Hyperion targets broader base

Data analysis software company Hyperion on Monday announced a product update called Essbase 7X, meant to appeal to business customers outside its stronghold in corporate finance.

Typically, Hyperion has sold to financial controllers by developing features for financial planning and analysis, such as currency conversions and forecasting. To appeal to other corporate departments, Hyperion has revamped the storage mechanism in the Essbase database to better handle information usually collected for applications. The update to Essbase will include a new tool for studying historical information called Visual Explorer, which makes it easier to view and analyze historical data. The company has also developed an "adapter" which makes it easier to pull data out of SAP's Business Warehouse analytical data store and an application to view and measure profitability.