Jaspersoft's latest release of its reporting and business intelligence software offers a new "data virtualization" capability that provides users with a single view of information in disparate data sources without the need to move data into a single data warehouse.

Jaspersoft 5 also offers an overhauled charting engine that's based on the HTML5 standard and an improved columnar, in-memory engine that can handle up to 1 terabyte of data.

The added capabilities help "get information into the hands of more people so they can make informed decisions," said Mike Boyarski, product marketing director, in an interview with CRN. Many of the changes also make Jaspersoft-generated reports "more interactive [and] more compelling," he said.

[Related: Big Data Demands: The Heightened Need For Advanced Data Visualization]

Jaspersoft's software is generally embedded within other applications. American Express, for example, builds the software into its customer-facing applications, according to Boyarski. Software vendors such as CA Technologies and NetApp also add the Jaspersoft tools to their products, as do ISVs and solution providers. VARs and systems integrators use Jaspersoft to add BI capabilities to their industry-focused applications, he said.

In order to get a comprehensive view of data scattered across multiple sources, the common practice today is to move data into a single data warehouse system using extract, transform and load (ETL) tools. The new data virtualization features in Jaspersoft 5 create a single metadata or virtual view of such disparate data without having to move it.

The new HTML5 technology can be used to create reports with more sophisticated visualization capabilities for developing reports that are more interactive, Boyarski said. Other enhancements include the ability to add more personalization features to reports, expanded online analytical processing (OLAP) analysis features and improved administration tools.

PUBLISHED NOV. 14, 2012