Ad-hoc

BI Market: Ad-Hoc Query & Analysis (Vendors and Products) – 2011

July 19, 2011/0 Comments/in Business Intelligence, Posts /by Adam Getz

Query and analysis solutions enable business users and analysts to rapidly generate business queries and reports from enterprise data based upon business question of the data. Also known as “ad-hoc” querying, these tools typically provide intuitive, graphical interfaces that shields users from technical complexities and allows users to leverage business terminology instead of the more technical database names. The business focus of these tools allows nontechnical professionals to be comfortable with their data and allows them to quickly and efficiently satisfy their own information needsin real time with minimal assistance from system developers. Commonly, query and analysis environments include a middleware layer that converts database conventions into business nomenclature that is more intuitive and understanding to end-users. Moreover, query & analysis environments give users the capability to access and analyze data in a unique and personal manner. Utilized primarily by business users, query and analysis solutions provide an environment that enables interactive methods to query data, present data in an ad-hoc manner, and find information on an as-needed basis.

In 2011, the market leading vendors for ad-hoc query and analysis include: SAP Business Objects, Oracle, IBM Cognos, MicroStrategy, Microsoft, Information Builders (IBI), Pentaho, Jaspersoft, & SAS.

Components of SAP BusinessObjects: Explorer

July 7, 2011/0 Comments/in Business Intelligence, Business Objects, Posts /by Adam Getz

BusinessObjects Explorer is a relatively new component of the SAP BusinessObjects product suite that provides a more advanced and intuitive data exploration interface for business intelligence end-users, both casual and power users. Explorer encompasses the simplicity and speed of web-search technologies with the trust and analytical power of conventional business intelligence technologies to provide deep understanding and immediate answers to both simple and sophisticated business questions. BusinessObjects Explorer provides end-users with the capability of quickly exploring and visualizing large data sets. Features includes searching and sorting, interactive drilldowns, and various types of dynamic graphical visualizations while navigating through corporate data.

Features and Functions of BusinessObjects Explorer

Robust Search Capability
• Search Experience Similar to Google or Yahoo – Users enter keywords to find instant business information with return results ranked by relevance.
• Search Concurrent Data Sources – Reach data across an entire SAP BusinessObjects landscape and any data source that it accesses.
• Self-Service Access – Pervasive searches with queries directly to data without the need for a predefined report or query.

Trust and Power of a Conventional Business Intelligence System
• Guided Data Exploration – The most relevant keyword search results are presented first, allowing end-users to access additional contextually relevant details as they explore.
• Intuitive Visualization – The system automatically generates charts and grapchs that best represents the information being queries – no cryptic data model or data knowledge is required by any end-user.
• Team Collaboration – Share information easily via e-mail, embedded URL, and other popular communication formats.

Ease of Deployment to End-Users
• Leverages Existing BusinessObjects Infrastructure – Reuses existing universes, security, and administration services already deployed within the BusinessObjects platform.
• Limited End-User Training Required – Intuitive end-user interface and functionality allows first-time users to get started with next-to-no formal training.
• Rapid Implementation Schedule – Add search, exploration, and visualization functionality to an existing BusinessObjects deployment in as little as a few days.

Components of SAP BusinessObjects: Web Intelligence (WebI)

July 5, 2011/0 Comments/in Business Intelligence, Business Objects, Posts /by Adam Getz

Web Intelligence (WebI) is an ad-hoc query and reporting environment within the SAP BusinessObjects suite of products. Fundamentally, it is an environment that provides self-service access to data. Web Intelligence contains reporting, querying, and information analysis in one integrated product, helping end-users turn business insights into effective decisions. With just a few clicks of the mouse, WebI users can quickly access and format information as well as easily analyze information to understand underlying trends and root causes.

Web Intelligence contains a highly-interactive data interface that allows the report user a great deal of flexibility to view data from different perspectives. Although many report users may only need to build their reports from scratch, it is often necessary for the users to adjust reports to answer current business questions. With Web Intelligence, users can easily edit queries and reports to reflect their latest information needs.

WebInteligence (WebI) – Sample Report


The following options can be taken advantage by user of Web Intelligence …
• View, edit, remove report, section, or block filters
• Format and re-size cells, tables, and charts
• Set breaks and sorts
• Insert calculations
• Add rows and columns to tables
• Create and duplicate tables and charts
• Turn a grid into a chart or a chart into a grid
• Create formulas and variables
• Edit cell formulas in place
• Recombine report objects within tables and charts

Primary Components of Business Intelligence Systems

February 17, 2011/2 Comments/in Business Intelligence, Posts /by Adam Getz

Business Intelligence (BI) systems are software applications that enable better understanding of organizational data and provide the information organizations need to make enlightened decisions. Moreover, business intelligence systems are primarily focused on reporting, querying, and analysis of data residing in an enterprise data warehouse (EDW), and both dependent and independent data marts.

Primary Components of Business Intelligence (BI)

Fundamentally, there are five categories of business intelligence applications…

• Operational Reports: Displays data with rich presentation and within a structured layout (i.e. rows and columns).
• Query and Analysis: Interactive methods to query data, present data in an ad-hoc manner, and to find information on an as-needed basis.
• Dashboard Management: Graphical interfaces and real-time methods to provide guided analysis and to intuitively monitor organizational metrics.
• On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP): The capability of manipulating and analyzing data from multiple perspectives in a rapid fashion.
• Data Mining & Predictive Analytics: Utilizing statistics, algorithms, and sophisticated data search capabilities to discover hidden patterns and relationships in data and project future results.

BI Maturity Model Level 2 – Query & Analysis

December 20, 2010/0 Comments/in Business Intelligence, Posts /by Adam Getz

Overview of Query & Analysis Solutions & Environments

Sample Query and Analysis Solution

Query and analysis solutions enable business users and analysts to rapidly generate business queries and reports from enterprise data based upon business question of the data. Also known as “ad-hoc” querying, these tools typically provide intuitive, graphical interfaces that shields users from technical complexities and allows users to leverage business terminology instead of the more technical database names. The business focus of these tools allows nontechnical professionals to be comfortable with their data and allows them to quickly and efficiently satisfy their own information needsin real time with minimal assistance from system developers. Commonly, query and analysis environments include a middleware layer that converts database conventions into business nomenclature that is more intuitive and understanding to end-users. Moreover, query & analysis environments give users the capability to access and analyze data in a unique and personal manner. Utilized primarily by business users, query and analysis solutions provide an environment that enables interactive methods to query data, present data in an ad-hoc manner, and find information on an as-needed basis.

Characteristics of Query & Analysis Environments

• Utilized primarily by business users
• Drag-n-drop interfaces to create queries and simple reports
• Rapidly and intuitively generate queries with minimal help from IT professionals
• Highly-interactive methods to query data
• Users ask business questions to develop queries
• To produce queries, users only need to understand their own business terms
• Users can independently dive into the details of their data