Overview

What is RockDaisy?

Create, deploy, and manage mobile and browser-based reports on-premises or in the cloud with a range of ready-to-use tools and services that RockDaisy provides.

RockDaisy transforms your complex and disparate data into unified clear interactive report visualizations.

Create, deploy, and manage mobile and browser-based reports

RockDaisy is a solution that customers deploy in the cloud or on their own premises for creating, publishing, and managing reports & dashboards then delivering them to the right users in different ways, whether that’s viewing them in a web browser, on their mobile device, or as an email in their inbox.

Reports

RockDaisy reports can be a single table with any number of rows and columns or collection of report widgets on a page.

You can create modern-looking reports that include report filters and drill down interactions. We included a number of default styles and color palettes, so by default, your reports are created with a modern style. You can override any report style to your liking. You can even modify the .css to completely customize the UI/UX.  

    • We include a filters pane where you can define any number of filters and share across reports
    • You can export to formats such as .PDF, Excel, .PNG.
  • Create interactions which can be defined on any report control. (bar, pie, line, table etc.). Clicking on an object that has an interaction will navigate the user to a pop-up screen with more details or an entirely new dashboard. In either case, all parameters are passed from the parent report.

Mobile reports

RockDaisy is a responsive web app that adapts to any device. 

Saving, Sharing and Subscribing to Reports

RockDaisy allows end users to choose filters, run reports and then save those pre-selections to be used the next time the report is run. This saves time on subsequent report executions since the filters do not have to be reselected.

Reports can be shared with any user in a number of ways:

    • Through email, assuming recipient has permission to report. The email includes a link to the “live” report and a  .PDF
    • Make available in other users [Shared Reports] section within the RockDaisy app.
  • Users can tag any number of reports as [Favorites]. These places report shortcut links directly on their home screen

Drill Down and Interactions. Passing Parameters Between Dashboards.

Filters

RockDaisy has a number a filter options. These filters serve two purposes.

    • Filter the data on the report(s) you are currently viewing
  • Filter selection can be used as parameters when configuring report interactions.

Interactions

Chart ‘Interactions’ enable passing a report parameter to a different report/dashboard template. There are two Interaction Types:

    • Drilldown – Enables popping up a separate report from within the same dashboard.
  • Jump to Dashboard – Provides navigation to another dashboard template/saved view.

Web Portal

For end users of RockDaisy, the front door is a modern web portal you can view in any modern browser or mobile device.

The reports in the web portal are organized by Dashboard Templates and Categories. This makes it easy for end users to navigate directly to reports they are looking for.

Set Up Portal

The setup portal is designed to be used by SQL developers. In the setup portal, developers configure reports, KPIs and use shared datasets and shared filters as building blocks for development. You can create and manage them securely here

It’s Just SQL. If your developers know SQL, they know RockDaisy

Write a query, get a report. Publish report to your users. It’s That Easy.

Connect to your database.

We make it fast, easy and secure to connect RockDaisy to your database server.

Create your report.

Map your queries to visualizations and filters with our query editor, or use your existing stored procedures. Our toolkit features built-in intelligence to make it fast and easy, including intelligent auto-complete, query parameterization and form complete.

Deliver immediate value

Create a dashboard and add reports in moments, with just a few clicks.

The result is an intuitive, interactive and easily shareable dashboard that fuels speed of thought analysis.

UI/UX : Design = Functionality

We built RockDaisy with the intention of making it sleeker and more modern than the competition. Our platform lets you swipe, point-and-click and drag-and-drop with such ease of use that literally anyone – even non-tech users – can navigate it quickly and effortlessly.

We also keep the entire developer interface separate from the end-user which provides a simple to use, interactive experience

When it comes to tools like Tableau and PowerBI, you need to call the tech/analyst if you want to switch out charts and create new dashboards

Isn’t it time for a data delivery platform that goes beyond mere utility? Isn’t time for a platform that integrates the type of user experience we’ve all come to expect?

Install RockDaisy

RockDaisy installation involves server components for storing report meta-data, rendering reports, and processing of subscription and other report services.

Hosting Options:

RockDaisy has three setup options:

    • Full – RockDaisy hosts all servers and data.
  • Hybrid – RockDaisy hosts meta database and web server. Client hosts database server (most popular). 
  • On-Premise – Client hosts all servers and data.

Configure Email Subscription Services

Web Portal

What is the Web Portal

For end users of RockDaisy, the front door is a modern web portal you can view in any modern browser or mobile device.

