Using Open Source Platforms for Business Intelligence: Avoid Pitfalls and Maximize ROI

by Lyndsay Wise

Open Source BI solutions have many advantages over traditional proprietary software, from offering lower initial costs to more flexible support and integration options; but, until now, there has been no comprehensive guide to the complete offerings of the OS BI market. Writing for IT managers and business analysts without bias toward any BI suite, industry insider Lyndsay Wise covers the benefits and challenges of all available open source BI systems and tools, enabling readers to identify the solutions and technologies that best meet their business needs. Wise compares and contrasts types of OS BI and proprietary tools on the market, including Pentaho, Jaspersoft, RapidMiner, SpagoBI, BIRT, and many more. Real-world case studies and project templates clarify the steps involved in implementing open source BI, saving new users the time and trouble of developing their own solutions from scratch. For business managers who are hard pressed to indentify the best BI solutions and software for their companies, this book provides a practical guide to evaluating the ROI of open source versus traditional BI deployments.

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 1 out of 5]

how to do generic ROI analysis and project decision making in IT (with a 10% emphasis on BI)

I read the entire book hoping that any moment the author would reveal something specific and useful. Instead I felt like I was reading an over complicated, over analyzed and over repeated consultant report from an over priced consulting firm. The advice and the steps suggested for how to navigate the analysis and decision making process for beginning a Business Intelligence project (with open source in mind) was far too generic and unoriginal. I am disappointed to have wasted my time reading it. If you are hoping to get some insights into the tools, vendors, technologies or a set of recommended starting points for selecting a set of tools that will provide a potential BI solution, this book is not for you. if you habe never done ROI analysis, written a set of pros and cons out or compares two approaches to a software solution of any kind, then this might be a useful and generic primer for you.

[Marcin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little too simplistic, a little too easy and general, when being introduced to the topic this book allows for a comprehensive generalisation without any specific technology influences. However, this works only for an introduction and for people not exactly in the IT department where less-management and more solutions are needed. Sure, it works when preparing to show the solutions and ideas to other company members but it just won't cut it for an IT geek among you. At least you can get your boss to get you this book, skim through it and then pass it to him. If it reaches the proper ground, the book might encourage your team-mates and department heads to finally jump onto the open-source or freeware wagon. If you're simply interested in the idea or want to switch from closed apps, it's a good start point. Yet, by the time you get to the 50th page you'll realise how enigmatic and over-generalised the authors' view-point is. But at the same time, you'll already be testing different solutions found thanks to this book's points of interest. As I said - it's just the beginning of the journey, far enough for a non-IT person to comprehense and get hooked, easy enough for non-economics or non-management one to understand the processes and obtain the knowledge of what to look for when discussing the solutions with those non-geeky ones.

[Gabriele · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring and incredibily repetitive. Difficult to not fall asleep while reading.

Every chapter simply recall what the author have just said in the previous one. The overall quantity of valuable insights of the book could be easily condensed in 2-3 good blog posts. It's look like the publisher imposted a fixed amount of pages to be filled and the author inflated inside.