ALCHEMEX - the leading developer, enabler and support provider of affordable Excel-based BI software for small to medium enterprises - has complemented its traditional reporting solutions with OLAP technology delivering pre-built CUBE definitions for ACCPAC.
Established in South Africa, but used worldwide, ALCHEMEX's reporting software was the first to deliver automated management packs and other decision-support reports in Microsoft Excel 'at the click of a button', directly from a company's accounting or payroll system.
Adding rich analysis functionality to the end-user query and reporting tools supplied in previous versions of the software, users can now benefit from fixed formatted information for presentation purposes, as well as on-the-fly analysis. The MS-Excel front-end brings OLAP technology into the hands of the business.
"This is not about delivering a tool that can be used to build cubes where people need to understand the architecture of source databases," says Charles Teversham, director of Alchemex (Pty) Ltd. "The key is that we will be delivering ready built financial, sales and inventory cubes for ACCPAC." This means that companies using Alchemex version 6 will be up and running quickly with intelligent reporting, translating to a rapid return on investment.
The module allows users and consultants to modify existing cubes, as well as create new ones, using the metadata sets already created for ACCPAC. This also means the popular Report Manager interface can be used for standard reporting, cube analysis, as well as connectivity to Microsoft Analysis Services.
OLAP technology in a nutshell
OLAP stands for On Line Analytical Processing, and supports multi-dimensional analysis of information. It is the process of extracting high volumes of information from a data source (this could be a transactional system or a data warehouse) and compressing it into a format that is optimised for multi-dimensional analysis.
Why is OLAP valuable?
* OLAP can provide insight into a company's business that other business applications cannot. ERP can provide transactional elements or customer details but it cannot yet rank customers in order of importance, segment suppliers according to order-fill parameters, or identify trends.
* OLAP is flexible; OLAP tools provide an easy way to analyse data by simply dragging and dropping dimensions and facts into the appropriate locations.
* OLAP takes it the next step further by answering the "what if" and "why" questions. The OLAP module enables decision-making about future actions, which is typically more complex than simply summoning data.
* OLAP is useful in helping to determine why data appears the way it does. By progressively expanding portions of levels within a dimension, it is possible to drill-down into progressively more detail, to spot a trend or a problem. OLAP tools also allow a breakdown structure of the data where a single piece of data can be dissected into a series of levels to identify something interesting.
* OLAP empowers you to analyse data in your database that is not stored in a suitable format to achieve the type of analysis you have required, prior to OLAP making it possible.
Why is Alchemex OLAP for ACCPAC valuable?
* Alchemex OLAP delivers business intelligence that interacts with a company's ACCPAC ERP system, providing a low-cost integration into the existing IT infrastructure.
* These reports are invaluable in identifying trends in large volumes of data and eliminate Excel's row limitations.
* Pre-defined financial, sales and inventory cubes are incorporated into the module, so no source database knowledge or direct database queries are required. The use of the Alchemex Report Manager with its Excel interface means that OLAP technology is now much more accessible in terms of cost and ease of use. The user does not have to be an expert in business intelligence, but simply know how to use spreadsheets.
Local cube technology
It is worth considering what local cube technology offers an organisation as an extension to Microsoft Analysis Services as an OLAP tool. Alchemex offers functionality to build and maintain local cubes. So why would an organisation want to do this?
a. A local cube file can be loaded on a laptop, so that a user can browse multidimensional data while disconnected from the network.
b. A local cube can be e-mailed to a remote user who does not have access to the Analysis Server.
c. Local cubes can be downloaded from Web sites, so that remote users can be given access to multidimensional data.
d. Different local cubes can be created and distributed to different users, with each cube containing only the information the person is authorised to see.
e. Local cubes can be created that have a subset of the Analysis Server cube's data. This can greatly increase convenience and browsing speed for the user.
f. When a cube only contains the subset of information that the user wants to use, they can browse more quickly and more efficiently.
Why should ACCPAC users take advantage of this BI solution? An ERP system produces significant amounts of data which can, if interrogated correctly, provide valuable insights to a company's CEO, sales director or marketing director. The Alchemex OLAP module for ACCPAC puts powerful OLAP technology into the hands of the business users by providing pre-defined cubes and pre-formatted reports in the familiar face of Microsoft Excel.
Alchemex continues to focus on providing a quality client experience. The Alchemex team of report-writers and business analysts can assist with installation, configuration and use of Alchemex software for immediate results, as well as customised report-writing beyond the standard report templates. An extensive knowledge base and user forum is accessible at www.alchemex.com, providing ALCHEMEX users with free, up-to-the-minute access to support, report-writing, Excel and BI information. In addition, the Excel on Steroids and Alchemex application training workshops can help to maximise an investment in Alchemex by enhancing MS Excel skills and report-writing capabilities. Alchemex aims to provide a complete business intelligence solution resulting in a competitive advantage for customers.
For more information on the ALCHEMEX OLAP module for ACCPAC, contact Stephen@alchemex.com.
Alchemex Contact Information
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If you know of anyone who will benefit from using Alchemex - PLEASE contact Sales.
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