Chapter 1. Introduction

Business Intelligence

Business intelligence is the ability to view all of a company's data together and derive information from it that helps with management and decision-making. The basis for this is a consolidating preparation of all data, e.g. in a data warehouse. ReportServer forms the interface to this data and enables users to use it easily and efficiently. From print-ready reports to individual ad hoc evaluations, ReportServer offers tools to support you in your daily work.

ReportServer for end users is described below. From the execution of ready-made reports to the creation of your own complex evaluations, all the tools relevant to your daily work are presented.

This manual is divided into the following sections:

First steps

ReportServer at a glance: The basic structure of the interface is presented here and you are shown how to carry out daily work steps, e.g. executing reports.

TeamSpace

The TeamSpace is your personal workspace in ReportServer. In this chapter, we look at the finer points of using and configuring the TeamSpace.

Reports

ReportServer combines various report types under a common interface. In this section, we look at the specific features of the supported report types and explain the concepts common to all report types.

Dashboard

Dashboards allow you to obtain all important information at a glance. This chapter explains how to create your own dashboards and adapt them to your requirements.

Ad Hoc Reporting: The Dynamic List

The "dynamic list" report type offers extensive options for compiling your own ad hoc evaluations. In this chapter, we first present the basic functionality, such as the selection and filtering of data. We then go into advanced techniques such as aggregation, advanced filtering and calculated fields. Finally, the dynamic list's templating functions are presented.

The pivot mode of the dynamic list

Here we present the pivot mode of the dynamic list, which allows you to analyze data, prepare it hierarchically or as a cross table and create diagrams.

The analysis view

The analysis view is the common view of the pivot mode of the dynamic list and OLAP reports. We will go into this topic in more detail using examples.

Scheduling

ReportServer allows you to run reports on a scheduled basis and send the results to your e-mail inbox, for example. The scheduling functions are presented in detail.

If you have any questions or suggestions for improvement, we look forward to hearing from you. You can reach us by email at info@infofabrik.de. We are also happy to answer your questions in our forum, which you can find at http://forum.reportserver.net/.