October 7, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Hi,
I heard that Microsoft purchased the company, but could not find where the latest Proclarity client belongs to. Is it part of Microsoft Office 2007 now?
Thanks.
October 7, 2007 at 11:57 pm
Proclarity have been bought by Microsoft and portions of the toolset have been included into the new PerformancePoint server from Microsoft. This is basically a BI client engine that allows you to put various sub components together and includes some of the Proclarity tools but also leverages other things as well.
Microsoft also brought out version 6.3 of the Proclarity tools to continue that path if you are an existing Proclarity user. They did though, drop the Business Reporter (excel add in) to help promote their updated BI interfaces in Excel 2007.
October 9, 2007 at 12:22 pm
The main page is here: http://www.microsoft.com/bi/products/proclarity/proclarity-overview.aspx
However I have heard that it has a short shelf life and that it's functionality will be incorporated into PerformancePoint Server.
Sean
October 9, 2007 at 2:40 pm
You can download desktop prof 6.3 via MSDN (assuming you have a subscription 😀 )
Tommy
Follow @sqlscribeMay 8, 2011 at 1:56 am
The bad news is that ProClarity has been deprecated by Microsoft. Its official support runs out in 2012 - which is why no new versions have been issued for the app and why it doesn't work with newer frameworks like Windows 7 64-bit.
The good news is that there is a replacement that Microsoft has all but annointed as the successor to Proclarity - Pyramid Analytics.
Their product works and feels like Proclarity but reflects modern interface design elements, technology and functionalities. It can also read Proclarity content for a simpler upgrade path.
You should check them out.
😉
May 8, 2011 at 8:49 am
you revived a thread that's almost 4 years old? and not to add value but to advertise? not good karma, a HDD crash in your future I see.....
Not sure that being on the BizSpark program exactly qualifies as being 'all but annointed' by msft....
Steve.
May 8, 2011 at 11:07 am
stevefromOZ (5/8/2011)
you revived a thread that's almost 4 years old? and not to add value but to advertise? not good karma, a HDD crash in your future I see.....Not sure that being on the BizSpark program exactly qualifies as being 'all but annointed' by msft....
Steve - I won't deny the intent of the response and you are not entirely wrong.
However, I will say that this thread is viewed by many users today, so the info is useful. Nothing I wrote about Proclarity is factually wrong (in my opinion). In fact, I found these guys through another old forum thread and it is why I am advocating for them.
As for BizSpark, I believe thay are in the "One" program - which is not the standard BizSpark program. Although - I am not sure how exclusive it is myself.
Regardless - your point is taken (and I have already had numerous HDD crashes over the years in advance, so I have plenty of credit luckily 😉 !)
May 8, 2011 at 7:04 pm
Besides... it's nice to see someone finally answer the question... even after 4 years and with a bit of "advertising". 🙂
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
May 8, 2011 at 9:00 pm
@jeff - I'm a huge fan but the question had definitely been answered 3+ years ago :hehe:
@snap - fully agree that nothing you'd said was untrue re: proclarity. And you're right, the One program is definitely exclusive - it's invitation only with one-on-one attention from a Msft rep, primarily targeted to high potential startups. I still think that saying they're all but annointed by msft is taking a little poetic license, and definitely ignoring one key new app that'll roll out (hopefully) later this year with denali, but having said that, bioXL does look V.nice.
Steve.
May 8, 2011 at 9:37 pm
Steve
From what I've seen with Project Crescent / Denali, the new client tools will work with the new BISM but have some significant issues and holes in relation to the the current cubes (UDM), MDX and SSAS. MSFT was supposed to produce a CTP client that supports SSAS this quarter and we heard its delayed somewhat.
I also think that a tool that appears as a V1.0 from MSFT at the end of this year (and I've heard Q1/2012) will be months if not years away from broad-based acceptance in the corporate world.
Denali looks very promising and exciting - but I think it will be 2014 before the rest of the world starts to really use it. Thats a long way off!
I'd be interested to hear if you have seen or heard otherwise.
snap 😎
PS: bioXL 3.0 works with PowerPivot (precusor to BISM) hosted in SharePoint. I can't say its entirely perfect or super fast, but it seems to be the only way to consume PP cubes in a fully web based analytics tool. Excel Services or Performance Point with PP cubes are really limited and the idea of downloading a mega spreadsheet (1-2Gb) from SharePoint into a desktop Excel, each time you want to query a cube, is ridiculous. Compared to Qlikview, this is a fairly viable solution, but far from perfect.
May 8, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Can't comment on stuff under nda but agree that a lot of folks are having trouble keeping up with the faster release cycle.
Steve.
May 8, 2011 at 10:54 pm
stevefromOZ (5/8/2011)
@Jeff - I'm a huge fan but the question had definitely been answered 3+ years ago :hehe:
Maybe so... for then. The additional information doesn't hurt.
--Jeff Moden
Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.
May 9, 2011 at 7:24 am
snap254 (5/8/2011)
SteveFrom what I've seen with Project Crescent / Denali, the new client tools will work with the new BISM but have some significant issues and holes in relation to the the current cubes (UDM), MDX and SSAS. MSFT was supposed to produce a CTP client that supports SSAS this quarter and we heard its delayed somewhat.
I also think that a tool that appears as a V1.0 from MSFT at the end of this year (and I've heard Q1/2012) will be months if not years away from broad-based acceptance in the corporate world.
Denali looks very promising and exciting - but I think it will be 2014 before the rest of the world starts to really use it. Thats a long way off!
