Hello everyone, we have more requested and helpful Apptio BI releases to allow users to you easily compare data over a specified time period and additionally compare multiple time periods of data to one another in new ways. This is accomplished both with the default enabling of "Rolling" date ranges when a specified time period is selected, and the newly added ability to compare multiple pie or donut charts to one another with Cloud data sources. We'll explore both releases in more detail below.

Curious what Date Ranges are available across data sources?

Learn more about Date Range selection when creating a visualization, particularly if you are curious what date range options apply to Cloud, Cost and Plan data sources, respectively.

Date Ranges - Enabling "Rolling"

In Apptio BI, date ranges are a necessary component to display any given data selection, regardless of which Dimensions and/or Metrics are chosen.  Previously, users needed to have the Rolling box checked to set rolling dates that are moved forward in time, for example, if I set a date range for the last 7 days and set it to be rolling, the visualization would always show the last 7 days relative to the current date. Now, this box will be pre-selected when a time period is chosen, instead of simply displaying data from the period specified initially. You can opt to deselect the box if you want the period specified to remain static.

For example, when selecting from a Cloudability / Cloud data source for example, the Custom Date Range window is displayed. From this picker, you can select a predefined period (e.g. Today, Yesterday, Last 7/14/30/60/90/180 days (includes today), This/Last Week, This/Last Month, This/Last Quarter, This/Last Year), or set custom start and end dates or select a custom start date and end date in the calendar.

Here you can see I have chosen a custom date range, and in order to have it automatically move with data for that specified time frame as I go forward (instead of having to edit the date continuously), the Rolling check box will be selected automatically:


Comparing Multiple Date Ranges - Pie & Donut Charts

In tandem with the previous release, when selecting from the date range menu and using Pie and Donut charts, users can now compare two time periods to see how a given metric has changed over these periods in each respective visualization. To do so, users simply have to select the  Compare check box option under the Date Range picker. You can enter the static or custom date ranges for both date ranges in the Date Range.

To show this for a Pie chart, here I am selecting from the last 30 days, and I want to look at Opex breakdown by Business Unit compared to 28 days in February. I have selected Pie charts so I can view the largest contributions to the whole (which Donut charts do as well):

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Keep in mind,  you can select Include "Other" Values checkbox in the options menu to group specified dimensions into a single category - helping you to view and analyze your most important data, while not losing sight of the overall picture for a specified date range. This feature is available to all visualization types. For example, you can select the number of results that you want to display in your visualization, and then choose to group the remaining data into the Other group. Learn more about grouping here (see 5).

You can also add drill-down tables to a visualization for additional analysis and improved interactivity for your end users and collaborators. The visualizations that support drill-down tables include tables, bar charts, column charts, stacked bar charts, stacked column charts in addition to pie and donut charts. Apptio BI supports two types of drill-down tables: fixed and exploration. Learn more Drilling functionality on our Help Center..

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Give these features and try, and let us know how we can help walk you through the creation of new visualizations in detail below - or whether you have specific questions or comments regarding these releases.