My user experience with Pentaho

What are the best aspects of this product?

Among all the Pentaho software tools I like PDI the best. This tool gives me plenty of chances to link to various data points and embed plenty of logic into my ETL. It allows a range of predefined steps and I can use customized codes which greatly enhance ETL functionality. Pentaho BI server offers an excellent way for users to access data either through analytics cubes or predefined reports. I appreciate that the app is easily customizable and uncomplicated to use.

What aspects are problematic or could work better?

A couple of features could be enhanced. One is dashboard functionality. You can use C-tools for a more attractive interface but it needs added administration and development. The out of the box solution can offer more dashboarding features as right now if offers only simple functionality. Second, the Report Designer could be improved as the interface is quite old and not much documentation is offered.

What specific problems in your company were solved by this product?

I lead a BI Team and we provide data to our business users. We need to offer data in such a manner to enable the business users to generate their own reports and make decisions with less customized reports. We are using cubes, but they prefer using predefined reports. Dashboarding will resolve the issue and that is why we are moving in this direction.

Are you a current user of this product?

Yes