Crystal Reports Administration: Vocabulary

We have been finding that, more and more these days, Crystal Reports administrators aren't IT people and aren't graduates of Crystal Reports training programs. They've just had this job thrust on them.

One of the things they grapple with is the fact that Crystal Reports isn't just a fancy way to doll up data. It's a way to derive business decision information from data. This process is called Business Intelligence, and Crystal Reports is one of a handful of robust BI tools.

Administrators run into more walls than just this basic conceptual problem. They face an entire language of BI and run into communication problems when seeing outside assistance. That's true whether they are seeking help from us, their network administrator, an IT consultant, or any of a number of subject matter experts.

We've come across a great resource for such people, and you can use it outside of BI in addition to using it for BI. That is, it will help your career all-round. It's called Ultimate Vocabulary. Below is an article contributed by the folks over there.

Business Intelligence Software Vocabulary 101

Business intelligence software is an ideal solution for business owners looking to use the SaaS (Software as a Service) business model in order to get their business up and running in minutes. It allows business owners to get a complete overview of their company, get support in the decision making process, be informed about the comings and goings of their business, and more.

Company owners are able to save time monitoring the trivial tasks of running a business using this single, integrated solution. In this guide, you will learn the basics and key features of business intelligence software, and how improving vocabulary can help increase your level of comprehension.

Terminology tips to improve vocabulary

The first thing that you should know about business models like the SaaS is that they use terminology that is unfamiliar to most people. Those with little experience working with cloud computing or digitized business models like this will obviously have difficulty in understanding how SaaS works - or how Business Intelligence Software works in general, for that matter.

To better understand the specific vocabulary words, a business owner must first learn how to personally improve vocabulary and increase comprehension levels. That's the first step that every business owner must take before they can succeed in teaching their employees how to use the new business model.

Tools to improve vocabulary will also help you better understand how business intelligence software works.
The good thing is that many of these tools are self-instructive, meaning that a person can learn what a specific term means from its applications. For example, the meaning of SaaS, or Software as a Service, is rather straightforward. SaaS implies that the software is being provided, leased or chartered as if it was a service, that the business owner is simply hiring a third party company to deliver the software and take care of the maintenance tasks from time to time.

Key features of business intelligence software

The ideal software used for business models like SaaS should have a powerful browse and search functionality. Keep in mind that supercharged searching often leads to quicker and more convenient information browsing, which then leads to the better functioning of the business. An ideal business intelligence software should combine data from a number of sources—not just a singular resource—and compile it into a single report so that the business owner won't be inconvenienced with cross referencing facts.

Customizable and preconfigured templates also help in creating highly interactive presentations, visualizations and data sets. Graph and chart creation tools are always good to have for this purpose. Ad hoc reporting, otherwise known as "the what-if analysis," is a valuable feature, as well.

In businesses, information management requires a good level of comprehension from both the employees and the business owner. The information that would otherwise be helpful might end up hampering the operation if the employees cannot improve vocabulary skills and comprehension levels.

For the manager's part, decision making is a very critical process that has to be taken seriously, and only after going through all available information resources. To sum up, business intelligence software offers a lot of business benefits, as long as the employees and managerial staff have good comprehension levels and the vocabulary they need to understand and fully utilize that software.

This article is copyrighted by Crystalkeen, Mindconnection, and Chelsea Technologies Ltd. It may be freely copied and distributed as long as the original copyright is displayed and no modifications are made to this material. Extracts are permitted. The names Crystal Reports and Seagate Info are trademarks owned by Business Objects.