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Applix Gold Partner status confirms Excel's role in CPM

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10th Jun 2006
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US software house Applix, a leading supplier of performance management systems based around its TM1 multi-dimensional database, has confirmed Excel's growing importance in this field by becoming a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.

While many users in the wider world would shrug at the announcement, developers of Microsoft-based business applications invest huge amounts of time and effort to achieve Gold Partner status. In this case, however, Applix is cosying up to a serious competitor.

TM1 is a powerful multi-dimensional database designed to support online analytical processing (OLAP). For business performance management systems, the database imports and cross correlates data from multiple planning, transactional and operational computer systems to make it more accessible for analysis. Alongside Hyperion's Essebase, TM1 is rated as one of the top OLAP platforms for performance management, and usually carries a price tag that reflects this status.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is readying up SQL Server 2005, a relational database management system that includes an OLAP module, Analysis Services, which will be enhanced with new functions for data extraction, validation, analysis and reporting. These are exactly the kinds of tools Applix supplies with its database, and Microsoft is bundling them into the core SQL Server package.

In spite of the competitive threat, Applix has embraced the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" theory, and Excel holds the key to its decision, according to a company press release.

Applix worldwide marketing vice president David Menninger explained: "The majority of business performance management initiatives are led by financial executives and business managers who prefer working on Microsoft platforms and with Microsoft applications such as Excel."

By becoming a Gold Certified Partner, Applix will gain access to training and development resources to help it exploit Excel and related technologies within its planning, modelling and analytical tools, Menninger added.

For its part, Microsoft has long courted companies such as Applix. Geac Peformance Management, formerly Comshare, is also collaborating with Microsoft to promote performance management systems based on SQL Server and Excel.

Microsoft's long-term ambition is to turn Excel into the industry standard tool for viewing and reporting on financial information. For this reason, Microsoft's executive will have purred with pleasure as they handed Applix its Gold Partner certificate.

John Stokdyk

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By andrewtodd
08th Aug 2005 11:28

What's new?
TM1 has used Excel as it's user interface and reporting tool since Excel took over Lotus 123's role. So this looks more like marketing hype than substance ot me.

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