PivotLink Adds Analytical Apps To SaaS BI Platform

business intelligence software

With the new ReadiMetrix applications, PivotLink is trying to broaden use of its products beyond developers and data analysts to line-of-business managers and information workers. That's a goal nearly every business intelligence software vendor has tried to achieve with mixed success.

"We call it 'insight-as-a-service,'" said PivotLink CEO Quentin Gallivan in an interview. He argued that the new self-service applications could be implemented and generating reports in days instead of weeks or months.

The ReadiMetrix applications, which are available now, include a mix of pre-built reports, collaborative dashboards and key performance indicators. The sales application, for example, has 17 reports, 56 KPIs and four dashboards designed for use by sales executives, Gallivan said.

The marketing application, geared for marketing executives, offers 10 reports, 42 KPIs and four dashboards covering such metrics as return-on-investment of marketing campaigns and opportunity creation. The analytical application for HR executives has 12 reports, 17 KPIs (including headcount, attrition by department and compensation analysis) and six dashboards.

The applications are built on the PivotLink business intelligence platform for which the company already has some 15,000 subscribers. But until now businesses used the platform to develop their own reports and performance metrics, a job generally left to IT development staff.

The new applications are designed to work with data from a company's internal databases and with data generated by other SaaS applications, such as Salesforce.com, the Workday on-demand HR application and the Marketo on-demand marketing application. ReadiMetrix also can pull data from on-premise sources such as ERP systems and spreadsheets.

PivotLink has plans to add more analytical applications to the ReadiMetrix line, with applications in retail merchandising analysis and supply chain analysis slated for release by mid-year, Gallivan said.

PivotLink will develop some of the future applications itself while others will be developed by ISVs and channel partners with domain expertise. Primitive Logic, which has developed a human resource management practice, for example, worked with PivotLink to build the ReadiMetrix HR applications.

Gallivan said PivotLink also has plans to launch a BI application exchange for its partners, although that will initially be a marketing vehicle rather than a sales site.

PivotLink today generates about 30 percent of its sales through channel partners and Gallivan expects to see that increase as more solution providers start cloud-computing practices. Some partners will resell the PivotLink SaaS applications, he said, while others will embed PivotLink BI into their own solutions and services.