Analytical Reports
The Analytical Reports sub-module in BORA Business Suite is an environment for operational Business Intelligence (BI) analysis with OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) cubes. With it you look at data from every angle and find trends that would otherwise stay hidden.
The tool is built into the Ribbon container of Active Reports. Users explore large data sets and build pivot tables and charts without writing a single line of code.
Dimensions and values
BORA OLAP cubes arrange data in two groups:
- dimensions (attributes, views): the qualitative characteristics such as products, customers, periods, locations and cost centres, which go into the rows and columns;
- values (measures): the quantitative and financial data such as turnover, number of sales, margin and quantities, which are calculated and summarised where rows and columns meet.
Interactive analysis and drill-down
Drag with the mouse and arrange freely
- The user grabs a dimension with the mouse and drops it into the pivot table (Drag-and-Drop). With every new combination the analysis rearranges itself at once and can reveal unexpected market and financial trends.
- Every step can be undone (Undo), including going back to any earlier point in the analysis.
Filters and drilling in depth (Drill-Down / Drill-Up)
- From a cell’s context menu you drill down (Drill-Down) to the source documents behind the amount, or go back up to the summary view (Drill-Up).
- Selected cells are added up automatically, and the summary card shows the key statistics and large differences in values.
Ranking, sorting and the timeline
- Items are sorted in ascending or descending order by code, key or calculated measure, and the active operation is clearly marked.
- Trends over time are followed page by page: each month, quarter or year is a separate page. You can leaf through them by hand or start an automatic slideshow.
Views, charts and sharing
Your own views and themes
The workspace can be set up entirely as you like: elements are shown, hidden or moved, styles are changed, and the setup is saved as a user theme that can be loaded at any time.
From table to chart
Pivot tables and interactive charts go together, which is handy for presentations. With one click the table becomes a 2D or 3D chart, and different charts can be made from the same data.
Printing and export
- Printouts look exactly like the screen (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get), with the name of the analysis and a text description.
- Export carries the pivot structure over to Microsoft Excel®. Results are shared with colleagues outside the ERP system, and further “what-if” scenarios are built in Excel.
- Selected summary data is copied to the clipboard and pasted into other applications.
Frequently asked questions about OLAP analysis
Why use an OLAP cube instead of a standard report to analyse sales?
A standard report gives a flat answer, sales by customer for example. An OLAP cube gives several dimensions on one screen. You put “Country” and “City” in the rows, “Product group” and “Month” in the columns, and in the middle you see both the turnover and the margin percentage. Rearranging with the mouse takes seconds.
What exactly does the Slideshow function on the timeline do?
It shows how the business develops over time. If you are looking at stock or sales by region for the last 5 years, each year or month is a separate page. In the slideshow the pages turn by themselves, the chart bars grow or shrink, and seasonal trends and market cycles become clearly visible.
Are the filters from the Active report lost when I switch to an Analytical report?
No. If in the Active report you have kept, say, only the invoices of a given supplier or region, the OLAP cube takes exactly that data. The analysis starts from the information you care about and saves time and resources.
Is there a risk that end users change real data in the database while playing with pivot tables?
No. The Analytical report works “read only” on transactions that are already posted. Moving columns, grouping and totals change only the view on screen. Users experiment freely, and the accounting and operational data stays untouched.