From Aarhus, Denmark, is TimeXtender

 

TimeXtender was formed in 2005, by a team predominately from NeoProcess. It was founded by Heine Krog Iversen and was awarded the Microsoft ISV Partner of the Year 2008 in Denmark. TimeXtender fully automates the process of turning incongruent data into validated, accurate knowledge, from source to cube with no coding required.

 

TimeXtender is based around being a user-friendly, drag & drop tool that delivers data validation, data transformation, data warehouse building and OLAP cube creation without requiring any handwritten code. As a result, you get faster implementations, easier maintenance and a noticeable cut in costs.

 

TimeXtender have created what they refer to as the drag and drop approach to Business Intelligence. It is possible to easily collect and prepare data for analysis and present it in a format that makes it useful for accurate decision making. This means that whilst using TimeXtender the underlying code is generated automatically simplifying the process for the developer and the end user. This is a huge benefit for the accomplished user, but for those new to BI it can be difficult to establish exact needs.

 

The user is able to extract data from information sources such as ERP and CRM systems, spreadsheets, and commercial databases. As its Microsoft Dynamics compatible it is easy to combine, validate, and transform data and load it into a data warehouse. It is then a simple task to build cubes complete with dimensions and measures, and the SQL code is automatically generated. Reports can be viewed in any reporting tool but the easiest way is to use MS Excel. Again it is very simple for the proficient end user or developer to begin to work with data validation and transformation to OLAP cube creation, enabling users to speed up the Business Intelligence process.

 

With TimeXtender you can plan, design, and build a BI solution within a fraction of the time it takes with traditional tools. The entire process is designed using a graphical user interface, and no hand-coding is required. To improve data quality TimeXtender utilizes the data integration platform of SQL server 2005/2008 integration Services (SSIS). During the deployment process, TimeXtender automatically generates Transact SQL and SSIS

 

Who should use TimeXtender?

 

The complexity and the route to the channel for TimeXtender has been to create a developers BI tool.

 

Can end users use TimeXtender easily?

 

Yes they can but the work that you need to do to ensure that the solution is properly set up does mean that you should consider having TimeXtender or one of their partners implement it up for you.