Embedded business intelligence is fast becoming mainstream and is defined as real time business reporting and analytics integrated within transactional systems and interoperating with other systems and subsystems.
To enable true embedded .NET reporting and embedded analytics, the tools should be:
1. programmable,
2. open,
3. interoperable, and
4. follow architectural standards and guidelines.
5. Integrate deeply with Microsoft Visual Studio.NET, the primary development tool for .NET developers
6. Be compatible with with Microsoft's BI technologies such as Microsoft Excel and SQL Server reporting Services (SSRS).
All three .NET reporting and BI tools under the ActiveReports suite (ActiveReports, Data Dynamics Reports and Data Dynamics Analysis) are designed for .NET programming from the ground up. Other than the full-fledged Software Development Kit (SDK), even the report builders and end user reporting and analysis tools can not only be embedded and deployed royalty-free for end users but they can be customized and features enabled and disabled via programming.
They are open because they offer flexible customization via their extensive programming interface. In future, the programming model will get even more similar to each other so programmers can reuse their knowledge of one tool to work effectively with another.
On interoperability, software developers have long used ActiveReports with third-party .NET Chart components such as Dundas, ChartFX, Telerik and others to design best of breed systems. ActiveReports comes in both COM/ActiveX and the .NET versions.
A great interoperability feature of Data Dynamics Reports is that it provides full featured Microsoft Reporting Definition Language (RDL) based Report designers and end user reporting tools. Easy to use RDL Report builders are one of the lesser highlighted benefits of the Reports product. Data Dynamics Reports uses and extends RDL for new reporting elements and behaviors.
As a result, some of our customers are using Data Dynamics Reports on top of Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). Others are able to switch from one technology to another without having to redesign or rewrite code.
Data Dynamics Reports also offers a much truer Excel transformation so the integration with Microsoft Excel goes beyond just exporting of data. More details are elsewhere on this blog. Be sure to check out the screencast.
Data Dynamics Analysis is used for including embedded analytics into your .NET applications. It continues the same design guidelines for openness and interoperability, but adds touches of its own, for e.g. the ability to analyze both structured and unstructured data, and a permission based security model so existing application security policies can be applied to the data analysis features as well.
While all three products enable embedded business intelligence, for a comparison of these from a business needs perspective, be sure to check out this posting.
