedding and Sharing
Embedding and sharing reports is more intuitive with Sourcetable, providing simple yet powerful ways to distribute insights across an organization without the need for extensive setup or technical expertise.
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Comparison Between Metabase and MicroStrategy
Business Intelligence Capabilities
Both Metabase and MicroStrategy are tools designed for business intelligence (BI). They allow companies to perform analytics and explore data. These tools enable the creation of dashboards and reports to assist in data-driven decision-making.
Self-Service Analytics
Metabase and MicroStrategy offer self-service analytics, empowering users to conduct their own data analysis without needing technical expertise. This feature facilitates autonomy within teams and reduces reliance on data analysts.
User Accessibility
Accessibility is a shared feature, with both platforms being designed to be accessible to all users within a company. This inclusiveness ensures that both technical and non-technical personnel can utilize the tools effectively.
Data Source Connectivity
Metabase and MicroStrategy can connect to a variety of data sources, including data warehouses and production databases. This connectivity is crucial for businesses to leverage their existing data infrastructure.
Security and Compliance
Both Metabase and MicroStrategy comply with important security standards and regulations to ensure data is protected. This includes compliance with frameworks such as SOC 2 Type II and GDPR, providing assurance for enterprise-grade security needs.
Embedding Capabilities
Both tools have strong embedding capabilities, allowing the integration of analytics, dashboards, and reports into other applications. This feature is particularly useful for creating customer-facing analytics within existing products and services.
Metabase vs MicroStrategy
User Accessibility
Metabase is designed with a user-friendly interface, targeting non-technical users to enable them to explore data and create dashboards independently. It provides a visual query builder and is accessible to all users within a company. MicroStrategy, while offering robust analytics capabilities, typically has a steeper learning curve and may require more technical expertise to utilize fully.
Deployment and Setup
Metabase is known for its quick deployment, with the possibility of setting it up in as little as 3 minutes. It is available as a free open-source tool and also offers a hosted cloud version, Metabase Cloud. MicroStrategy, on the other hand, may require a more extensive setup process and does not have a free open-source tier.
Data Source Connectivity
Both Metabase and MicroStrategy can connect to a variety of data sources. Metabase supports over 20 different data sources, including production databases and data warehouses, without requiring data extracts. MicroStrategy also offers extensive data connectivity but may require additional configuration to integrate with certain sources.
Pricing Structure
Metabase provides a free open-source tier and a pay-as-you-go Pro plan, making it accessible for startups and small businesses. MicroStrategy does not offer a free version and is generally considered to have a higher total cost of ownership, which may be a consideration for smaller companies or those with limited budgets.
Compliance and Security
Metabase complies with SOC 2 Type II and GDPR, offering enterprise-grade security and compliance. While MicroStrategy also provides strong security features, the specifics of compliance certifications should be compared based on the latest updates from both tools.
Embedding Capabilities
Metabase allows for easy embedding of charts and dashboards in other applications without requiring coding, which can be done with iframes or JWT-signed embeds. MicroStrategy also offers embedding features, but the approach and ease of implementation may differ.
Comparison of Metabase, MicroStrategy, and Sourcetable
Metabase
Metabase is a business intelligence tool that enables companies to autonomously explore their data. With a user-friendly interface, it is accessible to a broad range of users. Metabase supports the creation of custom dashboards and analytics, facilitating a quick and simple implementation process. It connects to over 20 data sources and offers a free open-source tier as well as a pay-as-you-go Pro plan and a hosted plan.
MicroStrategy
MicroStrategy is a comprehensive business intelligence platform known for its robust analytics capabilities. Unlike Metabase, it is typically suited for enterprise-level clients, requiring a significant investment in both time and resources for full implementation. It offers powerful data analytics and visualization tools but is generally not as user-friendly as Metabase, which can limit accessibility for non-technical users.
Sourcetable
Sourcetable is a spreadsheet-based tool designed for business analytics and intelligence. It allows users to connect data from various sources into a single spreadsheet, making it easier to manipulate and visualize data. While it shares Metabase's simplicity and ease of use, Sourcetable is based on the familiar spreadsheet format, which may appeal to users comfortable with tools like Excel. It differs from Metabase in its approach to data manipulation and presentation, leveraging spreadsheet functionality over dedicated dashboards.
Key Differences
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Frequently Asked Questions About Sourcetable
What is Sourcetable and who typically uses it?
Sourcetable is a spreadsheet application that replaces workflows done in Excel, Google Sheets, and Business Intelligence tools. It is typically used by growth teams and business operations teams.
Does Sourcetable require any coding skills to use?
No, Sourcetable does not require coding, allowing users to query data and build live models without any programming knowledge.
How often does Sourcetable sync data from other applications?
