Sequel Data Access

Analyze and Deliver Data with an IBM i Data Access Solution

Organizations count on their IT departments to provide accurate data in a timely manner. Today, that includes providing business users with on-demand access for analyzing and visualizing data. But too often, organizations fall back on outdated tools and manual processes that are not up to the task. Fortunately, Sequel Data Access provides an end-to-end solution that will satisfy technical staff and business users alike by providing fast, practical, and powerful BI options.

EASY START UP

Your IT department can have Sequel Data Access up and running in under an hour. From there, it only take minutes to import and improve existing queries from Query/400, making functions like downloading to Excel immediately available. Creating new queries with Sequel is quick and easy whether you have skilled SQL technical staff, experienced query creators, or novice users. With Sequel, IT departments have a tool that helps them keep up with data access requests and provides a business intelligence environment for the wider organization.

Modern Data Analysis with Dashboards and Reporting

Executive dashboards and modern reporting options turn data into useful information for decision makers and business users. Dashboards provide important business metrics along with the ability to work with and visualize data. Reporting options in Sequel Data Access offer the ability to easily and graphically design reports. Reports can be saved on IBM i, printed from a PC, viewed through displays, sent via email or output to PDF and other formats. 

Modern Data Analysis with Drill-Down and Pivoting

Sequel Data Access offers dynamic or fixed-path drill-down analysis. Drill-down lets business users analyze data more effectively by moving from summary information to detailed data in just a few clicks. Dynamic drill-down is powerful for decision makers who need to move in directions that cannot always be anticipated. Fixed-path drill-down is excellent for providing a guided path through levels of data for other business users. Plus, Sequel pivot tables make it easy to slice and dice data on the fly, so questions can be answered quickly, and data can be viewed in many different ways. Sequel host tables provide the ability to organize and categorize large volumes of data in seconds. Sometimes host tables are used in scheduled jobs for preparing data for data marts and data warehouses.

Exceptional Integration with Microsoft Excel

Business users love Microsoft Excel, and Sequel makes it easy to access, analyze, and deliver data in Excel. With Sequel, you can:

• Use Excel as a data source
• Access data in Excel with the Viewpoint Excel Add-In
• View data results on demand directly in Excel
• Automate the delivery of data results in Excel via a scheduled job
• Download to Excel from almost every panel in Sequel Data Access

Secure User Empowerment

IT departments can be assured that Sequel provides secure data access. Sequel Data Access operates on existing IBM i authority or authority that can be set up if none exists. Simply choose the level of security that is needed: library, file, field, or row-level.

Remote Database Access from IBM i

Today’s business environments often require the ability to access and merge data from multiple types of databases. Use Sequel Data Access from a central IBM i server to access data from Db2 for i as well as remote databases, including: Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, Db2, Oracle, MySQL, and others.

One-Click Data Delivery in Many Formats

Throughout Sequel, it only takes one click to deliver data in the format that business users need—whether it’s Excel, PDF, other database formats, screen displays, spooled file reports, or printouts. Business users can decide at run-time what they need to do. And, IT can provide the data via scheduled jobs for recurring requests.  

Diverse Interface Options

Use Sequel Data Access where it meets business needs. Integrate requests in green screen menus, schedule jobs from an IBM i scheduler, run from the Sequel Viewpoint Windows interface, deploy to users from a browser, or use from the Excel add-in. The variety of interface options available in Sequel Data Access makes it easy for any type of user—technical or business—to navigate and access key business data.

Real World BI

IBM i shops run with lean teams who often have business users clamoring for data requests and access. Sequel Data Access is the tool that can satisfy both IT and business users. Here are a few real-world examples: 

• Run-time prompts allow on-demand entering of changing information like date ranges, lists of customers, products, orders, etc.
• Put dashboards in distribution centers on big screens to visualize KPIs like orders shipped status
• Schedule jobs for delivering Excel spreadsheets on a recurring basis
• Customize dashboards by user, department, and more
• Provide sales representatives with pivot tables showings up- to-date sale and customers for easy access from the PC or web page
• Provide decision makers with a link to a specialized dashboard for seeing things like today’s sales vs. yesterday vs. same day last year
• Use Sequel scripting for multiple-step action to merge data from multiple types of databases
• And that’s just the beginning. There’s so much more you can do with Sequel!