An Introduction to Microstrategy
Tutorial For Beginners
What is MicroStrategy?
An Introduction to Microstrategy
Business intelligence software called MicroStrategy provides a variety of data analytics features. It provides Banded Reports and Statements, Embedded BI, Data Visualisations, Advanced Analytics, and Data Discovery as a suite of apps. To obtain data for analysis, it can connect to a wide range of sources, including data warehouses, relational databases, flat files, web services, and many more. In the field of BI software, MicroStrategy is a market leader due to the features like effectively styled reports, ad hoc inquiry, thresholds and alerts, and automatic report distribution. According to Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, it is a visionary.
History of MicroStrategy
- MicroStrategy was established in 1989 with the idea that organizations would need to harness the potential of their data in the future.
- When MicroStrategy signed a $10 million contract with McDonald's in 1992, the company attracted its first significant customer.
- The relational OLAP solution suite for support of decision applications was introduced by the company in 1995.
- The first unique intelligence network was introduced by MicroStrategy in 1999. (Strategy.com)
- Users of Microsoft Office apps received Bl technology from MicroStrategy in 2004.
- For the purpose of optimizing dynamic MDX syntax, MicroStrategy released a Multidimensional Expressions engine in 2006.
- MicroStrategy improved the data discovery tools in Visual Insight in 2012.
- MicroStrategy launched robust analytics and mobility on Amazon Web Services in 2014.
- The MicroStrategy Desktop product became available to all users for free in 2016.
- With the launch of its native MicroStrategy Library Application for smartphones in 2018, MicroStrategy revolutionised visual data discovery.
How MicroStrategy Works?
It gives businesses access to the ability to evaluate and comprehend data from a range of sources and channels by combining, analyzing, and visualizing data simultaneously.
Users can mix and assess information from many sources to generate new insights.
By creating predictive models & automating procedures, MicroStrategy enables businesses to make quick, accurate data-driven decisions while providing access to, analysis of, and visualization of many types of information sources.
Recommended audience
Data Analysts, Business Intelligence Professionals, Business Users, Software architects, Executives and Managers, IT Professionals, Data Scientists, ETL developers, entry-level developers, and advanced data professionals can study MicroStrategy and create careers in visualization and analytics.
Why Should You Learn The MicroStrategy?
MicroStrategy is a powerful and versatile business intelligence and analytics platform that has gained immense popularity in the corporate world. Whether you are an aspiring data analyst, a seasoned business professional, or an IT enthusiast, learning MicroStrategy can prove to be an invaluable skill in today’s data-driven landscape.
MicroStrategy offers a comprehensive suite of business intelligence tools that cater to various data analysis and reporting needs. It allows users to access, analyze, and visualize data from multiple sources through interactive dashboards, reports, and scorecards. Understanding how to navigate and utilize the platform effectively can empower you to gain valuable insights and make informed decisions for your organization.
The need for experts with MicroStrategy expertise has increased recently across a variety of industries. Companies are seeking specialists who can use MicroStrategy to fully utilize their data as they become more and more aware of the value of data-driven decision-making. Learning this skill will help you stand out from the competition in the job market and provide you with interesting job opportunities.
Important Terms Used in MicroStrategy
Report Services Document (RSD)
An RSD is a document created within MicroStrategy to display and share information. It can contain one or more reports, dashboards, and other data visualizations. RSDs facilitate collaborative data analysis and presentation.
Embedded BI
Embedded BI refers to the integration of MicroStrategy's business intelligence capabilities directly into other applications or portals. With embedded BI, developers can seamlessly incorporate MicroStrategy's reports, dashboards, and data visualizations within third-party applications or existing software. This integration enables end-users to access relevant data insights and analytics without leaving their familiar work environments. By embedding MicroStrategy, organizations can provide their employees, partners, or customers with a unified and cohesive experience, enhancing productivity and decision-making efficiency.
Data Mining and Predictive Analysis
Data mining is a powerful technique within MicroStrategy that involves discovering patterns, correlations, and trends in large datasets. By applying data mining algorithms, analysts can uncover hidden insights that may not be immediately apparent through traditional reporting methods. Predictive analysis, on the other hand, utilizes historical data to create models and make data-driven predictions about future outcomes. MicroStrategy's data mining and predictive analysis capabilities empower organizations to make informed decisions, anticipate customer behavior, identify business opportunities, and mitigate potential risks.
