One was cost. Yes, I know that every BI manufacturer has a different way of calculating TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and can compellingly prove that, overall, when you take the cost of the extra cappuccinos that the opposition will require you to drink, product X is cheaper. But the bottom line was that, no matter how we did the calculations, the Microsoft solution was much cheaper. 

The other reason was development time. I have worked on projects that have used software from all the major BI vendors. I am painfully aware that installing and setting up the software, let alone prototyping, can soak up weeks. Before we committed to using Microsoft software we decided to give it a try. We started from a bare machine with only the OS installed. The fact that, by the end of the day we not only had all the software installed and running, we had the prototype cube complete with interface and available for testing, essentially made the decision for us. My impression is that Microsoft has spent a great deal of time (and presumably money) in making BI software easier to use, not only for the end user, but also for the application developer. But I’m not proud; I don’t mind if my job is made easier. It simply means I can spend more time drinking those cappuccinos…

Did it all work?

Yes. Nature (the world’s most prestigious scientific publication) was kind enough to publish our work as a feature “What Henslow taught Darwin.” Nature, 4th. Aug. 2005. Volume 436 Number 7051 p643.

In that we presented our findings, together with a great deal of supporting evidence. We conclude it with: “Henslow had launched Darwin’s voyage when he helped secure the Beagle berth. But Henslow had also launched Darwin’s mind during his undergraduate career on an intellectual voyage that led from species stability to the Origin of Species.”

Just to be clear, this does not mean that we think Henslow should be credited with discovering evolution; in fact Henslow and Darwin’s letters tell us that Henslow never accepted the concept of evolution (although they remained firm friends). It was Darwin who made the intuitive leap that tied variation, selection and inheritance together. However without Henslow’s influence, we believe that Darwin would never have had the intellectual platform from which to make the leap.