The BI Verdict
Sample Product Review
Find out how our product reviews are presented...
Contact Us
This sample product review is intended to give you a clearer idea of the
structure, scope and quality of the product reviews we produce for our
customers.
To find out more about how
The BI Verdict can help you
and your organization, visit:
It offers a good representation of what you can expect to see in each
individual product review that we offer.
www.BI-Verdict.com
Or contact us at:
Email: [email protected]
Products included in this sample review...
Tel: +44 (0)20 8133 8987
This is a compilation of chapters from actual product reviews in
The BI Verdict and contains sections from the following reviews:
•
Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition
•
arcplan Enterprise
•
IBM Cognos Express
•
Microsoft Reporting Services
•
QlikTech QlikView
•
Oracle Hyperion Planning
•
IBM Cognos 10
•
Jedox Suite
Twenty BI product reviews and more...
The BI Verdict features detailed reviews of around twenty of the leading
business intelligence software products.
To find out more about the breadth of information you can access as a
subscriber to The BI Verdict, visit our website or get in touch with us.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 1
BARC Product Review
Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
A collection of chapters taken from actual product reviews in The BI Verdict
Vendor (excerpt from our review of Oracle BIEE)
Vendor profile
Oracle is one of the world’s largest and most successful software companies,
with about 110,000 employees and offices in 145 countries. Oracle has long
been the largest RDBMS vendor and, through a series of acquisitions, is now
the second largest application vendor.
Vendor
Oracle
Offices
Worldwide
Employees
110,000
Customers
350,000
Strategy (excerpt from our review of Oracle BIEE)
Revenues
$8.8 Bn
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
Figures refer to 2010
After taking over Siebel in 2005, Oracle made the former Siebel Analytics its
flagship BI product, replacing its home-grown Discoverer. With OBIEE 11g,
Oracle has further integrated and developed the core components that form the
OBIEE Suite. Customers who only use the former Hyperion products can continue to do so or can decide to purchase the OBIEE+ Suite.
In addition, Oracle now offers OBIEE in combination with Hyperion Essbase; it
refers to this as the BI Foundation Suite. In our view, this combination of a Web
-based reporting tool with a multidimensional database is a particularly flexible
and interesting bundle. A complete overview of Oracle’s BI products is available elsewhere in The BI Verdict.
Oracle provides a good deal of pre-defined content for OBIEE. It comes in the
form of over 40 predefined vertical solutions, the Oracle BI Applications. According to Oracle, this content is an important addition to the product because
it saves the customer the effort of building and testing schemas and reports
from scratch, which also reduces the technical complexity of the project, keeping it closer to the business users.
Unlike some vendors, Oracle is quite open with its prices, and publishes them
on its website. The server prices are about 150 times the named user price,
which is in line with Oracle’s recommendation of about 150 users per server.
Buying the suite is a lot cheaper than buying the components individually, even
without the former Hyperion products. Oracle is essentially giving its OBIEE+
customers the former Hyperion products free of charge.
Oracle’s go to market strategy is primarily driven by its enterprise approach and
is huge customer base for relational databases and other enterprise software.
The company’s focus is on selling into existing accounts and, in many cases,
BI tools are offered as add-ons to enterprise tools, or included in the applications, instead of being sold on their own.
Architecture (excerpt from our review of arcplan Enterprise)
arcplan’s original Windows-based client product was inSight, first released in
July 1994. arcplan introduced a Web edition of inSight in 1996, and a more
scalable three-tier architecture with dynaSight in 1998.
Please contact us:
North America:
1 866 274 9720
Germany:
+49 931 880651 0
Rest of the World:
+44 (0) 1536 772 451
www.BI-Verdict.com
Copyright © BARC 2012.
All rights reserved.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 2
For some time both brands were used, referring respectively to the Windows and Web versions. The company
has now moved away from these complications, and refers to the product as arcplan Enterprise.
