BIME is truly a contemporary business analytics platform. By this we mean it connects with a wide range of data sources – internal and external, it offers a very easy to use interface, supports extensive collaboration and does all the things that might be expected of a BI solution. All the usual charts are supported, in addition to highly functional maps, relational analysis, funnel charts – all in a very customisable environment.
The mandatory drag and drop environment is used to create charts and dashboards, with built in drill-down, drill through and filtering. Groups, sets and queries can be built with support for advanced calculation, if required.
Data connectivity is a particular feature of BIMS, and particularly external data sources and big data. This includes Google BigQuery, Redshift, SAP HANA, Vectorwise and Vertica. Other connectors include Google Analytics, Facebook Insights data and Twitter analytics, in addition to connectors for internal databases and applications (ERP, CRM etc.). The queries and calculations are optimised for whichever database is being accessed.
Various performance features ensure good performance and data can be loaded up to the cloud if desired. Google BigQuery accounts can be used as a target of the data load. Refreshing data stored in BIME can be scheduled, and runs in the background on a nominated server.
Distribution of documents and collaboration feature strongly in BIME. Dashboards can be embedded into web pages, portals and blogs – or any other service. And every BIME account provides a portal for each dashboard viewer, that lists all the dashboards they have access to, and a timeline of their conversations. From a security perspective, it is not absolutely necessary to upload data to BIME and original data sources can be directly accessed.
Pricing is reasonable with a base plan providing access for 10 named dashboard users and 2 developers (Studio users). The number of dashboards, data sources and queries supported is unlimited. This starter pack comes in at $490 per month when billed annually.