May 20, 2008

eThority brings Enterprise Level Business Intel To The Desktop

Allan Maurer  /  Tech Journal South

CHARLESTON, SC - Desktop business intelligence and reporting software such as Excel is like walking, suggests eThority president and CEO Mike Psenka. Everyone knows how to use it, but it doesn't take you far. Enterprise systems, however, are like jets. They'll take you anywhere, but you need a pilot. What most users need, Psenka says, "is a car. That's where we put ourselves."

In business intelligence and reporting software, the "Holy Grail is true self service," says Psenka. "It's eluded people."

Systems that require intensive training or have features that are hard to recall end up as shelfware, he says. "If the staff is trained, but comes back to it in 30 days and has to ask, 'H'mmm, what menu choice is that?', they walk away. "We realized there was a gap in the marketplace," he adds.

So the company set out to make the "car," which closes the gap between basic desktop applications and ultra complex technical offerings. The problem, Psenka says, is that much software is developed with a mindset like Michael Jordan taking you onto a basketball court. "Just jump around, spin twice and drop it in the hoop, he might say, while you're having trouble touching the net. The vast majority of business intelligence software users say you're asking me to do a 360 degree slam dunk and walk away."

Consumer products, on the other hand, "get this," says Psenka. "You don't step into a car at a dealership and need training." Yet in software, it's often a given. Not with eThority, says Psenka.

A demonstration of the product shows that it is not only easy to use, its sophisticated graphics and intuitive design make it simple to drill down for specific information on any topic. The software quickly and automatically provides analysis and further exploration of each data point. Clicking on any row of data in the DataBook and selecting eValuate shows a visual comparison of how that record stacks up compared to all other records in the set. A thermometer measures the chose data set against the high, low and average values and ranks it against its peers. Existing data can be used to predict future performance outcomes. Customers can change the graphics of how they view data, making data boxes larger, smaller, or different shapes.

"The idea is data democratization," says Psenka. The company wants to make a product that anyone from a factory floor manager to an experienced analyst can use. The product grew out of a previous eThority application with thousands of users. The new product puts the 16-year old company almost in the position of a startup, says Psenka. It recently launched the new application.

It costs from $35,000 to millions depending upon the scale of the implementation, but doesn't require the weeks or months of training many other products do. The software has many potential horizontal applications. The company sells it direct but recently has also started getting interest from original equipment manufacturers. The 25-person company is hiring in development and sales and marketing departments. Psenka says venture capitalists are calling on the firm asking if it is interested in an investment.

"If we've seen enough positive interest in 18-24 months, we might want to scale this process a little more quickly," he says, in which case it would consider taking on an equity investment.

On the Web: www.ethority.com