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
arcplan Enterprise is aimed at larger, Web-based deployments, and uses a three-tier architecture. arcplan Enterprise Web client normally uses Java, with a downloaded applet called arcJava viewer. A DHTML client is also
available, especially for Mobile applications, though it is slightly less functional due to the target environment.
However, it may be more acceptable for internet deployment, where Java applets are becoming less popular.
A .Net client was introduced with the 4.1 release. In addition, arcplan Engage has a Silverlight Client. arcplan
Excel Analytics is an Excel add-in. The following table provides an overview of the most important products.
Product
Description
arcplan Enterprise
The core product of the arcplan suite
arcplan Engage
A dashboard product with collaboration features
arcplan Edge
A planning tool
arcplan Excel Analytics
An Excel add-in
arcplan Mobile
For creating mobile applications based on arcplan content
arcplan Spotlight
An ad hoc analysis application built using Enterprise
The arcplan applications are stored in a proprietary binary format or an XML file and processed on the mid-tier
server. This means that connections to databases are made via the arcplan Application Server, and not directly
from client PCs. Except for arcplan Excel Analytics, the clients cannot access the data locally.
The core components of arcplan Enterprise are the arcplan Application Designer (which is used to develop applications), arcplan Administration Console, and the mid-tier arcplan Application Server. There is then a series of
communication interfaces for all the many data sources arcplan supports. There is also a charge for client access, based on concurrent users in the arcplan Enterprise edition and named users with arcplan Excel Analytics.
We looked at version 7.1 of arcplan Enterprise for this review – this version has been on the market since October 2011.
Reports are created in the arcplan Application Designer by simply dragging and dropping objects onto a canvas,
and then connecting them to a data source.
Separate chart and grid objects can be linked and can appear as a single, integrated object in the finished
screen so that they scroll together. In any case, charts are always derived from tables (which may or may not be
displayed), but can contain a subset of the data in the table.
arcplan is a mature product with a variety of mechanisms to deliver good performance. The three-tier architecture helps, and the availability of a local RAM-based database (called Shared Query cache by arcplan) makes it
possible to cache data from slow databases or frequently-accessed queries. There are also features within the
product to allow a developer to improve responsiveness by, for example, reducing the amount of object updating
that occurs. Servers can also be clustered to improve throughput.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 3
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
Figure 1: Visual report development in arcplan Application Designer. The report designer simply draws the arrows on the screen to
create the data links between objects. Linked objects automatically scroll together.
arcplan Application Server supports load balancing. One server must be designated the master server and this
synchronizes the other arcplan Application Servers. The master server is used to distribute and update applications on other arcplan servers. Client initialization requests are evaluated by the first arcplan server that is contacted by the client (the registration server). There can be multiple registration servers so that if one registration
server is down, a different one is used. The registration server will evaluate the load in the arcplan loadbalancing cluster by considering all available arcplan servers (registration servers, master server, other arcplan
servers) and re-route the client to a different one if applicable.
Planning Functions (excerpt from our review of IBM Cognos Express)
Most TM1 projects use Excel for inputting data into the system. This is helpful when the report is being designed
because there are many skilled Excel users available worldwide, and because the spreadsheet model offers a
good deal of flexibility and good formatting features. For the most complex screens the cell formulas are used,
which makes them static (except for data selectors). There are also features for dynamic screens. The so-called
Active Forms allow the report designer to define a set of fixed columns but still have variable rows. These work
in the Web version as well as in Excel. The elements in the selectors can be defined based on a list of elements
in the spreadsheet. These can be based on dynamic subsets in TM1 or simply static lists.
