Most Legacy systems such as ERP Solutions, were produced with predefined reports and/or reporting templates. Given this, it used to be expensive for Companies especially when it came to ad-hoc reporting as they were at the mercy of the Vendor who either did a specific number of reports under a support agreement or charged a fee per report. 

iOM Analytics was designed to complement such systems where the ability for end-users to generate ad-hoc reports and graphs was at their disposal.

Integrating such a generic report generator with legacy software solutions can provide several significant benefits:

Extended Functionality: As most Legacy software lack modern reporting capabilities, a report generator can augment the software by providing robust reporting features such as customisable templates, various output formats (PDF, Excel, HTML), and advanced visualisation options (charts, graphs).

Improved User Experience: Users can generate reports directly within the familiar naming conventions of the legacy software, thus improving efficiency and user satisfaction.

Adaptability to Changing Requirements: As business needs evolve, report requirements often change. A generic report generator allows flexibility to modify and create new report templates without extensive reprogramming of the legacy software, thereby adapting to new reporting standards or regulatory requirements.

Enhanced Decision-Making: Timely access to accurate data through comprehensive reports enables better decision-making. With a report generator, users who would have otherwise spend days trying to download and manipulate data can quickly generate, analyse, and interpret data, leading to informed decisions that drive business growth.

Cost-Effectiveness: Developing a custom reporting module for legacy software can be costly and time-consuming. Most often, your internal IT might say “we can come up with a system for reporting” and often this sort of journey may take up to an year or more and will be totally reliant on one or two people who developed it. Using a generic report generator reduces development efforts and costs associated with maintaining and upgrading reporting functionalities over time.

Integration with Modern Systems: In scenarios where legacy software needs to integrate with newer systems or cloud-based platforms, a report generator can facilitate data extraction, transformation, and presentation in formats compatible with modern tools and environments.

Scalability: As the volume of data increases, legacy systems may struggle to handle extensive reporting tasks efficiently. A report generator can handle large datasets, perform complex calculations, and generate reports promptly, thus scaling alongside business growth. As in the case with iOM Analytics, Reports can be even be scheduled to run overnight and distributed via email at defined dates and times.

Overall, integrating a generic report generator with legacy software solutions can modernise reporting capabilities, improve operational efficiency, support decision-making processes, and ensure compliance, all while minimising costs and development efforts. This makes it a valuable enhancement for maintaining and extending the lifespan of legacy software systems.