Partner TechTip: Performing Top-Down Trend Analysis of Your Business Information Is Not Always Easy

Typography
  • Smaller Small Medium Big Bigger
  • Default Helvetica Segoe Georgia Times

How do you leverage business information easily for on-the-spot analysis?

 

Do you need to extract transaction data to your PC for analysis? Is there too much data for your PC to handle? Do you need to move the data in a spreadsheet for ease of use? Does your team need to take the data on the road to critical accounts?

 

You can download data from your IBM i DB2 database to a PC using tools such as FTP, Client Access, JDBC, and ODBC. The problem is that your PC may not be able to handle the volume of data. Wouldn't it be nice to have a tool that can summarize the data, either on the IBM i server or the PC, a tool that shows you the detail behind the summaries, the story behind the data?

SEQUEL Has the Answers

SEQUEL is that tool. SEQUEL has two easy-to-use options—host tabling and client tabling—that you can use to summarize transaction data into spreadsheet-like tables.

 

Figure 1 shows how downloaded transaction data might look as a list in a standard SEQUEL view. Without SEQUEL tabling, this type of request could use millions of records—too much data to send to a Windows desktop.

 

040111Helpimage1 

Figure 1: This is the SEQUEL data view before tabling. (Click images to enlarge.)

 

View Spreadsheet-Like Summaries

You can use SEQUEL host tabling to automatically summarize IBM i DB2 transaction data into spreadsheet?like files with summary rows, columns, totals, rankings, percent of total, and other calculations (see Figure 2). The host tabling views organize data into columns for regions, time periods, or other categories. And you can output this summarized data to multiple formats, including XLS, XML, or CSV.

 

040111Helpimage2

Figure 2: Here's the SEQUEL view organized using host tabling.

 

Take Your Data on the Road

SEQUEL client tabling is an interactive solution for dynamic desktop Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and cube analysis. It offers drill-down, reporting, analysis, ranking, and graphing functions to help you take your data on the road.

 

First, you consolidate data from your database into a portable, standalone module. Then, you use the drag-and-drop features of the free Client Tabling Viewer to reorganize the data and view the results without affecting the database. And you can do all this without connecting to the host server (unless the data needs to be refreshed).

 

040111Helpimage3

Figure 3: And here's your SEQUEL view organized using client tabling.

 

See how SEQUEL can stop the data overload on your desktop and make your data easier to use and more portable. Call us at 800.328.1000 for a free demo or 30?day trial. And check out the online video presentation of host tables and client tables.

as/400, os/400, iseries, system i, i5/os, ibm i, power systems, 6.1, 7.1, V7, V6R1

Floyd Del Muro

Floyd Del Muro is Sr. Consultant-Data Access Technologies for SEQUEL Software. He can be reached at 847.273.1046 or at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS

LATEST COMMENTS

Support MC Press Online

$

Book Reviews

Resource Center

  •  

  • LANSA Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.

  • The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from. >> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit

  • SB Profound WC 5536Join us for this hour-long webcast that will explore:

  • Fortra IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn: