Business intelligence software maker Hyperion Solutions
has revamped its software lineup to boost corporate performance
score-carding and extend the use of the company's analytical tools
via easy-to-use dashboards.
Performance Management Suite 8.2 incorporates dashboard
technology Hyperion inherited in its buyout of Brio Software. The
company is also rolling out a new generation of Essbase, its
flagship online analytical processing (Olap) platform, said
Hyperion chief marketing officer Nazhin Zarghamee.
Essbase Version 7 includes predictive analytics capabilities
that enable users to model and predict potential outcomes and issue
alerts if preset thresholds of certain metrics, such as demand or
the cost of materials, are breached.
Also new is support for XML for Analysis and for the MDX Query
Language. XML for Analysis is an industry standard language for
Olap designed to deliver universal data access via the web.
MDX Query Language is geared toward writing complex queries.
With support for Unicode technology, developers can write their own
reusable queries that will run over a variety of platforms.
The Performance Suite can cull relevant data from various
sources in a company and distribute it via a dashboard. The product
includes user-friendly modeling tools, such as a drag-and-drop
function, as well as personalised dashboard capabilities. In one
screen, users can contrast actual numbers with forecasts and see
the variance between the two.
Both products are shipping now.
Hyperion appears to be putting more muscle behind its Essbase
product line, which has taken a back seat during the past 18 months
to its financial planning and management applications lineup,
according to AMR Research analyst John Hagerty.
By beefing up performance and scalability and by adding support
for Red Hat Linux in Essbase, Hyperion is balancing its Olap
platform and its prepackaged applications businesses, he added.
Marc L Songini writes for
Computerworld