Comments on: OLAP Browser Feature on Connect http://www.bp-msbi.com/2010/01/olap-browser-feature-on-connect/ A practical blog about Microsoft BI tools, techniques and practices written by a developer for other fellow developers. Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:41:05 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Dirk http://www.bp-msbi.com/2010/01/olap-browser-feature-on-connect/comment-page-1/#comment-38 Dirk Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:11:42 +0000 http://www.bp-msbi.com/2010/01/olap-browser-feature-on-connect/#comment-38 Have you ever tried Datawarehouse Explorer? It's ligthweight, userfriendly and affordable! Chris Webb reviewed it a few months ago. <br />A fully functional version can be downloaded from http://www.dwexplorer.com Have you ever tried Datawarehouse Explorer? It's ligthweight, userfriendly and affordable! Chris Webb reviewed it a few months ago.
A fully functional version can be downloaded from http://www.dwexplorer.com

]]> By: Kory Skistad http://www.bp-msbi.com/2010/01/olap-browser-feature-on-connect/comment-page-1/#comment-37 Kory Skistad Sun, 10 Jan 2010 02:40:37 +0000 http://www.bp-msbi.com/2010/01/olap-browser-feature-on-connect/#comment-37 I have been using Analysis Services since SQL 7 (OLAP Services) and have downloaded and evaluated every product that has generated any buzz when I hear about it. Some impressed me, but most were disappointments. The ones that had the most bells & whistles had poor design and usability, and the ones that had the easiest or most intuitive and clean interfaces lacked the most features.<br /><br />Working with business users over the years, I was very disappointed at how these tools didnt do much to meet their needs; even if the features were there it wasnt easy to use or hidden somewhere in a complex interface.<br /><br />One tool does stand out for me- Tableau. It has interface intelligence, having very useful and clean visualizations, offers a ton of cross-platform support for data sources (including Analysis Services) and supports almost every feature my business users have asked for over the years. When I did any demonstrations of Analysis Services, I used to use ProClarity and PerformancePoint. But it took me hours to do what it takes only minutes in Tableau, and looks much better and has more interactivity.<br />The only downside of Tableau on Analysis Services is lack of support for Actions, Member Properties, and direct MDX. But because they support many other data sources and are not dedicated to Microsoft technology, I give them a ton of credit for the features they do provide. And maybe if we bug them enough, those features may show up in another version. I have been using Analysis Services since SQL 7 (OLAP Services) and have downloaded and evaluated every product that has generated any buzz when I hear about it. Some impressed me, but most were disappointments. The ones that had the most bells & whistles had poor design and usability, and the ones that had the easiest or most intuitive and clean interfaces lacked the most features.

Working with business users over the years, I was very disappointed at how these tools didnt do much to meet their needs; even if the features were there it wasnt easy to use or hidden somewhere in a complex interface.

One tool does stand out for me- Tableau. It has interface intelligence, having very useful and clean visualizations, offers a ton of cross-platform support for data sources (including Analysis Services) and supports almost every feature my business users have asked for over the years. When I did any demonstrations of Analysis Services, I used to use ProClarity and PerformancePoint. But it took me hours to do what it takes only minutes in Tableau, and looks much better and has more interactivity.
The only downside of Tableau on Analysis Services is lack of support for Actions, Member Properties, and direct MDX. But because they support many other data sources and are not dedicated to Microsoft technology, I give them a ton of credit for the features they do provide. And maybe if we bug them enough, those features may show up in another version.

]]> By: Boyan Penev http://www.bp-msbi.com/2010/01/olap-browser-feature-on-connect/comment-page-1/#comment-36 Boyan Penev Wed, 06 Jan 2010 20:58:56 +0000 http://www.bp-msbi.com/2010/01/olap-browser-feature-on-connect/#comment-36 Well, PowerPivot is like a powerful Excel PivotTable and it does not overcome the limtitations, which exist around Excel (non-Intranet scenarios, relatively poor SharePoint/PerformancePoint integration - when it comes to ad-hoc analysis). Well, PowerPivot is like a powerful Excel PivotTable and it does not overcome the limtitations, which exist around Excel (non-Intranet scenarios, relatively poor SharePoint/PerformancePoint integration – when it comes to ad-hoc analysis).

]]> By: Ozziemedes http://www.bp-msbi.com/2010/01/olap-browser-feature-on-connect/comment-page-1/#comment-35 Ozziemedes Wed, 06 Jan 2010 13:44:06 +0000 http://www.bp-msbi.com/2010/01/olap-browser-feature-on-connect/#comment-35 Hi Boyan,<br /><br />Isn't this part of the niche PowerPivot is supposed to fill?<br /><br />Ozziemedes Hi Boyan,

Isn't this part of the niche PowerPivot is supposed to fill?

Ozziemedes

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