Microsoft bolts business intelligence to Office

Microsoft will offer analysis and planning applications as an add-on to its Office suite, a move meant to steer corporate customers away from specialised business-intelligence providers.

The Office PerformancePoint Server 2007, due mid-2007, will provide a set of programs geared at helping knowledge workers to make more informed decisions.

The package, formerly code-named 'Biz Sharp', will include a server and tools for analysing data, creating "scorecards" for measuring corporate health, and planning applications.

End users will access them from Excel, SharePoint portal or Outlook, said Lewis Levin, corporate vice president for Office Business Applications.

He said: "Our vision is that business intelligence should apply to nearly everyone," including most people who have "discretion over how they spend their time".

Office PerformancePoint Server is the latest addition to Microsoft's expanding business intelligence strategy.

Business intelligence (BI) tools, which generate regular reports or allow people to analyse data sources, are typically standalone products supplied by specialised providers.

Microsoft plans to amend its Office and database product lines with business intelligence and seek to displace existing BI providers, most of which are Microsoft partners.

Levin said: "It does create some tension in the marketplace for other business intelligence vendors who have been trying to be horizontal broad-reach companies.

"I think they are going to look at this with some concern because we are completing our overall investment in BI."

On the other hand, Levin noted existing vendors can create more specialised products on top of Microsoft's infrastructure, such as applications for vertical industries.

Microsoft has already said that with Office 2007, due early next year, it will offer tools for generating reports or analysing data from Excel.

Office PerformancePoint Server is specifically designed for so-called performance management applications, which covers a broader range of capabilities.

Office PerformancePoint Server will have tools for data analysis, corporate scorecards, and planning applications, Levin said. For example, a financial controller could create a forecast for spending on marketing in the coming year and measure progress periodically.

AMR Research estimates spending for enterprise performance management topped $22bn, including services, in 2005.

Office PerformancePoint Server will include the BI software from ProClarity, a company which Microsoft acquired in April. The ProClarity tools, as well as an existing Microsoft program for scorecards, will continue to be sold separately, Levin said.

Existing business-intelligence vendors, including BusinessObjects, Cognos, Hyperion and SAS are also developing tools for scorecards and, in some cases, financial planning.

In addition to specialised BI companies, Microsoft faces competition in business intelligence from IBM, Oracle and SAP.

Microsoft's Dynamics ERP financial applications will also use the PerformancePoint Server in its financial applications suite.

Martin La Monica writes for CNET News.com