TM1 tends to be quite popular with companies that want to stick to Excel. One example of the way the Excel add
-in is used is to convert existing planning sheets into data entry forms for the database. This saves the time and
cost of retraining the users. On the other hand TM1 does not have a lot of the more advanced front-end features
that some specialized planning tools have, such as custom dialogs for specific kinds of planning like investment
or HR planning. These functions have to be designed and implemented in the project. IBM offers Blueprints to
deal with this, and consultants commonly make use of best practices of their own.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 4
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
TM1 also has a broad set of features for data allocation. Unlike Essbase, these routines are not defined individually during implementation and are not specific to certain data entry screens. Instead, TM1 offers a set of dialogs
that allow the user to enter data at an aggregated level and define how it is distributed to the elements below.
The advantage of this approach is that it is extraordinarily flexible. However, this can be seen as a disadvantage
as well, because in many cases this flexibility can be more than the user can deal with. Furthermore, there is no
convenient way to prevent users from accidentally overwriting data they don’t intend to. As a result, in projects
with large numbers of users this dialog tends to be switched off, and data allocation is only possible using custom rules. Recent versions of TM1 (since 9.5) allow the user to undo actions step by step, but of course this feature comes with a lot of overhead.
The fact that the TM1 database can be modeled in Excel gives planners the ability to carry out structural simulations. Because the database updates so quickly in memory, appropriately trained users can modify dimensions
during the planning process. There is no wait or rebuild involved. Typically this is only allowed on dedicated data
structures, in order to avoid data loss in the main planning cubes. Since version 9.5 it has been possible to carry
out this kind of operation in a so called Sandbox, which allows user to modify and analyze data without committing it back to the server. The Sandboxes are available in all TM1 front ends.
Unlike Cognos Planning, TM1 is not designed for offline planning. TM1 does not offer any specific offline features such as the ability to check out parts of the data model for working offline. However, TM1 does offer a replication feature for copying data between servers, and the Sandbox concept also allows partial support for offline
planning, because the data is processed offline and updated with the server when a user commits it. The Sandbox is intended for business users, but the replication and synchronization features are targeted at administrators.
Comments can be stored in any cell in TM1, whether aggregated or not. There is no feature for attaching comment files. More complicated options, such as comments on plan versions are sometimes implemented in projects.
Formatted Reporting (excerpt from our review of Microsoft Reporting Services)
Reporting Services has a drag and drop interface for creating reports. The same component is used for the
stand alone Report Builder and the Visual Studio plug-in. The tool supports the pixel-accurate positioning of report objects when a page size is defined. The data cells are in a grid and cannot be arranged freely. Report previews are available in HTML. This preview cannot be changed directly as report design is in design mode only.
The main design element for displaying values is the so-called Tablix. The Tablix offers several improvements
on simple tables such as the ability to display two levels of a dimension in a single column, with the lower level
indented. This is an improvement on the Excel pivot tables, which display a new column for each level in a dimension. Tablix also allows columns from separate queries in the same table, resulting in simple outer joins.
Tables, charts, text boxes and check boxes are arranged in the report using drag-and-drop. Object properties
are then modified in a property pane, not by direct manipulation of the object. Fields cannot be positioned individually. Report and page headers and footers are available, and can contain aggregations, so that it is possible
to display page sums.
The charts are Dundas OEM and offer a good selection including funnel charts and scatter plots. There are also
sparklines and gauges for building dashboards.
Filtering and sorting on the data set are available in the reports. End users can also select from a list of predefined filters in the reports. Calculations such as sums and other aggregated values can be defined in reports
and are carried out on the application server at run time. A variety of aggregation methods are allowed and custom aggregation methods can be added. Drill down and drill through actions are supported, as are sub-reports
that are driven by user selections in the main report.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 5
File-based templates are available for functions for centrally maintained layouts. It would also be possible to develop an ordinary report that is used as a template. However, the templates do not cascade; updating a template
does not change the reports that have already been created.
Fields for commenting on reports by end users can be inserted into the reports and are marked by tool tips.
Comments can be added to any table. SharePoint can be used for commenting on reports as well. Report
metadata such as execution time, page numbers and so on can be displayed in reports.
