An Overview of Business Intelligence

The DSABi Systems provide users with fast and flexible reporting, controlling and budgeting solutions on top of existing database and data-warehouses.

BACKGROUND
The first implementations proved that using a native and full browser interface not only for the end-users, but also to completely administrate and design applications, was effective and required little maintenance. Being fully browser-based, end-users accepted and understood the use of the systems intuitively and could reach relevant information from wherever an internet connection was available.

The ability to adapt interfaces to individual users was a key-stone in the evolution of the systems. Users would use different versions of browsers and access the systems with different screen-sizes.
Users would have different language and regional settings preferences as well as they would have different rights to see various information and different user rights to see different levels of the information.

Combining user-rights, preferences and roles with back-end compatibility to databases defined the DSABi systems as a valid and effective application interface to business data.

Being a central server-based installation connected to the databases storing the information needed combined with no client side installation needs, made the systems a perfect choice for giving end-users access to information. Adding write-back features to the systems extended its use to also address data-maintenance tasks.

Introducing features to search, aggregate and filter data combined with drill-down, relate and ad-hoc design change functionality extended the definition of the systems from being purely an application interface platform to become a platform for “Activated Information”. This gave end-users several options to get the information needed in the format and at the level fitting their actual needs, while ensuring that administrators and developers would have tight control over security and access to reports and underlying information.

As a generic platform to provide a compatible system with market-leading databases, DSABi has grown into many different usage scenarios and within different sizes of organizations and industries.

TThe DSABi Systems are, today, many different business sectors including Retail, Trade, Job Management, Sales Management and many other vertical markets.

TECHNICAL ASPECTS
The SABi applications act as an access point to information in multi-tiered application environments. Connected via OLEDB or ODBC to background databases the DSABi applications hosted by a Microsoft Internet Information Server is a central live information server to users, developers and administrators.

The DSABi Systems connect directly to background production, data-warehouse or test-databases and communicate with the databases through SQL. The background databases can be any ODBC/OLEDB compliant SQL database however typically the databases used are: Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, IBM DB2, MySQL, Sybase, Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel, PostGreSQL or Pervasive SQL and Visual Dataflex.

As an IIS application, standard Internet security measures can be used with our sytem such as SSL and client certificates, at the same time our applications can be reached through either LAN, WAN or the internet depending on the chosen configuration.

WWith a fully HTML based user-interface all use, developments and administration is done through a standard internet browser such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera.

JOIN-BUILDER and DYNAMIC SQL
Although our systems are simple in design when making a report on top of a database table or view, the application allows for a number of in-between layers to give developers full flexibility of data segmentation and design and administrators full control of access to data and databases.

We offer the opportunity to build reports on top of our systems SQL Views as well as data-sources based on our Join-builder views. Apart from being a full native SQL layer in-between the report and the database where specific SQL manipulation can be handled, our views can take a number of run-time variables as parameters for the SQL execution.

The DSABi view parameters can e.g.: be controlled from the dictionary, the user-accounts, the user-roles, from input at run-time, from drop-down select listings that are especially used for data-partitioning.

Apart from offering a unique possibility to generate data-sources in form of views that are not possible without stored procedures etc. in traditional databases, our views also have the benefit that they can be maintained directly from the browser interface making installation of development tools obsolete.

DISTRIBUTED DEVELOPMENT and CUSTOMISATION
Being fully browser-based in use the DSABi systems are an ideal solution for distributed development tasks. In larger organizations this is especially useful as users can cooperate across departments, locations and even between different companies.

For any organisation the functionality to control and leverage user-rights to each individual user is an advantage. In many situations end-users can benefit from having some functionality and freedom to manipulate and customize reports.

The DSABi Systems offer several levels of customization from full access to connect databases, creating new views and joins, to building reports with full functionality, conditions, rules, filters, drill-down specifications, forms, sub-forms etc. to controlled access to parts of the Design functionality, Ad-hoc report design to drag-drop column actions and Automated Intelligence.

For the end-user who only uses our systems from time to time, the drag-drop and column based report actions might be the simplest and most intuitive way to customize reports and dashboards or even make sophisticated dashboards automatically. No Design methodology as such or any coding is required.

More advanced end-users can benefit from the Ad-hoc Design as well as the possibility to save new designs for predefined, restricted groups of users.

Some users will appreciate full access to functionality in Design, but administrators and other developers can still control who owns the designs and control and protect development using distinct user and owner groups.

The numerous combinations of design and data access permissions gives organizations using our systems a wide range of options to create the most effective and flexible reporting environment.

Access to design functionality also for normal end is an important element of keeping reports and information resources current and relevant for ever-changing business and controlling requirements. Iterative development of reports - in some cases involving various user groups - ensures that the DSA Systems stay a valid intelligence resource.

From Ad-Hoc to Drag-Drop Manipulation
The quickest and simplest way to individual report customization is column based actions and drag-drop manipulation.
A further benefit from drag-drop manipulation is that the functionalities support the use of our systems on touch screen computers and eventually various other touch based interfaces coming in the future.
Touch based use of our systems the real implementation of “information at your fingertips!”

OUTPUT OPTIONS
The interface of our systems is kept as clean and uniform as possible. This ensures that focus stays on the information produced and a professional looking and useful format. Our systems have a number of default styles build-in, but can be fully and freely extended to serve special needs and company standards.

Focus on design is to ensure that reports can be used as they are produced on-screen without end-users having to spend time on output formatting. Our system reports can be printed directly from the browser, e-mailed in the Server and Enterprise editions and optionally delivered in PDF format if that option is installed on the Server/Enterprise editions. In case the PDF 3rd party option is not centrally installed, any report can be printed to PDF on the client using freely available PDF tools. In some cases the information produced on a Dynamic AI report must be part of or used in additional reports and manipulation in e.g. Excel. Dynamic AI therefore supports export to Excel, Word, CSV, Fixed format and XML.

The Excel export can be set up as a linked report in Excel, allowing refresh of report output directly from within Excel whenever required - without even entering our systems in the browser. The linked reports also supports report filters, partitions, free parameters etc. to ensure that end-users can change relevant filters when required directly in Excel.

When exporting output, a drill-out option is available to allow also the drill-down functionality of our system reports to function from external applications such as Excel, Word, and E-mail. When drill-down is activated, we automatically open a browser and request username and password before presenting the requested drill-down specification. The drill-out functionality also supports drilling to the form level of detail record listings.

APPLICATION INTEGRATION
As a natural extension to our systems and export options, live reports, dashboards and forms can be integrated into any external application as long as the external application can present browser-based content and facilitate the execution of the initial url to request a specific report. The request can be either a url string or submitted on a FORM from the external application to our systems.

The specific link as well as parameters, filters and output options are documented in the integration section of Report Documentation available on each individual report.

MOBILE DEVICES
As mobile devices nowadays all support displaying web-contents in a browser, our systems are available everywhere and anytime needed.
Being a natural browser application originating from the time where band-width was low and expensive, our systems are optimized by design to be efficient also for mobile devices.