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Tools and Integration
Updated November 05, 2014

Tools and Integration

Shawn Lee | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

2008

Modules Used

  • SSIS, SSRS, SSAS, DB Engine

Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft BI

  • ETL and Cube reporting through Excel are the two main functions where Microsoft BI excels.
  • Without Sharepoint, web reporting is not very robust. SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) provides limited functionality but, without Sharepoint integration, Microsoft BI doesn't match up well against other products.
OBIEE, Cognos, and Business Objects. Microsoft BI provided ETL, basic reporting, and cubes for analytics at a reasonable price.
Overall the software meets our needs very well. Because we aren't Sharepoint users, we will be using another product called WebFOCUS to add additional web reporting.
Microsoft was able to assist us in building dynamic row level security into the SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) cubes. This is, typically, a difficult thing to accomplish at a database level.

Using Microsoft BI

  • Financial month-end reporting.
  • HR Resource and Manager reporting
  • Ticket resolution and project management tracking. Data is pulled from 4 different systems and loaded into SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) for reporting.
  • SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) - Used for data integration across multiple systems.

Evaluating Microsoft BI and Competitors

Microsoft BI Implementation

Start small and grow, don't try to build everything at once.
  • Vendor implemented
  • Implemented in-house

Microsoft BI Training

Microsoft BI Support

Response time is very prompt. Most of the time the support person is very knowledgeable.
Yes