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September 15, 2016

MicroStrategy 10.5 Now Available

TYSONS CORNER, Va.Sept. 15 — MicroStrategy Incorporated (Nasdaq:  MSTR), a leading worldwide provider of enterprise software platforms, today announced the general availability of MicroStrategy 10.5, the latest update to the company’s MicroStrategy 10 platform. This feature release delivers the industry’s latest drivers and gateways with new certifications to support more enterprise assets, allowing organizations to easily leverage their data investments. Beyond enhanced connectivity to data assets, MicroStrategy 10.5 delivers several features that make it easier to consume analytics across MicroStrategy Desktop, MicroStrategy Web, MicroStrategy Mobile and Usher.

“The latest edition of our platform makes MicroStrategy much more compelling to our enterprise customers and OEM partners who deploy business intelligence at a larger scale,” said Tim Lang, CTO of MicroStrategy Incorporated. “MicroStrategy 10.5 enables organizations to connect to enterprise resources with new native support for RESTful APIs, new connectivity to OData and SAS data files, and faster access to large volumes of data on Hadoop and other distributed files systems. It also delivers an extensive list of new features for MicroStrategy Desktop, MicroStrategy Web, MicroStrategy Mobile and Usher.”

MicroStrategy 10.5 delivers an extensive collection of enhancements focused on empowering users to access more information and systems, including:

Native support for RESTful APIs

MicroStrategy 10.5 extends the analytical power of MicroStrategy and makes it easier to integrate with custom applications using new native APIs. Version 10.5 delivers native support for APIs that create entry points for accessing data in JSON format, addressing the needs of large enterprises and OEM partners that harness data through MicroStrategy via customized business apps. Organizations can benefit from the new enhanced RESTful APIs and build branded data-driven applications with advanced filtering capabilities that are available in version 10.5.

Connectivity to OData and SAS data files

MicroStrategy 10.5 also delivers new connectors that allow end users to access new data sources. With version 10.5, analysts can upload and visualize SAS data files instantly, making it easier to share data and collaborate with other business users. Version 10.5 also delivers a new connector to OData services to support the increasing demand for connectors to Web Services.

New certifications for more enterprise assets

MicroStrategy 10.5 expands support for more data assets by adding support for Microsoft SQL Server 2016, MongoDB 3.2 and Cloudera 5.8. In addition, version 10.5 enhances access to big data sources by delivering updates to Spark SQL and Google Big Query connectors. With an increased number of pushdown functions supported by these connectors, MicroStrategy 10.5 makes it easier and faster to access large volumes of data on Hadoop and other distributed files systems.

Exciting new features for MicroStrategy Desktop and MicroStrategy Mobile in version 10.5 include:

  • Improved Visualizations and Charts for MicroStrategy Mobile: MicroStrategy Mobile is now able to support a greater number of popular, web-based visualizations from the Custom Visualization Gallery, such as the KPI and Funnel visualizations. MicroStrategy Mobile now also supports custom properties and color palettes for D3 custom visualizations. Enhancements to the combination charts also allow users to render Ticker, Circle and Square chart types on MicroStrategy Mobile, allowing for richer data visualizations.
  • Customizable Error Messages on iOS Mobile Devices: MicroStrategy Mobile for iOS now supports customized error messages, expanding the ability to communicate across devices. Users can create error messages that reflect specific issues that they may be encountering when manipulating data.
  • Reduced Memory Footprint for MicroStrategy Desktop: MicroStrategy Desktop now optimizes the memory footprint for users who have multiple dashboards open at the same time. MicroStrategy Desktop users gain increased flexibility to work with multiple dashboards simultaneously on both Mac and Windows operating systems.

MicroStrategy 10.5 also introduces several new features for Usher, which is comprised of two main client interfaces: Usher Security and Usher Professional. Usher Security is a mobile identity application that replaces physical IDs, passwords, keys and security tokens with secure digital badges. Usher Professional is an analytics and mobile productivity application that allows managers to monitor user activity on interactive maps and communicate in real-time.

  • 2-Way Messaging Between Usher Professional and Usher Security Users: Usher Professional users can instantly message a group of Usher Security users with a question and Usher Security users can respond in real-time from their mobile devices. This feature enables use cases and applications such as instant communication with geographically distributed workforce, instant polling of a set of users, and emergency response by communicating status and sending help to specific locations.
  • Auto Server Configuration for Usher Security: With MicroStrategy 10.5, it is now simpler to recover or load a digital badge in an Usher client. Instead of hunting for a configuration link from a previously sent email invitation, users can simply scan a QR code to attempt to access a resource which requires a badge that is no longer (or not yet) in the client. This attempt prompts the user to connect to the appropriate Usher server and log in to recover or install the badge.
  • Usher Network Manager: Administrators are now able to limit the number of provisioned devices that a user can have per badge. This ability enhances security controls and helps to ensure that each user has an Usher badge installed on only a limited number of devices.

“As enterprise data assets become increasingly diverse, leading organizations are choosing MicroStrategy because it performs exceptionally well in a rapidly-evolving data landscape and gives our customers a comprehensive enterprise analytics solution to leverage their existing investments—from databases and enterprise directories to cloud applications and physical access control systems,” added Mr. Lang.

To learn more about MicroStrategy 10.5 and see the full list of new features across MicroStrategy Desktop, MicroStrategy Web and MicroStrategy Mobile, visit https://www.microstrategy.com/us/platform/whats-new or register for the upcoming webcast here. MicroStrategy will be featuring version 10.5 at the upcoming Symposia events being held across several cities globally in October 2016. To register for an event near you, visit: https://www.microstrategy.com/us/learn/symposium.

New support plan to include platform releases and feature releases

MicroStrategy is excited to introduce two new designations for product versions beginning with MicroStrategy 10.4. As part of MicroStrategy’s ongoing commitment to customer success, releases are now designated as either “platform releases” or “feature releases.” If a version is designated a platform release, MicroStrategy has determined it will be well-suited for broad-based adoption. MicroStrategy expects platform releases to be delivered approximately every 18 months and to be supported for 36 months. Regular stability patches and hotfixes will be made to a platform release, but no new features or functionality will be added to this release. A release that is not designated to be a platform release will be designated as a feature release. MicroStrategy expects feature releases to be delivered every 3 months and to be supported for 6 months. Feature releases will include new features and functionalities and also include patches and hotfixes from the most recent platform release. Feature releases are designed for those customers who want to gain access to the latest features, and are willing to take on the added commitment of frequent upgrades. As an example, MicroStrategy designated version 10.4 as a platform release, so versions 10.5, 10.6, etc. are expected to be feature releases until the next platform release is issued. For more information about the version 10.5 feature release, visit here. Simultaneously, MicroStrategy 10.4.1 is generally available to customers today. For more information about MicroStrategy 10.4.1, visit here.

About MicroStrategy Incorporated

Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy (Nasdaq:  MSTR) is a leading worldwide provider of enterprise software platforms. The Company’s mission is to provide enterprise analytics and mobility platforms that are powerful, scalable and user-friendly. To learn more, visit MicroStrategy online, and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.


Source: MicroStrategy

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