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Jasper Soft Ebook Five Levels of Embedded Bi PDF 16098
Jasper Soft Ebook Five Levels of Embedded Bi PDF 16098
Introduction
The expanding role of data in business management promises smarter operational applications that manage and automate better processes. This new breed of intelligent applications, called analytic applications, is transforming how organizations and other applications consume information to drive improved business performance and competitive advantage. Most organizations derive value from their data in the form of reports, dashboards, and analytic views using stand-alone Business Intelligence (BI) and data warehouse tools. Yet the reality is, only a small percent of people actually use this style of BI due to the user interface complexity, lack of current information, and data inaccuracy issues. The opportunity to leverage information to improve decisions is often found in operational applications already in use. These business applications are evolving by parlaying their static operational data into interactive analytic applications that foster more powerful decisionmaking. With so many software vendors and development choices, the transition from a static operational application to an analytic application can seem daunting. Application developers face the decision to build their own analytic features into their application or leverage an existing off-theshelf tool. This ebook explains the five most common levels of engagement you can achieve by embedding BI. By following this progression of increasing complexity and value you can recast a static operational application into an engaging interactive analytic application. The discussion is presented along with a fictitious business application and its users to explain the functionality offered to end users at each level. Embedded BI can deliver these five levels of engagement: Level 1: Static reporting using an embedded reporting library Level 2: Managed reporting with simple interactivity, scheduling, security, and distribution using a reporting server Level 3: Highly interactive reports and dashboards using a reporting server Level 4: Self-service ad hoc driven reports and data analysis using a BI server Level 5: Advanced analytics against a data mart using a BI server Our example application that embeds BI is an inventory management system called IMS2. It organizes product information, inventory units, location data, movement history, and bill of material information. It is used by a variety of personnel, including inventory clerks, warehouse managers, retail agents, shop floor managers, and executives.
A performance dashboard measures short- and long-term trends with quick access to underlying details to help managers react tactically or strategically to their business needs. Dashboards can also feed from several different application sources in order to present a holistic view of the business. Considerations The prior two levels of embedded reporting cant effectively present an interactive dashboard. Dashboards are a collection of reports or reportlets assembled on a single canvas, often with interactive controls that allow the user to change the view of data by time, location, or some other categorization. The framework to control these integrated reportlets requires an orchestration layer typically managed by a metadata layer within the reporting server environment. To improve the engagement and draw decisionmakers to the dashboard, the overall layout and design requires compelling elements like animated charts and drill-enabled tables so that users can quickly locate and explore their business activity. Embedded BI Components to Look For BI server for data security, metadata layer, dashboard framework, and reporting services (scheduling, distribution, organization) Desktop based report designer for highly complex reports Customizable UI framework for seamless branding and integration with the operational application
Limitations Level 3 embedded BI allows new user profiles to leverage the data stored within the IMS2 application. Dashboards can drive new strategies, improved decisions, and planning. However, Level 3 does not alleviate the continuing requests for custom reports by other types of users. Success at this level often surfaces these new requirements: Lack of Custom Reports: New custom reports require the expertise of a professional report developer due to the complexity of the underlying data source, security models, and report formatting requirements. Most organizations have limited professional report developers, which ultimately impedes the responsiveness to business users requests for new reports. The ideal solution is providing report design tools that less technical users can use to build their own reports without relying on IT or skilled report developers. Lack of Data Exploration and Analysis: Dashboards help visualize complex processes in easy-to-see and understand terms. However, a compelling dashboard inspires its users curiosity; they want to learn about their data and explore why a metric is under- or over performing. The answers to these questions are often beyond the scope of the dashboard and its underlying detailed reports. Supporting those deeper, spur of the moment questions requires exposing the data through an interface the end user can interact with. Data exploration often requires queries comparing various products, locations, and times. Users want to look at the data in different dimensions to find trends or outliers.
Conclusion
There are a number of options available when electing to enhance an application with Business Intelligence. Its important to understand the benefits and user requirements associated with each level of capability. In the above example, Bucks Electronics progressed through all five levels of embedded BI. Recognizing the value of the data within the IMS2 application, Kelly can now give Steve, Janet, Paul, and Susan the data and tools they need to make decisions when and how they need to. Each level of BI brought Bucks team closer to the value of their data delivering a clearer understanding of their business across the company. Embedded BI can make applications and their users more intelligent, raising the opportunity for operational applications to deliver greater end user engagement and value. Once you determine how to proceed, consider whether to build your own BI framework or to buy a packaged solution. Before making that decision, consider these questions: 1. Do you have the time and resources to build and maintain an embedded BI solution? 2. Do you have the expertise in BI to address emerging trends such as mobile and social capabilities? 3. Do you want your embedded BI to be delivered in a seamless unified user interface? 4. Will your application be delivered in a SaaS and/or on-premise basis?
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Jaspersofts open source business intelligence software has 14 million product downloads worldwide, 175,000 production deployments and 14,000 commercial customers in 100 countries. Its BI suite is advanced regularly by a development community of more than 250,000 registered members. For more information visit: http://www.jaspersoft.com and http://www.jasperforge.org
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