Birst - Detailed Review
Business Tools
Birst - Product Overview
Introduction to Birst
Birst is a next-generation platform for enterprise business intelligence (BI) and analytics, developed to connect and unify data across an entire organization. Here’s a breakdown of its primary function, target audience, and key features:Primary Function
Birst’s main purpose is to enable all users to access and utilize data to make informed business decisions. It streamlines the processes of gathering, analyzing, reporting, and planning key business information by combining data from various sources into a single, integrated platform.Target Audience
Birst is primarily used by mid-sized to enterprise-level companies, particularly those with over 10,000 employees and revenues exceeding $1 billion. The platform is popular in industries such as Information Technology and Services, and Computer Software. It is designed for front-line business workers, including data analysts and other professionals who need advanced BI capabilities.Key Features
Data Unification
Birst unifies complex data from multiple sources, including existing data warehouses, flat files, and cloud business applications, into a single user data store.Real-Time Analysis
It allows for real-time analysis of complex processes and models, enabling users to make timely and accurate decisions.Centralized and Decentralized Approach
Birst blends centralized and decentralized data approaches, providing a consistent view of data across the organization.Mobile Capabilities
The platform offers mobile access with HTML5 and native app delivery, including offline support, allowing users to access data on demand using mobile devices.Automated Data Refinement
Birst uses Automated Data Refinement (ADR) and a transformation language (ETL) to automatically merge and refine data, eliminating the need for lengthy and complex data warehouse creation.Security and Reliability
It relies on state-of-the-art data centers, strict internal controls, and regular audits to ensure data security and reliability.User Engagement
Birst provides a variety of tools, enabling engaged users to create reports, KPIs, and dashboards without requiring IT resources. This enhances adoption and ongoing usage.Scalability
The platform scales on demand economically, whether deployed in public or private cloud configurations or on-premises. Overall, Birst is a comprehensive BI suite that delivers speed, self-service, and agility while maintaining the scale, security, and control required by large enterprises. Birst - User Interface and Experience
User Interface Overview
The user interface of Infor Birst is crafted to provide a seamless and intuitive experience for users, particularly in the business intelligence and analytics domain.
Adaptive User Interface
Birst offers an adaptive user experience that supports various styles of business intelligence and analytics. The interface is consumer-friendly, featuring drag-and-drop capabilities, double-click interactions, auto-complete search, guided visualizations, and visual filtering. This makes it easy for users to intuitively explore data without needing extensive technical expertise.
Interactive Dashboards
Birst’s dashboards are highly interactive and responsive, allowing users to directly interact with the data. Users can add powerful filters, key performance indicators (KPIs), geo maps, and text boxes to their dashboards. The filtering process is intuitive, with filter results cascading seamlessly across filters and dashboard pages. Additionally, dashboards support flexible, drill-anywhere capabilities, enabling users to delve deeper into the data for more detailed insights.
Mobile Accessibility
Birst Mobile ensures that business users can access and interact with dashboards and reports on the go. The mobile interface leverages the same HTML5 technology used on desktops and laptops, providing a consistent user experience across all devices. This allows users to quickly view charts and tables, filter information, and drill into reports for more detail, all within a native app or through a web browser.
Visualizer and Designer
The Visualizer tool enables business users and report writers to explore enterprise data quickly and get answers to business questions. The Designer tool, on the other hand, allows data analysts and report writers to create pixel-perfect reports and charts that can be added to dashboards, printed, scheduled, or exported to other formats. These tools are integrated into the overall user interface, making it easy to create and manage reports and dashboards.
Integration with Other Tools
Birst integrates seamlessly with other Infor tools, such as Infor CloudSuite Distribution and Infor Mingle. This integration allows users to access BI insights directly within their everyday tools, boosting productivity and ensuring that insights are available exactly where they are needed. Users can also drill back from visualizations and dashboards directly into the CloudSuite Distribution application, enhancing the workflow and reducing the need to switch between platforms.
