There are indeed many reasons Prism is a viable option for a business looking for a suitable BI tool that will meet its needs. Unlike many other popular BI tools available in the market, this product is efficient and it takes less time for most tasks to be completed…

Indeed Prism is perfect for large companies with huge volumes of data to handle.

Hello Does Infrared360 support mobile devices? And, how would you rate its level of performance?

The comparison between Incapsula and CloudFlare is quite evident. In your own opinion as a general deduction of this constructive analysis of these two products, which one is better than the other?

Microsoft BI provides excellent performance and affordable BI solutions to all potential businesses that need top notch BI tools. Moreover, it can easily be integrated with existing platforms or infrastructure in the company or business seeking the service.

VMware ESXi allows for excellent management of host resources such as memory and CPU processing time.

ESXi is certainly the best!

That's for sure @Kleegeek.

Hello Before settling for Microstrategy, you did look into Tableau. Can you please point out the reasons that led you into opting for Microstrategy and not Tableau. Thank you

With all the cons you have listed, I definitely must avoid this product, Oracle VM. Which alternative do you recommend?

Microstrategy is big time! Everything has gone mobile. It is not communication, apps, etc etc. Business software products or programs by different brands are not left behind either (unless Microsoft BI tools).

The fact that the licensing is server based and cost effective makes it perfect for SMBs and SMEs. Completely agree.

Actually, it is just a matter of choosing what works for your company or business because what might work for company X might not work for company Y.

It is a shame (sorry to say) that the big giant has not yet gone mobile with their BI solutions in this modern age where technology has made mobile very handy!

When benefits are great, costs barely count.

I am a fan of Microsoft and totally love this write-up. Thanks Robert. Giving back to education and organizations that run for non-profits is a good way of giving back to the society at large.

About one of the cons of Proxmox VE: What's with the performance of MS windows that is not good?

Speed is quite something and a plus for this product.

Hello What are some of the hardware systems that are compatible with VMware ESXi?

Thank you for the explanation. With the functions Logi Info is best at in mind, when should a business consider buying and implementing this specific BI tool and not any other? Thank you.

vSphere is indeed the best in the market as a result of its web interface and compatibility with different OS (among other excellent features). Web based programs and applications are the in thing in the modern market of this kind.

@Kapilmalik1983 - I agree. Recurring costs are just as essential as that of purchasing the product.

That is really wonderful. With more users covered per license simply means Logi Info is more cost effective and thus perfect for SME or start-up businesses Apart from the licensing model and the deployment flexibility as well as speed of this product, what can you say…

I do agree with the Gartner Magic Quadrant for BI. Although the licensing costs might be low and Microsoft products can come with incentives depending on the client in question, it is important to consider the general costs that span long term use of the product. I also…

It is indeed true that a business should find a suitable BI product or any other type depending on their individual requirements. However, it is possible to find more than one suitable product by different brands. When this happens, it becomes imperative to compare the…

The limitation to running on Mac platforms is quite a disadvantage to the many large companies using this kind of OS for their machines. Luckily there are many other alternative virtualization productss in the market that provide similar or better features.

Can you please elaborate more on the licensing model of Logi Info. To be more specific, what you like about it.

Just like MySQL, SQL is very easy to use or program when creating databases. In fact, with some knowledge of either one of the database programs, one can easily use the other without much difficulties.

The best part or feature of vSphere in terms of utilization for non-technical users is the fact that it is not just simple to use but also very user friendly,

vSPhere version 5.1 and other later releases enable for access from different platforms and not just Windows-based systems only,

@Kapilmalik - That's some good rating there. ESXi deserves it. What, according to your opinion (based on your personal experience using the products) makes ESXi more interesting than either the Oracle VM or Xen?

Ease of customization and flexibility of SAP Business Objects make it very appealing. Formulas, sub-reports as well as various options for data sources for this BI product.

Logi Info is one of the best BI tools that does not require technical experience, hence anyone can have them installed on their computers and get to use them,

What businesses need is a product that performs well and delivers its promise to the latter.

Well that is right Kapilmalik. If an open source program has all the necessary features a business needs then why spend more?

It is worth noting that most good products come with a license to authorize their use.

