VIDEO: What is Ad Hoc Reporting?

The term, “Ad Hoc” means “created or done for a particular purpose or as necessary.” Ad Hoc reports are a vital part of business intelligence and are used to help your business answer specific questions quickly. Ad Hoc reports can be a one-page table, a comprehensive crosstab report, or a visualization report than can be a dashboard view displaying graphical information. However, no matter what form they take, they are meant to be simple, easily digestible and to convey a clear answer to the question.

Let’s dive in, shall we! Ad Hoc reports are generated to meet a one-time specific need and to answer a unique business question. The questions they answer aren’t typically asked and the presentation form is usually visual. The idea is to let managers make smarter, data-driven decisions with the information they need. Ad Hoc Reports benefit your business in many ways: Enhance faster decision-making. Improve business operational efficiency. Help businesses remain aligned with business goals.

Save business time and money and… Customization. So if you’re in the market for an Ad Hoc reporting tool, here’s a list of key features it should have. State of the Art Interactive Features: These allow you to drill down into applicable data using advanced interactive features. Data Source Availability Ad Hoc Reporting provides access to multiple data sources. Advanced and Basic Analytical Features Ad Hoc reporting and predictive analytics go together like rubber babies and buggie bumpers. (aside) I don’t think that’s right.

I… Predictive analytics is a powerful tool used to estimate all sorts of things like revenue generation or inventory restocking. Finally, Data Visualization Options Visually displaying information helps non-technical personnel understand information easily. So now that we’ve given you a run down of ad hoc reporting and its features, remember: Identify the question the report will answer Keep reports visually uncomplicated Use report templates Keep the report design consistent Finally, Highlight summation data points Well we here at TechnologyAdvice love software more than cake.

So we’ve decided to share with you our two favorite business intelligence solutions with ad hoc reporting and analysis. First up: Zoho Analytics as a cloud or on premisis solution is powerful. Users can create ad hoc reports without much IT experience. Zoho also allows users to import data from multiple applications and databases with the Zoho DataPrep tool. And next… Wyn Enterprise which is a solution that features both ad hoc reporting and ad hoc query tools.

It has a self-service BI option so non-technical users can create ad hoc reports when required. Ad Hoc reporting isn’t usually something that’s within the scope of staff member’s assigned duties. The same can be said for ad hoc analysis. And while each business has different ad hoc reports that might be generated for it, all businesses use it to get the most updated info to make accurate decisions. For more information business intelligence software check out our website at TechnologyAdvice.com.

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