Ease of Use
The user interface of Birst is designed to be user-centric, ensuring that users can quickly access the insights they need without a steep learning curve. The platform supports customizable bookmarks and workspaces, allowing users to personalize their BI experience. This ease of use is further enhanced by the native integration within the Infor ecosystem, which eliminates the need for extensive training or setup typically required by third-party BI platforms.
Conclusion
Overall, Birst’s user interface is engineered to be intuitive, interactive, and highly adaptable, making it an effective tool for business users to derive meaningful insights from their data.
Birst - Key Features and Functionality
Birst Overview
Birst, a cloud-hosted business intelligence and analytics platform, offers a wide range of features that make it a versatile and powerful tool for businesses. Here are the main features and how they work, along with their benefits and the integration of AI:
Data Management and Integration
Automated Data Refinement
Birst automates the Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) process, creating a business-ready data store from raw data. This feature unifies data from multiple source systems, including big data, making it ready for analysis.
Infinite Connectivity Framework
This allows users to easily connect live data or extract data from any source, ensuring that all relevant data is accessible and integrated into the system.
Analytics and Reporting
Visual Analytics and Reporting
Birst provides tools for visual analytics and reporting, enabling users to create charts, dashboards, and high-definition reports. This helps in quick and detailed analysis of data, even for complex queries.
Embedded Predictive Applications
Predictive models can be embedded into dashboards and charts, making data transparent and actionable. This feature leverages AI to provide predictive insights directly within the analytics environment.
User Interface and Experience
User-Friendly Exploration and Visualization
Birst offers a user-friendly interface for data exploration, discovery, and visualization. This makes it easier for users to interact with data and gain insights without needing extensive technical expertise.
Responsive and Integrated HTML5 Dashboards
The platform supports HTML5 dashboards and native app delivery, including offline support, ensuring that users can access and analyze data on any device, at any time.
AI and Machine Learning
AI-Enabled User Experience
Birst is built with patented automation and machine learning technologies. These technologies enhance the user experience by providing smarter, more informed decisions through automated data analysis and predictive analytics.
Smart Analytics
The platform integrates AI to create seamless integration between dashboards, data discovery, and reporting. This AI-driven approach ensures that users get a powerful and intuitive analytics experience.
Scalability and Deployment
Native Cloud Multi-Tenant Architecture
Birst supports public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises deployment options. This architecture allows for economic scaling on-demand, both in terms of users and data volumes.
Fast Time to Value
With iterative and agile deployment, Birst ensures a fast time to value, enabling businesses to start seeing benefits quickly.
Data Governance and Security
Agile Semantic Layer
This feature allows for the blending of centralized and decentralized data and analytic content. It also provides self-service data prep and analytic sandboxes, ensuring that users have the flexibility to work with data while maintaining data governance.
Data Governance
Birst ensures that all members of the organization receive the same version of the truth by standardizing key metrics and business rules. This helps in maintaining data integrity and security.
Integration and Connectivity
Integration with Other Systems
Birst is well-integrated with a variety of business apps and systems, making it easy to incorporate into existing IT infrastructures. This includes seamless integration with other BI platforms and tools.
Conclusion
In summary, Birst combines powerful analytics, AI-driven insights, and a user-friendly interface to provide a comprehensive business intelligence solution. Its automated data refinement, predictive analytics, and scalable architecture make it an ideal choice for businesses looking to optimize their decision-making processes.
