Board International

Board International S.A. is a Business Intelligence (BI) and Corporate Performance Management (CPM) software vendor known for its Board toolkit. The company is headquartered in Chiasso, Switzerland, where it was founded in 1994, and Boston (MA).[1] While its core markets are still located in Europe, Board International has been expanding globally and now operates in 19 countries worldwide.[2][3] It has a total of over 2,500 customers from a number of different industries,[1] including large multinational corporations such as ABB, Best Western, GlaxoSmithKline, NEC, and Puma.[4]

Board International S.A.
Private
IndustryBusiness Intelligence, Corporate Performance Management, Software
Founded1994
HeadquartersChiasso, Switzerland; Boston, United States
ProductsBoard 11
Websitewww.board.com

Products

Board International offers one product, the Board toolkit.[5] It combines various BI and CPM functionalities within a single graphical software environment.[2] Board's BI capabilities include multi-dimensional analysis, ad hoc querying, dashboarding and reporting, while its CPM capabilities include budgeting, planning and forecasting as well as "other finance-related activities". Like Business Intelligence software in general, Board is used in an effort to improve productivity and decision making while lowering costs.[1] It does not require any programming skills to build BI and CPM applications.[2]

Technology

As of version 7, the Board toolkit featured a service-oriented architecture that relied heavily on Microsoft technology, especially the .NET Framework with its Windows Communication Foundation. This allowed for a tight integration with other Microsoft products, such as Microsoft Office, but required Windows in order to run the full client, a limitation which has been identified by Gartner as a possible factor for preventing a deeper market penetration.[2][6][7][8][9]

In 2012, the company introduced an update of its proprietary multidimensional database that Board is based on. This new technology was labelled as HBMP (Hybrid Bitwise Memory Pattern). It introduced a new compression method and combines disk-based and in-memory database approaches. It supports both relational and multidimensional data models.[10][11]

As of version 11, Board resulted in a Niche Player in the 2018 Gartner Magic Quadrant. Board is rated as one of only two vendors "offering a modern analytics and BI platform with integrated financial planning and reporting functionality", which works on premises as well as in the cloud. Its direct competitor is SAP with Analytics for Cloud.

Usage

According to The BI Survey 12, a worldwide BI and CPM user survey, the most widely used application areas of Board are reporting, ad-hoc querying, dashboarding, budgeting & planning, OLAP analysis, visual analysis & data discovery, predictive analysis & data mining and financial consolidation (in descending order of use frequency).[12]

Effectiveness

A 2012 case study by Nucleus Research analyzed the effectiveness of Board when used as a company-wide business analytics solution. The research was based on three years' worth of actual data from Marketing General, a Board customer. It came to the conclusion that the introduction of Board allowed Marketing General to "raise profits, reduce customer churn and increase organizational productivity" while producing an average annual benefit of $119,962. It was calculated that, on average, the system saved 6 working hours a week per manager and IT worker.[13]

Recognition

In recent years, Board has been frequently included in major publications on the BI and CPM markets.[14][15] In terms of technology, the introduction of the .NET-based Board 7 earned the company a Microsoft. NET Swiss Innovation Award in 2010.[16]

Offices

Board International has a total of twenty-seven offices spread across five continents and nineteen countries.[3] Its two headquarters are in Chiasso, Switzerland, and Boston, USA. The company has recently been expanding, opening three new offices in 2011 (China, Japan and Mexico).[2] Board retains a strong presence in Europe, with fourteen offices – a bare majority – located on that continent. The company has three offices in Australia, five in Asia, four in North America, and its lone Buenos Aires office in South America.[3]

References
  1. "'Research Note: Benefits of BOARD International'" (PDF). Nucleus Research. Retrieved Oct 19, 2012.
  2. Hagerty, John; Sallam, Rita L.; Richardson, James (Feb 6, 2012). "Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms". Gartner. Retrieved Oct 19, 2012.
  3. "Locations". Bard International. Archived from the original on May 1, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  4. "'BOARD - Reference'". BOARD International. Archived from the original on 2012-10-27. Retrieved Oct 19, 2012.
  5. "'BOARD - All In One'". BOARD International. Archived from the original on 2012-10-06. Retrieved Oct 19, 2012.
  6. "'BOARD - Architecture'". BOARD International. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved Oct 22, 2012.
  7. "'BOARD - Architecture: Office Integration'". BOARD International. Archived from the original on 2012-12-13. Retrieved Oct 22, 2012.
  8. Van Decker, John E.; Chandler, Neil; Iervolino, Christopher (Mar 19, 2012). "Magic Quadrant for Corporate Performance Management Suites" (PDF). Gartner. Retrieved Oct 22, 2012.
  9. "'BOARD International Releases BOARD 7 - BeyeNetwork'". Retrieved Oct 22, 2012.
  10. "'BOARD - Toolkit'". BOARD International. Archived from the original on 2012-09-10. Retrieved Oct 22, 2012.
  11. "'HBMP: The New Frontier of In-Memory Business Intelligence and CPM -- TDWI -The Data Warehousing Institute'". TDWI. Retrieved Oct 22, 2012.
  12. "The BI Survey 12: BOARD in The BI Survey 12" (PDF). BARC. Retrieved Oct 26, 2012.
  13. "ROI Case Study: Board" (PDF). Nucleus Research. Oct 2012. Retrieved Oct 26, 2012.
  14. Chandler, Neil; Van Decker, John E. (Mar 8, 2011). "Magic Quadrant for Corporate Performance Management Suites". Gartner. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 29, 2012. Retrieved Oct 23, 2012.
  15. Sallam, Rita L.; Richardson, James; Hagerty, John; Hostmann, Bill (Jan 27, 2011). "Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms" (PDF). Gartner. Retrieved Oct 23, 2012.
  16. "Microsoft Switzerland Awards". Microsoft. Retrieved Oct 22, 2012.
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