Version 2021

What's New in MicroStrategy 2021

MicroStrategy 2021 introduces new features that provide better performance and scalability to enhance the overall user experience. In addition, this release introduces new features across the analytics, mobility, and security platform - making it easier for users to build applications faster.

Below are the new features exclusive to MicroStrategy 2021 and its subsequent updates. For a smooth upgrade, be sure to review the important version-specific information regarding changes in the release that could impact functionality and performance. For customers with an upgrade gap of more than one version, the Readme for all intermediate versions can be found in Product Documentation.

MicroStrategy Desktop MicroStrategy Integrity Manager
MicroStrategy Application MicroStrategy Mobile
MicroStrategy HyperIntelligence MicroStrategy Library Mobile SDK
MicroStrategy Workstation MicroStrategy Mobile SDK
MicroStrategy Web MicroStrategy Custom Visualization SDK
MicroStrategy Library MicroStrategy Embedding SDK
MicroStrategy Library Mobile MicroStrategy REST APIs
MDX MicroStrategy Cloud Platform
Federated Analytics Installation
MicroStrategy for Office Data Sources
MicroStrategy Intelligence Server Privileges
MicroStrategy Platform Analytics  

MicroStrategy Desktop

MicroStrategy 2021 does not include a separate Desktop application. Soon, Workstation will be available to use for free, offline workflows, just as Desktop previously worked. Advanced functionality in Workstation will only be enabled when you connect to a MicroStrategy environment. Users of MicroStrategy Desktop 2020 Update 3 can continue to connect the application to 2021 environments.

MicroStrategy Application

MicroStrategy is the new premiere viewing platform that brings the power of analytics right to the desktop—all at a faster speed. Get the instant response experience with new features unique to the app such as Smart Download and Automatic Refresh that predict and proactively download the content you need both online and offline.

  • Search for and view HyperIntelligence cards in the MicroStrategy app.
  • Share bookmarks to keep your team updated with more in-depth insights.
  • Collaborate with direct messages that allow users to start discussions with individuals or groups.
  • Search for objects both inside and outside of Library with Global Search.
  • Add dossiers or documents to the Favorites section for quick navigation.
  • Create uniquely named and personalized groups to organize content.
  • Search for keywords to find specific data highlighted in a dossier or document.
  • Improved color contrast with a more accessible primary blue and overall color palette

MicroStrategy HyperIntelligence

  • Create and apply thresholds to the card header.
  • Support for derived metrics on the card editor.
  • Ability to replace datasets without sacrificing card design on the card editor.
  • Embed HyperIntelligence on web-based applications using Hyper SDK.

  • Ability to support and enforce mobile security policies through any EMM platform that supports the AppConfig standards on HyperMobile for iOS.

MicroStrategy Workstation

MicroStrategy Web

  • Secure text input through parameterized queries. See KB484512 for more information.
  • Export hierarchy reports to Excel with the hierarchy structure and levels preserved.
  • A new feature flag called Customize the Position of Parent Elements appears on the General Preferences page. Administrators can turn on this feature flag to allows users to customize the position of hierarchical attribute parent elements above or below child elements in dossier grids. The default setting is Off.
  • Improved performance when using percentile functions. See KB484742 for more information.

  • Dossier enhancements, including:

    • Create dossier-level filters to filter data across multiple chapters or an entire dossier.
    • Visualization Gallery moved to top toolbar to showcase nine new one-click Bar charts, three new one-click Line/Area charts, and provide more authoring space.
    • Compare two or more metric values in a Bar chart using a common scale with the new Synchronized Axis Bar chart or right-mouse-clicking on a dual-axis chart.
    • Enhanced Pie and, new out-of-the-box, Ring chart with optimized use of container blank space, improved data labels with leader lines, and option to show as a percentage.

    • Allow multiple selections for data labels in pie, circle, and bar charts.

