Snapshot of vendors in the business intelligence market

Brio Technology

Brio One

Brio One is an integrated business intelligence platform designed for decision processing in the e-enterprise. It includes enterprise reporting, analytical reporting, servers, ad hoc query, and OLAP (online analytical processing), as well as tools for building and deploying a wide range of analytical applications.

According to Brio officials, features include universal access to internal and external information sources; Web-enabled information delivery and support for a range of decision- processing applications from personal query to strategic analytical applications.

Price: Single user client server $2000, full-scale implementation price on application.

Contact: (02) 9964 9533

www.brio.com

Cognos

PowerPlay Web 6.6

Cognos PowerPlay Web 6.6 enables access to OLAP servers for intranet and extranet multidimensional analysis, reporting and report distribution, from a single Web interface. PowerPlay Web uses HTML/JavaScript, permitting universal access for users with Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Exporer. Version 6.6 creates and publishes BPM reports as PDF documents to the Cognos Upfront portal, officials said.

Price: From $100, 000 enterprise server licence for100 Web users.

Query

Cognos Query enables users to navigate from summary level information to transactional details via a Web browser and provides access to information stored in data marts and data warehouses.

Price: $100,000 for a 100-user licence. Volume discounts are available.

Visualiser

Visualiser delivers interactive, multimetric data visualisation via business charts, tables and maps in 2D and 3D format as well as multimetric swatch and value charts designed for scorecard presentation.

Price: on application

Contact: Cognos on (02) 9437 6655

www.cognos.com

CorVu Corporation

CorBusiness

CorBusiness is designed to address the needs of the data warehousing and business intelligence market and includes end-user query/reporting, OLAP analysis and executive dashboards.

CorManage

CorManage combines business intelligence functionality with a comprehensive Balanced Scorecard. It includes Balanced Scorecard innovations, such as regression analysis of scorecard results to statistically validate models of organisational strategy.

Price: on application

Contact: 1800 500 644

www.corvu.com

Executive Computing

BusinessObjects

BusinessObjects enables integrated query, reporting and analysis. Users can combine data from relational sources, OLAP servers, packaged applications and personal data sources. BusinessObjects' deployment templates (RDT) are designed to simplify end-user access to ERP applications such as SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Baan and JD Edwards, officials said.

Meanwhile WebIntelligence shares the same architecture as BusinessObjects and provides robust query, reporting, and analysis for intranet and extranet users. Business Objects also offers a mobile version of WebIntelligence with the Wireless Edition.

Price: on application

Contact: (02) 9816 3433

www.ecg.com.au

GoldMine Software Corporation

GoldMine FrontOffice 2000

GoldMine FrontOffice 2000 integrates account management, sales force automation and marketing automation with call centre software for external service and support desks to deliver a single view of an organisation's customers.

GoldMine's Management Intelligence allows small to medium-sized organisations to improve planning and create relevant processes and models.

Price: from $495 per seat

Contact: 1800 130 031

www.goldmine.com

IBM

DB2 OLAP Server

IBM's DB2 OLAP Server 1.1 is a strategic member of IBM's Business Intelligence family. It integrates the OLAP engine and the application programming interfaces of Hyperion Essbase with IBM's DB2 family of relational databases.

IBM DB2 OLAP Server delivers analytic applications which enables production of reports to show where a business is most profitable, analyse sales and inventory data to determine where increased cost savings can be made and helps to identify the best customers.

Features include multidimensional analysis with a built-in financial, mathematical and statistical functions. Additionally, the OLAP Server 1.1 is Web-ready with tools to allow full-function access to the analytic application.

Price: on application

Contact: 13 2426

www.ibm.com/software/data

Information Builders

WebFocus

WebFocus features data access and integration with more than 80 relational and non-relational sources from more than 40 platforms.

The software also offers information generation and information delivery. WebFocus Reporting Server provides data access (including SAP R/3, PeopleSoft, and JD Edwards), data transformation (aggregation, record selection, data calculation), and dynamic generation of browser pages.

WebFocus Managed Reporting and Administration Tools enable users to create custom reports, while ensuring organisations provide secure standard reports for workgroups.

WebFocus Report Broker automates the scheduling and distribution of reports via Web, e-mail, hand-held devices or printers.

