Database Reference
In-Depth Information
It is very important to keep in mind that each tool has its place. It is not the
case that an organization will only choose a single tool and implement every-
thing on it. This is commonly the case with either Excel or Reporting Services
as they have been aimed at different users. Instead, it is vital to choose the
appropriate tool for each task.
PerformancePoint is really strong at the monitoring and guided analysis tasks.
The designer of the report knows what needs to be monitored—for instance,
sales per store—and also knows that when an out-of-band value occurs, the
person looking at the value is likely to analyze the cause through a finite set
of choices. For instance, the person is likely to take the sales figure and break
it up by date, salesperson, or product to determine exactly where the problem
is coming from.
Reporting Services is used for reports and visualizations that are likely to
remain mostly static—for example, a monthly management report, an engi-
neer's report, or a spatial visualization. The data that feeds these reports are
dynamic, but the interactivity is limited.
Excel (and this author includes PowerPivot and Power View in this description) is
an interactive experience for users who might not know up front how they will
combine and analyze the data and instead want to discover meaning in data.
These roles map to the retail example in Chapter 2.
when to use PerformancePoint:
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An analysis services cube (multidimensional or tabular) is available.
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Glance-and-go dashboards are required.
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Users are likely to need to change the view displayed.
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Integrating Reporting Services or Excel within a report is required.
when not to use PerformancePoint:
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Control over aspects such as color is required.
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Dashboards need to be printed.