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
Reporting Services content is often published in SharePoint, but reports and folders can also be accessed directly in a browser, in the Report Manager. Users can also subscribe to reports, having them delivered by email on a
regular basis.
Figure 2: Creating a chart in Reporting Services
Dashboards (excerpt from our review of QlikTech QlikView)
Each QlikView application is a set of dashboards in multiple tabs. The main display objects for data are referred
to as charts. Tables and pivot tables are treated as a kind of chart and share many properties with them. The drill
behavior in the tables and charts is the same - a nice touch. All in all, the charts offer a good level of interactivity.
The combined table and chart object creates good-looking images and includes some fashionable types like
spark lines and trellis charts. The charts are strongly interactive. A particular highlight is “fast type change”, which
allows users with limited rights to modify the reports by switching between chart types.
BusinessObjects Web Intelligence is similar in that the tables are viewed as a kind of chart. But this concept is
better executed in QlikView. In QlikView, it is not necessary to switch to a table to modify the data properties.
And switching types from a chart to a table and back does not delete formatting information, which is a serious
annoyance in Web Intelligence.
There is a separate highlighting system for charts. QlikView allows colors to be calculated in additional expressions and applied to the chart data points — a powerful but complicated workaround reminiscent of Crystal Reports’ formatting formulas.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 6
All properties are set in a very large dialog box, which is available from a context menu. The box combines object type, data source, calculation, sorting and filtering, formatting, and behaviors. Because so much is packed
into this single dialog, design interactivity is relatively weak, features are hard to find, and casual users are presented with more information than they are likely to want to see. The company argues that the design is optimized to maximize productivity of trained rather than casual users.
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
The new Web-based dialogs are something of an improvement on the older dialogs, as the image below shows.
In these redesigned dialog boxes, the most frequently-used menu items are presented at the top, with less frequently-used items nested below.
Figure 3: QlickTech’s new Web based dialogs.
QlikView offers a good selection of advanced charts, and has steadily improved on this selection from release to
release. It also has the ability to bind in third party objects as so-called extension objects, which behave the
same way as native objects. Furthermore, QlikView now offers box and whisker plots as well as micro-charts and
some GIS features. In Version 11, QlikView introduces the ability to snap multiple charts together in a container
grid. As with many other products, full integration with Microsoft mapping software is also available in a Web environment using JavaScript. And users can embed QlikView applications in Microsoft Office applications like
PowerPoint. Once embedded, they continue to be interactive.
The dashboards are created using the same methods as reports or analyses, and do not require any additional
skills. QlikView provides a single analysis and development environment. Multiple views can be defined in a single application and presented side-by-side in separate tabs. It is also possible to create links between the
screens, so that dashboards can provide a highly aggregated view of the data with the ability to jump to detailed
analysis in the same application. External content including other QlikView applications can also be called. Also,
the Bookmark function, which stores a data context, adds additional power.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 7
Reporting and analysis (excerpt from our review of Oracle Hyperion Planning)
Oracle Hyperion Financial Reporting provides a highly formatted, page-oriented financial reporting system with
comprehensive functionality (see also figure 7). It utilizes its own application server with the ability to access data from Oracle Hyperion Planning, Oracle Hyperion Financial Management and Oracle Hyperion Profitability and
Cost Management as well as Oracle Essbase.
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
Oracle Hyperion Smart View implements an Excel based ad hoc report which includes spreadsheet functionality
(see figure 6). Smart View is also integrated with Microsoft Office so graphics and reports from Oracle Hyperion
Financial Reporting and Hyperion Web Analysis can be opened in Word and PowerPoint. In addition, specifically
selected data points can be dynamically integrated into Excel, Word and PowerPoint, thus enabling unrestricted
report configuration which can be updated at any time. Oracle Hyperion Web Analysis provides additional functionality for web-based analysis and creation of dashboards (for example, management cockpits).
