Should we bet on BIRT?

gnicholson

<p>We are a trade association with limited IT resources. Though we have programming skills, we do not have Java experience. My questions here relate to whether we should proceed with the community version of BIRT which seems to provide everything we need.</p>
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<p>I am looking for answers from folks who have deployed the product (particularly the community version). Please help.</p>
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<ol><li>Can our accounting department design/publish their own reports through the BIRT interface - not a software capability question, rather a complexity question (can non-IT folks handle this product)?</li>
<li>I recognize we need to add a Java platform to our LAMP server(s) or stand up a new one (all are hosted in the cloud); but do we need Java experience to make BIRT useful? We would like to simply use the product, not enhance it.</li>
<li>Our databases are primarily mySQL - I assume this is a no-brainer.</li>
<li>We are looking to build a data warehouse to bring other data sources into the picture (they are either not databases, or databases to which we have no access other than exports).</li>
<li>Can we learn the product (both deployment, and production use) through the apparently rich set of information on-line, or will a training program be required. </li>
</ol><p>Many thanks -</p>
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<p>George Nicholson</p>
<p>Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)</p>

SailRCG

<p>George, </p>
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<p>In my opinion if you have a decent framework set up with BIRT and your reports are not overly complex your staff should  be able to develop 80 percent or more of what they need. The secret is how well you set everything up. There is no need at all to know java in order to develop reports with BIRT. </p>
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<p>Your SQL path seems to be as you say, a no-brainer, and better yet, BIRT can handle just about any data you can throw at it. </p>
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<p>Finally, learning the product... Depending on the creativity of your staff and their backgrounds you should be able to get by with what you find on-line, resources are plentiful. Additionally, if you'd like I can help if you would like to reach out to me, just send me a PM.  </p>
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<p>Thanks, </p>
<p>Ralph</p>