Please watch the video in 1080p because it is recorded in High Resolution.
Please note the script of the presentation is below so you can read along with the demonstration if you like.
Hello and welcome to our latest blog post.
I am pleased you have come back to see our latest news!
I am pleased to be able to bring you some news that we think will be interesting to you.
As you know we are promoting Meta5 as the best tool to give to the “5 smartest business analysts” in your company.
There have been two recent feature developments in Meta5 that makes it even more useful.
1. Meta5 Dictionary Separation
Like all query tools Meta5 has a dictionary that helps the tools understand the databases you want to query.
In the past this dictionary has been required to sit in, or near, the database you want to query.
For example, in SQL Server you can put the dictionary in it’s own database.
Then you can have views in that database to point to the tables you actually want to query in another database in the same sql server.
These tables would usually be on the same server because remote query on SQL Server like this does not work so well.
Effective immediately, you can now keep your Meta5 dictionary in one database, accessed via ODBC, and query another database on another ODBC link.
Because the dictionary is very small, you can even keep it in MS Access rather than in SQL Server.
The functionality that this dictionary separation makes possible is very valuable.
For example, if you are a Business Central user, you can have a small dictionary of the tables you need to query in MS Access on your Windows desktop.
Then, your IT staff can give you read access to those tables.
Then you will be able to query all the underlying Business Central tables that you need to directly from your desktop.
You can create capsules to run and create your reports in Excel while you sleep comfortably in your bed!
Quite literally, as long as your IT staff will give you read access to the tables you need, you can create any query you want and get the data you need without going back to IT.
Of course, you have to be careful.
And it is better to query on a copy of your production ERP.
But, if you have no copy of your production database, and you have to query production data?
You now have a way of doing that very easily, and very securely.
2. Meta5 CData Partnership
There is a product available called Cdata.
You can visit their web site on the button below.
CData makes it possible to connect to over 200 data sources as if they were ODBC connections.
You can see the list of data sources you can connect to by clicking on the button below.
CData now provides single user licenses for their connectors that can be integrated into Meta5.
Simply put.
If Meta5 can not read the data source you want to read via a regular ODBC connection?
Then CData will very likely be able to read that data for you.
This means Meta5 becomes your “Window To Your Data World”.
You will be able to read pretty much any data you could ever want to read, and get it to your desktop to work on.
You will be able to create capsules to fetch your data, and run your reports, whenever you want, by scheduling the reports in capsule services.
You can then distribute those reports to your business colleagues via one drive, shared folders, or even email.
All without getting stuck in the “IT Backlog”.
Summary
For all the installed Business Central (including Navision) customers in Romania, we can summarize this announcement like this.
If you are frustrated that it takes “forever” to get data out of Business Central and in to your reports that you needed YESTERDAY?!
You can get Meta5 and a little training on how to use it and do that job yourself.
If you want? Of course, you can hire one of our consultants.
We would be happy to build the reports that you need, even if it needs to be directly from your production Navision.
But trust us, you no longer need to wait for “IT Support” to develop a new report that you need.
You can get your data, from your production Business Central system, now, with Meta5.
And you can get almost any data from anywhere on the web as well via CData.
So if you are frustrated with how long it takes to get new reports created by your IT Support?
Just go to our contact page.
You can type in your question into our “Ask Us Anything” form.
My phone number is also there and please feel free to call me.
I would love to hear from you.
Thank you very much for your time and attention.
I really appreciate you reading our blog post.
I wish you a great day!
Best Regards
Mihai Neacsu
Business Devevlopment Manager
BIDA
