Analyse like never before: seamlessly connect reporting tools to your data

Data, data and more data. Naturally, operators in the leisure industry are working with stacks of data, and with this comes the very real need to be able to analyse it effectively to make informed business decisions. Whether identifying trends in membership uptake, making decisions around viability of classes, or analysing customer demographics, being able to easily access your data is crucial.

Managing big data and software infrastructure has seen exponential growth due to its ability to simplify IT management and reduce overheads - be it for applications or infrastructure, moving to a cloud or hosted environment for key systems such as financial, HR or Leisure Management has many benefits. Gladstone has been offering its Leisure Management System (LMS) on a hosted environment for some time now, however if a need for standardised reporting using external reporting solutions such as Power BI or Tableau has held you back from taking this step, let’s talk about the Universal Reporting Connector.

What about data reporting in a hosted environment?

Reporting in a hosted environment has just got a whole lot easier thanks to the new: Universal Reporting Connector. This API (application programming interface) will allow you to easily access and run reports on your data using a reporting tool of your choice.

Compatible with leading 3^rd party reporting solutions such as Tableau and Microsoft Power BI, the Universal Reporting Connector will allow our hosted customers to access their data and run the reports they need, using whichever tools work for them.

So how does it work?   

Data from your LMS is extracted and moved to a data warehouse (a cloud-based data platform managed by trusted company Snowflake), through the process of ELT (Extract, Load, Transform). Put simply, this means that data is extracted in various formats, loaded into the data warehouse where it is then stored in its original raw format and transformed on demand.

Thanks to this process, the data from your LMS is normalised within the data warehouse, meaning you can easily access it using your chosen reporting solution and aren’t limited to a specific tool. And if you ever want to change your reporting strategy? Because the data is standardised, this won’t be a problem at all.

And not only that. Because our connector allows for such flexibility, this will help you align with your corporate strategy and standardise Leisure Management information alongside other metrics you may be reporting on, helping you build a complete data picture.

So, to sum things up, our new connector will provide our hosted customers with the choice and flexibility to run their data reports using a reporting tool which works best for them. What’s not to like?

If you are reading this article and your Gladstone system is On-Premise, you might be wondering why some operators are moving to the hosted environment..

Many operators were tired of managing and maintaining IT server infrastructure in-house. It can be a headache managing all the complexity of servers to support your LMS in-house, however making the move brings many benefits, providing you with enhanced performance and security.  Your data will be held in a secure state-of-the-art UK-based data centre with our partner Rackspace. A secure and temperature-controlled environment, with recovery systems in place should there be a major power outage, you’ll no longer need to have someone on hand 24/7 to deal with any server disasters.

You might like: Disaster Recovery: Is yours a Disaster? 

Hosting means that you’ll always be on the latest version of our software and receive patches and bug fixes first. Not to mention that implementation of Gladstone products becomes far more straightforward in a hosted environment. And we’ll be able to provide you with support more quickly, as there’s no reliance on your IT teams to be available for remote access. The Hosting environment will also be a pre-requisite for GladstoneGo, our new SaaS product. Sounds good right?

If you would like to learn more about how the Universal Reporting Connector or moving to a hosted environment can benefit your business, get in touch with your account manager.