The content on the web portal is organized by type: Dashboard Templates and Categories for similar reports. This makes it easy for end users to navigate directly to reports they are looking for.

You can use the web portal to perform the following tasks:

    • View, search, save, share, filter, print and subscribe to existing reports.
    • Drag and Drop report widgets to design your dashboard or report layout
  • Add custom notes to reports to help better describe the meaning of the report

Start and Use the Web Portal

The web portal is a responsive web application that you open by typing the web portal URL in the address bar of the browser window. When you start the web portal, the pages, links and options that you see will vary based on the permissions you have stored in the RockDaisy meta-database.

To perform developer type tasks, you must be assigned to the admin role. A user who is assigned to the admin role has full permission and access to all reports and the developer setup portal.  The setup portal is used to create datasets, develop reports, and assign permissions.

Click here for more information about the Developer Setup Portal.

To start the web portal from a browser type the URL http://yourcompanyname.rockdaisy.com or you can customize the URL to whatever you want.

Branding the Web Portal

RockDaisy was designed to look great out of the box. We provide numerous ways to modify the UI/UX with no code. However, we do provide access to the underlying CSS if you need to customize further.

Additional UI/UX Customizations

  • Upload Your Company Logo
  • Upload Portal Background Image
  • Choose Your Default Color Palette
  • Customize / Remove Login Page

It is possible to modify the overall appearance of the application with additional parameters passed to the Saved Dashboard URL.

‘:fullScreen’ – a parameter that hides left navigation menu if anything passed, otherwise empty – passed as /.

‘:drilldown’ – a parameter that hides top navigation bar menu if anything passed, otherwise empty – passed as /.

‘:hideHeaders’ – a parameter that hides top navigation bar if anything passed, otherwise empty.

Example of usage:

SELECT ‘https://sample.rockdaisy.com/view/2///fullScreen’ as DateRangeUrl – Full-Screen mode

SELECT ‘https://sample.rockdaisy.com/view/2////drilldown’ as DateRangeUrl – Drilldown mode

SELECT ‘https://sample.rockdaisy.com/view/2/////hideHeaders’ as DateRangeUrl – Hidden Header

Setup Portal

What is the Setup Portal

You can use the setup portal to perform the following tasks:

    • Create database connections, datasets, reports, and filters
    • Assign + Publish reports and filters to dashboard templates
    • Create + Assign dashboard templates to report categories.
    • Create interactions that support drill-thru to report details
    • Configure security that determines access to items and operations.
    • Assign report filters and report widgets to dashboards.
    • Create data-driven subscriptions that roll out reports to a large recipient list.
    • Create datasets to reuse and re-purpose in multiple reports in different ways.
  • Send feedback or make feature requests.

Here are links to the videos that may help:

Create a Database Connection

Create My First Report

Create Table Report with Filtering Logic

Create Clustered Column Chart

Create Multi-series Chart

Create a Drilldown Interaction

Embed / White-Label RockDaisy

RockDaisy is a fully customizable responsive web application which means to you can seamlessly embed RockDaisy into an existing app and completely brand the UI (see how to brand RockDaisy)

Since every report in RockDaisy is accessible via URL. All you need to do is have your existing app navigate to prebuilt RockDaisy reports by using the RockDaisy report URL.

Appending few simple parameters to the end of the URL allows you to hide the RockDaisy navigation bar, toolbar etc. (see how to hide RockDaisy elements via URL string parameters)

Appending report parameters to the URL will allow the RockDaisy reports to execute with filters applied (ie date range etc.) (see how to pass report parameters to RockDaisy reports via url from your existing app)

RockDaisy Security and Protection

Authentication and Authorization

RockDaisy does not store any data. It’s strictly a data presentation platform that pulls data from the client secure database server and presents it on the screen. As a result, all of the data security is controlled at the database server level.

RockDaisy support multiple levels of security

    • Site level security
    • Dashboard level security
    • Group and user permission
  • Data level security

Site level security – Secure the entire portal with a username and password. We also support Windows AD single sign-on

Dashboard level security – Secure a collection of similar reports by setting permissions on their associated dashboard template

Group and User permissions – Create users and groups within RockDaisy or leverage your existing Windows users and groups

Data level security – Passing the unique RockDaisy user identifier to your query allows you to hide and show data based on the individual user/group

Datasources Supported

RockDaisy Connects to the Most Popular Databases

  • MS SQL server
  • MySQL
  • Oracle
  • Amazon Redshift
  • Postgres
  • Google Big Query
  • Excel (use Rockdaisy import wizard to connect to MS Excel data)

FAQ – Features & Benefits

FAQ

What are key differentiators between RockDaisy and Looker/Tableau/Powerbi?

