Microsoft plans to take BI to the masses

NEWS

As part of a self-proclaimed effort to "democratise" business intelligence, Microsoft will add XML tools to its Visual Studio .Net product that make it easier to create Web services with access to information in data warehouses based on SQL Server databases. The company's bid to bring BI to more desktops (and in the process turn BI into a more Microsoft-compatible discipline) will be outlined tomorrow at Gartner Group's Business Intelligence Europe conference in Amsterdam by Bill Baker, Microsoft's general manager SQL server business intelligence. The new XML tools will be part of the Visual Studio to be launched on 13 February and will be available on the Web. "Users will be able to build very quick Web services around stored procedures in the database, for example to show the most common customer problems, and expose these on a Web page," said Baker. He envisages groups setting up their own such pages to be used by staff working directly with customers. Staff further down the scale may not make such strategic decisions, but the total of their decisions is important enough to justify giving them access to BI, said Baker. "Most BI vendors target those with the word 'analyst' in their job function. It tends to be an easier proposition selling these tools upstream. The reality is that a senior executive makes relatively few decisions, but they are big ones. If you go to the other end of the spectrum, people like hotel clerks make many more decisions. If the data and the tools are important, why only make them available to 2 percent of the population." Hotel clerks might already have access to conventional customer relationship management (CRM) systems, telling them whether a particular customer has complained before. BI would give them information about the supply of product, the competition's activities and predictions -- helping the clerk decide whether to make a special offer. The strategy is based around using Microsoft's mass desktop tools rather than specialised products: "What good is bringing BI to the masses, if you have to train hundreds of thousands of people in an esoteric tool?" asked Baker. "Why can't they use Excel or a Web page?" Microsoft is scarcely considered as a leader in BI, but Baker reckons that BI makes up about half the company's SQL Server business. Though Microsoft does not publish separate results for products, SQL server is the company's fourth largest product and IDC reckoned it made about a billion dollars in 2000, so we can assume about half a billion a year on BI (though based on a fairly loose definition). Getting BI used more widely is, unusually, an entirely altruistic effort on Microsoft's part. "It is important for this technology to be used broadly in corporations," Baker said, earnestly. "The quality of a company is only as good as the quality of its decisions." "We have done more than most other companies in terms of trying to make this a mass market," he said. "Our Microsoft genetics come into play here. We run people's businesses - that is what keeps us awake at night. We came in (to the BI market) with a dream, and that is what keeps us moving."

More enterprise IT news in ZDNet UK's Tech Update Channel.

For a weekly round-up of the enterprise IT news, sign up for the Tech Update newsletter. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the ZDNet news forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

7 minutes ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

36 minutes ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

41 minutes ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

1 hour ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

2 hours ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?

"Interesting thought ... If you installed Win7 as a dual boot on a machine that previously only had Linux, and it wrecked your Linux installation,...

2 hours ago by BugStalker on Windows 7 Declares War on GRUB

This is an excellent summary of Ubuntu and Mint and the interface differences between them. Most such articles take a very partisan position for...

2 hours ago by whs001 on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

@ewallace. Not so clear. Anyone can obtain the text, for example from here http://www.ustr.gov/webfm_send/2379. I support ACTA so long as it and...

2 hours ago by Moley on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

I think WinRT is fantastic. I just wish it was an option for people that didn't want to go through Microsoft's App Store with its attendant...

5 hours ago by 45283 on Why Windows 8 needs architectural hygiene for WOA

Nine people? £30m? Who's back pocket is that lot going in? And IF they say it is for new buildings, what about all the ones the government has...

7 hours ago by Burn-IT on Police set to launch three £30m e-crime hubs

Just to be clear, nobody knows what is in the text of ACTA, here is a photograph of the text of ACTA http://twitpic.com/8h9iju as submitted to the...

7 hours ago by ewallace on ACTA: Facts, misconceptions and questions

Unfortunately main issue is that ASUS is refusing to accept that they make some mistake on this version of asus Transformer prime. 1 - GPS sensor...

8 hours ago by fgvrg56 on Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime Wi-Fi & GPS problems?

@Marcus A fair question. Just talked with Archos which said it was working on an announcement for next week....

9 hours ago by Ben Woods on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Any update on this, considering the claimed "first week of February"?

10 hours ago by Marcus Karlsson via Facebook on Archos confirms G9 Ice Cream Sandwich update schedule

Bill Goodrich : Just as al_langevin pointed out, with Windows Server 2008 there is no Services for Macintosh anymore. It's gone, not available....

18 hours ago by apexwm on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Replying to an old topic that I'm currently facing with my CEO (who is on a Mac). Our servers are primarily Windows Servers, office is about...

1 day ago by txtrainguy on Windows Server 2008 drops the ball for Mac compatibility

Sure, that makes perfect sense. Pay wrong-doers money and thank them for breaching your security and pointing out your flaws, that would surely...

1 day ago by k0tcs3 on US indicts Romanian over NASA climate change hack

I think he's referring specifically to Android apps, as Apple do regulate their App Store, but Google seem to let any old crap onto the Android store!

1 day ago by Random_Error on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store

Keep the crap apps out?! How will they compete with Android and Apple's claim to fame of having so many life changing apps? I wonder if the media...

1 day ago by Paul Fezziwig via Facebook on RIM: BlackBerry will keep 'garbage' apps out of store

It has been shown time after time that if there is an author store that sells the songs at even 1$ per song and gives you a high-quality digital...

1 day ago by Aigars Mahinovs via Facebook on Copyright isn't working, says European Commission

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Microsoft plans to take BI to the masses

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Oracle facelift for 9i app server

Perens: Linux could learn from Apple

Post your comment

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Application Development

Perens: Linux could learn from Apple

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Test Analyst - Business Intelligence /Data Warehousing

Test Analyst - Business Intelligence /Data Warehousing

Technical MI Manager - 50-60k - Leeds

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Case study: How cloud enables growth

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

News & Analysis

Reviews

Blogs

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features

ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Application Development

Microsoft plans to take BI to the masses

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Post your comment

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in Application Development

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Inside ZDNet UK

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features