Features: BIRT Data Objects

BIRT Data Objects are designed in the BIRT Designer Professional and constructed from disparate enterprise data sources. BIRT Objects can be accessed from a variety of tools for self-service functions ranging from ad-hoc report creation to ad-hoc data analysis.

Compatible with all BIRT Products from Actuate
BIRT Data Objects are available to products across the entire Actuate BIRT product Line, including access for on-demand or parameterized reports, ad-hoc queries, dashboards, interactive viewing and the new BIRT-based analytic tools.

• BIRT Studio
• BIRT 360
• BIRT Data Analyzer
• BIRT Interactive Viewer
• BIRT generated web pages

Data Access
BIRT Data Objects can be built from a variety of data sources and integrate their data.

• Information Objects
• Operational data sources
• Data Warehouses

Straight Forward Dataset Construction
BIRT Objects are developed within the BIRT Designer Pro, but instead of creating static, flat file objects as with Information Objects, it creates a virtual, 3D representation of data.

• Define Multiple Dimensions - categories/metrics, dimensions/measures
• Intersections - automatically summarize points of intersection
• Transformations – for example, to convert a, b, c to east, west, south
• Data Cleansing – categorize and prioritize poorly structured data
• In-memory Joins - join in-memory data across machines

Data Links and Federation
BIRT Data Objects can be linked to other Data Objects and operational data stores.

• In-memory Data Federation – In-memory datasets belonging to one or more BIRT Data Objects can be linked to enable in-memory data federation.
• Operational Data Linking – In-memory datasets in a BIRT Data Object can be further linked to additional Actuate and non-Actuate content.

Granular data security
BIRT Data Objects support a security model that leverages “Access Control Lists (ACLs)” to specify user and role based security at different levels of granularity so that business users who access BIRT data objects through the BIRT reports, BIRT 360 Dashboards and BIRT Data Analyzer can only view and analyze data that they are authorized to access.

• BIRT Data Object Dataset Item Security - can be set at the object, row level or column levels
• Cube Items Security - can be set at Dimensions, Measures and Member levels. This following illustration describes the various levels at which security can be set.
• Fewer Datasets - provides greater flexibility in designing data models and eliminates the need to create multiple data objects to cater to the varying needs of business users.
• BIRT Designer Pro Definition - associate various data items/item levels with the appropriate Access Control List (ACL) and test the data security by simulating the login credentials of the business user within the Designer itself.

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