I don't think there is a best choice for everyone on what front end to use. The best front end is dependent on a number of things that in my opinion many companies don't look at until it is to late. some things you might want to consider is
1) Skill of use (Executive, Analyst, Power User)
- if it is mainly executives that will be seeing the
reports then something with dashboard capability is
needed. Cognos, AlphaBlox, and OneChannel, all offer
executive level dashboard functionality.
- if it is analysts that will be the primary user where
adhoc queries and the ability to modify current
report layouts are needed. Cognos, AlphaBlox, and
Proclarity would be some candidates to look at.
- Powerusers are harder to support because they may
need the ability to get in and write some mdx code
that would return the results to the app. If this is
the functionality then NovaView or Proclarity are a
couple of options.
2) Size, and Complexity of your data. Some Clients
applications may have trouble dealing with extrememly
large cube sizes or Dimensions with an extremely large
Number of members. Others may have problems with a
large number of dimensions. The problem maynot be it
can't handle it but maybe the users ability to
intuitively navigate them in the client. For example
the Proclarity desktop Abbreviates Dimension names, If
you have dimensions with simliar names the user may get
confused.
3) User Base. The number of user who will be using the
application. If the number is small and mainly power
users then a thick client may be preffered. If it is a
large number of users and mainly execs and analysts
then a more robust Thin Client may be desired.
4) COST! Usually the determining factor. How much is a
company willing to pay for the front end.
5) Support not only Technical support from the Product
vendors but also what skills are needed in house to
support the application. Some items of consideration
may be:
- Platform: If your a wintel shop based on MS
technologies does your current support staff
posses the skills to support a unix or J2EE
application?
- Skill set. Some applications may require a more
detailed knowledge of MDX to get the types of
reports your companies require, while other
products may not offer the ability to write direct
MDX. Both can be good or Bad.
If your just looking or names Proclarity, Cognos, NovaView and AlphaBlox are definately worth a look.
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