SaaS BI faces a unique challenge other SaaS applications do not have: updating data. Transaction-oriented applications like SalesForce and NetSuite store the data with the application itself so it is readily available. A SaaS BI application, however, does not own the source data. It is easy to post a report on crystalreports.com, but how do you update that report so the data is fresh? There are two methods: push and pull. Refer to the diagram as we explore both.
Pushing Data
Pushing data updates to your reports involves software that you install near the data source itself. In our case, we have two choices: Desktop Publisher and FTP Agent. Desktop Publisher runs the report locally inside your corporate network and then updates your reports on crystalreports.com. The FTP Agent is used to move massive amounts of data to our “Business Intelligence OnDemand” solution--a data warehouse that we are hosting for you. Pushing data is easy to setup and secure, since nothing from outside your network will access your data. Desktop Publisher in particular is very flexible and can get you up and running very quickly with a SaaS BI solution from any data source you have. However, the reports are limited to scheduled updates only (hourly, daily, weekly, etc), and the reports never contain “live” data.
Pulling Data
If you want your reports to be updated live or on-demand, then you need to pull data into your reports. This is easily done if your data source is external and available via web services (SalesForce is a good example). In this case, your reports can simply call the web service to update the data whenever the report is opened. If your data source is internal, then we can install a proxy agent called Open Data Connector in the “DMZ” of your corporate network. This allows controlled and secured access to an internal data source. The advantage of pulling data is that reports are always up-to-date. However, it is more complicated to configure, especially for internal data or if your external data source does not have access through web services.
Pushing Data
Pushing data updates to your reports involves software that you install near the data source itself. In our case, we have two choices: Desktop Publisher and FTP Agent. Desktop Publisher runs the report locally inside your corporate network and then updates your reports on crystalreports.com. The FTP Agent is used to move massive amounts of data to our “Business Intelligence OnDemand” solution--a data warehouse that we are hosting for you. Pushing data is easy to setup and secure, since nothing from outside your network will access your data. Desktop Publisher in particular is very flexible and can get you up and running very quickly with a SaaS BI solution from any data source you have. However, the reports are limited to scheduled updates only (hourly, daily, weekly, etc), and the reports never contain “live” data.
Pulling Data
If you want your reports to be updated live or on-demand, then you need to pull data into your reports. This is easily done if your data source is external and available via web services (SalesForce is a good example). In this case, your reports can simply call the web service to update the data whenever the report is opened. If your data source is internal, then we can install a proxy agent called Open Data Connector in the “DMZ” of your corporate network. This allows controlled and secured access to an internal data source. The advantage of pulling data is that reports are always up-to-date. However, it is more complicated to configure, especially for internal data or if your external data source does not have access through web services.
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