@Armin - Thank you for the response. The trial version is only good for businesses that are not sure of the virtualization product to opt for. A business that knows what entails the VMware Workstation should not use the trial version but pay for the product license…

@kapilmalik1983 - If a product is not designed as an open source program, one must pay for its license unless they have enough dollars to pay in fines when caught. However, can you explain how this is possible?

@Kleegeek - Thanks for your response @ctsanders - Thanks for the well explained response. It is very clear, hence self explanatory. However, I disagree on just one thing 'Ok, if price is your only reason for purchasing a product, then you may need to rethink your career…

Great information for businesses looking to backup their data or just some great tips to apply to their backup efforts using VMware ESXi.

I cannot seem to find the answer to the title of this post? Am I mistaken?

It is completely true that while a certain BI product (or any other product for that matter) can work for a particular business, it might fail in another. This is due to the fact that a perfect solution for any business is influenced by various factors such as infrastructure…

Scalability is an important feature of virtualization services that is needed majorly by small enterprises that have room for growth. With this, entrepreneurs new in the business world have no reason to worry about running out of resources because they can easily adjust to…

Hello Kleegeek What is your take on the cost of vSphere in comparison to other alternative virtualization products available in the market. If the cost of virtualization products in the market decreases way below that of vSphere in the future, would you still have the same…

When a business enterprise is aware of their specific BI needs, they are in a position to select the right tool for that. With that, they can tell whether Microstrategy or Tableau is the best choice for their business.

The user friendly nature of server virtualization software makes it easy to install, configure and use it.

Although cost is an important factor when it comes to businesses, the resulting outcome is what one should be more concerned about. This is because any purchases made by a business should always be considered a form of investment.

When issues with reports are encountered, time is bound to be lost.

This is not a program for use by just anybody. Therefore, one must have some technical knowledge and skills background in order to learn how to use this.

Hello FLPylot Can you be precise and tell us more about the new found functionality of VVM and let us know?

Precise but to the point. Program support is very important to businesses because they are bound to encounter bugs from time to time. This makes Cognos Enterprise very viable and appealing to its users. Various businesses across the globe utilize different operating…

In the modern world, almost everything that has something to do with technology is going mobile. Portable mobile devices are really selling across the globe. There is also a significant increase in the use of these devices; not just amongst individuals but also businesses. I…

I would not agree with you more vicepres5211. They say that cheap is expensive and expensive is cheap. Although MicroStrategy is expensive, no other cheaper BI alternative tools can beat its capabilities and features. Therefore, it's cheaper in the long run despite initial…

Gartner is indeed right. Most businesses across the globe are small and medium enterprises that continue to grow faster than larger companies. The majority of these businesses do not have so much to spend, hence opt for cheaper products in the market that fit within their…

I am evaluating Microstrategy and partly agree with the Magic Quadrant report released last year in February. If a business can afford this product then its benefits in the long run is what matters (it should be worth the investment and sure is). Many businesses are in a…

MicroStrategy is the best option for Business Intelligence needs of different organizations irrespective of their sizes mostly due to its enhanced features and capabilities (leading to great performance) as compared to other BI tools available in the market. Visualization is…

Those are enough reasons for a new business that is spoilt for choice to opt for MicroStrategy for their BI needs. Thank you Singh,

Great Ali. That is another advantage to the Microsoft BI product against their competitors.

Hi Henry Could you elaborate on what makes the 5th version vSphere much better than the 4th version. Any added features and capabilities? Thanks

Hello Armin Due to the additional costs that come with implementation of vCenter, would you recommend ESXi to a budding small enterprise that is not yet financially stable? Is it worthwhile? Thank you

Most small businesses try as much as possible to save any penny they can. However, if many of such businesses have implemented ESXi virtualization program irrespective of the additional expenses that come with purchasing vCenter then it is indeed an excellent software with…

@Kapilmalik1983.....That is indeed good enough...medium to large sized organizations have room to breath when their businesses grow. If all the pros are indeed true then the high cost of licenses is nothing, making the virtualization program worth all the efforts and…

Hello Jonathon Would you advise a completely new business to adopt and make use of Hyper-V? Any challenges or problems to expect? Thank you

Hello Thomas Would you kindly differentiate shared storage that is based on blocks from one that is based on files because these two underlying technologies are critical to the performance of Hyper-V virtual machine as well as SMB. Flexibility, costs and technology play a…

Hello Marcos Will the enhanced feature of Hyper-V 2012 R2 save on any costs? If yes would you kindly elaborate on that (how it will actually save on costs)? Thank you

It is essential to look around and compare various virtualization products before opting for a single product in order to get the best solution in the market.

