Business intelligence armoury – what’s the best tool

Business Intelligence Armoury – What’s the Best Tool for the Job?
Mark Macrae

Mark Macrae
mark@id-live.com @m_macrae
MCTS SharePoint/BI
Intelligent Decisioning Ltd
7 Yrs SharePoint Project Experience
SUGUK
Outside SharePoint…Football Coach, KravMaga, West Ham (shhh)

Agenda or Summary Layout
Microsoft Vision
A Little History
Toolkit for 2010
Tactical
Operational
Enterprise

Microsoft’s Vision
Overview
Improving organizations by providing business insights to all employees leading to better, faster, more relevant decisions
Delivered through a familiar environment
Integrated into business collaboration infrastructure
Built on a trusted and extensible platform

Microsoft BI Stack - 2006
Overview
Strategic
SQL Server 2005 (SSAS, SSRS, SSIS)
Sound foundations
Acquisition of ProClarity
Tactical
MS Excel 2003, MS Visio 2003
SSRS Report Builder 1.0
Business Scorecard Manager
Operational
SharePoint 2003
Poor delivery mechanism
Gartner Magic Quadrant (BI) - Jan 2007

Microsoft BI Stack - Today
Overview
Strategic
SQL Server 2008 R2 (SSAS, SSRS, SSIS)
PerformancePoint Services 2010
Excel Services 2010
Power Pivot
Tactical
MS Excel 2010, MS Visio 2010
SSRS Report Builder 3.0
PPS Dashboard Designer
Chart Web Parts
Operational
SharePoint 2010
Gartner Magic Quadrant (BI) - Jan 2010

Tools in the Arsenal
By Ease of Deployment
Chart/Map Web Parts
KPI Status Lists
Tactical
Operational
Everyday tools – Excel, Access, Visio
Enterprise
Strategic Data Layer
Controlled, publication of reports
PerformancePoint, SSRS, Power Pivot

Tactical Solutions
Scope
Single User
Team
Data Sources
Mixture (SP Lists, Excel, SQL)
Generally local
Setup
Quick, simple
Cost
Mixture, but look out for freebies

Chart Web Part
What can it do?
Enterprise
Connect to data from
SP List
BCS
Excel
Another WebPart
Extensive design options
Cannot Roll Up and chart counts

Google Chart API
Free Web Parts (check licensing)
Requires Internet Connection to setup
Web Parts available which connect to SPLists
Simple design options
Can Roll Up (count, sum etc)

Bing/Google Maps API
Free (check licensing)
Great for geographic data
Requires Internet Connection to setup and run
Web Parts available which connect to various data sources
Extensive API

Status Lists
In a nutshell
KPI Lists in 2007
Lightweight Scorecard
Connect to
SP Lists
Excel
Analysis Services
Actual, Goal, Thresholds

Operational Solutions
Everyday Tools (Excel, Visio, Access)
Scope
Single User
Team
Enterprise
Data Sources
SP Lists, Excel, Access
SQL Server / OLEDB / ODBC
Setup
As simple or complex as you wish
Cost
Enterprise Licenses
Infrastructure, Server Power

Visio Services
Only author requires Visio client
Pictorial representation e.g.
Network Diagrams
Maps, plans
Flow chart / workflow / project plans
Hook up to data from:
SP Lists, Excel, Access, ODBC, SQL
Selective usage

Excel Services
Most popular tool for BI
Most feature rich product
Most versatile
Excel Services Enterprise Only
Most data sources

Enterprise Solutions
Strategic Tools for Mature Data Sources
Scope
Team / Enterprise
Data Sources
SP Lists, Excel, SQL, ODBC
Analysis Services OLAP Cubes
Setup
Well structured Data Warehouse / OLAP is key
Actual report building straightforward
Cost
Enterprise Licenses
Infrastructure, Server Power

PerformancePoint Services
Primarily OLAP Cube Browser
Interactive, Exploratory
Supplementary data analysis
Avoid ODBC/Flat Data Sources
Limited Customisations (SDK?)
Configuration much easier

SQL Reporting Services
Print Quality Reports
‘Hot link’ to sub reports
Geospatial mapping
2008 R2 Supports SP Lists natively
OLAP Cube Query Builder
Report Parts for centralised core
Workflow, Document Management
Report Builder 3.0
Foundation

Power Pivot
SQL 2008 R2
Excel Add-In
Large data sets (millions of rows)
High spec client machines
Self serve cube building
Complex Setup
Niche tool

Summary
*Options available for customisation

Thanks!
James Love @jimmywim
Alex Clark @sharepointalex

Questions?

Business intelligence armoury – what’s the best tool

by SUGUKNotts on Nov 25, 2010

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Business intelligence armoury – what’s the best tool — Presentation Transcript