Omniscope Editions & File Types

Solutions involve various editions; Enterprise Server, DataManagers, Professionals and free Viewers

Note: Key features differentiating all Editions are highlighted in this comparison chart.

Omniscope free Viewer

Read/query/print-only, no edits or saving of changes

Opens and navigates  IOK files of any size* on a read/query-only basis. Anyone can install the free Viewer to experience highly-visual, interactive IOK data presentations as never before. Free Viewer downloads include a free 30-day trial of Omniscope Professional, enabling you to create new IOK files and share your data with others. After 30 days, the installation reverts to a free Viewer...no need to uninstall. Note that IOK files created with Enterprise Server Commercial Publisher Editions can enable additional functionality in the free Viewer on a file-by-file basis (see below).

Omniscope Professional/Workgroup

Import/auto-refresh data, configure files, save changes and distribute

Depending on with version you license, saves publishable  IOK and/or shareable  IOM files of any size up to the limits of your PC*. Imports and exports spreadsheet data files (.XLS, .CSV, etc.), and connects directly to database views/tables using ODBC/JDBC. Merges multiple files and connects to remote data sources like Bloomberg and Salesforce. Enables seamless import, merge, refresh, analysis, reporting and presentation/publication of reporting data sets using compact files with embedded maps, images and links to documents, web pages and web services. Enables anyone to create, refresh and export interactive Flash DataPlayers, for embedding in documents or the web. Changes in source data are automatically imported (including data in files which must be merged or joined) whenever the IOK file is opened. Using automatic live data refresh, changes in a central .IOK file 'datamart' can be refreshed live to any number of users of Professional Editions over the local network or the open web. Omniscope-based solutions can pay for themselves very quickly, as explained in the business case.

Omniscope DataManager - new in 2.6

Adds visual workspace to import, assemble, transform, filter & export data files...or load into Omniscope

Adds a separate visual drag-and-drop workspace for defining multiple data sources, including folders of auto-appended files, relational databases, MDX-compliant multi-dimensional 'cubes' e.g. Microsoft SSAS cubes, cloud-based sources like Force.com, Google spreadsheets, etc. Once any number of daat sets from multiple sources have been imported, anyone can define a sequence of operations like merges and appends, aggregations, filters, scrambling text etc. and then define one or more output formats, e.g. permissioned variants of data sets/files. The Omniscope DataManager workspace is a significant new innovation in ETL (Extract, Transform and Load) accessibility and usability, especially for users managing large volumes of data and regular reporting requirements from a multiplicity of spreadsheets.

Omniscope Enterprise Server

Automates file refresh & distribution, increases file security, enables free Viewer auto-refresh and more.

Includes all features of other Editions, can be used to populate, refresh and save publishable  IOK and/or shareable  IOM files of any size up to the RAM limits of the server on which it runs*. Usually run on 'always-on' server machines with continuous, direct access to source databases. Includes the DataManager workspace and also offers Publishers advanced file security and revenue protection features like time-limiting, server-authentication and domain locking (files open only if client is also logged into Publisher's specified website/domain). Enterprise Server Commercial Publishers can also produce 'enabled' IOK files which enable additional features are in the free Viewer:

• auto-live refresh of free Viewer data from central IOK 'data marts'
• save/load queries/searches on local machine from free Viewer Sidebar (2.7)
• export user-selected data subsets from free Viewer as Excel/CSV files (2.7)
• export interactive Flash DataPlayers from IOK tabs to other documents like PDF and PowerPoint (2.7)

All Enterprise Editions also include separate Scheduler and Generator programs that automate the refresh and distribution of IOK/IOM/DataPlayer files:

Scheduler - Monitors a watch folder for new tasks, polls linked data sources (databases and spreadsheets) for changes, regularly refreshes Omniscope 'datamarts' stored on the server and populates templated reports for distribution according to a schedule, with personalised . Scheduler-based refresh mode is best for standardised reports produced on a regular basis for a fixed distribution list, e.g automatically creating time-stamped files and sending via e-mail. For more information, consult the Scheduler section of our KnowledgeBase.

Generator - Listens on a port for the presence of new data files generated by your back-end systems based on user input. When such a data file appears, the data is imported, applied to template file(s) and copies distributed in various ways. Generator-based customised data set refresh mode is best for creating personalised reports 'on-demand' whenever needed. For more information, consult the Generator section of our KnowledgeBase.

Enterprise Server Commercial Publisher Editions are intended to support commercial publishing to large read/query/refresh/print/export audiences. See licensing options for more information on the definition of 'commercial' publishing from a licensing perspective. For information on pricing, please contact us.

Note on file types:

There are four Editions - Professional/Workgroup, DataManager*, Enterprise and free Viewer, and two file types - publishable IOK and shareable IOM

		IOK files created with Professional, DataManager* and Enterprise Server Editions will open and may enable selected features in the free Viewer (see below). IOK files created using commercial publishing installations are distributable/auto-refreshable to paying customers via the free Omniscope Viewer. Reduces average cost-per-seat for large-group read/query/print-only interactive reporting/presentation solutions.
		IOM files created with Professional, DataManager and Enterprise Workgroup Editions open only with activated Workgroup, Professional, Data Manager & Enterprise Editions, but not the free Viewer. Lower-cost option for small-group analytical deployments that do not envision broader distribution or data refresh via the free Viewer/Omniscope Online.

*DataManager Edition is an upgrade to Professional Editions available starting with version 2.6

*Hardware requirements vary with the size of the data sets: a typical 32-bit Windows PC with at least 256 MB RAM and at least a 2.0 GHz CPU will handle average size data sets. For large data sets (over about 5 million cells = rows x columns) 512 MB of RAM is the minimum. For very large files (over about 16-18 million cells), 1.0 or even 2.0 GB of RAM may be required. Machines running 64-bit operating systems and 64-bit Java with 2.0 GB of RAM or more will handle ever larger multi-million record files up to the limits imposed by the RAM installed on the machine. For more information on Omniscope scaling and performance, and 64-bit operation consult our KnowledgeBase.