Special Data Delivery

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Breaking new ground in a very mature market, Informatica Corp.s Informatica Analytics Delivery Platform Release 3, a database report creation and publishing system, does a great job delivering critical data to mobile workers, although it isnt as compelling for those using desktops.

ADP consists of two packages, Informatica Analytics Server and Informatica Mobile. (Mobile cannot be used without Analytics Server, and Analytics Server isnt that compelling without it.) Despite the Release 3 tag, both packages are new.

ADP will be expensive: Analytics Server starts at $120,000 on Windows and $140,000 on Solaris; Mobile costs an additional 30 percent of Analytics Servers price. ADPs limitations in production reporting and OLAP (online analytical processing) features also mean it wont do well as an all-in-one reporting system. The software is in limited release now; general availability is expected early in the first quarter of next year.

Add-On Advantage

The informatica mobile add-on to Analytics Server proved to be the biggest competitive differentiator for ADP in eWeek Labs tests. We were able to access reports from PDAs (personal digital assistants) running Microsoft Corp.s Pocket PC and Palm Inc.s Palm OS operating systems, a Research In Motion Ltd. BlackBerry PDA, and a WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)-based Nokia Corp. 6185 mobile phone, as well as through a voice interface.

In each case, the software presented selectively less information and provided navigational controls customized to the device we were using, making it as easy as possible to get to key information fast. When creating reports, we did not have to do one thing extra to get this support, either—its automatic and a big productivity boost for mobile workers.

An Array of Alerts

The software also has an extensive alerting system that can send e-mail, text pages or voice calls if particular report data points (such as inventory levels or trouble tickets) go above or below certain values, although not if values change by a certain percent, which is a more flexible measure of change.

ADP requires a Java application server (from which it gains clustering features) and includes a copy of BEA Systems Inc.s WebLogic. (IBMs WebSphere will be supported in the general availability release.) It can query data in Oracle Corp.s Oracle, IBMs DB2, Microsoft SQL Server and (by general release) Sybase Inc.s Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise databases. However, this is a small selection for a reporting product.

ADP also supports e-mail directory integration with Microsofts Microsoft Exchange mail server (to look up names in corporate address books) and will have mail directory integration with Notes, Lightweight Directory Access Protocol and Internet Messaging Access Protocol servers in the general availability release.

Informatica plans to add additional alerting flexibility to the software in the coming update, including support for alerts based on percentage value changes and changes taking place within a certain amount of time.

This update will also have an expression building tool for adding simple calculated metrics to reports (for example, to add a new metric that increases prices by 7 percent to add in sales tax). No calculated metrics are now supported.

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Taxi-Friendly Software

Informatica analytics servers use of single report elements, which it calls indicators, and Informatica Mobiles automatic report formatting are what makes this package so useful for road warriors.

Indicators are usually single charts, though they can also be single tables, which quickly summarize key reports. A wide selection of chart types (including a useful gauge-type chart) let us get at a glance a lot of information. Analytics Servers home page, which it calls a dashboard, is customized for each user, and we could easily select which indicators and reports we wanted to see on a particular dashboard.

Informatica has really worked on making ADPs mobile interfaces productive despite its device limitations. We found paging through reports on our three-line phone display possible but awful, so we used the option to fax ourselves the report (a separate fax gateway is required for this) to see it in full.

Voice support is seamlessly integrated into the WAP client: We could switch to a voice-driven interface at any time. (In this case, we used voice servers at Informatica.) For example, we forwarded a report to another user using a voice recognition system and then attached a voice message.

In tests with wireless-enabled Compaq Computer Corp. iPaq and Handspring Inc. Visor Deluxe PDAs (we used JP Mobile Inc.s Surewave Browser for PQA to view the Informatica Palm Query Application on the Visor), we saw graphs in reduced but legible form—and in color on the iPaq. Larger tables were automatically converted to icons that lead to secondary detail pages. In addition, labels were automatically shortened, and a corresponding legend was added.

The desktop story is less strong.

For traditional database reporting jobs such as generating multipage reports, developing complex reports that have several charts or tables based on different queries, or reports that must be formatted with particular layouts and fonts, ADP is not a good choice. ADP is also not a replacement for OLAP tools—it cannot query OLAP servers, and pivoting was generally awkward. This package is about the quick hit, especially from on the road.

ADPs only client for desktop users is a mostly static HTML Web-based interface. The Web client has less flexibility in report creation and design than competitors offer. Theres no ad hoc report designer so our reports all looked basically the same. There is a PDF export option, as well as data export choices.

When we created a 30-page report, we really missed having report search features or other navigation tools, such as an automatically generated table of contents, and theres no way to highlight outlying values.

For those who need to work with detailed reports instead of just quick summary data, we recommend production reporting champs Crystal Decisions Inc.s Crystal Info or Actuate Software Corp.s e.Reporting Server.

West Coast Technical Director Timothy Dyck can be reached at [email protected].

Informatica Analytics Delivery Platform

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Informatica Analytics Delivery Platform Release 3

Informaticas package, new despite the “3” in its name, provides a compelling way to get critical business data in the form of reports or alerts out to mobile workers. However, those who want a primarily desktop-based database reporting system will find other options more mature.

SHORT-TERM BUSINESS IMPACT // Reports can be accessed on just about any mobile computing device or phone as easily as they can be from a PC, which will immediately reduce IT report redesign costs.

LONG-TERM BUSINESS IMPACT // Keeping workers up-to-date on the latest business data no matter where they are will make business decisions faster and more accurate down the line.

PROS: Many mobile devices, including PDAs and phones, are well-supported for on-the-road information delivery; includes dynamic alerts if key business data changes.

CONS: Weak report design and presentation features for more complex tasks; lacks report navigation features for longer reports; only connects to relational databases; high cost.

Informatica Corp., Redwood City, Calif.; (650) 385-5000; www.informatica.com/products/deliver