Why this blog?

Finding information from Oracle/Hyperion can be difficult as you search the thousands of pages of documentation. So I'm creating this blog with all of my tables and matrices for the Oracle Hyperion products. Questions like - How does Smart View compare to the Excel add-in? When should I use Financial Reporting or Web Analysis? I thought I would share this information with you in the simple format of tables and maybe a few bullet points. So no lengthy paragraphs on this blog... but hopefully some helpful Oracle Hyperion information.

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Excel Add-in vs. Smart View 9.3.1 - Essbase Analysis

Have you made the switch from our beloved Excel Add-in to the Smart View Add-in? I've been slow to make the change too (I love the Excel Add-in and can use it in my sleep). But Smart View 9.3.1 makes a compelling case and version 11 seals the deal for me (feature comparison for 11.1.1 coming soon). Here is a side-by-side comparison of the Excel Add-in vs. Smart View (for Essbase) features:

Excel Add-in 9.3.1

Smart View Add-in – Essbase 9.3.1

Drill Capabilities

Yes

Yes

Keep only, Remove Only

Yes

Yes

Member Selection

Yes

Yes

Query Designer

Yes

Yes (different)

Retain Formulas

Yes (must select formula preservation)

Yes (by default)

Formatted Reports

Yes

Yes

Cell Text / LROs

Yes

No

Adjust function

No

Yes

DTS

Yes

Yes

Substitution Variables

Yes

No; Coming Soon

Member name referenced in a linked formula

Yes

No; Coming Soon

Cascade

Yes

No; Coming Soon

Ancestor Position

Yes

Yes

Use Excel Formatting & Cell Styles

Yes

Yes

Flashback / Undo

Yes – One Undo

Yes – Multiple Undo’s

POV Manager – Copy and Paste POVs

No

Yes

Share POVs

No

Yes

Define Default Starting POV

No

No; Coming soon with Smart Slices

Multi-Source Grids / Reports

Yes

Yes (using data points)

Alias Table defaults to Default

Yes

No

Submit Data to Essbase

Yes

Yes

MDX vs. Rpt Script

Rpt Script

MDX

Copy / Paste Data Points

No

Yes

Refreshable Essbase Data in Word and PowerPoint

No

Yes

Visualize in Excel

No

Yes

Launch business rules

No

No

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi there,
This table is really useful.
Any chances that you could provide an updated table for v11.x equivalent versions of the Essbase and Smart View add-ins?
Cheers,
JBM

Unknown said...

Very nice comparison between Excel Add-in Vs. Smart View 9.3.1.

Thanks
Excel Comparison