DB2 Web Query highlights

DB2® Web Query highlights include the ability to create new reports with browser-based tools, hide the complexity of data access, improve performance, and reduce IT support.

• Modernize IBM® Query for i (Query/400) reports with browser-based tools.
• Hide complexity of accessing data from users through a metadata layer and parameterized reports.
• Improve performance of queries by using advanced IBM DB2® for i query optimization features.
• Reduce IT support efforts with single server-based installation and maintenance.

Business Intelligence (BI) is the consolidation and analysis of data collected in the day-to-day operation of a business, which is then used as a basis for better business decisions and competitive advantage. Key to analyzing that data is providing fast, easy access to it while delivering it in formats or tools that best fit the needs of the user.

At the core of any business intelligence solution are user query and reporting tools that provide intuitive access to data supporting a spectrum of users. These users can include anyone from executives to “power users,” from spreadsheet aficionados to the external Internet consumer.

DB2 Web Query offers a set of modernized tools for a more robust, extensible, and productive reporting solution than the IBM Query for i (Query/400) tool. DB2 Web Query preserves investments in the reports developed with Query/400. Users can choose to import definitions into the new technology or continue to run existing Query/400 reports as is. But DB2 Web Query also offers significant productivity and performance enhancements by using the latest in DB2 for i query optimization technology.

DB2 Web Query provides the ability to query or build reports through browser-based user interface technologies. The query or reports are run against data stored in DB2 for i (or Microsoft® SQL Server®) databases. Users can build new reports with ease through the web-based, wizard-like Report, and Graph Assist tools or the WYSIWYG Power Painter component.

Simplify the management of reports by significantly reducing the number of report definitions required through the use of parameter-driven reports. Deliver data to users in many different formats, including directly into spreadsheets, in boardroom-quality PDF format, or viewed in a browser in HTML. Use advanced reporting functions such as matrix reporting, ranking, color coding, drill down capability, and font customization to enhance the visualization of DB2 data.

Use the OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) feature to interact with the data through slicing and dicing and drill down capabilities. For the user on the go, choose the Active Reports feature to allow reporting without having to be connected to the server.

Use DB2 Web Query Developer Workbench to build simple dashboards or hide the complexities of the database (for example, join logic) from users through metadata. Automate report execution and distribution with DB2 Web Query Report Broker.

Integrate DB2 Web Query reports into applications with a Software Development Toolkit. Incorporate access to data stored in one or more Microsoft SQL Server databases by using the DB2 Web Query Adapter for Microsoft SQL Server. Pull DB2 Web Query report data directly in to Microsoft Excel by using the DB2 Web Query Spreadsheet Client feature.

Refer to this page for the many resources to help you get started with DB2 Web Query. The page includes a link to the latest in product and feature documentation in printable PDF form: IBM DB2 Web Query for i (http://www.ibm.com/systems/i/software/db2/webquery/gettingstarted.html)