Data Discovery
Data discovery is an essential aspect of MicroStrategy's self-service analytics offering. This feature enables users, including non-technical stakeholders, to explore data intuitively and iteratively. With data discovery, users can interact with the data, perform ad-hoc analyses, and create their own reports and visualizations without relying on IT or data experts. MicroStrategy's intuitive interface and drag-and-drop functionality allow users to navigate through data effortlessly, making data exploration and discovery more accessible and empowering end-users to find actionable insights on their own.
Real-time Dashboards
Real-time dashboards in MicroStrategy provide dynamic and up-to-the-minute data insights. These dashboards continuously update with the latest data, enabling users to monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) and critical business metrics in real-time. Real-time dashboards are particularly valuable for time-sensitive decision-making, as they ensure that users are working with the most current information available. By visualizing real-time data, organizations can respond swiftly to changes in market conditions, customer behavior, or operational performance, optimizing their business strategies accordingly.
Data Wrangling
Data wrangling, also known as data preparation or data cleansing, is an essential step in the data analysis process. MicroStrategy's data wrangling capabilities allow users to clean, transform, and enrich raw data from various sources before it is used for analysis. Data wrangling ensures that data is accurate, consistent, and formatted correctly, reducing the risk of errors and improving the overall data quality. MicroStrategy's data wrangling tools streamline the data preparation process, enabling analysts to spend more time on data analysis and less time on data cleaning tasks.
Library of Analytic Functions
MicroStrategy offers a comprehensive library of analytic functions that users can leverage to perform complex calculations and create customized analytical formulas. These functions cover a wide range of analytical capabilities, including mathematical operations, statistical calculations, and date manipulations. By utilizing the library of analytic functions, analysts can gain deeper insights from their data and build more sophisticated reports and dashboards. These functions empower users to perform advanced calculations and express business-specific formulas within their MicroStrategy projects, unlocking the platform's full analytical potential.
MicroStrategy Modules
MicroStrategy Analytics Enterprise
MicroStrategy Analytics Enterprise is the foundation of the platform and includes all the core features for business intelligence and analytics. It provides users with a comprehensive set of tools for data exploration, report creation, and dashboard development. This module serves as the gateway to data-driven decision-making, enabling users to access, analyze, and visualize data seamlessly.
MicroStrategy Mobile
The Mobile module extends MicroStrategy's capabilities to smartphones and tablets, offering a responsive and user-friendly experience on mobile devices. With MicroStrategy Mobile, decision-makers can access critical reports and dashboards on the go, enabling real-time insights and fostering a data-driven culture within the organization.
MicroStrategy Web
MicroStrategy Web is a powerful web-based module that allows users to interact with reports, dashboards, and analytical content from any web browser. With a user-friendly interface and self-service analytics capabilities, MicroStrategy Web empowers users to perform ad-hoc analysis and create personalized data visualizations.
MicroStrategy Architect
MicroStrategy Architect provides IT professionals and data architects with the tools to design, build, and maintain the metadata and data models within MicroStrategy projects. This module ensures data consistency, governs data definitions, and optimizes the performance of the platform.
MicroStrategy Library
The MicroStrategy Library module is a centralized repository for storing and sharing analytical content across the organization. It allows users to organize and manage reports, dashboards, and documents in a secure and collaborative environment. The Library module facilitates seamless content sharing and version control, promoting efficiency and consistency in data analysis.
MicroStrategy Express
MicroStrategy Express is a specialized module tailored for small to medium-sized businesses or departments that require rapid and cost-effective deployment of business intelligence and analytics solutions. With MicroStrategy Express, organizations can benefit from a streamlined and simplified version of the MicroStrategy platform, specifically designed to cater to their scale and budgetary constraints. Despite its smaller footprint, MicroStrategy Express still offers powerful data analysis, visualization, and reporting capabilities, enabling businesses to make data-driven decisions without compromising on performance and functionality.
MicroStrategy Command Manager
MicroStrategy Command Manager is a command-line interface tool that enables administrators to automate administrative tasks and execute batch processes in MicroStrategy. With Command Manager, administrators can create scripts that automate various tasks, such as user management, security configurations, and data loading processes. This module significantly enhances administrative efficiency and allows administrators to manage complex tasks with ease, saving time and reducing the likelihood of manual errors.
Advantages of Using MicroStrategy
Comprehensive Business Intelligence Solutions
One of the primary advantages of MicroStrategy is its comprehensive suite of business intelligence solutions. From data discovery and visualization to advanced analytics and predictive modeling, MicroStrategy covers a wide range of analytical functionalities. This all-in-one platform minimizes the need for organizations to invest in multiple tools, simplifying their analytics infrastructure and reducing complexity.
