Why pay loads of money for
business intelligence tools, when you can use open source
instead? Jaspersoft is one of a
number of software houses offering open source alternatives to
expensive reporting software,
The company says there have been three million downloads
worldwide and it has more than 8,500 commercial customers in 96
countries. The Jaspersoft Business Intelligence Suite includes
products for production reporting, operational reporting,
dashboard-driven end-user query and reporting, data analysis, and
data integration for use with either stand-alone or embedded
business intelligence applications.
It has found a niche in providing embedded business
intelligence, where its software is pre-built into enterprise
software.
For instance, EnergySys, which provides software for companies
such as ExxonMobil, BP, BTC Pipeline Company, BG Group, and Total,
uses JasperSoft in its hydrocarbon application product. This
provides an integrated reporting portal, where power users can
access the JasperStudio product to build more sophisticated
reports.
It also works with Optaros, an IT consultant specialising in
using mash-ups to build composite applications for its
customers.
Jaspersoft and Sun
Jaspersoft has a long history of collaboration with Sun
Microsystems. In August, it announced the full-production
availability of Jaspersoft's iReport for NetBeans. Its iReport
plug-in is one of the most popular download in the NetBeans
community. Sun has licensed the Jaspersoft Business Intelligence
Suite for its
MySQL open source database. Furthermore, Sun's open source
application server GlassFish has been certified for Jaspersoft.
Jaspersoft is one of three open source companies developing
reporting tools. The other two are Pentaho and Actuate BIRT, says
Vuk Trifkovic, a senior analyst at Datamonitor.
"Open source reporting tools are gaining some traction, both in
the original equipment manufacturer and independent software
supplier developer channel and as stand-alone products."
Trifkovic believes independent software firms have been
embedding these open source tools into their own applications to
provide built-in reporting.
Wth Cognos now owned by IBM ands SAP now owning Business
Objects, users are increasingly finding they have less choice and
are reluctant to buy all their software from the same supplier.
Jaspersoft's chief executive officer, Brian Gentile, says open
source reporting offers a real alternative to commercial business
intelligence tools. "Our major customers do not want to spend
£250,000 to £500,000 a year with the major suppliers."
Open source problems
But what is the downside? David Norfolk, practice leader at
Bloor Research, argues that open source products may not offer the
same level of support as commercial software.
Furthermore, in a recent posting he warns, "Even if you download
the software without having to pay for it, there is an open source
licence with terms that could, conceivably, be enforced.
"If you are using it for serious business applications, you need
to know where it is deployed and what for."
Norfolk urges IT departments that want to give it a go to deploy
JasperSoft under configuration management.
"You need to train users, not only in how to use Jaspersoft but
also in how to do business intelligence professionally, so that
they can have confidence in the results they get.
"You may need professional support from Jaspersoft. There is a
cost of ownership, even for free software, and although this might
well be less than for commercial offerings, you cannot just assume
this."