This integration means that e.Report 9 users can select and include report data as a PowerPoint presentation by simply clicking on PowerPoint as their preferred save as format. Actuate’s iServer platform then distributes the reports to users.
The move will tighten up Actuate’s integration with Microsoft’s Office suite; Actuate has already taken a technological lead in the market with its Excel integration.
The company now claims it is the only BI vendor that allows users to centrally generate and manage BI data embedded in native Word, Excel and now PowerPoint documents. Actuate’s server-based model makes sure that all these documents are refreshed and up to date.
Actuate is including the new PowerPoint functionality in a special Actuate 9 SP1 release that will be made available later this month.
Jeff Morris, director of product marketing at South San Francisco-based Actuate, said the release will effectively eliminate the need for users to manually cut and paste information into Office documents – a strategy that is prone to error and requires constant data refreshing – for group consumption.
Traditional processes require manual steps to compile, format and assemble documents and slide presentations that contain report data.
We’re allowing PowerPoint presentations to be scheduled, downloaded on demand and traded via email, as any other report format from Actuate [including Adobe PDF, DHTML, e.Analysis graphic visualization, Excel, Word (RTF), text and XML] without forcing end users to re-execute the report.