Sourcetable syncs data from over 100 applications and most databases every 15 minutes on the regular plan and every 5 minutes on the pro plan.
What are the pricing plans for Sourcetable?
Sourcetable costs $50 / month for the starter plan and $250 / month for the pro plan. Additional seats cost $20 / month per user.
Is there a trial period for Sourcetable?
Yes, all plans have a 14-day free trial, allowing users to test Sourcetable's features before committing to a paid plan.
Metabase Pricing Plans
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Starter Plan
The Metabase Starter plan is priced at $85 monthly. This plan includes access for 5 users. Each additional user is charged at $5 per month. Opting for an annual billing grants a 10% discount, totaling $918 yearly, which equates to $54 per user per year.
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Pro Plan
The Pro plan is available at $500 per month with 10 users included. Additional users can be added at $10 monthly. An annual subscription provides a 10% discount, with a yearly cost of $5400, breaking down to $108 per user annually.
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Enterprise Plan
Enterprise plan pricing is customized and starts at $15,000 per year per user. The total cost varies depending on the number of users and specific enterprise needs.
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Open Source Plan
Metabase also offers an Open Source plan, which is free of charge and suitable for users seeking basic features without cost implications.
Microstrategy Analytics Pricing Overview
Microstrategy Analytics adopts a one-time license pricing model, with entry costs starting at $600 per user. This positions Microstrategy as a cost-effective solution compared to certain competitors. For example, it is more affordable than Google Analytics 360, which has a starting rate of $75 per user per month. Conversely, it is priced higher than Tableau, which also begins at $600 per user. Prospective users can take advantage of a free trial to assess the platform's capabilities before committing to a purchase.
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Microstrategy Analytics adopts a one-time license pricing model, with entry costs starting at $600 per user. This positions Microstrategy as a cost-effective solution compared to certain competitors. For example, it is more affordable than Google Analytics 360, which has a starting rate of $75 per user per month. Conversely, it is priced higher than Tableau, which also begins at $600 per user. Prospective users can take advantage of a free trial to assess the platform's capabilities before committing to a purchase.
- Initial price point set at $600 per user.
- One-time license fee offers a straightforward pricing structure.
- Cost-effective compared to Google Analytics 360.
- Priced higher than Tableau, despite a similar starting cost.
- Availability of a free trial to test the analytics platform.
User Reviews of Metabase
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Overall Impressions
Metabase has garnered an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5. Users report that it stands out as a business intelligence and visualization tool that is particularly easy to use, even for those with minimal technical knowledge. Its integration capabilities with SQL and Google Analytics add to its robustness.
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Functionality and Features
Users appreciate Metabase for its ability to build dashboards and analyze data. It is celebrated for excelling in data security and integrity, which is crucial for business intelligence software. The tool's functionality in tracking KPIs and creating custom reports is also highly rated, with reviewers giving it a 5.0 rating for features.
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Usability and Performance
- Most reviewers agree that Metabase is user-friendly, awarding it a 5.0 rating for ease of use.
- However, some users have experienced significant delay and latency with larger datasets and when many users access the tool simultaneously.
- There are also reports of Metabase becoming buggy and slow, particularly in rendering data and loading or downloading reports.
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Setup and Integration
- Metabase is praised for being easy to set up, deploy, and get started with.
- Despite being open-source, some users find it requires non-trivial configuration to run in this mode.
- Its self-hosted version is available for free, which is a bonus for those looking to operate within a tight budget.
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Customer Service and Support
Customer service is highly regarded, with users giving Metabase a 5.0 rating in this domain. The tool is also considered inexpensive and offers good value for money, which is reflected in another 5.0 rating from reviewers.
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Technical Challenges
- Despite its ease of use, Metabase is not without its challenges. It is noted to be difficult to contribute to due to its codebase being written in CoffeeScript.
- Additionally, the tool does not allow for joining between different databases, which can be a limitation for complex data analysis needs.
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Conclusion
While Metabase is not the most advanced analytics tool and can encounter performance issues under heavy use, it remains a market leader renowned for its user-friendly interface and self-service analytics capabilities. It is considered a great fit for non-technical users and small to medium-sized businesses seeking a cost-effective analytics solution.
Conclusion
In comparing Metabase and MicroStrategy, it's evident that both platforms offer robust business intelligence solutions but with distinct user experiences and capabilities.
Metabase is known for its user-friendly interface and ease of setup, making it suitable for teams seeking quick deployment and intuitive use.
MicroStrategy, on the other hand, provides comprehensive analytics with a depth of features designed for enterprise-scale deployments.
Sourcetable offers an alternative by delivering business intelligence through real-time data sync across services in a spreadsheet interface, which can be ideal for those familiar with spreadsheets and looking for simplicity.
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