Birst - Performance and Accuracy
Performance
Birst is renowned for its high performance in several areas:Speed and Agility
Birst streamlines and accelerates the processes of gathering, analyzing, reporting, and planning key business information. It enables users to quickly create reports, KPIs, and dashboards, and update them without requiring IT resources.Data Unification
Birst unifies complex data from multiple sources, including cloud business applications, data warehouses, and flat or structured files. This is achieved through its Automated Data Refinement (ADR) and Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes, which automate the creation of a robust dimensional model and semantic layer.Real-Time Analysis
Birst allows for real-time analysis by directly querying on-premise data sources through Birst Live Access, ensuring users have the most current data for decision-making.Mobile Access
The platform provides mobile BI capabilities, allowing users to access and analyze data on-demand using mobile devices, which enhances user engagement and productivity.Accuracy
Birst is designed to ensure high accuracy in data analysis and reporting:Data Governance
Birst’s Networked BI platform combines centralized and decentralized data, ensuring that all users have access to trusted and governed corporate data. This approach helps maintain data integrity and accuracy across the organization.Semantic Layer
The platform uses a semantic layer to provide a business representation of complex company data, making it easier for end-users to consume and analyze data accurately.Consistent Views
Birst ensures that all users have a consistent view of the data, which is crucial for making accurate business decisions.Limitations or Areas for Improvement
While Birst is a powerful tool, there are some areas to consider:Learning Curve
Although Birst is user-friendly, especially with its embedded tools within the Infor ecosystem, there can still be a learning curve for users who are not familiar with BI platforms. However, Birst’s user-centric design and customizable dashboards help mitigate this issue.Integration with Third-Party Tools
While Birst integrates seamlessly with Infor products, integrating it with third-party BI platforms may require more complex setup and management compared to native Infor tools.User Adoption
To maximize the benefits of Birst, there needs to be strong user engagement and adoption. Ensuring that users are trained and comfortable with the platform is crucial for its success. In summary, Birst excels in performance and accuracy by providing a unified, real-time, and governed data environment. However, it may require some initial training for new users and careful consideration when integrating with non-Infor tools. Birst - Pricing and Plans
Pricing Structure of Infor Birst
The pricing structure of Infor Birst, a comprehensive business intelligence and analytics platform, is designed to accommodate various business needs through different plans and features. Here’s a breakdown of what you can expect:
Pricing Model
- Infor Birst pricing is primarily quote-based, meaning the exact cost will depend on your specific requirements and the number of users.
- The starting price is around $2,500 per month, but this can vary.
Plans and Tiers
- Discovery Edition: This is the more basic offering, geared towards users who need quick and straightforward information. It includes features such as dashboards, mobile analytics, and ad hoc analytics.
- Enterprise Edition: This is the more comprehensive plan, which includes all the features of the Discovery Edition plus additional capabilities like automated data mashups, data warehousing, and dimensional database management.
Key Features by Plan
Discovery Edition
- Dashboards
- Mobile analytics
- Ad hoc analytics
Enterprise Edition
- All features from the Discovery Edition
- Automated data mashups
- Data warehousing
- Dimensional database management
- Advanced ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) capabilities
- Big data services and managed data mashups.
Additional Costs and Considerations
- The cost can add up based on the number of users and the specific modules required. For example, on-premise licenses can start at $30,000 per year for 20 users.
- There may be additional fees for support services, with the Enterprise subscription offering Standard and Priority support tiers. Priority support includes more proactive support, access to a learning management system, and quarterly upgrade readiness consultations.
Free Trial
- Infor Birst offers a free trial, allowing you to test the platform before committing to a purchase. You can request the free trial through their website.
In summary, Infor Birst’s pricing is flexible but quote-based, with two main plans that cater to different levels of business intelligence needs. The costs can vary significantly based on the features and number of users required.
