MITS 2020 R1 Release Notes

Features

Architectural Changes

With this release, we've made a major change to the way MITS extracts and stores data from your ERP.  And we've removed the dependency on the UniVerse and Unidata databases.  These two fundamental changes to the way MITS works "under the hood" allowed us to make some equally big changes in the features we can offer, both now and in the future.

Some of the immediate changes include :

• Moving MITS to a cloud hosted installation, allowing easier access for all your users who are remote or in the field.  This also reduces the MITS footprint on your own network.
• Adding a new user authentication system, allowing for common user authentication between MITS and Tour deForce.
• Much faster reporting, even on non-native columns (a.k.a. "bang fields")
• Increased stability
• Support for a new native mobile app
• New integration options with tools like Tour deForce and Sherpa CRMs

Tour deForce Integration

If you are a user of both MITS and Tour deForce, we've added some new integrations for you.  Specifically we've added the ability to report on, drill-down into, and take actions at the Account level from within MITS.  Now you can view Account scorecards to explore the data or create new actions (such as make an appointment, send an email, or create a task) right from the scorecard.

We've also add MITS as the business intelligence tool within Tour deForce. This means you can review information in Tour deForce and use the power of the MITS BI tools.  You can even add Time Comparison grids to your Tour deForce dashboard.

Removed Features

By removing the dependency on UniVerse and Unidata and moving MITS to a cloud hosted solution, we've also removed some familiar features which were no longer needed, or have been replaced by different features.  Some of these include:

• Removed the hypercube build scheduler.  This is now managed by an automated extraction tool.
• Removed certain Professional Services tools which are longer relevant.  
• Removed ActiveDirectory integration in favor of a new tool for user authentication.
• Some customizations supported by the old architecture cannot be replicated in the new version.
• Sidebar dashboards.
• PICK bases dashboard objects
• Custom column functions
• Removed User Statistics Collection functionality

MITS Report has also been removed from this release.  Because of the major technical changes to the way we extract data from the ERP, MITS Report is no longer able to communicate with the ERP.  We have not yet updated the MITS Report to take advantage of the new process.  But we hope to bring it back in some form with a future release.  If it's a stand alone product or integrating its features into MITS Discover remains to be seen.

Looking Ahead

Most of the changes in this version of MITS have been made to set us up for the future.  By removing our reliance on older database environments and moving to modern tool sets, we have positioned our business intelligence reporting to be ready for new features and powerful integrations with our other products.

This can mean some growing pains, including removing the ability (for now) to bring some of your past customizations into the new version.  But just as we've seen in the past, like when we moved from text based MITS to a web interface, and again when we made editing dashboards as easy as drag-and-drop, and yet again with a major interface refresh just a couple of years ago, we are committed to making the tools better all the time.  This change is a leap forward in that direction.

Getting Upgraded

The process for upgrading is different than upgrades we've offered in the past. It's a large undertaking and requires some major changes.  It's not an upgrade you can do yourself.  It'll require MITS's assistance since we are moving MITS to a cloud hosted solution and changing the entire underlying database.

If you're interested in discussing an upgrade, reach out to your Customer Account Manager.  They can talk to you more about this and help you get connected to the right team.

Bug Fixes

BICORE-123 - An issue with the case of cube names in cube cache and ProServ tools became irrelevant.

BICORE-43 - Build log debug output for "Cuboid Cardinalities" and "Optimal Cuboids Benefit" is now valid csv.

BICORE-57 - Charts now correctly show identifier values in the drill down dialog.

BICORE-72 - Fixed an error in the main grid when a column template used a nonexistent accumulator.

BICORE-42 - Fixed an internal error on launching the dashboard when Time Comparison Grid objects were missing an APP tag.

BICORE-125 - Fixed an internal error that affected charts using a nonexistent identifier in their drilldown path.

BICORE-124 - Fixed an internal error that occurred when launching a chart that had a sort or filter on a nonexistent column.

BICORE-252 - Fixed an issue where a particular workflow in the formatting dialog could cause errors.

BICORE-126 - Fixed an issue where certain very complex column expressions would fail with "Couldn't mutate melExpression while creating refs."

BICORE-54 - Fixed READV columns that accessed field by attribute number instead of by name. These had previously returned blanks.

BICORE-64 - Improved messaging and added the actual error for an error during processing the fact table for a cube

BICORE-256 - Improved handling of reports and charts with bad identifiers or sorts or filters. These now will show a nice error and provide a way to fix the problem when launching.

BICORE-262 - MITS Report is not available in 2020.1.0 and is not included in the installer.

BICORE-80 - Moved Report and Dashboard storage out of Multi-Value. This means the report listing page loads faster.

BICORE-283 - Restored ability to drill across to a dashboard with values which are not valid for the cube in the prompt sequence. Also able to manually specify dashboard prompt values that may not be valid.

BICORE-277 - Passwords are no longer managed in MITS, and the link that allows users to change their own password goes to the central platform user management.

BICORE-139 - Reports run faster, even with bang fields.

BICORE-272 - The "credits and licenses" page has been updated updated with dates and added lines for new dependencies and the MITS copyright line is updated.

BICORE-136 - The configuration for loading columns has been simplified. Columns are loaded at the end of a cube build and when the cube cache is refreshed.

BICORE-167 - The cube definition xml has been updated to remove the fields that only made sense on multivalue, and to simplify the column configuration. It includes a few fields that are not actually supported by the product.

BICORE-224 - The User Management page in MITS links to the central platform user management. A user with sufficient permissions can click it to manage which users exist. (MITS still offers its existing UI for MITS-specific permissions.)

BICORE-2 - There is now a central Platform User service outside of MITS which handles creating users and handles their passwords. A central auth service handles authentication and licensing. There is still a user management UI in MITS but it now only affects MITS specific authorization.

BICORE-159 - Uninstaller now more completely removes webserver/bin/derby-0.log(.lck) files.

BICORE-178 - Users are now authenticated and managed in a central service. There is no more Active Directory support.