Microsoft held a UK customer event this week to highlight the launch of its Office PerformancePoint Server business intelligence (BI) solution, where experts outlined the twin benefits of ease of integration and familiarity with the tools.
The UK launch of PerformancePoint Server last month followed a period of beta testing during which 10,000 versions of the product were downloaded, according to Tony Crowhurst, product marketing manager for PerformancePoint.
Microsoft’s key selling points for the new product are the use of the familiar Excel interface, and the ability to easily and cheaply integrate with other Microsoft products.
“We are not delivering a new tool; we are just making Excel do BI,” said Alex Payne, Microsoft Sequel Server product manager.
At the event, car retailer Inchcape highlighted PeformancePoint’s ability to integrate with other products as a significant benefit.
Peter Wilson, Inchcape’s business analysis manager, said the car dealer had had significant difficulty two years ago when integrating analytics tools from ProClarity with its existing IT infrastructure, particularly in the areas of planning and forecasting.
Wilson said that had PerformancePoint Server been available then, “undoubtedly we would have gone down that route, because the benefit you get from integration and a common set of products is significant”.
With its acquisition of ProClarity in 2006, Microsoft was able to create PerformancePoint’s integrated planning, monitoring and analysis functionality.
Microsoft was also keen to reiterate that PerformancePoint Server is not the vendor’s first step into the BI arena. Chris Caren, general manager of Office business applications, pointed out that Sequel Server and Excel both hold BI capabilities, and are used by 80 per cent of the market as their preferred BI solution.
However, Microsoft needed to develop the “traditional Bill Gates’ personal computing model” to give an enterprise view, Caren explained. He added that the problem with Excel for enterprise BI use is that it is used in isolation, with each department filling in a separate Excel spreadsheet.
Hot on the heels of SAP deal, BI vendor announces move beyond traditional enterprise market 19 Oct 2007
Information Builders, Cognos and Microsoft attempt to refocus attention on own platforms 19 Oct 2007
Consolidation in the BI sector continues at a rapid pace 15 Oct 2007
SAP to shell out 4.8bn Euros to acquire BI specialist and compete against Oracle-Hyperion tie-up 09 Oct 2007New website will provide on-demand solutions 02 Oct 2007Information Builders, Cognos and Microsoft attempt to refocus attention on own platforms 19 Oct 2007Microsoft is continuing its push to be a big business intelligence player 28 Aug 2007
Software behemoth looks to capitalise on its fast growing business intelligence reputation 22 Aug 2007
Many firms are wasting their online opportunities by failing to engage with users, according to experts 30 Oct 2007
Intelligent Energy ramps up funding for R&D and partnerships 04 Jul 2008
Focus on energy savings through fuel efficiency for homes and public and commercial buildings 04 Jul 2008
ActionAid accuses G8 of driving more people into poverty by pursing biofuels and cutting agri-aid 04 Jul 2008
More news
Businesses' new found focus on the environment may be welcome, but according to Conrad MacKerron, it is taking attention away from workers' rights issues – and the credibility of the entire green business movement could be at risk 03 Jul 2008
It may be a year old, but as Dell's Jonathan Perry explains, firms looking to get rid of their old IT kit still need to pay attention to the WEEE directive 02 Jul 2008
Telling customers about your environmental targets is all well and good but, as Paul Thomas argues, they are meaningless if you do not know how they are to be achieved 01 Jul 2008 More in-depth
Post your comment
Send an email to the Business Green editor at feedback@businessgreen.com