  • White-Label. RockDaisy was designed to look great out of the box. We provide numerous ways to modify the UI/UX with no code. However, we do provide access to the underlying CSS if you need to customize further. Companies can white-label their data delivery so reports maintain a consistent look and feel; an essential component of external/customer-facing reporting.
  • Responsive Web App Which means every report, dashboard and feature will work on any device “out of the box” with no additional code.
  • Drill Down: Pass parameters between dashboards and reports creating a true “story telling” experience with no additional code.
  • SQL – Provides real-time data access. No expensive developer / data specialist skill-sets needed
  • Dev Toolkit – Browser based toolkit means nothing to install. Create, publish, and assign permissions to reports using the online toolkit
  • Multi Media Integration. Connect your data to video, images and documents. Helpful when you need to see the “creative” or supporting documentation behind the metrics.
  • Ease of Use: RockDaisy delivers powerful and versatile reporting capability in a simple easy-to-use interface that can be used effectively by anyone. Competing products generally deliver their services through an interface that can be challenging to end users who are not “comfortable” with data tools. Our simple, point-and-click / drag-and-drop technology allows anyone – especially the non-tech user – to sort and analyze data sets.

Data preparation and aggregation – How does this work from a back-end perspective, how fast is it?

RockDaisy connects directly to the customer database using SQL/stored procedures providing real-time data access. If needed, we can create a separate process that summarizes data into reporting tables, but in most cases that’s not necessary. RockDaisy can leverage optimizations included in database vendors’ software (for example in memory processing). We also include a Redis Cache option.

What are my export capabilities?

There are a number of ways to export Data

  • Export dashboard to .pdf
  • Export individual charts on dashboards to .png (helpful if needed in PowerPoint or presentations etc.)
  • Export underlying data to excel from any chart or grid.
  • Email dashboard to user (this includes a .pdf and link back to live dashboard)
  • Schedule Email. Scheduled email delivery of dashboard to user. Schedules could be set to deliver reports on specific day(s) and time(s) or based on a “triggered” event. (this includes a .pdf and link back to live dashboard)

Licensing Options?

  • If RockDaisy platform is used / accessed / viewed only internally its considered an internal license
  • If RockDaisy platform is used / accessed / viewed externally, it’s considered an external license (External clients would be users interacting/viewing reports within the RockDaisy platform).
  • If you were to generate reports and email .pdfs to external clients, that would be considered an internal license since the external client would not be accessing the system.

Features and Benefits

    • ‘Direct’ and efficient reporting access to information residing in the most popular database platforms.
    • Faster (and therefore cheaper) production of reports as opposed to creating cubes and in memory models.
    • Easy to deploy centralized reporting solution.
    • Real-time delivery of information to the business, providing better decision support.
    • The ability for the business to self-serve, interact and filter information without having to rely on IT or IS resources.
    • Simple pricing model
    • No need for expensive specialist skills.
    • The beauty is that the entire UI/UX definition is stored as simple CSS. This can be completely modified using any .css editor. Most report writers available today do not provide this functionality.
    • Pass parameters between reports and dashboard to create a true drill down “storytelling” experience.  Most data visualization platforms only offer simply popup drill down.
    • Each reporting element can have its own dataset. Each dataset is based on a data source. This allows you to present data from multiple sources on the same page.
    • Responsive design allows RockDaisy to look great on any device with no additional code
    • Online Developer toolkit means nothing to install.
    • Multiple levels of security. Report level and the data level. In most report platforms you cannot show different data within the same report to different users/groups.
    • A user can manage their own reporting needs by accessing reports ad-hoc or by subscribing to the reports. Subscription-based reports are automatically sent by mail to the users.
    • Saving and Sharing. Once parameters are selected, users can then save those selections attached to a report. As a result, users can rerun (or subscribe) to the report in the future with filters pre-selected.
    • Built-In usage metrics. Out of the box reports that include highest usage by a report, user, device, etc.
    • Multi-Media integration. Link reports to associated video, images, and documents.
  • Export data and charts to Excel, .PDF, .PNG