July 31, 2000

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Data Analysis With No Performance Hit

Hyperion's latest software suite doesn't slow transaction streams when analyzing data

By Rick Whiting

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eb-site performance can be improved through the collection and detailed analysis of customer data. Hyperion Solutions Corp. last week unveiled a software suite to help businesses do just that. Hyperion joins a wave of vendors that supply analytical tools for customer-relationship management in E-commerce, including E.piphany, Informatica, MicroStrategy, and NCR.

The Web Site Analysis Suite, built on Hyperion's Essbase online analytical processing server, helps E-businesses understand what content their site visitors want to see, and what prompts them to buy instead of browse. The software loads the data into the company's Essbase OLAP engine, which processes it and graphically displays the results. It also provides real-time analysis for quick evaluation of the effectiveness of marketing initiatives.

FatBrain.com Inc., an online seller of business and technical books, is testing the software by pulling data from its Web logs for analysis. Marketers and business development managers at the Santa Clara, Calif., company examine the findings to judge the success of their promotional campaigns and devise ways to increase the number of visitors to the FatBrain.com site. The company will rely on Hyperion's software to develop visitor profiles, which will be used to tailor the site and design promotions to increase sales, says engineering VP John Olson.

Performance, specifically superior extraction capabilities, was a key reason FatBrain.com chose Hyperion, Olson says. Some analysis tools collect data from Web servers during transactions, which hurts performance. "Hyperion's approach of operating on Web logs, rather than the transaction stream, allows transaction processing to be detached from reporting and analysis," he says. Olson's only complaint is that the software can't be easily customized.

Hyperion is one of the few companies to supply complete solutions, including Essbase, says Mike Schiff, an analyst at Current Analysis.

The suite is available now; pricing starts at $95,000.

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