Product Overview of Birst
Introduction
Birst, now part of Infor, is a cutting-edge cloud business intelligence (BI) and analytics platform designed to unify and analyze data from diverse sources across an entire organization. Founded by industry leaders Brad Peters and Paul Staelin, who previously led the product team for Seabel Analytics (later Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition), Birst brings a proven vision for the future of analytics.
Key Features and Functionality
Unified Data View
Birst uses “intelligent unification technologies” to map and model data from multiple sources, including cloud applications, transactional systems, data lakes, and more. This ensures a consistent view of data, even when dealing with disparate definitions and sources, allowing organizations to optimize complex processes.
Automated Data Refinement (ADR)
Birst features Automated Data Refinement (ADR) technology, which automates the process of building a star-schema model of data and data warehouses. This eliminates the need for additional ETL tools and simplifies the creation of a data warehouse, making it accessible to users without extensive technical knowledge.
Virtual Business Intelligence
The platform employs a multi-tenant architecture, enabling the creation of virtual BI instances that relate to one another. This approach allows decentralized teams to use their virtual copies of the data, blended with local data, to deliver quality results and enhance inter-team collaboration.
Enhanced User Experience
Birst provides a user-friendly interface that supports various styles of analytic content, including responsive and interactive dashboards, data integration tools, and embedded predictive tools. This ensures fast and secure access to data, facilitating smarter decision-making across the organization.
Data-Driven Decisions
With its patented machine learning technology and dashboard KPIs, Birst automates repetitive tasks and helps users diagnose and understand the drivers affecting business performance. This enables users to move beyond asking “what happened” to understanding “why” it happened.
Scalability and Deployment Options
Birst is available in various deployment options, including a multi-tenant cloud architecture, an on-premise appliance, and a hybrid scenario where the database can be hosted on-premise while the rest is cloud-based. This flexibility ensures scalability, security, and compliance with different security protocols.
Mobile Capabilities
The platform offers robust mobile capabilities, including HTML5 and native app delivery with offline support, allowing users to access critical business information on-demand using mobile devices.
Reporting and Dashboarding
Birst provides comprehensive reporting and dashboarding functionality, including charts, tables, geo maps, and key performance indicators. Reports can be shared as PDFs or scheduled notifications, and users can upload local “sandbox” data to blend with the centralized data store.
Versions and Licensing
Birst is offered in two main versions: Professional and Enterprise. The Professional version is designed for pulling data from a limited number of sources, while the Enterprise version offers more flexibility in sources and technical functionality for ETL and Star Schema. Both versions share the same reporting and dashboarding functionality, with the Enterprise version including Pixel Perfect reports by default.
Summary
Birst is a powerful BI and analytics platform that streamlines the processes of gathering, analyzing, reporting, and planning key business information. Its unique features, such as Automated Data Refinement, virtual BI instances, and enhanced user experience, make it an ideal solution for organizations seeking to unify complex data, enhance collaboration, and drive data-driven decisions. With its flexible deployment options, robust mobile capabilities, and comprehensive reporting tools, Birst stands out as a top-ranked, end-to-end BI suite.