Automatic generation of production reports using   SharePoint

Sammanfattning: This study investigates different ways to use Microsoft SharePoint to publish data in the form of charts and tables from a software system as a part of a business intelligence effort. The purpose is to provide accurate and up-to-date statistics automatically on a corporate website instead of manually creating it. An application was developed to serve as middleware between the SharePoint server and the data source. Different options were analyzed, both client-side and server-side components. It was found that using the SharePoint .NET client API is an efficient way to achieve this goal, especially in an IT environment where development of SharePoint server-side components isn’t a viable option due to IT security concerns. The study describes a way to initiate a small-scale BI implementation without large budgets or firm commitments in the organization. It uses a web collaboration tool that is common in larger businesses and shows a way to interface in-house developed data sources. What SharePoint API to use was restricted from a IT security and stability standpoint in this thesis. This restriction is likely to apply also on other larger organizations where a similar initiative is driven from outside the IT department. It was found that automating the generation of production reports could save significant time compared to manually creating them.