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TM1 (Applix) |
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TM1 goes further in its security features than most OLAP products, perhaps again as a result of its concentration on finance departments. Security is on the server and cannot be bypassed using the API. Users can be granted read, write or no access to cubes loaded on the server. Access to individual cubes can be further controlled by restricting access across one or more dimensions. If security is applied to more than one dimension, TM1 applies the more restrictive intersect rather than the more permissive union of the members. It is not possible to opt for the latter.
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One of the last minor releases of TM1 Version 7 introduced cell-level security, though somewhat unofficially. Version 8 of TM1 saw the official introduction of cell-level security, though the initial 8.0 release was quickly followed by a technical bulletin warning that cell-level security was unpredictable in 8.0 and advising that it not be used. It was reintroduced in 8.2 and now can be used but the user interface for cell-level security is weak in terms of ease of use:
No security log as such is maintained, but any changes to the models or security level are tracked in the audit trail. The system administrator, by definition, has access to all the data contained in the application. TM1 now supports integration with external user management software such as Active Directory or LDAP and supports single sign-on.
Users can be defined as members of a class and this can be used in defining security groupings. There are an unusual five levels of access control:
Additionally users can be granted administrator status which allows them to grant rights to other users. Cubes or slices of cubes defined by dimension elements can be reserved to ensure that only one user can update the area at a time. Other users, who have adequate access, can view the data while it is reserved but not update it, even if they have write access. In practice we found few users who took advantage of this feature since it seems common that each user controls a separate portion of the cube.
If two users, who have adequate access, update the same (unreserved) cell at the same time, the last update wins. This is rarely an issue for the same reason that locking is little used; typically each portion of the cube is ‘owned’ by one user. Since both updates, the loser and the winner, would be logged this is not really an issue.
The real-time transaction logging makes the TM1 OLAP suite relatively impervious to power failures. The server will automatically rebuild itself to the point of failure from the log file in the event of hardware failure or a power outage.
The main interface that application builders and power users (other than OEM or VAR customers) see is TM1 Perspectives. Perspectives 7 was a very big change from the previous (2.5) version. Previously the cube browsing capability in Perspectives directly exploited Excel to display the data. There are now two different browsers. The first is a separate pane that floats above the spreadsheet. Users may still convert the current view (TM1 calls it a slice) into Excel which then has the same view of the data as is in the browser but uses TM1’s DBR (DataBase Retrieve) functions to retrieve the data. The second browser (called the in-spreadsheet browser) allows the browsing of data directly in the spreadsheet. This is a much more attractive way of browsing the data. Multiple ‘views’ from the same or different cubes can be implemented in the same worksheet. This approach, along the same lines as, but richer than, the Essbase spreadsheet add-in, is extremely popular with users.
The new Server Explorer environment is accessible from both Perspectives and Architect and uses a “Windows Explorer” look and feel. All of the functions that used to be performed in the spreadsheet such as building dimensions and adding rules to the cubes can now be done in the Explorer. This is a much more visually appealing and intuitive environment. For backward compatibility and to accommodate user preference, dimensions and rules can still be built in spreadsheets.
For spreadsheet users this will be a familiar environment. Perspectives adds a new menu option and tool bar to its host spreadsheet and makes a few additional functions, including the new Explorer, available. In Perspectives these allow the definition of dimensions, the building of cubes and various other options. The Client only version of Perspectives does not allow dimension or cube building, or support local cubes. Thus in contrast with other OLAP products, end- users are able to build and modify applications directly from their spreadsheet environment.
One of the most important interfaces in Perspectives has always been the cube browse option which is now available in two flavors. This lets you select a cube to browse and allows you to select the dimensions that you want as rows and columns. Dimensions can be stacked (nested) as either rows or columns or a single element can be selected for the entire view. You can define subsets of dimensions (eg quarters of 2001 in a time dimension or income accounts in a chart of accounts). These subsets can be saved and recalled and they can be private or public, as can specific views (the orientation of the dimensions and the selected members) of the data. We feel that the richer interface in 7 initially came at the expense of usability. For example, many users will find themselves in the subset editor when all they want to do is select some elements. These issues were relatively minor, however, and were addressed in subsequent releases. Once the interface has been mastered users typically find it very powerful. In fact, TM1 has something in common with the Apple Macintosh: those who use it tend to love it and become almost religious in their enthusiasm for the power which it adds to their spreadsheet, whereas non-believers find it hard to comprehend the attraction.
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Betraying its roots as a spreadsheet enhancing product, Perspectives also lets you convert a view in the browser to a spreadsheet, which can be further enhanced into a rich report. This is the slice capability that we noted above. The users we spoke to used this feature a lot and spoke highly of it.
Turbo Integrator contains the ability to automatically build a cube directly from flat files or relational and OLE DB for OLAP sources, building the dimensions as part of the process. Another option allows the building of structured dimensions from a flat file or relational source. This allows you to quickly build a functional cube with nothing more than a large data file. Users find this very useful for prototyping.
Many other OLAP tools do not make it easy for end-users to touch database structures. Even those that do, like Essbase, have a separate builder tool (as does Applix now with Architect). This is easier to use than a general-purpose spreadsheet, but eliminates a lot of spreadsheet tricks. Even though a lot of the dimension and cube building can be taken out of the spreadsheet with Perspectives, the spreadsheet option is still available.
Since Perspectives is aimed at spreadsheet users, little additional training is required. A one-day training class covering the basics of multidimensionality and the features of Perspectives usually suffices, and we have met users who managed with even less.
Casual end users today are probably more likely to access TM1 using the new TM1 Web rather than Perspectives or Excel. The combination of TM1’s responsiveness and a zero footprint Web environment should extend TM1 usage beyond the traditional Excel enthusiasts.
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THIS PAGE REPRESENTS ONLY A VERY SHORT EXTRACT FROM THE FULL REVIEW.
TO VIEW THE FULL REVIEW YOU CAN PURCHASE THE REVIEW INDIVIDUALLY OR PURCHASE AN ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION TO THE OLAP REPORT WHICH ALLOWS ACCESS TO ALL OLAP REPORT CONTENT.