Figure 4: Ad hoc reporting in the Oracle Hyperion Smart View Excel add-in
Oracle Crystal Ball EPM provides advanced analytical opportunities, especially in the field of risk management
(predictive modeling, Monte Carlo simulation, scenario analysis, risk assessment of probabilities).
The Oracle Hyperion Smart View Excel add-in provides the statistical simulation capabilities of Oracle Crystal
Ball EPM for data located in Oracle Hyperion Planning and Oracle Essbase. A wizard-driven integration is available for Oracle Hyperion Strategic Finance. The Oracle Crystal Ball EPM license is offered as a separate product.
In addition to the options mentioned in reporting and analysis, the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) portfolio offers a BI suite with capabilities for dashboards, formatted reports, ad hoc reports and
analysis. In particular, OBIEE provides extensive graphic capabilities for visual presentation of data. Mobile reporting is also supported.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 8
Conclusions (excerpt from our review of IBM Cognos 10)
IBM Cognos BI suite covers most of the bases well, even if it does not really have the best solution in any category. Its only real weakness is in analysis. It is perhaps the best-integrated product on the market and has good
easy-to-use Web support to simplify roll-out. It also supports a wide range of data sources, another important
prerequisite in a typical large-company environment. But Cognos only provides basic support for the databases it
covers, and does not offer the sophisticated query generation or caching of some of its ROLAP competitors.
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
So far, the IBM takeover seems to be going well. There is little overlap between Cognos and IBM’s product portfolios, and the few integration efforts that have been undertaken to date do not seem to be a threat to the portfolio’s openness. Cognos has a good record of innovation and is a solid platform for fast feature development, having released quite a few new features since the takeover.
IBM Cognos BI is no longer the departmental solution that made Cognos famous. Like all enterprise offerings, it
requires a good deal of IT support to operate. Cognos now offers support for local data sources, and the Active
Reports are another solid new feature for offline analysis. But the suite still has no full client for strictly local use.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 9
Use case analysis (a typical example of how we score BI products)
Criteria
Formatted
Reporting
6
Score
Formatted Reporting
4
Dashboards
5
Ad hoc Reporting
3
Analysis
3
Planning
0
4
Planning
2
Dashboards
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
0
Analysis
Ad hoc Reporting
Functional evaluation (a typical example of how we score BI products)
Function
Score
Enterprise Deployment
Self service
Collaboration
Operational BI
Strategy management
Portfolio maturity
Portfolio integration
Portfolio width
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
Weaknesses
• Innovative and interesting ad-hoc reporting
• Simple charts and graphs are not the most elegant
• Page-based reporting
• Not really a self service tool, relying instead on a data
warehouse approach
• User specific one-click dashboard creation
• Maps
• Available as add-in for Microsoft Dynamics
• Emphasis on automatic connections based on user
history, but little focus on building complex predefined
solutions
• Not all features are supported in the Web version
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 10
Factbase (excerpt from our review of Jedox Suite)
No.
Criterion
Description
1. Product and Support
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
1.1 Product History
1.1.1
Jedox was founded in 2002 and the first version of Palo was released in 2004. Jedox
currently employs around 83 staff, of which 32 are in the development department,
and is based in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.
Sales growth in 2010 stood at 35%, and the figure for 2011 represented an increase
of over 60%. Around 70-75% of sales are made in Germany.
Sales of Palo are supported by an open source solution, a basic version of which
can be downloaded from the website for free. This open source solution is complemented by a commercial solution, which offers significantly improved processing
speed, scalability and functionality compared to open source alternatives. This evaluation refers to the commercial version. The difference between the open source
and premium version is based on the scope of functions. SAP connectivity is only
available in the commercial version, for example.
The creation of the commercial version and the formation of the sales team was initially financed by multiple-step venture capital financing.
Premium application was renamed from the version 3.3. While both versions have
been called Palo up to now, only the open source product will carry this name in the
future. From version 3.3 the premium version is called the Jedox Suite.
