In October 2020, DataScientest became the first European partner of MicroStrategy, one of the most widely used Business Intelligence software packages for data analysis and visualization. Find out all you need to know about it: presentation, operation, use cases, training...
What is MicroStrategy ?
MicroStrategy Incorporated is an American software publisher offering a Business Intelligence platform, a mobile application, and Cloud services. It is one of the leading players in the business intelligence market.
The company was founded in 1980 by Michael Saylor, who still holds the position of CEO today. The company’s headquarters are located in Tysons Corner, Virginia.
Originally, Saylor started MicroStrategy with a consulting contract for DuPont, which provided him with $250,000 in startup capital and an office in Wilmington, Delaware. He was quickly joined by the company’s co-founder, Sanju Bansal, whom he had met during his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Inspired by a course on dynamic systems theory they had taken at MIT, the two friends began producing software dedicated to Data Mining and Business Intelligence using nonlinear mathematics.
It was in 1992 that MicroStrategy secured its first major client by signing a $10 million contract with McDonald’s. Subsequently, the company’s revenues increased by 100% each year between 1990 and 1996, before going public on June 11, 1998.
In order to modernize and adapt to technological advancements, the company began developing mobile Business Intelligence software for smartphones and tablets in 2010. It has been offering its own Cloud service since 2011.
Today, MicroStrategy software is used worldwide by companies looking to analyze data quickly and securely in order to make data-driven decisions or develop mobile applications.
By allowing companies to save time and money, this Business Intelligence platform has gained prominence in a wide variety of industries. Through this dossier, discover how MicroStrategy Cloud can make your organization faster and more secure while saving valuable resources.
Modern businesses collect vast amounts of data thanks to new technologies. However, without processing and analysis, this data remains untapped resources. It’s crucial to adopt the right tools to unlock their full potential.
MicroStrategy is a widely used Business Intelligence software in enterprises. It enables users to extract actionable insights from data through a multitude of analytical features.
It’s an Enterprise Data Warehouse tool, allowing both data analysis and reporting. Users can generate interactive dashboards and various data visualizations. This way, an organization can rely on past, present, and future trends to make better decisions.
With the “ROLAP” approach (Relational Online Analytical Processing), users can explore the data they need within the relational database.
What features does MicroStrategy offer?
MicroStrategy is a comprehensive Business Intelligence platform that encompasses numerous features. Here are the main ones:
Firstly, this tool allows data discovery. It is possible to connect to various data sources and extract data to generate useful and comprehensive reports.
After aggregating data, MicroStrategy also supports data wrangling: the transformation of data to make it analyzable and usable according to the user’s needs. This feature is beneficial for both Data Scientists and non-technical users within the organization.
The data mining and predictive analysis features enable the extraction of useful insights and the generation of predictive reports from the data. It is also possible to integrate third-party data exploration and modeling tools.
For data analysis, MicroStrategy offers a vast library of nearly 300 functions. Users can create real-time dashboards to continuously monitor data.
How is MicroStrategy architected?
MicroStrategy’s architecture consists of three elements. The first tier comprises two databases: a Data Warehouse containing all the data and a metadata database, which stores information about the data stored in the Warehouse.
The second tier is the MicroStrategy Intelligence Server, responsible for executing queries and processing data.
Finally, the third tier of the architecture is the web client or the mobile application provided by MicroStrategy. Through these, users can visualize the results of their analyses and access the insights derived from the data.
What are MicroStrategy's strengths?
MicroStrategy allows everyone to reap the benefits of Business Intelligence. Users no longer need to rely on IT professionals to provide them with data analyses and reports.
It’s not necessary to master computer coding or query techniques to use it. The intuitive “drag-and-drop” interface is user-friendly and accessible to all.
This solution also stands out for its flexibility in terms of deployment, as it can be hosted either on-site or in the Cloud, depending on your preference. Opting for the latter option reduces costs and eliminates the need to maintain hardware or software. In fact, deploying on the Cloud can be accomplished in as little as 48 hours.
The platform can be deployed in any configuration and allows data transfer from any source: relational databases, Cloud, enterprise applications, Big Data software, and more.
The analytical solution is available on the web and within Microsoft Office. It is also offered as a mobile application for smartphones and tablets. Many widgets can be inserted using a “drag-and-drop” approach.
Lastly, MicroStrategy offers integration with numerous third-party Business Intelligence applications such as IBM WebSphere, Microsoft SharePoint, or WebLogic.
Who uses MicroStrategy and why?
MicroStrategy is used by businesses in various industries. For instance, banks and insurance companies utilize it for predictive analysis.
By using it to analyze social networks, companies can leverage customer feedback. Additionally, market and customer data can be harnessed to develop new products.
In general, MicroStrategy enables the generation of analytical reports from Big Data to extract valuable insights for better decision-making. Therefore, it is a highly useful tool across all sectors of industry.
Why and how should you get trained on MicroStrategy?
MicroStrategy is recognized as one of the leading Business Intelligence and data analysis solutions, notably acknowledged by Gartner. Consequently, mastering this tool is a highly sought-after skill by companies in all industries.
Acquiring MicroStrategy training represents a significant advantage on a resume and can open many doors. To get trained in this solution, you can choose one of the training programs offered by DataScientest.
Various Business Intelligence tools, including MicroStrategy, Tableau, or Power BI, are part of our Data Analyst training curriculum. This program covers all aspects of the data analyst profession, including programming, data visualization, data extraction, Big Data platforms, and the basics of Machine Learning.
This program is available in a nine-week BootCamp format or a six-month Continuous Education format. Like all our training programs, it offers a Blended Learning approach, combining in-person and online training. Upon completion of the program, learners receive a diploma certified by the University of Sorbonne.
You know all about MicroStrategy. Discover our complete dossier on data analysis, or our introduction to Python programming.
