Skip to main content

Oracle Data Visualization Desktop (DVD)


Oracle Data Visualization Desktop (DVD) has been released and now all the BI Bloggers including myself who did not get a beta copy are scrambling to review and post their thoughts.
The functionality of Data Visualization is not new the Business Analytic tools offered by Oracle.  OBIEE 12c and BI Cloud Services (BICS) have Visual Analyzer Projects and then there is Data Visualization Cloud Service (DVCS).  But Data Visualization Desktop (DVD) is Oracle's truly first direct to any data source desktop tool since the days of Interactive Reporting.
Now full disclosure, I am a true fan of Interactive Reporting.  I cut my business intelligence teeth on Brio 6.0 back almost 18 years ago.  I really like Interactive Reporting.  It provided direct access to almost any database via ODBC and could import local data files.  You had graphical data modeling, query and analysis and dashboards along with paginated reporting. All in All it was and I argue still is a great tool.  

But in the age of acquisitions Oracle made a decision to take its acquisition of Siebel Analytics and make it the new face of Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition. Unfortunately, Interactive Reporting which came along a few months later with the acquisition of Hyperion became the "Redheaded Stepchild" and was relegated to "Not a Strategic Product" along with SQR and Web Analysis.
Alright…enough of nostalgia lane!

The Desktop install comes with two sample datasets and sample Visual Analyzer Project to showcase some of the features and capabilities.

The part the interested me the most was direct to data access.

The Data Sources panel provides access to existing Data Sources, capabilities to create new data sources and manage connections.

Clicking Create New Data Source brings up the following dialog.

From a File is self explanatory and nice way to include non-curated data in an analysis.  

From Oracle Applications is interesting, if you read the print below the option you see 

 "Select an Analysis containing the data you want to visualize."
 
 Looking at this Option I see that I can connect to an existing OBIEE instance.
 
After setting connection information and Signing in I see the OBIEE catalog I have access to
 
 
Navigating to an analysis
 
Reviewing and retrieving the data from the analysis
 
 My analysis is now a data source that can be used
 
My Data Source in a Visual Analyzer Project
 
The option to create data source from Database provides access to a large number of databases
 
Connecting to the database I can see the tables
 

Selected table is displayed and the columns can be inspected.
 
The data source is imported into DVD and is available for building a VA Project.
 
To add more data sources you can add in the Data Sources interface or you can add within the Visual Analyzer Project.
 

Adding requires you to go through the steps of creating a data source, picking a data source type and if the database already has connection then selecting the table. 
 
When the data source is added from within VA Project a wizard drives how that table will be used - Extend a Fact or Extend a Dimension.  If Extend a Dimension then the matching column is established.

 
Looking at the Source Diagram the relationship link is displayed.
 
 
Dimensions can be extended as well.
 
And when additional supporting dimensions are added and a complete model is built for the project the relationships of the data sources is more evident.
 
Now the diagram may be a bit confusing with some thinking that there are joins between all the tables but if you look closely you see the darker lines with numeric value showing actual joins.
 
 
So, my first impressions are that it is an easy tool to navigate and get into data analysis rather quickly.  I like that I can create multiple data sources from many different sources and add them into a VA Project.
 
I would like to see the ability to add more than one data source at a time. 
 
There will be many more blog posts by others in the weeks to follow and I look forward to their impressions.
 
 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

O2C Cycle with Accounting Entries

  ORDER    TO  CASH  PARTICULARS  DR  CR SPL NOTES ACCOUNT IS PULLED FROM Sales order entry No Accounting Sales Order Pick From Sub Inventory A/c 100 At Standard Cost Sub-inventory Material A/c Setup To Sub Inventory A/c 100 At Standard Cost(Staging) Sub-inventory Material A/c Setup Sales Order Issue COGS 100 It can be fetched from five places Master Item/Org/Order Type/Line Type/Shipping Params To Sub Inventory A/c 100 At Standard Cost Sub-inventory Material A/c Setup Transaction level Receivable A/c 120 Auto Accounting Tax A/c 10 Auto Accounting Freight A/c 10 Auto Accounting Revenue A/c 100 Auto Accounting Receipts Receipts with no remittance method Cash 100 Before application of the receipt Receipt class Unapplied A/c 100 Receipt class Unapplied A/c 100 After application of the receipt to the transaction Receipt class Receivables A/c 100 Receipt class Cash A/c 100 Receipt class Unidentified A/c 100 In case of receipt without customer...
Post a Comment
Read more

Number to Word conversion in RTF

<?xdofx: expression ?> for extended SQL functions <?xdoxslt: expression ?> for extended XSL functions. You cannot mix xdofx statements with XSL expressions in the same context This function enables the conversion of numbers to words for RTF template output. This is a common requirement for check printing. The new function is “to_check_number”. The syntax of this function is <?xdofx:to_check_number(amount, precisionOrCurrency, caseType, decimalStyle)?> The following table describes the function attributes:   Attribute Description Valid Value amount The number to be transformed. Any number precisionOrCurrency For this attribute you can specify either the precision, which is the number of digits after the decimal point; or the currency code, which will govern the number of digits after the decimal point. The currency code does not generate a currency symbol in the output. An integer, such as 2; or a currency code, such as ‘USD’. caseType The case type of th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Oracle Fusion Cloud: Supplier Import Process using File Based Data Import (FBDI)

 Supplier Data Migration or Upload to Oracle Fusion environment File-Based Data Import for Oracle Procurement Cloud Supplier import in oracle fusion   In this post , We will discuss about Supplier import in oracle fusion. Oracle has provided the FBDI tool to import suppliers from External  Source  to the Oracle fusion. Supplier Import in Oracle fusion we first need to  Download  the Supplier Import FDBI  templates  given by the Oracle fusion to import suppliers. Oracle has given 5 Different FBDI templates to Import supplier in Fusion. Here in this post , I will share the Complete steps for Supplier import in oracle fusion. You can refer this post for Supplier Import.   Steps for Supplier import in oracle fusion     Step1- First we need to download Supplier Data  Template  from Oracle Repository. Go to this path for Oracle Repository. ( select Based on your Cloud version) https://docs.oracle.com/en/...
Post a Comment
Read more