Scalable and High-Performance Architecture
MicroStrategy's architecture is designed to handle large volumes of data and serve thousands of users concurrently. Its scalable design allows organizations to expand their analytics capabilities as their data and user demands grow. The platform's in-memory technology, Intelligent Cubes, and data caching mechanisms ensure high performance and responsiveness, enabling users to access critical insights swiftly.
Ease of Use and Self-Service Analytics
MicroStrategy's user-friendly interface and intuitive design make it accessible to a broad range of users, including business analysts and non-technical stakeholders. The platform's self-service analytics capabilities empower users to explore data, create ad-hoc reports, and develop interactive dashboards without heavy reliance on IT or technical support. This fosters a data-driven culture within organizations, where insights are readily accessible to decision-makers.
Mobile Analytics
In an increasingly mobile world, MicroStrategy's mobile analytics capabilities stand out as a significant advantage. The platform's mobile app enables users to access reports and dashboards on smartphones and tablets, facilitating real-time data analysis and decision-making on the go. This empowers users to stay informed and act promptly, even when they are away from their desks.
Seamless Integration and Extensibility
MicroStrategy offers a rich set of APIs and connectors, making it highly adaptable and easily integrable with other applications, data sources, and platforms. This enables organizations to embed MicroStrategy's analytics seamlessly into their existing workflows, whether in CRM systems, ERP solutions, or custom applications. The platform's extensibility ensures that businesses can tailor MicroStrategy to their specific needs.
Advanced Analytics and Predictive Modeling
MicroStrategy goes beyond traditional reporting and offers advanced analytics and predictive modeling capabilities. Data scientists and analysts can leverage data mining, statistical modeling, and machine learning algorithms to discover patterns, make predictions, and uncover valuable insights hidden within their data. This empowers organizations to make proactive and data-backed decisions.
Cost-Effective Licensing Model
MicroStrategy's flexible licensing model caters to the needs of businesses of all sizes. The platform offers various licensing options, including user-based, CPU-based, and concurrent-user licenses, allowing organizations to choose the most suitable and cost-effective option for their needs.
Real-Time Data Monitoring
MicroStrategy's real-time data monitoring capabilities allow users to track key performance indicators (KPIs) and business metrics in real-time. Organizations can set alerts and notifications to proactively respond to critical events or deviations from predefined thresholds.
Various Objects in MicroStrategy
Configuration Objects
Configuration Objects in MicroStrategy are used to set up and manage system-wide settings and configurations. These objects define various parameters, preferences, and behaviors that apply across the entire MicroStrategy environment. Configuration Objects include system preferences, project defaults, and connection settings to databases and data sources. They allow administrators to customize MicroStrategy to align with organizational requirements and ensure consistent behavior across the platform.
Schema Objects
Schema Objects in MicroStrategy define the logical data model that represents the structure of data within a project. These objects include schema tables, facts, attributes, and relationships. Schema Objects enable the organization and categorization of data, ensuring that data is organized efficiently for reporting and analysis. Designing a well-structured schema is crucial for optimized data access and performance in MicroStrategy.
Report Objects
Report Objects encompass a wide range of elements used in creating reports within MicroStrategy. These objects include grids, graphs, subtotals, and custom calculations. Report Objects are used to arrange and present data in a meaningful and actionable manner. With a variety of formatting options, users can customize the appearance and layout of reports to suit their specific needs.
Public Objects
Public Objects are shared objects accessible to multiple users across different projects within MicroStrategy. They can include shared metrics, attributes, filters, and templates that are commonly used across the organization. Public Objects promote consistency and collaboration, as they allow users to leverage and reuse existing objects, reducing duplication of effort and ensuring standardized reporting practices.
Summary
MicroStrategy is a brand of business intelligence software. Supported features include interactive dashboards, Microsoft Office integration, ad hoc queries, and more.
With MicroStrategy’s assistance, you may integrate with already-existing business applications and systems.
It offers the most user scalability.
Data wrangling is the process of cleaning and transforming data into a format that can be easily altered to produce business insights.
Data silos from multiple sources have been joined using data discovery.
Data mining tools like report designers make it feasible to create reports for predictive analytics.
Using the library, you may link data, performance metrics, and statistical analysis results to analytical functions.
The flexible visualization library allows you to use the visualization builder or construct new visualization forms.
Using the real-time dashboard, you may work with live data.
Connections to WebSphere, NetWeaver, SharePoint, etc. are possible with MicroStrategy’s embedded business intelligence solution.
The Mstr Architecture is built on three layers.
Configuration, Report, Schema, and Public are significant objects used in MicroStrategy.
Predictive analytics are carried out using MicroStrategy in the insurance and banking sectors.