• The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
Menu
  • The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • NGS Adds PDF and Excel Report Generation to BI Suite

    December 1, 2009 Alex Woodie

    Christmas came early this year for customers of New Generation Software (NGS). This week the business intelligence software company unveiled a year-end release of its flagship NGS-IQ suite that contains several handy enhancements, such as generating Excel and PDF reports from i OS data on the fly, and new developer options for embedding queries directly into Web portals and Web sites. The enhancements will go well with all those smartphones stuffed into Christmas stockings this year.

    It’s been about six months since NGS debuted NGS-IQ version 7. That release was aimed almost entirely at boosting the product’s capability for the Web, which is the hottest technology in business intelligence (along with smartphones). Specifically, version 7 introduced a new Web reporting interface for the core IQ Server, called “Webrunner,” which could potentially save customers licensing fees, as well as “Web links,” which ensure that drill-downs from a Web browser have the latest DB2/400 data.

    The Sacramento, California, software vendor continues the focus on Web functionality with the update to version 7, which was officially unveiled today.

    Non-technical end users will be glad for the new report generation capability in Webrunner that allows them to output the results of their NGS-IQ queries as PDFs or Excel spreadsheets. Best of all, it lets them do this from any Web browser–even a Web browser running on a smartphone such as the iPhone or the Blackberry.

    The update also brings something to NGS-IQ developers, who gain new keywords they can embed into HTML to add run-time query execution to their Web applications, portals, and home pages.

    “It’s exciting to show our customers and business partners how easy it is to connect their IBM i to the Web and quickly give employees, customers, vendors, and others the ability to query their data,” says John O’Sullivan, NGS’ vice president of technology. “Some have considered doing this, but thought it would be difficult and time-consuming.”

    NGS also added the capability to allow developers to prompt for variable input at run-time in the new Web reporting interface. This makes it easier for developers (or ISVs that use NGS-IQ in their own products) to fine-tune the behavior of their business intelligence applications with things such as record selection criteria, new field calculation formulas, output type, and output destination, the vendor says.

    One potential use of these promoting options is to allow end users to write personalized e-mail messages using data in DB2/400 without having to change the query or bring in a programmer to modify the recipient list, which would have been required previously. The Web reporting interface makes it easy for end users to insert the values of database fields into the various fields of an e-mail.

    The release is a surprise gift from NGS, which doesn’t usually issue major new features in release updates, according to Bernard Gough, NGS president and CEO.

    “With the demand for Web 2.0 capabilities and SmartPhone access to the IBM i growing every day, we decided our customers should have these benefits immediately, rather than later,” he says. “We decided to surprise our customers.”

    The update to NGS-IQ 7.0 is available now. For more information, see the company’s Web site at www.ngsi.com.

    RELATED STORIES

    New Gen Drives Web Features into Version 7 of BI Suite

    NGS Bolsters IQ of BI with Link to Non-AS/400 Data

    NGS Launches Another BI Product for i OS

    Varsity Teams with NGS for New BI Product

    NGS Launches SaaS Initiative to Deliver BI as a Service



                         Post this story to del.icio.us
                   Post this story to Digg
        Post this story to Slashdot

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Tags:

    Sponsored by
    DRV Technologies, Inc.

    Get More from Your IBM i

    Many users today struggle to get at the data they need on the IBM i. When users get reports, they look like they were formatted some time last century.

    Some organizations are still printing pre-printed forms and checks on impact printers.

    How often do operators log on to their system to look for messages they hope they don’t find?

    All of these scenarios can affect users’ perception of the IBM platform negatively, but there are simple solutions.

    DRV Technologies Inc. develops innovative solutions that help customers get more from their IBM i systems.

    Solutions include:

    • SpoolFlex spool conversion & distribution
    • FormFlex electronic forms
    • SecureChex MICR laser check printing
    • MessageFlex system monitoring

    FlexTools streamline resources, improve efficiency and enable pro-active system management.

    Better software, better service, DRV Tech.

    Learn how you can get more from your IBM i at www.drvtech.com

    Call 866 378-3366 for a Free Demonstration

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Sponsored Links

    Profound Logic Software:  FREE OnDemand Webinar. Learn how to easily build and extend i apps
    LANSA:  Take your apps to a new dimension with RAMP. FREE Webinar!
    Manta Technologies:  Your complete source for IBM i training

    IT Jungle Store Top Book Picks

    Easy Steps to Internet Programming for AS/400, iSeries, and System i: List Price, $49.95
    The iSeries Express Web Implementer's Guide: List Price, $49.95
    The System i RPG & RPG IV Tutorial and Lab Exercises: List Price, $59.95
    The System i Pocket RPG & RPG IV Guide: List Price, $69.95
    The iSeries Pocket Database Guide: List Price, $59.00
    The iSeries Pocket SQL Guide: List Price, $59.00
    The iSeries Pocket Query Guide: List Price, $49.00
    The iSeries Pocket WebFacing Primer: List Price, $39.00
    Migrating to WebSphere Express for iSeries: List Price, $49.00
    Getting Started With WebSphere Development Studio Client for iSeries: List Price, $89.00
    Getting Started with WebSphere Express for iSeries: List Price, $49.00
    Can the AS/400 Survive IBM?: List Price, $49.00
    Chip Wars: List Price, $29.95

    AMD Taps IBM Chiphead for Board of Directors Retrieving and Storing SQL Source for DB2 Database Objects

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Volume 9, Number 43 -- December 1, 2009
THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY:

Help/Systems
Bytware StandGuard Security
Vision Solutions
ARCAD Software
East Coast Computer

Table of Contents

  • Simply Continuous Aims to Narrow ‘Recovery Gap’ with DR Solution
  • ManageEngine Adds i OS Support to Application Performance Tool
  • User Activity Monitoring from PacketMotion to Support i OS
  • Single-Platform, Technology-Focused Security Unwise Says Ex-IBMer Botz
  • NGS Adds PDF and Excel Report Generation to BI Suite
  • TMW to Give EGL a Chance for i OS App Modernization
  • System i Hosting Firm Taps CCSS for Systems Management
  • Steel and Lace: Lawson Upgrades M3 for Equipment and Fashion Industries
  • Equipment Dealer Lauds Attunity for Speedy DB2/400 Replication
  • First Option Goes SaaS with iSeries Watchdog

Content archive

  • The Four Hundred
  • Four Hundred Stuff
  • Four Hundred Guru

Recent Posts

  • Fortra Issues 20th State of IBM i Security Report
  • FNTS Launches Managed Services for Power Servers in IBM Cloud
  • Total LTO Shipped Capacity Up Slightly in 2022
  • Four Hundred Monitor, May 24
  • Update On Critical Security Vulnerability In PowerVM
  • Critical Security Vulnerability In PowerVM Hypervisor
  • IBM Power: Hosted On-Premises Or In The Cloud?
  • Guru: Watch Out For This Pitfall When Working With Integer Columns
  • As I See It: Bob-the-Bot
  • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 21

Subscribe

To get news from IT Jungle sent to your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

Pages

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Contributors
  • Four Hundred Monitor
  • IBM i PTF Guide
  • Media Kit
  • Subscribe

Search

Copyright © 2023 IT Jungle