City, London, UK: 25.09.2008: UK users are set to reap significant productivity benefits from Microsoft Excel following the launch of PowerOLAP® Version 8 by BIOLAP, the UK distributor of the system’s US based developer, PARIS Technologies.
PowerOLAP V8 boosts the productivity of Microsoft Excel users by delivering a dynamic connection to their underlying data sources. This allows them to integrate their Excel spreadsheets or browser with relational databases through an optimized multidimensional database, creating a faster and more powerful, single application which can be accessed and used online and in real time. PowerOLAP V8 is fully scalable and can be implemented as a single standalone client application ideal for smaller businesses or equally in a multiple client server configuration in large enterprises. Prices start from as little as £250 (€300) per SME user.
With PowerOLAP V8 deployed, Excel is transformed into an advanced and exceptionally agile, decision support tool for anyone involved in business analytics, budgeting, forecasting, planning, multi-company consolidations or for those who need to work in multiple currencies. This overcomes the traditional, clerical nightmare of combining Excel and external data sources; typically requiring huge amounts of data manipulation and error-prone, manual input.
The system’s powerful analytical engine achieves this by taking any relational data the user is working on and transforming it into a multidimensional cube. This allows them to represent the information in Excel and enables PowerOLAP V8 to achieve in seconds what it would previously have taken numerous spreadsheets to obtain. So confident are BIOLAP that they guarantee time savings of more than 25% spent on spreadsheets. In many cases savings of up to 80% are possible. The larger the task, the greater the saving.
PowerOLAP’s revolutionary new Internet Data Services (IDS) technology, allows widespread deployment of PowerOLAP to multiple, dispersed locations across the Web with an easy access interface via a standard browser. Users simply launch the browser and enter the Name or IP Address of the PowerOLAP MDB Server. With local models available to them, they can then perform distributed calculations and what-if processing between multiple machines and remote databases.
This enables the synchronization of numerous databases over the internet and includes all data modifications made on either end of the connection, without impacting on the performance of others. Users gain the freedom and flexibility to work on the data at their convenience, anytime, anywhere.
In addition to collecting data from all standard data sources, PowerOLAP V8 is easy to integrate with MS Analysis Services. Users can get at the exact data they need by narrowly pinpointing just the intersections of that data. This eliminates time wasted on unnecessary data points.
PowerOLAP V8 also features a Scheduler which can add, edit and delete Tasks for scheduled execution. The Scheduler significantly reduces the amount of work required to process data allowing users to automate numerous data processes.
Says Theunis Viljoen, CEO of BIOLAP, “We noticed a huge gap in the way that most companies work. In IT departments, people seem to want to solve everything using relational databases. However, there is a separate and distinct culture, typically in finance departments, where there is a tendency to solve everything by using Excel. Neither side is going to change the tools they use readily, so a need exists to reconcile these two worlds. With PowerOLAP the two sides are finally brought together.
“Excel is an excellent tool, but it is a poor data repository and less than efficient for accessing data from external sources. With PowerOLAP V8 Excel is transformed into an even more powerful business intelligence tool that supports and optimizes effective decision making. And because the design of PowerOLAP is so Excel friendly, users can even be trained by co-workers and become fully operational in minutes.”
As PARIS Technologies’ CEO Duane Presti explains, “The failure to evolve and improve the Excel culture is costly; it can be a big part of the payroll. In some organisations this is the largest cost. With PowerOLAP V8, the life of Excel users is transformed instantly as is the way they use their spreadsheets. In short, management can make more informed analysis and decisions far more quickly right across the enterprise. Potentially, this can have a tremendous impact on efficiency and profitability.
‘We are delighted to have introduced these benefits to the UK through our distributor BIOLAP. Their work in the UK is widely acclaimed and their expertise in and experience of this sector means that they have the ability to reach the market quickly and professionally. We are confident that the UK and indeed Europe will become a huge user base for our products.”
A white paper is available from BIOLAP