I'd be interested to hear if you have seen or heard otherwise.
snap 😎
PS: bioXL 3.0 works with PowerPivot (precusor to BISM) hosted in SharePoint. I can't say its entirely perfect or super fast, but it seems to be the only way to consume PP cubes in a fully web based analytics tool. Excel Services or Performance Point with PP cubes are really limited and the idea of downloading a mega spreadsheet (1-2Gb) from SharePoint into a desktop Excel, each time you want to query a cube, is ridiculous. Compared to Qlikview, this is a fairly viable solution, but far from perfect.
I thiought the idea of Power Pivot Server was to have the work happening on the server, not locally.
Don't you have some options - local vs. server? Isn't that the idea of Excel Services to some degree?
Might be a good thread in BI for 2008 R2.
I would be interested in feedback on your on statement implying that you have to download locally to run Power Pivot.
Maybe you could write an article about your experiences with serveral of these BI tools?
May 9, 2011 at 8:11 am
Greg
I could write a whole case on this, but in a nutshell here is what we have found:
A PowerPivot cube is designed and initially consumed in Excel desktop. In the background, its really a cube structure based on Analysis Services (SSAS) - which explains why it works the way it works. What's cool about PP is that a business user can create their own PP cube almost on the fly without a server, SQL Server and a host of IT pros. The problem is that the desktop PP cube is for "me" analytics - its kind of hard to share unless you "share" or deploy that spreadsheet somehow. So how does it become the proxy for a full blown SSAS deployment?
This is where the SharePoint and PowerPivot solution kicks in.
Using SharePoint, a user would typically upload their spreadsheet to the intranet/internet and then let others consume that content online - including the aforementioned PP cube.
But here is the rub:
- if the user requests the spreadsheet with the PP cube from SharePoint back to their workstation, as a normal spreadsheet, they need to "download" it. This is problematic for any large sized cube. (A basic Adventure Works prototype that we built in PP mode was 1Gb in size. not big for a database - but not insignificant for a download!)
- if the user chooses to interact with the PP cube "online" via Excel Services they do NOT need to download the entire cube. Sounds like the solution until you see how limited Excel Services are for doing analytics (when compared to those other tools people have mentioned). Performance Point as part of SharePoint is another conduit - but it's far from an analytics client and is more of a dasboard solution that requires proper development.
So, users of PowerPivot are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. Microsoft then showed us a preview of "Project Crescent" in 11-2010, a new client tool for viewing PowerPivot ("BISM") cubes. It is slick and super fast. But its only coming out with SQL Server Denali and its unclear whether it will have legacy support for the current SSAS cube structures (and MDX itself).
Further, the new BISM framework is such a departure from SSAS/MDX and is so new, I would be willing to bet that it will be 2-3 years before it gains any significant traction in the marketplace (I have clients who are only now contemplating an upgrade to SQL 2008, and its mid 2011!).
Until then you need something like ProClarity - or its replacement - to handle the many thousands of SSAS implementations around the world. Better yet - it would be great if the replacement worked equally well with SSAS UDM cubes as well as the newer BISM/PowerPivot technologies.
And this is where the Pyramid bioXL app kicks in. It does just that. 😉
May 9, 2011 at 12:08 pm
snap254 (5/9/2011)
GregI could write a whole case on this, but in a nutshell here is what we have found:
A PowerPivot cube is designed and initially consumed in Excel desktop. In the background, its really a cube structure based on Analysis Services (SSAS) - which explains why it works the way it works. What's cool about PP is that a business user can create their own PP cube almost on the fly without a server, SQL Server and a host of IT pros. The problem is that the desktop PP cube is for "me" analytics - its kind of hard to share unless you "share" or deploy that spreadsheet somehow. So how does it become the proxy for a full blown SSAS deployment?
This is where the SharePoint and PowerPivot solution kicks in.
Using SharePoint, a user would typically upload their spreadsheet to the intranet/internet and then let others consume that content online - including the aforementioned PP cube.
But here is the rub:
- if the user requests the spreadsheet with the PP cube from SharePoint back to their workstation, as a normal spreadsheet, they need to "download" it. This is problematic for any large sized cube. (A basic Adventure Works prototype that we built in PP mode was 1Gb in size. not big for a database - but not insignificant for a download!)
- if the user chooses to interact with the PP cube "online" via Excel Services they do NOT need to download the entire cube. Sounds like the solution until you see how limited Excel Services are for doing analytics (when compared to those other tools people have mentioned). Performance Point as part of SharePoint is another conduit - but it's far from an analytics client and is more of a dasboard solution that requires proper development.
So, users of PowerPivot are kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. Microsoft then showed us a preview of "Project Crescent" in 11-2010, a new client tool for viewing PowerPivot ("BISM") cubes. It is slick and super fast. But its only coming out with SQL Server Denali and its unclear whether it will have legacy support for the current SSAS cube structures (and MDX itself).
Further, the new BISM framework is such a departure from SSAS/MDX and is so new, I would be willing to bet that it will be 2-3 years before it gains any significant traction in the marketplace (I have clients who are only now contemplating an upgrade to SQL 2008, and its mid 2011!).
Until then you need something like ProClarity - or its replacement - to handle the many thousands of SSAS implementations around the world. Better yet - it would be great if the replacement worked equally well with SSAS UDM cubes as well as the newer BISM/PowerPivot technologies.
And this is where the Pyramid bioXL app kicks in. It does just that. 😉
I see - 'me' analytics, but want to share. And we don't need IT in the way.:-D
No matter what the tool, somewhere it likely requires some sound architecture to deliver the right answers.
And from the tools I have looked at, they all have pros and cons once you start to push them with your data.
Each company might have somewhat different middle ground, between tool, data (OLTP and Cube), and user ability.
Just keep an open mind that not all businesses see ad hoc as the answer.
And might appreciate the value add to have some IT involvement.
Glad to see a tool that works across all kinds of data structure, even that which is in a (seemingly) closed beta (alpha?) process.
We'll have to see if that changes closer to any public beta releases.
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