mrc's Cup of Joe Blog

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Month: September 2010

Five essential elements every Business Intelligence solution should include

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EducationBusiness intelligence is a confusing subject. Generally speaking, when a company realizes they need business intelligence (BI), they aren’t clear on everything a BI solution should include. Why not? BI isn’t the same across the board. As a result, comparing BI solutions is like comparing apples and oranges. Each solution contains different elements.

So, how do you know which elements to look for in a BI solution? I think a few elements are pretty standard, like simple ad-hoc reporting, the ability to use multiple databases, and exporting data to Excel and PDF. Besides these basic elements, I’ve put together a brief list of 5 essential elements that every good BI solution should include: …

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Critical questions to ask before buying a report writer

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EducationReport writers are pretty easy to understand, aren’t they? If your company stores data in a database (as most companies do), you need reports. To create all these fancy reports, you need a report writer.

However, beyond the basic features like exporting to Excel and creating pretty graphs, you’ll find that report writers vary in capabilities. While they may all address the same problem (your need for data), each one offers different features. Figuring out what’s best for your company can be difficult if you’re unfamiliar with essential report-writing capabilities. …

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