VMware ESXi is not just an alternative virtualization product to VMware Server but a better choice in terms of functionality and scope of features.

Precise but to the point. VMware Server is an excellent virtulization product. However, lack of support since the end of June in 2011 was quite a blow. This has seen many businesses switch to use VMware ESX for their virtualization needs.

Can you rate this product on a scale of 1-10 based on your experience using it?

Despite the high cost and limitation of where VMware Workstation can be applied, would you trade it for an alternative virtualization product? Why not?

Updates always come with better features and bug fixes, hence the reason it is essential to keep all programs and not just vSphere up-to-date. Excellent review that is easy to understand even by users new to this virtualization program.

Are there any problems you have encountered in the deployment and utilization of vSphere? If yes, can you outline them and how you solved or overcame the problems.

What could businesses ever do without open source programs? This is one of the many free programs that let businesses and individuals appreciate the role of open source programs. Free does not necessarily mean ineffective. Very clear and detailed review here on KVM…

A good investment for any business without funds to invest in several servers but have some to spare for virtualization services. Despite its high cost, VMware is worth all the money invested in it due to the fact that it is not just easy to configure, install and maintain…

I see that you also have experience using VMware Server in addition to VMware ESXi. Would you recommend VMware Server or ESXi to prospective businesses looking for a virtualization solution for their budding businesses? If yes, what would be your reason Secondly, on a…

VMware Server is popular for several reasons It supports various platforms that can run on the same server machine. This means that users running machines on different operating systems can easily access server spaces without having compatibility issues. It is free and…

The world has gone mobile with not just individuals but also people opting to use portable gadgets. The fact that mobile devices are designed with better features every single day has also contributed to its universal popularity. With more and more businesses adopting the…

Tableau is a BI tool that is perfect for small and medium enterprises that probably do not even have an IT department to handle their complex BI needs. With this tool, the businesses are good to go since the program is very easy to use and so learning it is also very simple…

Entrepreneurs who run small businesses have another reason to smile or keep smiling. However, doesn't it seem like other clients will be locked out from using this great product in the making? My reasons entail the fact that the Power BI is designed for compatibility with…

The frequent update of reports makes integration of TM1 and Cognos Business tool more desirable and efficient than earlier versions of the program with no such features. However, this new product needs improvement in certain areas such as report validation through…

Logi Info works through virtualization to ensure its purpose. It is user friendly, cost-effective with little to no maintenance required, easy to install and configure and excellent customer support services, making it highly reliable and very responsive; this makes it easy…

Using QlikView on cloud would drastically reduce a company's costs in terms of hardware acquisition and increase performance.

Many great features, high performance and enhanced functionality are the three main attributes of QlikView that increase its effectiveness and efficiency, making it a perfect tool for analyzing data.

QlikView can be used with or without data warehousing. This is enabled by the fact that this BI tool stores data in memory rather than disks. This in turn facilitates the rate of accessing the stored data. The fact that there exists various memory capacities allow data of…

The fact that QlikView is less visual than Tableau makes it more appealing to developers than users. Users find products not visually appealing difficult to use, hence resort to using Tableau if need be. A good explanation is the fact that visually appealing applications are…

Thank you for the great information you have shared. However, I got a simple question. If Microsoft indeed has several BI products, does that give them any competitive advantage over their competitors? And, does that make their products any better in terms of functionality?

One reason Microsoft has a competitive advantage over other developers of Business Intelligence tools is the fact that it is a well established and known brand throughout the globe. Due to this fact, their products are easily trusted by businesses and individuals that have…

There are various reasons why QlikView continues to shine in the BI tools market. It is easy to use in the sense that users do not require prior skills and knowledge in order to make use of it Developers do not have to be geeks in using this tool in order to come up with…

Thanks Peter for the great range of tips for using Microsoft BI tool. They are indeed a must-read for all developers and novice users of this great tool for businesses.

