Vivid 1.5 Released from Varigence!

Vivid is an indispensable tool that brings advanced analytics capabilities directly into Microsoft Excel. The new 1.5 version of Vivid adds powerful new self-service analytics features for both teams and individual analysts.

Vivid: A Recap

Vivid is an add-in that transforms Excel (2007/2010) into a world class self service BI tool with over 60 new features and capabilities. In addition to using Excel pivot tables more effectively with SSAS cubes and PowerPivot workbooks, Vivid offers a rich collaborative commenting model that makes your entire team more effective. Since Vivid builds directly on native Excel Pivot tables, you can seamlessly share your spreadsheets with non-Vivid users, Excel Services, and SharePoint. If you use standalone analytics clients such as ProClarity and wish many of those advanced features were available in Excel, Vivid is the answer. For more information about Vivid, visit its product page.

The Vivid 1.5 Release

Vivid 1.5 adds the following capabilities:

• PowerPivot support. Use the Vivid Pivot Table Editor to browse and create pivot tables for PowerPivot workbooks, either hosted in Sharepoint or embedded in the Excel document.
• Slicer support (Excel 2010) directly in the overlay and in the Vivid Pivot Table Editor.
• Virtual Dimensions, where you can cluster hierarchies. Useful for creating dimensions that don't exist on the actual cube.
• Virtual Hierarchies, which allow you to create a new pseudo-user hierarchy. These define a drilldown path, and are of particular use for PowerPivot, which doesn't have built-in support for user hierarchies.
• Several bug fixes and performance improvements.

Vivid 1.5 is available for download today here with a 14-day free trial. Vivid 1.4 customers can upgrade to Vivid 1.5 at no cost.