Birst - Integration and Compatibility
Integration Overview
Birst, as an advanced analytics and business intelligence tool, integrates seamlessly with various systems and platforms, particularly within the Infor ecosystem. Here are some key points regarding its integration and compatibility:Native Integration with Infor CloudSuite Distribution
Birst is natively integrated into the Infor CloudSuite Distribution (CSD) environment, which means it does not require the complex integrations often necessary with third-party BI tools. This native integration allows users to drill back from visualizations and dashboards directly into the CSD application, ensuring a smooth workflow and eliminating the need to switch between platforms.Integration with Infor Tools
Birst supports widgets in Infor Mingle and fully integrates into user workspaces. This allows employees to interact with BI insights directly within their everyday tools, boosting productivity and ensuring insights are available exactly where they are needed.Single User List Management
Birst simplifies administration by allowing user management through IFS security, the same system used for other Infor applications. This centralized approach ensures consistency across all systems and simplifies the administrative tasks related to user access and security.Native CloudSuite Portal Applications
Birst appears as native applications within the CloudSuite portal, making it easily accessible to users without the need for additional training or setup. This integration ensures that BI tools are seamlessly embedded within the existing Infor tools, enhancing ease of use.Data Connectivity and Access
The Birst Connectivity Framework provides access to data from various sources, including existing data warehouses, flat or structured files, and cloud business applications. Birst Live Access allows real-time queries on on-premise data sources, and Application Connectors provide access to many enterprise applications such as Marketo and Salesforce.Multi-Platform Support
Birst is available as a multi-tenant cloud architecture or as an on-premise appliance, offering flexibility in deployment options. It also supports access via web browsers and native mobile apps, ensuring that users can access analytics dashboards from various devices.Unified Data Platform
Birst’s Networked BI platform combines centralized and decentralized data, providing a governed data environment that is agile and scalable. This platform unifies data from multiple sources, refines it for business use, and provides a consistent view of all data to all users.Conclusion
In summary, Birst’s integration with Infor tools and its compatibility across different platforms and devices make it a highly integrated and accessible business intelligence solution, particularly for users within the Infor ecosystem. Birst - Customer Support and Resources
Customer Support
While the specific website provided does not detail the customer support options directly, other reliable sources indicate that Birst, as part of Infor, offers comprehensive support. Here are some general support mechanisms that are typically available:
Help Desk Support
Users can expect support through various channels, including email, phone, and possibly online support portals. For example, companies like Central Data, which support Infor products, offer support hours and email contacts for assistance.
Ticketing System
When users contact support, they often receive a ticket number assigned to their case, ensuring that their issues are tracked and addressed efficiently.
Additional Resources
Birst provides a range of resources to help users get the most out of their business intelligence and analytics platform:
Documentation and Guides
Birst likely offers detailed documentation, user guides, and technical manuals to help users set up, configure, and use the platform effectively.
Learning Center
There are often learning centers or resource sections where users can find tutorials, webinars, and other educational materials to enhance their skills in using Birst. For instance, Godlan mentions a Learning Center with helpful resources for Birst users.
Case Studies and Success Stories
Birst shares case studies and success stories, such as the example of Citrix Systems, which can provide insights into how other organizations have successfully implemented and benefited from the platform.
Community Support
Users may have access to community forums or discussion groups where they can interact with other users, share experiences, and get help from peers.
Training and Consulting
Birst, through its partners or directly, offers training and consulting services to help organizations implement the platform and maximize its benefits. This includes proven implementation methodologies and industry-specific expertise.
Technical Support and Maintenance
Multi-Tenant Architecture Support
Birst’s multi-tenant architecture allows for decentralized teams to use virtual copies of data, which is supported by state-of-the-art data centers and strict internal controls. This ensures security, reliability, and regular audits.
Self-Service Data Prep
Users have access to self-service data preparation tools, allowing them to work independently without needing constant IT involvement. This includes the ability to create analytic sandboxes and blend centralized and decentralized data.
By leveraging these support options and resources, users of Birst can ensure they are well-equipped to handle any issues that arise and maximize the benefits of the platform.
Birst - Pros and Cons
When considering Infor Birst as a business intelligence and analytics tool, here are the main advantages and disadvantages that you should be aware of:
Advantages
- Automated Data Refinement (ADR): Birst features ADR technology, which allows users to build and manage data warehouses without extensive technical knowledge. This automates the process of merging data from different sources into a unified, user-ready data store.
