Review: Spotfire DXP Makes Business Intelligence A Snap

business intelligence

Spotfire DXP, the latest analytics software from Somerville, Mass.-based Spotfire, sports the most user-friendly and customizable set of features that the CRN Test Center has seen in an analytics solution. DXP will attract solution providers looking to sell BI applications that don't require any up-front administration or custom development.

Released just a couple of weeks ago, DXP is built on a client/server architecture and can be implemented in large-scale BI solutions. And unlike other BI offerings, it gives users the power to aggregate data and drag-and-drop fields on panes, including the ability to add any new data sources right from the DXP client.

The user interface separates functions based on tabs, which help guide users through the analysis process. Little or no assistance is required from administrators. What's more, Spotfire DXP's self-management configuration extends into its versatile UI. Out of the box, the UI provides customizable scatter plots, multidimensional bar charts and many other charts and graphs, all of which are interactive and configurable.

Whenever users bring in data from any source, DXP also can generate view sliders on the fly. Once data is loaded, analysts can quickly build data filters from a righthand panel. The filters' views, including sliders, are created by DXP dynamically. DXP supports data hierarchies and can group data into logical units. The tool, too, can create hierarchical filters.

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In addition to doing a great job on visual effects, the DXP suite comes with an Expression Builder, which allows analysts to create dynamic key performance indicators (KPIs). These KPIs are essentially custom calculations that alter views dynamically. As users move sliders on a pane, custom KPIs can change the scope automatically.

The Expression Builder also can be used to add new columns to data sets. Once created, the new "expressions" are integrated into DXP's repository. Users, too, can annotate fields on custom panes.

Once solution providers start working with DXP, it won't take long for them to get the hang of it. They will see that little or no training is necessary to use the software. It's as if the software can be used by almost anyone. The Test Center engineers found that no competing enterprise BI vendor can deliver on that promise.