MicroStrategy Reporting Suite for Microsoft® Analysis Services
User-friendly BI interface to make better decisions from your SQL Server® Analysis Services data

About Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services

Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) is an Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) system with some data mining functionality.  The SSAS architecture is comprised of a middle-tier server that manages multidimensional cubes of data with predefined hierarchies for data navigation.

SSAS provides a basic Web user interface that gives rudimentary access to the data stored within SSAS cubes. Without an integrated BI front end, the deployment and maintenance of BI applications running on top of SSAS data requires significantly more effort from technical staff.

MicroStrategy Reporting Suite for SSAS provides an integrated Web user interface free of charge, allowing business users, report authors and administrators easy access to the data stored within SSAS cubes through interactive reports, dashboards and scorecards.

An Integrated End User Interface to Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS)
MicroStrategy Reporting Suite serves as an integrated end user interface for business users to leverage actionable information effortlessly from all Microsoft SQL Server relational and cube data sources. The award-winning Web interface included with MicroStrategy Reporting Suite is intuitively used by business users and easily deployed by IT. Cross-tab grid reports, graphs, first order dashboards (grid-and-graph displays), and performance scorecards – for comprehensive business intelligence (BI) reporting – are available to business users via simple point-and-click actions. Start reporting against SSAS today!

MicroStrategy Reporting Suite for SSAS – A Powerful, Free Solution
MicroStrategy Reporting Suite provides organizations with easy-to-use reporting and analysis tools that allow business users to interface with Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services cubes, enabling everything from basic and advanced analysis to ad hoc reporting and data visualization. MicroStrategy Reporting Suite is ideal for departments in any size organization that need a proven BI solution for SSAS.

MicroStrategy Reporting Suite is available via a free download and the license is perpetual, providing Web-based reporting of your SSAS data for up to 100 users in your department or small to mid-sized business… at no charge. Free online training, free online support, and other free resources help ensure your rapid development and deployment.

Features

• Build reports and performance scorecards against SQL Server Analysis Services data
• Report, analyze, and monitor SSAS data via intuitive Web-based interface
• Visualize data using impactful graphs and performance scorecards
• Create rankings and time-based comparisons
• Perform a complete range of business calculations and build advanced analytics against SSAS data
• Schedule reports to run to a personalized history list
• Full range of interactivity from sorting, filtering, and drilling to formatting, thresholding, and graphing
• Export to Microsoft Excel and PDF
• Drill seamlessly to detailed data in SQL Server relational database when data in SSAS cube lacks sufficient detail
• Ad hoc query and parameterized, self-service reporting of relational and cube data
• Support multiple concurrent requests from both Web and Windows users to report against SSAS data
• Examine SSAS cube dimensions, hierarchies, attributes, measures, members, calculated members, and other components
• Import SSAS cube structures automatically into the MicroStrategy metadata repository
• Run MDX queries against SSAS cubes without writing any code or scripts
• Map individual users’ security credentials to SSAS roles from within MicroStrategy
• Integrate into Microsoft Office SharePoint Server and other portals
• Leverage MicroStrategy reporting capabilities directly against SSAS (no data warehouse is required)
• Built on the MicroStrategy BI platform for flexible and scalable extensibility
• Convenient download from MicroStrategy's Resource Center

Benefits for Business Users and IT Professionals

• Perform statistical and advanced analysis, run performance scorecards, drill through to investigate details all from the same tool, satisfying all users’ needs
• Extend SSAS data analysis to all users, empowering even novice users to discover trends and anomalies in convenient Web-based reports
• Answer business questions via quick and efficient access to any size SSAS cube
• View detailed information in tabular grid reports or visualize in graphs and grid-and-graph reports in a single click
• Maintain a single centralized metadata for both SQL Server relational data and SSAS multidimensional data sources
• View data from all OLAP data sources within the organization from the same Web interface
• Easy and fast deployment of thin-client Web interface; simultaneous availability of reports from Desktop and Web interfaces
• Improved system performance and faster queries by minimizing client-side processing and data traffic via multi-layer caching
• Lower total cost of ownership (TCO) gained by free license, free online training, free online support, 60 days of free email support, self-service empowerment of end users, and low IT overhead

Instructions

1. Download MicroStrategy Reporting Suite from MicroStrategy’s Resource Center
2. Reference the MicroStrategy Reporting Suite Quick Start Guide and “Get Started Now!” how-to videos
3. Install and activate MicroStrategy Reporting Suite
4. To import and map MDX cubes, refer to the MicroStrategy Project Design Guide.*
5. To create MDX cube reports, see the MDX Cube Reporting Guide.*
6. For details on setting up connectivity with an XMLA data source, refer to the MicroStrategy Knowledge Base.*

* All product documentation and access to the Knowledge Base are included with your download of MicroStrategy Reporting Suite.

Technical Details
Use MicroStrategy Reporting Suite to join data from different MDX cube sources:

• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services
• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services
• SAP BW / SAP BI
• Oracle Essbase / Hyperion Essbase

… and relational databases:

… to bring your data into one cohesive reporting application.  See the MicroStrategy Reporting Suite architecture diagram for a graphical representation.  For specific version support information, please reference the Readme file included in the free MicroStrategy Reporting Suite download. 

Integration with Microsoft
The MicroStrategy BI platform integrates with Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services 2008, 2005, and 2000, as well as Windows, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, and Microsoft Office.

Requirements

• Windows, Linux, or UNIX Operating System
• Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS)
• Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services 2000 or later
• Database for metadata repository storage, e.g.  Microsoft SQL Server

More Information

• “MicroStrategy Reporting Suite Provides Seamless BI Reporting for Microsoft Analysis Services,” November 2009
• “MicroStrategy Expands Relationship with Microsoft with Direct Access to Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services,” June 2006

Related Offerings
The following products are included complimentary for two named users as part of the free MicroStrategy Reporting Suite download and can augment reporting capabilities:

• MicroStrategy Report Services – data from multiple sources in the same report or dynamic dashboard
• MicroStrategy OLAP Services – in memory BI and faster performance
• MicroStrategy Web Professional – create reports against SSAS on the fly via the Web interface
• MicroStrategy Distribution Services – alerts, subscriptions, and mass distribution of reports
• MicroStrategy Office – full integration with Microsoft Office
• MicroStrategy Mobile – full integration with Blackberry