Spectrum Systems Adds the JReport Embedded Reporting Solution to its GSA Schedule Public-Sector Developers Now have Easier Access to the Leading Offering for Java-Based Embedded Reporting

Rockville, Md. and Fairfax, Va, – February 22, 2006 – Spectrum Systems, Inc. today announced the addition of the powerful JReport embedded reporting solution to its product set for developers. Spectrum Systems is a leading provider of systems and application lifecycle solutions to the government, and it has partnered with Jinfonet Software to deliver the market-leading enterprise reporting solution for Java applications.

When embedded into a J2EE-based applications, the JReport report development environment gives application developers the ability to create and manage interactive enterprise-class reports that are a seamless extension to the application and create a unified end-user experience. Information is presented in full-featured reports that display the data in numerous, customizable reports and charts.

"JReport allows government application developers to embed intuitive reporting directly within their applications," said Spectrum's president and CEO, Ronald Segal. "Because it's built in Java, JReport doesn't compromise the integrity and security of government applications and architectures, and it doesn't need to be maintained separately. The developer can focus on the application's functionality while leaving the reporting components to the market-leader. Our partnership with Jinfonet will help us deliver a total solution to our customers via a single purchase order."

"We understand the key to success in the public sector is working with partners like Spectrum Systems that are embedded in major projects and successfully delivering value to the government," said John Gularson, executive vice president for Jinfonet. "JReport is ideally suited for application developers, and Spectrum systems will help us better reach that audience in the government arena. Developers rely on Spectrum for their breadth of experience in application development and the diversity of their third-party product offerings. We believe our partnership with Spectrum Systems will be a key element to our continued success in the public sector."

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For more information about JReport, please visit our website at www.jinfonet.com/products/server.htm.

Embedded Reporting for Java Applications Can Help Deliver Real-Time Information

Business Intelligence (BI) grew out of the need for organizations to analyze their data to look for trends and to understand what has been going on with their businesses. Investments were made in data marts and data warehouses and BI tools to accomplish these tasks. In the past, BI has been used for strategic decisions - broad in scope but infrequently used. The result is BI has had a bias to looking at and understanding historical data often at the expense of real-time, contemporary data.

The traditional backward-looking focus of BI is becoming a thing of the past. Also, technology has become more important with front-line working wanted to access daily and even hourly operations to make key decisions. This need has created the birth of operational business intelligence, made possible through robust embedded reporting.

Java Applications With Disconnected Reporting

- Face a Higher Risk of Failure

- Limit Insight to End-User

The reporting functionality within today's enterprise applications do not possess the heavy-lifting capabilities of a full-featured business intelligence platform.  However, because the leading report development environments are built in Java - the native code of the enterprise software applications - robust reporting capabilities can be embedded directly into applications or Web sites. By becoming an actual part of the application or Web site, reporting can view data at the transactional level. This provides users with insight into critical data in real time. 

Jinfonet Software recognizes these trends and we are making investments in our JReport platform to increase the analytical richness and performance JReport. In 2006, expect that we will make a number of important announcements about both the future of Operational Business Intelligence and JReport.

For more information on Embedded Reporting, please click here.

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Tech Tip: Dynamic J2EE Data Source Connection

When a report is created using JReport, it is associated with data source connection information in the JReport Catalog. However, with JReport's Dynamic J2EE Data Source Connection feature, data source connections can be modified at runtime. This feature enables dynamic connection to JDBC or JNDI production data sources, allowing one report to be generated based on any JDBC or JNDI data source.

In order to use this feature, a configuration file called 'datasource.xml' is located in the <install_root>\bin directory of JReport Enterprise Server. Using this file, connection mapping information such as JDBC driver, URL, or JNDI data source name, along with user name and password, can be defined. The datasource.xml file can easily be modified to include the connection information for the production data source you want to use. JReport Enterprise Server will access this connection information at the time the report is executed. For example, if the JReport Catalog has a connection named "default" and the Java Application server has a JNDI data source called "SalesDB", the following would be added to the datasource.xml file:

<datasource-mapping>
<!-- Specify catalog connection to use JNDI datasource -->
<datasource>
<catalog-connection-name>default</catalog-connection-name>
<connection-type>jndi</connection-type>
<jndi-datasource>SalesDB</jndi-datasource>
</datasource>
</datasource-mapping>

If you have identified connection information in a JReport Catalog, datasource.xml file, and via the Server API or URL, the priority for execution will be as follows: Server API or URL, datasource.xml, and then Catalog. This means that if an attempt to get the connection using the Server API or URL fails, JReport Enterprise Server will attempt to connect using the datasource, xml file, and so on.

This feature is extremely useful when you want to run a single report with several data sources to obtain different result sets.