Entrinsik Informer Reviews

It makes creating queries very easy for end users so not only research or technicians can do it. The availability for creating Live reports that are accessible via Excel on the network has given many of our users the ability to get the information they need in a format they can use without needing someone to translate the raw data.

Entrinsik Informer is well suited for businesses that need the capability for end-users to create their own reports. It is easy to learn, and users have multiple output formats they could use, so IT would not need to be as involved. Setting up users is quick and simple, so end-users can be up and going in no time.

The documentation is simple and concise. Take the time to read it. No other vendor in this space provides a true try it before you buy it, and that is really huge in creating a partnership with these guys even before any checks are signed. They are not out to sell a lot of copies of software, they are out to keep you as a customer for the long-haul.

Informer is uniquely positioned in my view to bridge the data gaps that exist in so many organizations. With Informer, we are able to join and return data from multiple servers and databases and even database platforms. Our institution, used to try to reign in these database islands, now we work to incorporate them into the larger system of data, and provide them with their missing information while simultaneously filling out the larger data picture on our campus.

I see no scenarios where Entrinsik Informer (EI) is not an appropriate tool for those using Unidata; I have no experience with EI in SQL.

I think Informer is great when a lot of people need similar information from your CRM. Reports can be written where the end user fills in their specific request. It is as easy as fill in the blank!

Informer is well suited for mass reporting of simple to complex data sets. Informer is less appropriate for specific employee, student, vendor, faculty, or record level validation. We use other case tools for specific file/field data verification. Granted, it would be simple to set up an Informer report for the instant ad hoc queries we use often in I.T.

This product is well-suited with any type of underlying database but we were particularly impressed with its ability to be used with a multi-valued database (which our ERP is currently running off of).

I think you can use Entrinsik Informer in almost any scenario where you need data in any kind. It allows for a easy way for someone to write reports with out having to know complicated languages just to pull data. You can use the Dashboard module to make predictive models or see data in a different way where you no longer have to take it into a Microsoft Pivot table.

It is very well suited for any college that uses Ellucian's Colleague software. It is written to work fluently with Colleague.

This product is well suited for reporting from Unidata databases especially for multivalued output. Entrinsik has been a pleasure to work with the product is easy to set up and any issues we have had have been addressed and resolved quickly.

I found the Informer software relatively easy to setup. I would recommend taking time to evaluate what fields you want to "import" into the Informer mappings. Keeping the fields you import specific will help make sure that your end users are using the correct fields. It also helps to pay close attention to assigning validation tables to fields as you set things up.f

With Informer we are able to use it for most all of our reporting needs. There are a couple of instances when the report is complicated enough that Informer is not the best tool to use. Since the release of the dashboards we are able to move some of these more complicated reports to a dashboard but there are still a handful of reports that we use other tools for.

Overall we are very happy with Informer. It has absolutely changed our reporting capabilities for the better.

Go to the conferences. They are great. You can learn a lot from other users. If you are a Unidata shop, I don't know of a better reporting tool. Security is a pain to set up but it can't be rushed nor forced. Make sure you do it right for audit's sake. Make sure the policy making body takes their time to set standards and guidelines to ensure security, access and standardization. This will help your systems administrators create the security and will make it easier to maintain. After using Informer for a year, do a comprehensive review to see what standards and processes should be modified to maximize security and efficiency.

, because it drags down system performance on the production ERP. However, with the ability to have multiple data sources, you could have Informer connected to a data warehouse and use that data source for the larger, higher level reporting.

Our Room Scheduling software has some canned reports that we are not able to replicate in Informer due to the inability to un-align columns of data for a multi-line report. Allowing the report to contain lengthy comments fields in a row under the basic data.
~~This is still true~~~jbowker 11/10/14

It works great for simple queries and reports, however there are a few occasions where it doesn't and we need to write a unidata program or use SPSS to accomplish the report the users is asking for. I wouldn't call this a limitation of Informer, I believe that this is simply the way the data is organized in Colleague and we need to find another way to accomplish the task.

I find Informer a great product that will compliment any public safety agency by giving them the ability to create their own tactical reports with tools that are very user friendly. End users are now more educated regarding software applications. It just seems like sense to put the right tools in front of them to enhance their work environment.

Entrinsik Informer is best suited for those institutions that have users that know their data and how it is laid out. They will find Informer is a tool that will fit their needs and will be a product that can be used by staff of different levels.

Informer works great for us - we are connecting to a DB2 database and it seems to work quite well and Entrinsik has been a very professional business partner. They have gone out of their way to help us by making the tool better and incorporating suggested changes/features into the product over time.

Ellucian (Datatel) did not allow users to join files based on a common key. THIS was a huge selling point in selecting Informer. Also, the cost and the ability to quickly deploy the product to users was a big plus. Our Information Technologe department was sold when they learned they didn't have to worry about end users modifying any data in the Datatel system and that security could be controlled. Finally, in using Entrinsik Informer, CUSTOMER SERVICE is OUTSTANDING!

Entrinsik Informer is not a what-you-see-is-what-you-get true free-form report designer like can be found in some other reporting solutions. However, Informer is the best data extraction and BI provider for Unidata ever. End users should not have to go to a technical report developer to just get a set of data. Informer provides the ability to deliver customized reports either scheduled or ad-hoc when and where they want utilizing widely accepted formats.

Very well suited for our Admissions and Recruiting Department.

Informer is well-suited for creating reports from Colleague in a variety of ways that are currently unavailable within the Colleague software itself. It allows you to combine different fields and values and data from multiple areas of the college within one report, and even use that report to create even more reports.

Informer has the ability to work with a variety of data sources so is an effective solution for a variety of businesses.

Might not recommend as highly for a Datatel SQL client do to the issues with the mapping suites