March 10, 1997 10:00 AM ET
IBI puts data, graphs in WebFocus
By Juan Carlos Perez

Information Builders Inc. will release this week a new version of its WebFocus reporting tool that lets users create and include charts in Web-based reports. With WebFocus 2.0, to be unveiled this week at Internet World in Los Angeles, a Java applet is shipped directly to the user's desktop, where a graph is created, freeing the user from waiting for the data to download from the server, said company officials in New York. The application, Java Graph Assist, guides the user in the creation of a graph, such as bar, pie or line charts. WebFocus, the first version of which began shipping late last year, places multiple reports and graphs in a single HTML page; hyperlinks allow users to jump to other reports, graphs or Web sites. With the software, Windows users can create ad hoc reports or run predefined queries. WebFocus also lets users save views locally for offline analysis. This product [lets] our users ... create ad hoc reports without us having to purchase and install client-side software, said Gary Fischer, data warehousing manager at Sony Electronics Inc., in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., which uses a variety of end-user data access tools. WebFocus, which runs on all Unix and Windows NT servers, costs from $6,500 to $100,000. Copyright(c) 1997 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. PC Week and the PC Week logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. PC Week Online and the PC Week Online logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. Send mail to PC Week