09/02/12
MagicQuadrantforBusinessIntelligencePlatforms
Metadatamanagement-
Notonlyshouldalltoolsleveragethesamemetadata,buttheofferingshouldprovidearobustwaytosearch,capture,store,reuseandpublishmetadataobjectssuchasdimensions,hierarchies,measures,performancemetricsandreportlayoutobjects.
Developmenttools-
TheBIplatformshouldprovideasetofprogrammaticdevelopmenttoolsandavisualdevelopmentenvironment,coupledwithasoftwaredeveloper'skitforcreatingBIapplications,integratingthemintoabusinessprocess,and/orembeddingtheminanotherapplication.TheBIplatformshouldalsoenabledeveloperstobuildBIapplicationswithoutcodingbyusingwizard-likecomponentsforagraphicalassemblyprocess.ThedevelopmentenvironmentshouldalsosupportWebservicesinperformingcommontaskssuchasscheduling,delivering,administeringandmanaging.Inaddition,theBIapplicationcanassignandtrackeventsortasksallottedtospecificusers,basedonpredefinedbusinessrules.Often,thiscapabilitycanbedeliveredbyintegratingwithaseparateportalorworkflowtool.
Collaboration-
ThiscapabilityenablesBIuserstoshareanddiscussinformation,BIcontentandresults,and/ormanagehierarchiesandmetricsviadiscussionthreads,chatandannotations,eitherembeddedintheBIplatformorthroughintegrationwithcollaboration,socialsoftwareandanalyticalmasterdatamanagement(MDM).
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InformationDelivery
Reporting-
Reportingprovidestheabilitytocreateformattedandinteractivereports,withorwithoutparameters,withhighlyscalabledistributionandschedulingcapabilities.Inaddition,BIplatformvendorsshouldhandleawidearrayofreportingstyles(forexample,financial,operationalandperformancedashboards),andshouldenableuserstoaccessandfullyinteractwithBIcontentdeliveredconsistentlyacrossdeliveryplatformsincludingtheWeb,mobiledevicesandcommonportalenvironments.
Dashboards-
Thissubsetofreportingincludestheabilitytopublishformal,Web-basedormobilereportswithintuitiveinteractivedisplaysofinformation,includingdials,gauges,sliders,checkboxesandtrafficlights.Thesedisplaysindicatethestateoftheperformancemetriccomparedwithagoalortargetvalue.Increasingly,dashboardsareusedtodisseminatereal-timedatafromoperationalapplicationsorinconjunctionwithacomplexeventprocessingengine.
Adhocquery-
Thiscapabilityenablesuserstoasktheirownquestionsofthedata,withoutrelyingonITtocreateareport.Inparticular,thetoolsmusthavearobustsemanticlayertoallowuserstonavigateavailabledatasources.ThesetoolsshouldincludeadisconnectedanalysiscapabilitythatenablesuserstoaccessBIcontentandanalyzedataremotelywithoutbeingconnectedtoaserver-basedBIapplication.Inaddition,thesetoolsshouldofferquerygovernanceandauditingcapabilitiestoensurethatqueriesperformwell.
MicrosoftOfficeintegration-
Insomeusecases,BIplatformsareusedasamiddletiertomanage,secureandexecuteBItasks,butMicrosoftOffice(particularlyExcel)actsastheBIclient.Inthesecases,itisvitalthattheBIvendorprovidesintegrationwithMicrosoftOfficeapplications,
MarketResponsivenessandTrackRecord:
Abilitytorespond,changedirection,beflexibleandachievecompetitivesuccessasopportunitiesdevelop,competitorsact,customerneedsevolveandmarketdynamicschange.Thiscriterionalsoconsidersthevendor'shistoryofresponsiveness.
MarketingExecution:
Theclarity,quality,creativityandefficacyofprogramsdesignedtodelivertheorganization'smessagetoinfluencethemarket,promotethebrandandbusiness,increaseawarenessoftheproducts,andestablishapositiveidentificationwiththeproduct/brandandorganizationinthemindsofbuyers.This"mindshare"canbedrivenbyacombinationofpublicity,promotionalinitiatives,thoughtleadership,word-of-mouthandsalesactivities.
CustomerExperience:
Relationships,productsandservices/programsthatenableclientstobesuccessfulwiththeproductsevaluated.SpeCifically,thisincludesthewayscustomersreceivetechnicalsupportoraccountsupport.Thiscanalsoincludeancillarytools,customersupportprograms(andthequalitythereof),availabilityofusergroups,service-levelagreementsandsoon.
Operations:
Theabilityoftheorganizationtomeetitsgoalsandcommitments.Factorsincludethequalityoftheorganizationalstructure,includingskills,experiences,programs,systemsandothervehiclesthatenabletheorganizationtooperateeffectivelyandefflclentlvonanongoingbasis.
Completeness
of
Vision
MarketUnderstanding:
Abilityofthevendortounderstandbuyers'wantsandneedsandtotranslatethoseintoproductsandservices.Vendorsthatshowthehighestdegreeofvisionlistentoandunderstandbuyers'wantsandneeds,andcanshapeorenhancethosewiththeiraddedvision.
MarketingStrategy:
Aclear,differentiatedsetofmessagesconslstentlvcommunicatedthroughouttheorganizationandexternalizedthroughthewebsite,advertising,customerprogramsandpositioningstatements.
SalesStrategy:
Thestrategyforsellingproductsthatusestheappropriatenetworkofdirectandindirectsales,marketing,serviceandcommunicationaffiliatesthatextendthescopeanddepthofmarket
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