- Unified Data View: Birst integrates data from multiple sources, eliminating data silos and providing a consistent view of data across the organization. This helps in optimizing complex processes and ensures all teams use the same definitions and metrics.
- Virtual Business Intelligence: The multi-tenant architecture enables the creation of virtual BI tenants, allowing decentralized teams to work with their own data while maintaining centralized governance and consistency.
- User-Friendly Interface: Birst offers a consumer-friendly visual discovery interface with features like drag-and-drop, double-click, and auto-complete search. This makes it easy for users to explore and interact with data intuitively.
- Scalability and Flexibility: Birst is highly scalable and supports public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises deployments. It also integrates with various data sources, making it flexible for different organizational needs.
- Enhanced User Experience: The platform provides fast and secure access to data, supporting different styles of analytic content. It includes interactive dashboards, data integration tools, and embedded predictive tools, all of which contribute to a better user experience.
- Mobile Accessibility: Birst mobile allows users to access and interact with dashboards and reports on any device, using the same HTML5 interface as the desktop version.
Disadvantages
- Performance Issues: Users have reported slow data processing and data refresh times, which can impact report generation capabilities. This is particularly problematic for larger enterprises handling large amounts of data.
- Documentation and Support: The documentation is often inconsistent and incorrect, and support turnaround times can be very long, sometimes extending to several months. This can be frustrating for users needing timely assistance.
- Learning Curve: The use of a proprietary query language can make the learning curve steep for new users. Additionally, the platform’s bugs and frequent changes in new releases can disrupt existing features.
- Bugs and Stability: Several users have reported that the platform can be buggy, leading to frequent stalls when processing data for ad-hoc reporting. These issues have sometimes gone unaddressed for years.
- Implementation Challenges: While many users find the deployment easy, some have reported unclear setup processes that require in-house IT support for onboarding.
Conclusion
Overall, Birst is a powerful tool for business intelligence and analytics, particularly suited for small and midsize companies due to its ease of use and integrated features. However, larger enterprises may face challenges related to performance and support.
Birst - Comparison with Competitors
Unique Features of Infor Birst
Automated Data Refinement (ADR)
Birst’s ADR technology allows users to build a star-schema model of their data and data warehouses without needing extensive knowledge of data warehousing. This automates the ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) process, making it easier to refine and use big data.
Intelligent Unification Technologies
Birst unifies data from multiple sources, ensuring a consistent view of data across different systems. This is particularly useful for organizations dealing with diverse data definitions and sources.
Virtual Business Intelligence
Birst’s multi-tenant architecture enables the creation of virtual BI instances, allowing decentralized teams to work with their own data copies while maintaining consistency and collaboration across the organization.
User-Friendly Interface
Birst offers a visual discovery interface with drag-and-drop, double-click, and auto-complete search features, making data exploration intuitive for both technical and non-technical users.
Comparison with Microsoft Power BI
Integration and Ecosystem
Power BI is deeply integrated with the Microsoft ecosystem, which can be a significant advantage for organizations already using Microsoft tools. It also features AI Builder, which allows for AI-driven insights and automation of repetitive tasks without requiring technical expertise.
Data Visualization
While Birst excels in unifying data sources and automated data refinement, Power BI is known for its interactive dashboards and real-time updates. Power BI also offers embedded analytics, allowing reports to be integrated directly into applications.
AI Capabilities
Both tools use AI, but Power BI’s AI Builder focuses on prebuilt and custom AI models for tasks like sentiment analysis and prediction, whereas Birst uses machine learning to diagnose and uncover drivers affecting business performance.
Comparison with ThoughtSpot
Natural Language Search
ThoughtSpot stands out with its natural language search capability, allowing users to query data using plain English. This makes it highly accessible for non-technical users. In contrast, Birst relies more on its visual discovery interface and automated data refinement.
