User interface:
Optial provides a zero-client interface requiring only a web browser user interface. Supported browsers are Internet Explorer V6+ and Firefox V2.0+.
The web application is designed so that the user interface can be “skinned”, to match each customer, allowing branding and seamless integration with the corporate intranet applications.
Platform/database:
- Optial runs on Microsoft supported Windows platforms from Windows XP through to Windows Server 2003 and 2008.
- Optial supports Microsoft SQL 2000, 2005 and 2008 database.
Technology
Optial is a fully managed .NET application written using C# and ASP.NET.
Reporting infrastructure
Optial Business Intelligence (OBI) is provided for advanced reporting. Optial Business Intelligence (OBI) is built on top of Microsoft® Analysis Services 2005/8 which is a part of the Microsoft® SQL Server 2005/2008 family of products.
OBI provides reporting options for users to browse OLAP cubes with a slice & dice style browser, allowing the formulation of grids and charts with the option to save reports. In addition Microsoft® Reporting Services reports can be directly embedded into the standard Optial application. These are typically used for management reports.
OBI is tightly integrated within the Optial application to provide a seamless look and feel using Optial’s standard multi-language functionality.
Access Control of data displayed in OBI is tightly controlled using the powerful Optial security model to provide the same level and granularity of security for secure end user reporting for data which is often highly sensitive. Full drill down is also supported from reports generated from the OLAP cube into the online database. In addition, any changes that are made to the data model of the core system are automatically reflected in the OLAP cube without the need for extensive ETL work and data migration.