Till the time we are talking of Enterprise BI implementation MicroStrategy is the leader but when it comes to Self Service BI we have Tableau, Qlik etc. Won’t say that perception to be absolutely incorrect but with the introduction of the revamped MicroStrategy 10 Desktop that thinking is set to change.
MicroStrategy 10 Desktop not only brings MicroStrategy into the space of Self-Service BI but also moves a step further by introducing Governed Self Service BI.
Other self-service BI tools let the control completely be in the domain of business users resulting in the creation of information and analytic silos across the BI landscape. There is less of IT control and they do not know what is taking place, where, when and by whom. More over because of the absence of any centralized metadata, the sharing of information is also restricted.
Hence even though to start with un-governed and un-controlled self-service ability may seem very attractive but within a very short span of time it leads to a cluttered and confused environment.
MicroStrategy 10 Desktop helps to overcome these traditional pain points. MicroStrategy 10 Desktop (previously known as Analytics Desktop) is a standalone tool which helps you to retrieve data from a wide variety of source systems and create powerful visualizations using the Visual Insight interface within no time. Once done with creating the dashboard, the dashboard can be saved as .mstr file; this would be a single file which packs data and visualizations into one.
This .mstr file can now be imported into MicroStrategy 10 enterprise metadata and thus the dashboard can be shared for an Enterprise usage. You can read this post to know about how to work with .mstr file.
The interaction between Desktop and Enterprise metadata is not limited to the usage of .mstr files. MicroStrategy 10 provides the ability to connect with Enterprise metadata directly and import datasets or objects directly from the metadata or download existing dashboards. The dashboard can be developed using enterprise metadata objects and once the development is completed, the dashboard can be directly uploaded back into the metadata. Or the existing dashboard downloaded can be modified and again uploaded back to the metadata.
This closed knit interaction between MicroStrategy 10 Desktop and Enterprise BI introduces the flavour of governance and helps maintain a single version of truth through the enterprise metadata.
MicroStrategy 10 Desktop comes with a price tag of $600. However for existing MicroStrategy Express users, like me, MicroStrategy provided a pleasant surprise by providing the software for free.