Scalability
ThoughtSpot is known for handling large datasets and providing real-time data querying, which is similar to Birst’s ability to unify and analyze data from multiple sources. However, ThoughtSpot’s scalability is highlighted in its ability to handle billions of rows of data.
Interactive Dashboards
Both tools offer interactive dashboards, but ThoughtSpot’s Liveboards provide a more flexible and dynamic way to visualize data without predefined drill paths.
Comparison with Other Alternatives
BusinessObjects
This tool is praised for its comprehensive features and scalability, making it suitable for organizations with complex data needs. However, it has a steeper learning curve compared to Birst, which is more user-friendly. BusinessObjects excels in integration with existing systems but requires more investment in training.
Sisense
Sisense is known for its ability to streamline large datasets into actionable data and its strong customer support. It offers a range of visualization types and is praised for its ease of use, though it may not have the same level of automated data refinement as Birst.
Potential Alternatives
Microsoft Power BI
If your organization is deeply integrated with Microsoft tools and needs strong AI-driven insights, Microsoft Power BI might be a better fit.
ThoughtSpot
For organizations that prefer natural language search and real-time analytics, ThoughtSpot could be more suitable.
BusinessObjects
If you need a tool with comprehensive features and strong integration capabilities but are willing to invest in training, BusinessObjects might be the way to go.
Sisense
For those looking for a user-friendly interface and strong customer support, Sisense is another viable alternative.
Each of these tools has unique strengths and is suited to different organizational needs, so choosing the right one depends on your specific requirements and preferences.
Birst - Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions about Infor Birst Business Analytics
What is Infor Birst Business Analytics?
Infor Birst Business Analytics is a next-generation, cloud-based business intelligence (BI) and business analytics platform. It helps organizations connect teams and applications across the enterprise through a network of analytics and insights, enabling smarter decision-making.How does Birst integrate data from multiple sources?
Birst uses Automated Data Refinement (ADR) technology to connect live data or extract data from any source, unifying data from multiple source systems, including big data. This technology automates the building of a business-ready data store, eliminating the need for additional ETL tools.What are the key features of Birst’s data management?
Birst features an “intelligent unification” of data from various sources, ensuring a consistent view of data across the organization. It also includes a patented automated process for building data warehouses and a common, reusable semantic layer for blending centralized and decentralized data.How does Birst support data-driven decision-making?
Birst uses machine learning technology and dashboard KPIs to automatically diagnose and uncover drivers affecting business performance. This helps automate repetitive tasks, providing users with faster access to critical information so they can focus on more strategic questions.Can Birst be deployed in different environments?
Yes, Birst supports a native cloud multi-tenant architecture, allowing it to be deployed in public cloud, private cloud, and on-premises environments. This architecture enables economic scaling on-demand for both users and data volumes.What benefits can organizations expect from using Birst?
Organizations can expect several benefits, including improved profitability, reduced costs, increased revenues, and enhanced business processes. For example, Citrix Systems achieved a 99% on-time delivery rate, a five-time increase in inventory turns, and a 35% reduction in days in supply after implementing Birst.How does Birst enhance user experience?
Birst creates a powerful AI-enabled user experience with seamless integration between dashboards, data discovery, and reporting. Users can access information anywhere, both online and offline, on any device, ensuring a user-friendly and intuitive interface.Does Birst support self-service data preparation?
Yes, Birst provides self-service data prep capabilities, allowing users to work in analytic sandboxes. This feature enables users to prepare and analyze data independently, promoting decentralized data management and collaboration.How does Birst facilitate collaboration among different teams?
Birst’s virtual business intelligence capability allows decentralized teams to use virtual copies of the data, blending it with their local data. This approach improves consistency, self-service data access, and inter-team collaboration across departments such as marketing, sales, and finance.What kind of support and resources are available for Birst users?
Birst users have access to various resources, including a proven implementation methodology, Infor experts with deep knowledge of business analytics, and a learning center with helpful resources. This support ensures successful and empowered customers.