Example of the BI application technology comparison based on customer needs and application capabilities performed by DWApplications.
This is one of 3 deliverables in the free BI Roadmap Assessment provided by DWApplications.
- BI application technology comparison
- Current and future state assessment
- Timeline, resource and implementation plan
If you are interested in a free BI roadmap assessment
Contact: scott.mitchell@dwapplications.com
2. CompanyX BI Requirements
Advanced data visualizations that: spot trends, patterns, and outliers
Dashboards of interconnected visualizations and reports
Integration with stats tools for predictive analytics
High performance in-memory BI reduce overall system/DB workload
Static and Ad-hoc self-service web based reporting interface
Pixel perfect reports that are required for compliance reporting
Real-time OLAP capabilities of sorting, drilling and pivoting
Graphically visualize data through data exploration
On-demand reporting capabilities that empower business users
Exporting of data to formats such as excel, pdf, csv, ppt, access
Scheduling and automation of data distribution to various outputs
Reusable object based development expedites report creation
Embedded integration with web and mobile technology
Secured user access to control data and application functionality
Ease of configuration and system administration through automation
3. Summary of BI Applications
Pentaho – Open Source BI Platform Leader
Full Suite of BI, Analytics, Mobile and Data Integration tools available
Require plug-ins from open source vendors to compete with commercial products
Requires additional development and more technical skill set for implementation
Enterprise version and support and available for yearly subscription
Meets immediate requirements for Ad-hoc reporting, Dashboarding and Application Integration
MicroStrategy – Leader in Traditional BI platforms
Leads other traditional BI applications in broad range of functionality
Independent pure-play BI not tied to larger infrastructure purchase like Oracle/IBM
Powerful SQL engine that allows for business query ad-hoc reports builders
Large range of integration possibilities with open APIs
Competes with specialty providers in areas of dashboards and visualization
Tableau – Leader in Visualization and Dashboards
Excellent visualization and dash boarding capabilities
Metadata object reuse and SQL engine capabilities with server component
Limited integration with external apps through Java and iframes
QlikView – Leader in ease of use for End User Dashboards Creation
Minimal setup required to deliver initial dashboard results
Ability to meet subset of BI dashboard prototype requirements
Limited object reuse from centralized metadata and SQL generation
4. BIScorecard
About the Author
Cindi Howson is the founder of BI Scorecard®, a resource for in-depth BI product reviews, based on exclusive hands-on testing. Ms. Howson
is the author of Successful Business Intelligence: Secrets to Making BI a Killer App, a TDWI (The Data Warehousing Institute) faculty member,
and a contributing expert to Information Week prior to founding BI Scorecard®.
5. BI Capabilities
Business Query– Provides an ability for a non-technical user to create a report
by drag and drop of objects on a report template and behind the scenes well
structured SQL is generated.
Production Reporting – Creates high quality pixel-perfect formats for
integration into the compliance reports required by external third parties
Dashboard/Interactive Reports – Allows for multiple data sources to be
displayed on a single interface to provide an overview of the subject area and
the ability to interact and personalize the view of the data
OLAP – Enables the user to conduct multi-dimensional analysis by drilling,
pivoting, sorting and on the fly calculations
Data Exploration/Visual discovery - A new simplified end-user interface for
enabling functionality made available through dashboards, production
reporting, OLAP and business query capabilities
Scheduling/Distribution – Allows for emails, alerts, caches and reports to be
scheduled through event or time based triggers
Predictive Analytics – Allows for the integration of Statistical Packages to be
integrated into the BI reporting architecture (SPSS, SAS, r)
Enterprise Administration/Architecture – Provides the appropriate interfaces
and APIs necessary for integration and automation of enterprise scale system
administration and monitoring.
6. BI Magic Quadrant
Gartner describes leaders as
"Leaders are vendors that are
reasonably strong in the breadth and
depth of their BI platform
capabilities and can deliver on
enterprise-wide implementations
that support a broad BI strategy.
Leaders articulate a business
proposition that resonates with
buyers, supported by the viability
and operational capability to deliver
on a global basis."
Read The Review
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those
vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as
statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or
fitness for a particular purpose.
7. Pentaho
Pros(+)
Low Cost - Open Source Project
Dashboards and Visualization
Business Query Ad-hoc Reporting
Predictive Analytics Integration
Pixel Perfect Formatting
Application Integration API
Advanced Security Capabilities
Mobile Reporting App
Cons(-)
Requires technical resources for
implementation
Requires plug-ins to compete with
commercial products
User interface will be less intuitive
out of the box without
customization
Demos and Links
Pentaho (Eval Software)
Pentaho Demos
PentahoWebcasts
Penthao Analyst Reviews
Pentaho Training
8. MicroStrategy
Pros(+)
Data Volume and Scale
Business Query Ad-hoc
Pixel Perfect Formatting
Scheduled Distribution
Dashboards and Visualization
Predictive Analytics Integration
Portal Integration API
Advanced SQL and Metadata
Administration Automation
Advanced Security Capabilities
Cons(-)
Specialty BI tools lead in
Visualizations
Specialty BI tools have a simplified
user interface
Product works best with well
defined data model
Demos and Links
MicroStrategy BI Reporting Suite (Eval Software)
MicroStrategy Demos
MicroStrategy Webcasts
MicroStrategy Analyst Reviews
MicroStrategy Free On-demand Training
9. Tableau
Pros(+)
Data Exploration
Advanced Data Visualizations
Intuitive End-User Interface
Web Based Report Development
Mash-ups non-structured data
High business user adoption
Cons(-)
Data Scalability
Limited Scheduling/Distribution
Limited Production Reporting
Limited Integration APIs
Limited Stats Integration
Limited Administration Automation
Demos and Links
Tableau Desktop (Eval Software)
Tableau Demos
Tableau Webcasts
Tableau Analyst Reviews
Tableau Free On-demand Training
10. QlikView
Pros(+)
Excellent Dashboard Capabilities
Ease of use for data mashups
Little to no data modeling required
Rapid Deployment
Ease of Use for End User
Auto-detect Relationships
In-memory BI
Data Exploration
Cons(-)
In-Memory Architecture Data Scalability
Limited direct Query Access
Limited Scheduling/Distribution
Limited Metadata/Object Reuse
Limited Integration APIs
Limited Administration Automation
Enterprise readiness and scalability
No Usages Stats integration
Demos and Links
QlikView BI Kit (Eval Software)
QlikView Demos
QlikView Webcasts
QlikView Analyst Reviews
QlikView Free On-demand Training