This is a dated announcement. The material in this announcement could be superceded by more current announcements.
SPSS Inc. Updates ShowCase Reporting and Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) Tools for IBM i Customers
Enhanced Multi-Dimensional Analysis and Enterprise Reporting Environment Delivers Powerful Analytics and Automation of Reporting Processes
CHICAGO,
06/09/09 —
SPSS Inc. (Nasdaq: SPSS), the leading global provider of Predictive Analytics software and solutions, today announced Essbase 11 and Web Analysis 11 for IBM i, the latest versions of its best-of-breed online analytical processing (OLAP) components of the ShowCase Suite for IBM i customers. These enhanced products give customers additional time intelligence features, easier access to web-based reports and the integration of live data into Microsoft Office applications.
The ShowCase Suite is the leading end-to-end enterprise business intelligence solution for organizations running their business on the IBM i. The solution provides complete reporting and analysis, allowing users to build analytical models by consolidating actual, projected and derived data, and deliver results across the organization through the management and creation of reports.
ShowCase Suite users now have full access to the recently announced
PASW Collaboration and Deployment Services 4 (formerly Predictive Enterprise Services), part of the SPSS
Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) portfolio of products.
PASW Collaboration and Deployment Services 4 provides an operational reporting platform that enables organizations to manage their reporting environment and deliver information to any number of individuals or groups efficiently, cost effectively and securely. The new release provides flexible automation and integration capabilities for reporting processes and additional delivery options for reports.
Jason Verlen, vice president of research and development and chief product strategist at SPSS Inc., said, “The ShowCase Suite continues to deliver real, measurable benefits to organizations of all sizes in operational areas such as finance, human resources, logistics, production, purchasing and sales. With the ability to manage and analyze detailed data more easily, the new versions of the OLAP components of the ShowCase Suite enable organizations to operate more efficiently – and profitably – by delivering more options for viewing and interacting with data so users can make better and faster decisions.”
Mark Pawloski, manager of business intelligence at
Penn Foster, one of the oldest and largest online learning institutions in the world, said, “The ShowCase Suite has been instrumental for quick, multi-dimensional analysis and provides easy access to our many large databases throughout the organization. We use the ShowCase Suite in many areas of our business – in the marketing department to analyze campaigns and product trending, in the call center to measure agent performance and productivity, in student services to better understand call activity and resolutions, and in accounting for revenue forecasting and budgeting. The newly updated products make the automation and integration of reports turnkey, and puts more relevant data directly into the hands of those who need it immediately.”
The latest versions offer the following new features and functionality:
Essbase 11 for IBM i
- Ability to analyze information based on any calendar, including Gregorian, manufacturing, retail, ISO and fiscal, to analyze information to match specific business needs.
- Built-in time calculations such as year-to-date or rolling averages.
- Analysis of data based on specific points in time, even after organizational structures change, such as last year’s sales territories and managers, or product packaging over different markets.
- More ways to view and analyze text and date information so organizations can perform calculations on customer satisfaction levels or lists of products introduced in a particular month.
- Ability to define regular holidays, events and named holidays to give more specific reference that might be unique to the business. For instance, a retail organization that wants to better understand and plan for sales around the last two weekends before Thanksgiving.
- Access to near real-time data for analysis by using trickle-feed data loads so customers can add new data as others are working.
Web Analysis 11 for IBM i (formerly known as Analyzer)
- Faster, lighter-weight web browser interface to quickly view data and perform basic analysis. Customers can now access, manage and organize content from within a single, integrated workspace.
- Easier-to-use formatting options and powerful new calculation capabilities for report designers.
- SmartView feature that allows users to seamlessly integrate multi-dimensional reports with Microsoft Office applications, providing a familiar front end for viewing and sharing analytical results. Users can now embed links to live reports and refresh data at any time with a single click.
Integration with PASW Collaboration & Deployment Services 4
Reports created within the ShowCase Suite are published to the secure, central repository in PASW Collaboration & Deployment Services 4 so they can be accessed enterprise-wide through a web browser. Reporting processes can also be easily automated for more reliable and consistent information delivery.
New features in PASW Collaboration and Deployment Services 4 allow IBM i customers to:
· Initiate reporting processes on demand through a web browser interface or based on external events using Java Messaging Services (JMS). Processes within PASW Collaboration and Deployment Services can also initiate other processes using JMS for more enterprise integration options.
· Pass parameters to reporting processes that add specific context to execution of the process. For example, a reporting process could include steps for adding updated information to a data warehouse and the parameters could indicate the date range for the new data that should be added or the location of the new database file.
· Integrate interactive reports within standard portals.
Availability
Essbase 11 for IBM i, Web Analysis 11 for IBM i and PASW Collaboration and Deployment Services 4 are all available now from SPSS Inc in English. Other languages, such as German, French and Japanese, will be available in Q3 2009. The entire portfolio of SPSS Predictive Analytics Software –
data collection,
statistics,
modeling,
text analytics and
deployment – is available by calling 1-800-543-2185.
About SPSS Inc.
SPSS Inc. is a leading global provider of Predictive Analytics software and solutions. The Company’s complete portfolio of
Predictive Analytics Software (PASW) products – data collection, statistics, modeling and deployment – captures people’s attitudes and opinions, predicts outcomes of future customer interactions, and then acts on these insights by embedding analytics into business processes. SPSS Solutions address interconnected business objectives across an entire organization by focusing on the convergence of analytics, IT architecture and business process. Commercial, government and academic customers worldwide rely on SPSS technology as a competitive advantage in attracting, retaining and growing customers, while reducing fraud and mitigating risk. Founded in 1968, SPSS is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. For more information, please visit
www.spss.com.
