Ad-Hoc Reporting, Query & Analysis

EspressReport ES provides several ad hoc reporting and query features that allow users to create a wide range of queries and reports through a zero-client browser interface.  Unlike some other tools, ERES provides a simple query interface that is geared towards business users, not high-level analysts.  With these tools users can create queries, build reports and charts from any data source, and publish the results without any training.

The data view interface shields users from database complexity, by allowing administrators to pre-define tables, joins, fields, and even filters creating in effect a local schema.  End-users can then select (typically aliased) fields, and perform ordering, sorting, filtering, and aggregation without any knowledge of the underlying database structures.

Centralized Management

EspressReport ES provides a central server-side repository that allows collaborative report development, and management within organizations.  The Organizer interface allows report developers and administrators to create, modify, and secure queries, reports, and charts.

The Organizer can be launched as an application on the client, or directly from the server via a Web browser.  It serves both as a central report repository, as well as a platform for developing reports and charts.  Report developers can launch the Report Designer and the Chart Designer from the Organizer.

The Report Designer is a graphical user interface, launched within the Organizer that allows users to create and customize reports.  The simple drop and drag style interface and extensive editing/formatting capabilities, makes report design quick and easy.

The Chart Designer is a graphical use interface that allows users to design and customize charts either stand-alone or within reports.  It allows users to generate a wide variety of charts based on data from data files or from database queries.  Its point and click interface enables the swift and easy creation of charts with an almost infinite degree of flexibility.

In addition, within the Organizer, Administrators can setup data sources and database connections for report developers. Privileges and security are also administered through the Organizer, allowing folders, reports, and data to be secured.

Many Publishing Options

Reports and charts in ERES can be quickly published to Web environments in a number of ways.  EspressReport ES provides a reporting portal for end users.

This customizable HTML interface called the "Menu Page" allows users to run reports in a variety of formats. In addition, users can view reports generated by schedule jobs, or run archived/versioned reports.  Any reports in the central repository are automatically published to the portal, and security roles are enforced throughout.

Reports can be viewed using the interactive DHTML viewer.  This thin client interface allows users to dynamically filter, sort, and group data in the report using a small toolbar at the top of the report.

In addition, reports in the repository can be run via HTTP URL calls.  Users can request a report directly, specify the desired output format, and the report will be streamed directly back to the client.

For more advanced publishing and integration, EspressReport ES provides an extensive Java API that allows reports to be integrated within Web applications.  Using simple deployment code users can easily create custom portals and presentations as part of their applications.

KPI Alerts 

Alert is a great feature that allows you to be always on top of certain critical KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) for your organization. With the advent of smart phones and tablets, the alert feature is even more relevant and desirable, because it notifies you  and  thus allows you to take immediate action to deal with critical situations.

In a  nut shell, alert is a way for the user to receive notification when certain pre-defined event happens. We get alerts in our daily life. For example, you will get a phone call from the alarm company, if your home’s alarm system detects an attempted unauthorized entry. Your favorite supermarket sends you an email when certain items go on sale. In EspressReport ES, the pre-defined event will be the value of a KPI exceeding or falling below certain desired threshold  For example, an alert will “trigger” when sales goal is below plan, inventory of a product falls below a day’s average sales, defect rate of a product exceeds 2% etc..

Interactive Maps

EspressReport ES supports interactive maps in addition to traditional reporting, adding yet another powerful dimension to data visualization/presentation, and user-experience enhancement.  Visualization of data in geographical and spatial formats can be very useful for analysis and decision support.  One can easily think of many common and diverse questions that can be answered with enhanced visualization with maps: How is my sales coverage?  Where do I get the most revenue?  What is the demographic distribution? How is my political campaign doing geographically?  What is my (global) company's human capital distribution?  Where do the visitors to my web site come from?

The other supported map format is SVG.  An SVG map, as the name implies, displays the map with SVG image.  EspressReport ES distributes several SVG image files of the continents of the world, which you can use to customize for your application.  Instead of displaying tool-tips on map points, SVG maps work with areas. You can color code areas on the map based on the range of data defined for the area of interest.  Drilldown to charts, reports or other maps is supported in the same way as in Google maps.
You can mix and match map types for drilldown, i.e. a Google map can drilldown to another Google map or SVG map, and vice versa.

Data sources supported for both types of maps are same as those for reports, i.e. JDBC compliant databases, text files, Excel spreadsheets, Java classes, WSDL and Salesforce SOAP services, XML files, JDNI, and EBJ.

Architecture & Deployment

EspressReport ES is designed to leverage users' existing infrastructure investments.  It deploys completely within Java EE application environments, with no separate server-side application processes.  The following diagram illustrates the basic architecture of an ERES deployment.

The ERES server deploys as a servlet collection within an application server/servlet & JSP container.  Other servlets/JSPs can be deployed in the server to connect to, and retrieve information from the ERES server (like file names, schedule information, and scheduled reports/charts).  Database buffering allows report data to be re-used (within user-supplied parameters) for faster generation.

ERES can be deployed in a single server or in a clustered environment.  When running in a cluster, one server acts as a load balancer, and routes all incoming client requests to cluster members, while maintaining a common back-end file structure.  This configuration option allows ERES to scale to high-availability deployments with thousands of users.

Most server functions can be administered remotely, using a browser-based interface.  This allows administrators to manage users/groups, and configure the server from anywhere using only a Web browser.

End to End Security Management

EspressReport ES provides a powerful security framework to handle user/group privileges as well as report page and element level security.  ERES binds privileges to report developers using an ownership model that allows security to be enforced automatically as reporting implementations grow and change.

Users can integrate custom security models and users/groups with ERES.  ERES allows direct integration with users in LDAP systems, and stored in relation databases.  In addition ERES provides open server extensions that allow users to programmatically integrate any custom security model with the ERES architecture.

Beyond privileges, security features can be extended to report templates. Templates can be configured to have specific report elements or data columns change depending on which user/group is viewing the report. In addition filters can also be automatically applied to reports to enforce page level security.

EspressView - your dashboards on mobile

Data Visualization and BI Dashboard/Reporting on iPhones, iPads, and Android devices

EspressView is a mobile application for viewing dashboards, maps, reports and charts on iPad, iPhone, Android phones and tablets. You can now access critical information about your organizations anytime, anywhere on-the-go in a timely and secured manner without compromise.

You can easily thumb through the list of reports and dashboards developed on EspressReport® ES or EspressDashboard®. It fully supports interactive features such as applying filters, drilldown, drill-across, sorting, and alerts.

The comprehensive end-to-end security/privilege and role-based security feature ensure that the right information is delivered to the right users at the right time.