According to Jedox, around 150 new clients were won in 2011 (commercial licenses). According to Jedox, the open source version has been downloaded 120,000
Product history
1.2 Support
1.2.1
From Monday to Friday by telephone and e-mail from 8am - 5pm (excluding public
Telephone support holidays). The support center is in Freiburg and has 7-8 staff. Support is provided by
Jedox itself.
1.2.2
Internet support
Both remote and on-site support are provided.
1.2.3
User forums
An user forum is available.
1.2.4
Training
On site or as part of the Jedox training academy. Training takes place over 3 to 4
days. There is basic training and more advanced topics, such as ETL training.
1.3 References
1.3.1
ALTANA Pharma Deutschland, Clariant, Süddeutscher Verlag, Givaudan, Dystar,
TSA Teleport Sachsen-Anhalt Service, Standard Life Insurance etc.
See also http://www.jedox.com/de/kunden/success-stories.html.
References
1.4 Language Support and Unicode
1.4.1
Language support
There are a total of 18 language options for products, including German, English and
French.
1.4.2
Unicode
Yes, UTF-8 is supported.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 11
No.
Criterion
Description
1.5 Components
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
1.5.1
Jedox focuses entirely on its own range of products:
* Jedox OLAP Server - central, multidimensional data storage
* Jedox ETL Server - web-based data integration component for the Jedox OLAP
Server. Custom-developed connection for SAP sources is available at additional
cost.
* Jedox for Excel - Microsoft Excel Add-in
* Jedox Web - Ajax-based web client with central file repository
* Jedox Mobile - mobile client for iPad, iPhone or Android-based devices
* Jedox Supervision Server - e.g. for the LDAP connection, events monitoring, user
actions, servers, data spaces etc., PHP interpreters for iterations in php, for example.
* Jedox 3rd Party Access XMLA, ODBO - XMLA Server, which packages MDX in a
web service. Therefore, other XMLA front ends (e.g. Excel PowerPivot) can also be
connected.
Components
2. General
2.1 Platforms and Operating Systems
Server
Jedox OLAP Server:
* Windows XP Pro (SP2 or higher), Windows Server 2003 / 2008, Windows Vista,
Windows 7
* Red Hat EL 5 / CentOS 5, SUSE LE 11, Linux Debian 6, Linux Ubuntu 10
Supports 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
2.1.2
Client
Jedox for Excel:
* Windows 32 and 64-bit versions for Microsoft Excel 2002 with Service Pack 3,
2003 with Service Pack 3, 2007, 2010.
* Open Office Calc 3.1 or higher.
2.1.3
Web
Jedox Web:
Microsoft Internet Explorer from Version 8, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox from
version 3.
2.1.1
2.2 Adaptability
2.2.1
Adaptability of the
menus and user
interface
User interfaces can be adapted to clients’ specifications using special tools. Individual tool bars and buttons can be partly but not completely switched on and off.
2.2.2
API
Yes, an open API with documentation (C, C++, .NET, Java) available.
3. Data Handling
3.1 Data Storage
3.1.1
Storage for plan
data
Plan data is stored multidimensionally in the main memory of the Jedox OLAP Server.
Jedox OLAP Accelerator (additional version) uses the generous computing capacity
of Nvidia graphics cards (GPUs), in addition to the CPU of the server, to speed up
large OLAP aggregations. Modern GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) have hundreds of so-called streaming processors and numerous gigabyte graphics memories,
which allow cube data to be saved directly on the GPU. From version 3.3 the GPU
technology supports not only read operations (e.g. for analysis), but also write-back
operations (e.g. for data distribution) and the execution of simple rules.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 12
No.
Criterion
Description
3.2 Data Security
3.2.1
Authentication
Connection to Microsoft Active Directory Services is possible via LDAP. A single-sign-
Authorization
Jedox has its own user and role concept. Individual users can be grouped and roles
can be assigned to them. User role management takes place in Jedox. Data security
is possible up to cell level. Functional security can also be assigned.
