Shouldn’t Data Access Be Easier?

Yes.

Data access should be easier. But for too long, traditional data access tools have failed to deliver the quality data that organizations need. It might not be accurate. It likely requires IT to access the data. And it is basically impossible for IT (or end users) to access data in the formats they prefer.

Sound familiar?

You don’t have to settle for the same old inefficient data access any more. There’s a better way—and an easier way—to access your data, both on the IBM i and other platforms.

In this on-demand webinar, Senior Data Access Consultant Mike Stegeman discussed three easy ways to save time by accessing IBM i data with Sequel.

See easy data access for yourself. Watch the webinar >

For IT environments without an IBM i, Insite Analytics provides a way to access, query, and build dashboards with your data, simply and quickly.

1. Get Accurate Data Fast

Data means nothing if it’s not accurate. And it’s about time you stop wasting time and money on inaccurate data.

What makes data accurate?

For one, it needs to be time-sensitive. Even last night’s data is too old to use for decision-making. You need up-to-the-minute data so you can make smart business decisions faster. You don’t want to be acting on yesterday’s news.

For another, there is no room for error in your data. One small mistake can lead to serious consequences. Imagine a decimal point is missed and monthly sales are shown as $1,234,567 instead of $12,345.67. That’s a massive difference with serious ramifications on how your company makes decisions.

Data is updated in Sequel in real-time, so you can always be certain you’re looking at up-to-the-minute numbers. And, Sequel pulls in data from IBM i and remote databases like Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle. By pulling together remote data, you can be ensured that your data is as accurate as possible.

With Insite Analytics, you get real-time data just by refreshing your dashboards. Setting up any data source is simple and quick for IT, pulling data from any relational database installed on Windows or Linux servers. Make business decisions with the most accurate data right in front of you, represented in charts, graphs, and tables—whatever way makes the most sense for the data.

2. Get All of Your Data from One Tool

IT are so often the gatekeepers of data access. And traditional tools both slow IT down and lock end users out.

Why is this a problem?

IT departments have a lot on their plates. And a clunky data access tool makes it take that much longer to get the data they need. IT doesn’t even have the option to let users access it for themselves. So the burden remains on their plate.

Insite Analytics tackles that problem by being simple from start to finish. IT pros can set up data sources in minutes for business users. Power users can pull together reports just by selecting their data source and choosing what ways they want it to interact. Users who want to make their own SQL statements can import them, yet a business user who knows their data can build a report just as easily. 

With Sequel, data access is intuitive and easy. Everyone can use the same tool for data access—no technical know-how (i.e., SQL coding) required. IT can access data faster—without writing any code. End users can even comfortably use Sequel. All you need to access data with Sequel is basic Windows skills—which pretty much everyone has these days.

3. Get Data in PC Friendly Formats

Accessing data in a green screen isn’t for everyone. Programmers might love it, but end users definitely don’t. They’d prefer to see it in a Windows interface. Even better, they’d like it in Excel.

But, with traditional data access tools, the green screen is the only option.

Is data access even possible in Excel?

With your old school data access tools? Nope. With Sequel? Absolutely.

Sequel offers a few different easy ways to access data in Sequel. You can work with your data in Sequel and then save the results for your users to access in Excel. Or you can even access your Sequel data directly in Excel using the Excel Plug-In. You can even turn it directly over to your end users to access Sequel data in Excel.

Essentially, whichever tool fits your setup better, Insite Analytics and Sequel make business intelligence easier and within reach of the people who need it.