Price: from $15,000 on NT for unlimited ‘self-service' users.

Contact: 1800 819 030

www.informationbuilders.com

Informix

Informix Extended Parallel Server

Informix Extended Parallel Server is designed for demanding and complex data warehouse applications. According to Informix, it provides no ceilings scalability, optimised query performance; fully parallel load functionality, data access performance; data skew management tools to ensure that system resources are efficiently utilised; and query management tools.

Informix Red Brick Decision Server

The Informix Red Brick Decision Server focuses on fast load performance, high-capacity/high-performance query processing and efficient management of very large databases.

Informix MetaCube

MetaCube, Informix's online analytical processing solution, is a fully extensible business intelligence solution, optimised for smarter data access, analysis, and reporting.

DataStage

DataStage is an integrated solution for building and maintaining data marts and warehouses. It is a comprehensive tool for the fast, easy creation of data marts and data warehouses.

Price: on application

Contact: (02) 9928 1600

www.informix.com

Lotus

Lotus Professional Services

Lotus Professional Service offers a Notes/Domino-based business intelligence solution that can also be used in conjunction with other analytical tools and methods, the company said.

The business intelligence solution incorporates a range of technologies and methodologies, including Lotus Domino, Lotus Notes, Web browser, the Lotus Intelligence Engine, Lotus Sametime and Workflow.

Price: from $145,000 depending on customer requirements.

Contact: (02) 6271 0307

www.lotus.com/australia

Oracle

Business Intelligence Solution

The Oracle Intelligent WebHouse is a solution for designing, deploying and managing the analysis of customer data, from the Web store to the supplier, according to Oracle.

These analysis applications can be used to augment and further customise the Oracle e-Business Suite, which includes Oracle's ERP and CRM solutions. In addition, connectivity adapters provide access to non-Oracle databases and non-Oracle applications that allows the Oracle Intelligent WebHouse to be leveraged in any e-business.

Price: on application

Contact: (02) 9900 1000

www.oracle.com

SAP

SAP Business Intelligence

SAP Business Intelligence is a suite of end-to-end data warehousing and analysis solutions allowing knowledge workers access to data from SAP systems, other enterprise applications and external sources.

The suite includes four components: Business Information Warehouse, SAP Knowledge Management. SAP Strategic Enterprise Management and SAP Corporate Finance Management.

Price: on application

Contact: (02) 9935 4500

www.sap.com

SAS Institute

AppDev Studio

AppDev Studio is a suite of application development tools for building thin- client SAS Business Intelligence applications.

From standard HTML interfaces to Java applications, AppDev Studio provides the tools needed to build and test applications prior to deployment on a production server. The core components of AppDev Studio include:

SAS/IntrNet software, WebAF software (Java Integrated Development Environment), WebEIS software (Java based OLAP reporting).

Price: depends on requirements.

Contact: (02) 9428 0550

www.sas.com

Seagate Software

Seagate Info 7

Seagate Info 7 integrates the functionality of Seagate Analysis and Seagate Crystal Reports, delivering a suite of analytical, reporting and distribution technologies. Info 7 manages secure report distribution - Web or Windows-based - across the enterprise.

Price: five-user client licence $2380, designer module $670Seagate Crystal ReportsSeagate Crystal Reports provides both a Web and Windows reporting solution and is used as the Enterprise report designer in Seagate Info.

Price: Developer $795, Professional $640, Standard $260.

Seagate Holos

Holos is an application design environment for developing OLAP-driven analytical applications and business models.

Price: on application.

Contact: 1800 647 006

www.seagate.com

Sybase Australia

Business intelligence model

Sybase's vertically packaged application studios come in four components:

* Industry Warehouse Studio: designed to perform analysis of campaign, customer profile, loyalty, sales, customer care, business performance and profitability. Adaptive Server IQ 12: decision-support database; Adaptive Server IQ2 Multiplex: Manages very large databases with column-based storage methods allowing access to mulit-terabyte data warehouses.Warehouse Studio: features an open warehouse design and meta data management environment.

Price: Warehouse Studio $81,967, Adaptive Server IQ12 $24,590 (1 server includes first CPU); Adaptive Server IQ12 Multiplex $49,180Contact: (02) 9936 8800www.sybase.com