Nucleus Research Finds GL Wand Fills Reporting Gaps Left by Enterprise Systems and Traditional BI Software

RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In order to provide value, financial data from enterprise systems like SAP® and Oracle® must be in the right hands at the right time, yet reporting information from these applications remains a challenge for many organizations in terms of time and resources. Even business intelligence (BI) tools fall short for companies that need to avoid the initial and ongoing costs of such applications.

In a recently published, independent research note, Nucleus Research found that gaps in reporting left by enterprise and BI systems can be filled by non-traditional BI tools such as GL Wand from Excel4apps, a provider of best-in-class Excel-based financial reporting software for use with SAP and Oracle. GL Wand pulls general ledger data directly into an easy-to-manipulate Microsoft Excel® spreadsheet, without the need for a data warehouse or information technology (IT) programming support.

"As organizations consolidate and reevaluate their BI investments, we expect tools like GL Wand to be more popular in specific business situations where traditional BI isn't a good fit," said Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research at Nucleus. "The winner in the BI market will be the application that is truly better, faster, cheaper, and ultimately, easiest to use. By putting the power of general ledger data in the simplicity and familiarity of Microsoft Excel, GL Wand is a step in the right direction."

According to Nucleus, organizations have historically gained significant return on investment from BI tools because they can extract and analyze transactional data in meaningful ways. However, most traditional BI solutions aren't a good fit in situations where there are demands for:

• Scope – New analysis needs aren't supported by existing data warehousing or cube investment.
• Skill – IT resources aren't readily available to support report-building requests.
• Speed – Users want to perform ad-hoc analysis on transactional data.
• Simplicity – Users wish to change a report without the assistance of IT or training programs.

GL Wand meets non-traditional BI needs by empowering finance users to build their own reports in Excel using real-time SAP or Oracle data. The software does not require additional hardware, software, extensive training, or security configuration, as it works with existing ERP settings. To read the entire Nucleus research note regarding GL Wand from Excel4apps, visit www.excel4apps.com/oracle/about/Nucleus_Research_Excel4apps.pdf.

About Excel4apps

Excel4apps is a best-in-class provider of Excel-based reporting and budget-loading software for Oracle and SAP. Designed for finance professionals, its award-winning GL Wand, Reports Wand, and Budget Wand products easily and securely deliver real-time ERP data using Microsoft Excel® to save reporting time and effort. Excel4apps serves over 7,000 Oracle and SAP users worldwide, with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, United Arab Emirates and South Africa. To schedule a demonstration or try a free trial, visit www.excel4apps.com today.

SOURCE Excel4apps