Network management platform, ERAMON, achieves 50% adoption of new premium reporting with Jaspersoft^® and drives incremental revenue

Challenge

ERAMON aims to offer real-time analytics without straying far from its areas of expertise

Jaspersoft’s client, ERAMON GmbH, builds network management software in Gersthofen, Germany. Each of ERAMON’s clients generates millions of data points from thousands of ports and devices within their IT networks. Clients depend on ERAMON for end-to-end network management including:

• Fault management

• Configuration management

• Accounting management

• Performance management

• Security management

Deputy Managing Director, Florian Schönknecht, saw an opportunity to differentiate ERAMON by adding real-time analytics. Most network management software allow basic measurement of device attributes, such as device health, ping, and performance. But thinking beyond basic measurement, Schönknecht saw countless potential uses for real-time analytics. They could influence clients’ strategic management decisions, generate reports for senior leadership, and inspire more proactive network infrastructures.

The challenge was that ERAMON specializes in building network management software rather than real-time analytics as you’d expect in a business intelligence (BI) solution. This posed concerns as he didn’t want the company to stray too far from its core competencies.

Solution

ERAMON creates built-in reporting and analytics powered by Jaspersoft

Schönknecht narrowed his decision down to two possible solutions:

1. Make ERAMON’s platform easier to integrate with off-the-shelf BI tools, such as Microsoft Power BI^® or Tableau^®.

2. Build analytics directly into ERAMON’s network management platform, eliminating the need for third-party integrations. 

Schönknecht moved forward with the second solution — developing premium analytics and reporting capabilities directly within ERAMON’s network. And he chose Jaspersoft to bring his vision to life.

Jaspersoft’s functionality, support, and community

Schönknecht recognized early that building a BI-style analytics system from scratch would be too costly and time-consuming. Instead, his team needed a method to develop unique analytics features without straying too far from their expertise. 

Jaspersoft’s software stood out from other vendors for multiple reasons:

• Robust reporting and functionality: Jaspersoft offered full-featured ad hoc reporting, sophisticated analysis tools, ready-to-use charts and dashboards, scheduled report distribution, and pixel perfect report formatting across a variety of screens.

• Support and documentation: Multiple sources backed up Jaspersoft’s reputation for responsive support. Schönknecht also found detailed documentation that confirmed Jaspersoft could speed up development of embedded analytics.

• Vibrant community: Schönknecht found active communities around Jaspersoft filled with helpful content. He knew that a strong community would play a key role speeding up development and troubleshooting for customers when needed.

BI capabilities made for network management professionals

After moving forward with Jaspersoft, Schönknecht knew ERAMON had a solid foundation to offer premium analytics as envisioned. The goal was to equip network managers with enhanced tools to troubleshoot, forecast risks, and create analytical reports for senior leaders. In doing so, they enabled ERAMON’s clients to answer strategic questions with data and amplify their business impact.

With Jaspersoft’s support, ERAMON succeeded in offering clients a powerful solution for analytics and decision-making. Furthermore, the solution remained simple and accessible for network managers who weren’t trained in BI or reporting. 

The Jaspersoft-powered reporting achieved this success by offering four significant benefits:

1. Measurement vs. Analysis
   All of ERAMON’s competitors offer solutions that measure performance and check the health of individual devices. With Jaspersoft, ERAMON lets customers filter, group, and analyze data on a time series that covers multiple devices. 

   Now, network managers can combine and expand data with simple formulas to predict challenges up to 12 months in advance. ERAMON’s premium features also let users create ad hoc reporting and analysis when needed and rinse-and-repeat reports for stakeholders. 

   “With other network management systems, network admins are limited to pre-fixed reports. Customers cannot create their own data analysis,” Schönknecht shared. “But with Jaspersoft, it’s totally different. You have the ability to combine data and create graphs with various views. All that customization power is available at your fingertips.”

2. Self-Service Accessibility ERAMON’s new, accessible interface requires minimal support from BI experts. Thanks to Jaspersoft, ERAMON’s clients can easily connect to other data sources without using a third-party reporting tool or depending on BI teams. Additionally, ERAMON’s “out-of-the-box” analysis charts let network managers seamlessly extract insights from their data. 

   “The value of user-friendliness is when it doesn’t take our customers much time or effort to get their first results,” said Schönknecht. “And this is the experience that Jaspersoft helped us create.” 

3. Time SavingsJaspersoft’s self-service experience cuts users’ time waiting for support, coordinating with other teams, correcting errors, and creating pixel-perfect reports. This level of flexibility and independence lets network managers conduct more high-quality analyses in shorter time frames. 

   “When working with large data sets, Jaspersoft makes it very easy and quick to create the intended reports with a pixel-perfect design,” Schönknecht added. “This was a game changer for our clients.” 

4. Multi-tenancy In many cases, ERAMON’s clients have their own clients. With Jaspersoft, they can help their clients troubleshoot and conduct sophisticated analysis without having to bring in a BI expert. This gives ERAMON’s clients the flexibility and freedom to be creative in how they work with their own clients.

Benefits

ERAMON successfully creates an embedded reporting solution that is unique and drives business impact

By the end of development, ERAMON had achieved 50% adoption of premium reporting powered by Jaspersoft. Thanks to its added value, ERAMON was able to offer premium reporting as a software add-on, leading to higher average order values.

“Jaspersoft enabled us to go beyond basic dashboarding and offer easy-to-use custom reporting and analysis for network admins,” Schönknecht concluded. “The value is usually immediately obvious when we demo the product, and it allows us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors.”

ERAMON’s new premium functions distinguished its core network management software from competitors. As a result, ERAMON strengthened relationships with existing customers by giving them more reasons to rely on the platform, and bolstered its brand as a modern solution for network managers.