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350+ reports already exist
Surely we’ve covered most data needs, right?
Custom Spreadsheets has existed for 8+ years
Hundreds of CS have been written for clients
An integral part of many pre-bill payment/AP workflows
Our internal staff has a large cache of these for many types of tasks
Lots of EnergyCAP data can be exported to Excel (or other systems) for further integrations
EnergyCAP Online API provides access for clients to do their own analytics without our help
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Reports aren’t configurable and don’t all export well to Excel
Custom Spreadsheets requires a higher skill set and knowledge of the EnergyCAP database to be used effectively
EnergyCAP staff have written almost all of these
The API is the best technical solution for the long-term, but also requires a higher-level technology skillset and tools
We have seen a growing need internally to provide access to data more easily in a “controlled” environment
This has been the highest rated feature request five years running
We see a growing need for better, more simplified analytics for our own operations and staff
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We have to have a solution that:
We can support with the staff and resources we have
Works for EnergyCAP hosted and self-hosted users
This is not an easy task!
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We spent hundreds of hours investigating potential solutions
Most were expensive third party systems that:
Rarely delivered what they promised
Were hard to install and maintain
Had support that was sub-par
Often require additional hardware and software licenses
While there are some great data analysis solutions, we couldn’t find one that we could support in addition to EnergyCAP
While there are some great data analysis solutions, we couldn’t find one that we could support in addition to EnergyCAP
PowerPivot was introduced in Excel 2010 as a free add-on
It is essentially SQL Server Analysis Server (lite) in Excel to allow OnLine Analytical Processing (OLAP)
Easily allows users to:
Analyze huge amounts of data
Mashup many sources of related data
Databases
Text files
Public Web Services (Twitter, etc.)
And so much more!
Excel is still the “universal” go-to in the enterprise
Since most enterprises already use it, there’s no additional software or cost
We already had a public API to expose the necessary data in an easy and maintainable way!
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We chose a custom plugin over a more generic interface like OData
We can control the API version you connect to for the best results
We can add data interfaces as the APIs become available
We do the initial hard work of setting up the data model as the data comes in
We hope this becomes your “Easy Button” to connect with EnergyCAP data above and beyond EnergyCAP
We chose a custom plugin over a more generic interface like OData
We can control the API version you connect to for the best results
We can add data interfaces as the APIs become available
We do the initial hard work of setting up the data model as the data comes in
We hope this becomes your “Easy Button” to connect with EnergyCAP data above and beyond EnergyCAP
Provide access to most high-level/overview data objects that allow you to do broad analysis
Places
Meters
Accounts
Bills
Rollup Data (Staging Tables)
Work with “raw” EnergyCAP data that can be updated anytime to create custom reports
Use the data offline! It’s stored in the Excel file!
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The right hardware and software
Currently Windows 7 or above with Excel 2013 Pro or Standalone versions
64-bit software is a MUST
An understanding of Pivot Tables is a good starting point
You will have to unlearn some things, but it will be much better that you do!
There are some REALLY great resources, both free and low-cost we’ll reference later
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We will continue to expand the APIs and data that are available
Provide a growing list of templates to help get you started
Examine the potential of providing a PowerBI.com plugin
Listen to users and see what gaps need to be filled