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Any recommendation on Reporting Tools for MS OLAP?

  • July 19, 2004 at 9:58 pm

    #180968

    Guys:

    are there any reporting tools that uses cubes collected from MS Analysis Server, or data directly from MS SQL Server for reporting purposes?

    for example Crystal reports, are there any Micrsoft based reporting tools that are included in the SQL Server MS Analysis Service packages? or MS Office Package?

    Any recommendations for reporting tools besides MS Reporting Services?

    NgKH

  • July 21, 2004 at 2:08 am

    #515431

    MS Excel can be used to consume data from both SQL Server & Analysis Services. Microsoft also have a product called Data Analyser for querying cubes although this is more of an ad-hoc tool than an analytical reporting tool.

    Microstrategy is a tool that (I think) can be used for consuming relational and OLAP data sources.

    If you're looking only for OLAP front-end tools there are many out there. Look for Panorama, ProClarity, MIS AG to name but a few. These all include an Excel add-in to enhance Excel's ability to report from Analysis Services. I particularly like Panorama (http://www.panoramasoftware.com).

    There are lots of others.

    Regards

     

    Jamie Thomson
    http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson

  • July 21, 2004 at 7:19 am

    #515464

    I would generally recommend using MS Excel (2000 or better; earlier versions can't do OLAP reports).  Most people who use the cubes are very familiar with Excel, so they don't have to learn a new program.  Excel's biggest weakness in this regard (IMHO) is the inability to drill through the data, even when the settings are done correctly on the server.  This is useful when an executive wants to see what constitutes this data.  If this is a crucial feature, there are a number of third party software packages that will do this.  I've tested one, and although we didn't field it, the ability to drill through was useful.

    I have seen a web page interface demo which I thought was highly effective.  I don't know how to do this, but depending on your needs you might want to go that route.

  • July 21, 2004 at 9:28 am

    #515480

    Excel is great up to a point, but if you need a dashboard/EIS or you need to schedule reports and distribute them, try Brio (now called Hyperion Intelligence), Business Objects. Panorama or ProClarity. All have pros and cons, but if you read the OLAP REPORT/SURVEY by Nigel Pendse, an independent review of the offerings, Brio comes out on top.

    HTH

    Steve

     

  • July 21, 2004 at 11:02 am

    #515507

    We are using the Microsoft Business Intelligence Portal tool as a front end to our OLAP cubes.  It is a free downloadable tool from Microsoft.  It allows you to view an OLAP cube and you can use drill through.  It is a nice free tool.  There are a few quirks to it but what do you expect from a free utility.  If you give it a try and run into any questions, let me know.  We ran into a few issues when trying to set it up and I would be willing to help you out.

    HTH

    John

  • July 21, 2004 at 12:12 pm

    #515517

    You can query the cubes using MDX and put results into a temp table. We have multiple stored procedures that query OLAP just like they would query regular tables. The front end is whatever you want it to be. Ours is ASP.

  • July 26, 2004 at 1:54 am

    #516040

    Executive Viewer from temtec . Try the link ww.temtec.com.

  • July 26, 2004 at 2:29 pm

    #516159

    Errr, I wouldn't exactly agree with Bill there.

     

    The point about Reporting Services being free is a bit of a misnomer. Its included with the SQL Server license which is NOT free. In essence its free if you are using SQL Server as your RDBMS and you run all SQL Server components on the same box but in an enterprise system its unlikely you'd do that. If you want to run your reporting application on a different box to your SQL Server RDBMS (which alot of people do) then you'll need 2 SQL Server licenses. If you don't run SQL Server you still need to buy a SQL Server license to run Reporting Services, hence definitely NOT free.

     

    Whilst Reporting Services may be able to do things that the other products that Bill mentioned can't, the opposite is true as well. For example, reporting services does not have a particularly intuitive slice 'n' dice interface for multidimensional data (e.g. Analysis Services data) when copared to products such as Panorama or ProClarity. Reporting Services also has some architecture shortcomings, not least that you need to have Visual Studio installed to do any report authoring. What business user is going to have to want to use a development tool as part of their every day lives?

     

    Microsoft have become very successful in no small part due to the way that they utilise partnerships with ISVs because in essence it gives them a free sales force. They wouldn't put out a product coupled with a strategy of actively trying to take business away from those very same partners now would they? Already they have tried to display the integration features that Reporting Services has with other software products rather than competing against them. For example check out the following webcast which is an example of Microsoft promoting Reporting Services as an enhancement to another software product rather than a replacement http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032250912&Culture=en-US.

     

    For what its worth my own personal opinion is that Reporting Services lags behind similar products anyway, regardless of what I have said above.

     

    I hope this post causes you to consider all possibilities. Reporting Services is potentially a fantastic tool and definitely has a future - but don't think that it is a be all and end all.

    Regards

     

    Jamie Thomson
    http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson

  • July 26, 2004 at 5:41 pm

    #516178

    Further to Jamies post, Cizer (http://www.cizer.com) will be releasing their second report authoring tool (Report Builder) for Reporting Services on the 2nd of Aug (don't shoot the messenger if it slips! ) which will mean web-based report authoring for all (or thereabouts ).

    If you get a chance, join the Beta 2 for 2005, as some of the RS features seem to be a bit better implemented/extended in that version.

    On the downside for AS Reporting Services users, it would appear that 'dynamic' reports are still not on the cards unless you publish/export the report to OWC version.  I guess that's an upside for AS tool vendors like ours though!

    cheers,

    steve.

    Steve.

  • July 27, 2004 at 2:08 pm

    #516396

    Hi Steve,

    Thats exactly my point regarding AS tool vendors. Microsoft aren't going to blow them out of the water - that would be bitig the hand that feeds them!

    This cizer product sounds interesting. I take it that what it does is essentially generate RDL and publish it to RS is that correct?

    I'm looking forawrd to getting hold of Beta 2. We've got it available in teh office but I'm out on a client site at the moment

    Regards

     

    Jamie Thomson
    http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson

  • July 27, 2004 at 3:26 pm

    #516415

    No need for sarcasm Bill (if thats what it was)

     

    As long as the original poster understands the licensing issues - thats the most important thing here. Run at least 1 SQL Server component on N machines then you have to buy N licenses.

     

    Regards

     

    Jamie Thomson
    http://sqlblog.com/blogs/jamie_thomson

  • August 16, 2004 at 7:17 pm

    #519231

    Take a look at the scorecard accelerator from Microsoft.  It is free and provides some interesting high level reporting capabilities.  Much more flexible that Hyperion, Business Objects or Cognos.

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