3.2.3
Specific adaptations to large
environments
The Jedox OLAP Server is an efficient in-memory database, which can also be used
in large application scenarios.
Jedox has an individual role concept.
Only restricted workflow functions are available and must be developed within the project.
An undo function is available, but reference points must be set, which allow users to
navigate back.
The Supervision Server allows logging and observes, monitors and documents all data entries and changes in both planning sheets and within the Jedox OLAP Server.
Parallel scaling on multiple cores is possible with version 3.3.
3.2.4
Backup
Backups of data cubes can be implemented using the functions of the Jedox ETL
Server. This functionality can be integrated in planning sheets, so that backups can be
performed at the click of a button.
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
3.2.2
3.3 Import and Export
The web-based Jedox ETL Server offers the opportunity to access current relational
databases (e.g. IBM, Microsoft, Oracle), SAP BW (currently read-only), SAP ERP
(SAP MaxDB), web services and structured text files (e.g. CSV) via connection types
JDBC, ODBC or SOAP.
Furthermore, data can also be uploaded to Jedox databases via third party tools such
as Talend or Pentaho Data Integration (Kettle).
3.3.1
Data sources, interfaces to data
sources
3.3.2
Scripting, mapping Mapping can be carried out using the Jedox ETL Server with standard ETL functions
assistant
(e.g. calculation, linking, grouping etc.).
3.3.3
Data export, writing back to ERP
Data can be exported from individual cubes in external databases using the Jedox
ETL Server.
3.4 Data Modeling
3.4.1
Flexibility
Data modeling is entirely flexible and is generally carried out using the Jedox ETL
Server. All dimensions, hierarchies and attributes can be freely defined. Parent-child
dimensions allow parallel, balanced hierarchies. For a short-term adaptation of planning sheets there is a web and Excel-client component called Modeler.
3.4.2
Templates,
standard models
No predefined standard models are available.
3.4.3
Formula editor for
defining calculations and
measures
Using either business rules, php scripts (e.g. used for iteration) or running ETL scripts.
Business rules are defined in an Editor.
3.4.4
The back end needs a well-trained, technically-oriented power user.
Accessibility to the
The front ends are simple and user-friendly and therefore well suited for business usbusiness user
ers. There is a spreadsheet environment with Excel options and advanced functions.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 13
No.
Criterion
3.4.5
Model history
Model history can take place via parallel hierarchies in data models. No predefined
Currency
Jedox is multi-currency compatible. Currency conversions are generally defined in
separate cubes, and used via cube rules on planning data (conversion via average
and/or exchange rates). Currency conversions must be developed within the project,
as no predefined models are available. There is no restriction on the number of currencies.
3.4.6
Description
4. Planning
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
4.1 Process
4.1.1
4.1.2
Planning process
There is a workflow support available for the planning process. A workflow is developed in a similar way to individual planning sheets, for example.
The different planning statuses can be mapped using a status dimension.
Predefined workflow components do not exist, but best practices are used from projects. Defined statuses for example, which are already in the cube, fall into this category. Generally, different statuses are displayed in the cube with buttons in the interface. Cells can also be locked using a status, for example. Then the Supervision
Comments
Jedox can process both text and numbers. It is therefore possible to add and edit
comments in any dimension. There is no restriction on size. Likewise, text can be
added in cells on an aggregate level. Plan data is always distributed. Aggregation of
comments is not possible. Likewise, it is not possible to format comments or add file
attachments.
4.2 Planning Functions
4.2.1
Yes, if subsets are defined. These are calculations for example, with the Subset EdiPredefined
tor for individual elements. Membership is calculated for root elements to carry out
planning functions
ABC or top 10 analysis.
4.2.2
Analysis methods
such as sorting
Yes, via subsets or alternatively Excel functions.
