In the analytics software market, Silvon offers what it calls an “end-to-end” business intelligence solution called Stratum. It is specifically geared for companies in manufacturing and distribution. As might be expected, it contains reporting applications uniquely tailored to the key performance metrics typically analyzed in these industries, but it’s also fully customizable. Its BI output can be disseminated in a variety of ways, including scheduled reports, dashboards, alerts, scorecards, and other methods.

Stratum can be deployed out-of-the-box on-premise or used through its web-based version. The latter is fully compatible with both Android tablets and iPads for users on the go. Its analytical capabilities include both forecasting and planning, giving users penetrating insight into a company’s inventory, customer service, sales, and vendor performance. It can make use of data from any ERP system already in place or from other sources as well, compiling it all in one central repository. This allows everyone throughout the company to access and reference the same data and information in real-time.

Pros

Users are generally satisfied with how Stratum streamlines and simplifies their daily work with its ability to pull and manipulate vast quantities of information, especially as it relates to inventory management. Once you’ve figured out how to set up and build a report, accessing it and updating it is incredibly easy. Most users also find it easy to navigate.

Cons

Quite a few users noted that it took them a long time to get the hang of using Stratum, and that learning to use it was difficult, citing a lack of training opportunities. Some specifically noted that learning how to create reports took a good deal of time. Others note that when engaging in multi-page views, it would be extremely helpful to be able to freeze column headings or panes like one can do in Microsoft Excel. A few users noted that the software does not alert you when you’ve gone outside your authorized limits and won’t be able to perform the function you’re trying to execute. You wind up just spinning endlessly wondering why it won’t work when it will never do that particular thing. In all fairness, when you bump up against such limits, you also don’t know if this is a Stratum limitation or a limitation set by your company’s administrators. Either way, with customization, one should still be able to set up alerts when these situations occur. A number of users also note that formatting capabilities are frustratingly limited without an add-on that costs extra money. If that’s the situation, your only remedy is to waste a lot of time exporting to Excel in order to format your report the way you want it to look.

As you can see from the above, Stratum seems a satisfactory analytics software solution for companies that aren’t doing anything terribly complex but which do need to manipulate and report on large quantities of data. The user opinions simply are not nearly as effusively positive as they are with other leading software solutions such as BOARD.

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