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Fundamental Options for Business Intelligence Style Reporting within Microsoft SharePoint
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by Jeffrey Sward
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Background
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The need for business intelligence style reporting in a Microsoft SharePoint environment is common. Some features of business intelligence reporting tools include:
- Reporting of numerical data is tabular format
- Graphs, charts, and trees
- Drill downs
- Pivot tables
- Cross Tabs
- Custom calculations
- Analytical features such as ranking, filtering, sorting, group by etc…
- Dashboards
- Exporting in different formats (PDF, XLS, TXT, HTML etc.)
Below are some fundamental choices for business intelligence style reporting in a Microsoft SharePoint environment.
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Microsoft-Centric Solutions
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Listed in descending order by cost effectiveness (most cost effective first). All Microsoft-centric solutions are less costly while also less versatile compared to third-party solutions.
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Item
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Advantages
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Disadvantages
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Performance Point
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- Most like third party business intelligence reporting tools
- Versatile
- Drill downs, dashboards, etc. built in
- Created primarily for business intelligence style reporting
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- Learning curve
- Must create multiple Performance Point objects in order to render one report
- Additional major SharePoint component will require support
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Sql Server Reporting Services (SSRS)
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- Relatively easy to create reports with SQL Server skill set
- Built-in filtering
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- Requires hosting SSRS either within SharePoint or stand alone SSRS server
- Labor intensive to expand basic functionality
- Requires SQL Server skill set
- Drill downs, etc. very labor intensive
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Excel services
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- Leverages Excel expertise
- Excel has rich functionally for business intelligence style reporting (pivot, graphs, etc.)
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- Using Excel as a reporting tool is stretching Excel beyond its native capabilities
- Additional major SharePoint component (Excel services) will require support
- End users may clone or inadvertently change existing reporting, potentially creating anarchy or incorrect results
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Encapsulated SharePoint or .Net c# application
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- Most versatile of all options
- Full functionality of .Net Applications
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- Generic .Net applications are not particularly suited for business intelligence style reporting
- Requires extensive developer effort to create or change
- Each report essentially a new development effort
- Drill downs, etc. very labor intensive
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InfoPath
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- Microsoft Word type creation tool is relatively simple
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- InfoPath is not particularly suited for business intelligence style reporting
- End users can easily clone or inadvertently change existing reporting, potentially creating anarchy or incorrect results
- Drill downs, etc. very labor intensive
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Third Party Solutions
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Listed in descending order by cost effectiveness (most cost effective first)
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Item
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Advantages
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Disadvantages
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Microstrategy
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- Versatile
- Drill downs, dashboards, etc. built in
- Created primarily for business intelligence style reporting
- Microstrategy still an independent company dedicated to business intelligence reporting as their main business
- Most robust of third party solutions
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- Expensive
- Requires separate infrastructure
- Generally requires dedicated administrator
- First time set up very labor intensive
- Dependence on third party product
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Cognos (acquired by IBM)
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- Versatile
- Drill downs, dashboards, etc. built in
- Created primarily for business intelligence style reporting
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- Expensive
- Requires separate infrastructure
- Generally requires dedicated administrator
- First time set up very labor intensive
- Cognos a minor product in IBM suite
- Dependence on third party product
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Business Objects (acquired by SAP)
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- Versatile
- Drill downs, dashboards, etc. built in
- Created primarily for business intelligence style reporting
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- Expensive
- Requires separate infrastructure
- Generally requires dedicated administrator
- First time set up very labor intensive
- Business Objects a minor product in SAP suite
- Generally requires third party consulting firm for initial setup
- SAP will not support smaller enterprises directly
- Dependence on third party product
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Application generator such as Iron Speed
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- Initial application generation relatively easy
- Versatile
- Full functionality of .Net Applications
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- Application generators support limited functionality
- Generic .Net applications are not particularly suited for business intelligence style reporting
- May requires extensive developer effort to change
- Each report essentially a new development effort
- Drill downs, etc. very labor intensive
- Dependence on third party product
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Sward 1975-2019. All rights reserved. No portion
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without prior written permission. So there.
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