|
Platform. Microsoft offers a platform to build BI. BI requires
ETL tools (Extract, Transform and Load) and Microsoft offers 3 solutions
for ETL - Data Transformation Services (DTS), BizTalk and Host Integration
Server (HIS). BI usually requires a data warehouse or staging area, which
can be Microsoft SQL Server. OLAP is another BI component and Microsoft
Analysis Server is included with Microsoft SQL Server. BI also requires
reporting and enquiry and Microsoft offering includes Excel, Data Analyzer
and Office Web Components.
Cost.
Microsoft SQL Server includes DTS and Analysis Server. Microsoft Office
includes Excel and Data Analyzer.
Microsoft SQL Server. Microsoft SQL Server has become a leader in the
enterprise database marketplace. Most ERP systems already use Microsoft
SQL Server, which means that they already have many of BI's components.
DTS.
With knowledge of the data structures being extracted, DTS is the tool of
choice as you don't need to invest in expensive ETL tools. DTS will
connect to the data sources using OLE DB, Open Database Connectivity
(ODBC), or directly to text-only files. If data scrubbing is required, you
will need additional tools.
BizTalk. BizTalk provides enterprise application integration using XML
and includes data mapping for many of the leading ERP systems.
HIS.
With HIS, you can connect to
legacy host systems with client/server and Web networks.
Analysis Server. Analysis server provides the OLAP engine. One key
point is that Analysis Server is open and there are many third party tools
that allow access to Microsoft's OLAP cubes, which will drive down the
price of enquiry, which tends to be expensive with proprietary OLAP cubes.
Analysis Server also supports real time updates from Microsoft SQL Server
as well as write-back functionality. Security can be at the dimension or
cell level.
Excel.
Excel's PivotTable allows for slicing and dicing across multiple
dimensions, drag and drop dimensions across rows or columns, drill down,
drill through, and graphing results. It currently lacks tools to customize
rows or columns with new calculations.
Data
Analyzer. With Data Analyzer, you can graphically filter, sort, drill
up or down...
Office
Web Components. You can create dashboards or portals that access OLAP
over the internet. You could also manipulate data from a browser just as
if you were using Excel.
|