Thank you for the excellent information on the two BI tools. However, would you recommend Microstrategy or Tableau to a new user (company)? It could be a new company that is not yet sure of their exact needs when it comes to opting for a certain tool for their BI needs…

I have never used this product but it appears perfect for visualization of data. I got two questions: Is it user friendly? And, does it have a mobile version for use with portable devices? That might just be the motivation I need to study Tableau on my own.

The difference is very clear. I would like to add that while Cognos Enterprise can work for one business or company, it might not work for another due to various factors. For instance, a company with an IT professional can easily use Business Objects and one that needs to…

Thank you for the brief yet critical information about SAP Business Objects. Generally, a good program is one that is easy to use and achieves the purpose for which it was developed. Business Objects qualifies as such for its attributes mentioned above by this author. In…

SpagoBI is an excellent Business Intelligent solution for new businesses, SMEs and companies looking for more than just the usual capabilities of BI tools like generation of reports and summarization of data. This is due to the fact that it is available free of charge (only…

Great. Cognos Enterprise is in deed a perfect tool for data summarization and report generation. Moreover, upgrades to later versions for those using earlier versions is always recommended for better features that are improved for enhanced performance in addition to access…

The world has gone mobile with most people and companies, if not all, opting for portable devices even if they are not on the go. In deed Microsoft is missing out on a great potential to do business, hence should avail a mobile version as soon as possible just as they…

There is something I find nagging about Dropbox; this might be an advantage to other users. Whenever I plug in an external media to my computer, this program instantly detects photos available and a message pops up asking If I would like to export them to my dropbox folder…

I have used this program for several years (designing the databases and managing them), there is something I have never tried out. Is it possible to export an existing mySQL database to another database program like maybe SQL?

What can you say about the security and stability of this program? How would you rate it against other tools for Business Intelligence?

Is it possible to use Azure with other non-Microsoft enterprise solutions or are there compatibility issues? In case it is not possible, which other alternative can you recommend to SME businesses that are looking for a cheaper alternative with almost similar capabilities of…

Users require extensive knowledge to use this product as it is not designed for ease of use. Moreover, the product is not given the support it needs. It also take determination, patience and interest to completely understand how Business Objects work. The software requires…

Course on STAS - I was totally new in using this program back in 2008. I took a course that lasted approximately three months. Although this SPSS program seemed somehow difficult at first, it was not in the long run. For those without knowledge of this software can take up a…

Magento is among the toughest eCommerce design products I have ever tried to use. Any tips to go about using it?

One of the many problems or challenges faced by the small and medium enterprises is lack of capital or funds. Owners of such businesses need solutions that are not just tailored for their specific needs but also affordable to them. Acronis Backup and Recovery is one of the…

There is a free network monitoring tool known as Wireshark that is just perfect at what it does best, monitoring how networks perform. Therefore, why should any network administrator consider Network Performance Monitor when they have a free option that works well. In short…

I suppose when he says non 'packet heads', he means people with no networking skills who do not understand what packets are and how they traverse networks from one end machine to another host on a different network Wireshark can help network administrators monitor their…

Symantec Endpoint security is very cost-effective due to the various features and functions it can perform. With capabilities ranging from protecting both hardware and software components of a system from phishing, intrusions into networks or hacking, among other computer…

Indeed MySQL is an excellent database development open source program. From my point of view and experience using this program, it is the easiest to use and simplest to learn. The coding is just simple. However, I got a question When compared to SQL Server, how would you…

As a single-platform business intelligence program, Business Objects is not just designed for flexibility and scalability but also for performance. This ensures that it can be deployed for its resources to be accessed easily by various users. In short, its design and…

The kind of technical support offered to customers/users using OBIEE is not just poor but pathetic; Oracle needs to do more on this. However, the benefits of using this software ( the ability to integrate it with other products) surpasses the lack of good customer support…

Yes, SAP Business Objects is scalable and flexible with great performance. But, why do many users have problems using this program whenever they upgrade their browsers? This is more so common when the Firefox is upgraded to the 10.0 or any other new versions. What is the…

The various features of SAS Business Intelligence ranging from visualization, the web report generator and stored processes to OLAP Cube and dashboards are designed to ensure ease of access, performance, reliability & availability, prompt recognition of reviews and reports…