4.2.3
Data allocation
methods, e.g.
seasonal
distributions
Good data distribution possibilities (“splashing") in Excel and on the web. Special
syntax functions such as copy (copies content and distribution structure of a consolidated element to another) and like (uses the quotients of root elements, in order to
distribute the number which was set at like) are available. Cells can be locked for
distribution when using the Supervision Server.
Data distributions are possible via typing in syntax commands on one hand, and
there is a data distribution assistant on the other hand, which leads the planner
4.2.4
Forecasting
The existing data distribution options or Excel formulas can be used for forecasting.
Options for distinct algorithmic forecasting are not offered.
4.2.5
Auxiliary calculations for planners
Calculations are either produced in Excel or via an web report. In addition, data can
be copied from Excel to the web planning sheet.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 14
No.
Criterion
Description
4.3 Planning Sheet Design
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
4.3.1
Creation of a planning sheet via the Excel add-in or Jedox Web. The developer has all
of the modeling freedom offered by Excel. Excel-specific functions, such as fixing lines
and columns, are available not only in Excel but also in Jedox Web. Planning sheets
can be converted to HTML, including interactive graphics, and transmitted to the web,
or exported from the web to Excel. Elements which are only available online, such as
drop-down boxes, are not backwards compatible to Excel.
The cells in planning sheets contain Jedox formulas, which access the database and
also allow write-back.
The web client offers a freely definable folder structure in which planning sheets, reports, analysis etc., as well as external documents can be stored centrally.
Planning sheet
design
4.4 Simulation
4.4.1
A simulation can be implemented via the existing undo function or an individual
(scenario) dimension in the planning model. There are no simulation assistants or predefined functions.
Individual data areas in the cube cannot be locked. Therefore, if multiple users edit the
same data, the last one to edit it ‘wins’. In the case of competing editing sessions, data
can be (manually) locked. With versioning, the user usually works on an individual ver-
Simulation
5 Presentation and Analysis
5.1 Analysis
5.1.1
Navigation
Jedox offers good ad hoc reporting functions for end users. The Excel add-in offers a
basic navigation with classic OLAP functions such as drill operations, slicing and dicing,
pivoting etc. which is typical for spreadsheets. In the web version, the navigation is enhanced with graphics. In particular in the web client, a guided navigation via links with
parameter passing can be implemented.
5.1.2
Advanced analytical models
Predefined advanced analysis models are not available, but can be self-developed using rules where necessary.
Charts
Both clients (Excel and web) offer classic Excel graphics to visualize information. In the
web client, individual micro charts are also available. There are predefined value driver
trees. In addition, a connection to additional content via so-called widgets is possible in
Jedox Web. Widgets are “place holders” for external content and allow dashboards to
be created, and interactive and animated graphics or external applications (e.g. web
services such as Google Maps) to be involved.
5.1.3
5.2 Reporting
5.2.1
Reporting
Reporting in Jedox is carried out in Excel with the spreadsheet options or via Jedox
Web with advanced options for dynamic reports and report distribution. Likewise, online
report generation is carried out using a spreadsheet interface with a comparable look,
feel and functionality to Excel. Excel-based reports can also be published online via
Jedox Web. The interactive transfer of graphics from Excel is also possible. Scheduling
of briefing books (batch PDF reports) is possible via the so-called Report Manager.
For mobile access to Jedox content, native apps (iOS and Android) are available, primarily for ad hoc queries on Jedox OLAP cubes. A browser-based option which displays Jedox reports directly online on mobile devices without restrictions is also available. Write-back to Jedox OLAP Cubes from mobile devices via the browser-based
option is possible.
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 15
No.
Criterion
Description
5.3 Strategy Management
Balanced
Scorecard
No predefined product is available.
5.3.2
Management
In particular, Jedox offers the opportunity to create central web-based dashboards or
5.3.3
Risk management No predefined product is available.
The BI Verdict — Sample Product Review
5.3.1
BARC — Business Application Research Center — Sample Product Review from The BI Verdict
Page 16