    • Sort pie and ring charts in ascending or descending order.
    • New Waterfall chart supports Show Difference and Show Sum modes to display data intuitively, as well as an option to hide or show the connection line.

    • Build Geospatial Service visualizations with the following new styles:

      • Border: Display only geographic borders and no terrain details. Use a background color or image to make the data pop.
      • Focused: Focus only on the geographic area where you have data, without surrounding areas distracting the view.
    • New Format panel option to disable panning, zooming, tilting, and rotating of Geospatial Service visualizations.
    • New Format panel option to disable the Geospatial Service visualization toolbar.
    • Sort and filter the attributes/metrics in the Dataset panel with new one-click filtering options for derived metrics, geo-attributes, unused objects, objects used on selected visualization, and more.
    • Create dynamic default filters based on the First N / Last N element(s).
    • Support passing filter selections and answer prompts while linking from text boxes and images.
    • Change the fill color opacity for text boxes, grids, and containers to customize transparency.
    • Add shapes to the canvas from the top toolbar to visually group elements, help frame a visualization, or create a layered effect.
    • Smarter labels for most visualizations to improve readability and design.
    • Additional visualization formatting flexibility through x-axis label rotation and word wrap.
    • Enhanced grid sorting to support working with totals, as well as allowing users to specify nested, absolute, and level grid sorting on metrics.
    • Hide or show the Metrics header text in a grid visualization.
    • Select and copy individual grid cells contents and URLs to the clipboard.
    • Customize the position of hierarchical attribute parent elements above or below child elements in grids. This feature only applies to MDX/OLAP sources for hierarchy reporting.
    • Import measures as regular dimensions when using Oracle Essbase MDX/OLAP sources for hierarchy reporting.

    • Support a new MDX/OLAP data source of Kyvos 2020.2.4 for hierarchy reporting.

    • Add metrics to rows in compound grids.
    • Use compound grid visualizations to filter data in other visualizations.
    • Enable vertical scrolling in free-form layout dossiers.
    • Hide or show visualization containers for mobile views in free-form layout.
    • Use the keyboard to move and delete, disable auto-snapping, and select all layers under free-form layout dossiers.
    • Export dossiers to PDF while in presentation mode.
  • Enhanced security when using the MicroStrategy Connector. To take advantage of the improved MicroStrategy Connector, enable CORS settings on your Library Server.

MicroStrategy Library

  • Share bookmarks to keep your team updated with more in-depth insights.
  • Collaborate with direct messages that allow users to start discussions with individuals or groups.
  • Search for objects both inside and outside of Library with Global Search.
  • Add dossiers or documents to the Favorites section for quick navigation.
  • Create uniquely named and personalized groups to organize content.
  • Enable or disable the view of the Comments and Discussion panel across environments.
  • Improved PDF generation response time when exporting from a dossier.
  • Select and copy individual grid cells contents and URLs to the clipboard.
  • Export dossiers with Table of Contents and grid pagination.
  • Enable auto-fit for column width when exporting a document or dossier grid to Excel.
  • Enhanced grid sorting to support working with totals, as well as allowing users to specify nested, absolute, and level grid sorting on metrics.
  • Customize the position of hierarchical attribute parent elements above or below child elements in grids. This feature only applies to MDX/OLAP sources for hierarchy reporting.
  • Export hierarchy reports to Excel with the hierarchy structure and levels preserved.
  • Improved color contrast with a more accessible primary blue and overall color palette
  • Seamlessly re-direct Library sessions to a healthy node when the current Intelligence server node is hanging or crashing.
  • Allow the Library server to communicate with the MicroStrategy Modeling service when auto-configuration has failed.

MicroStrategy Library Mobile

iOS

Android

  • Support for tap, tap and hold, and double tap touch gestures.
  • Support for swiping gestures between dossiers pages.
  • Support for multi-select touch gestures to select multiple objects.
  • Share bookmarks to keep your team updated with more in-depth insights.
  • Collaborate with direct messages that allow users to start discussions with individuals or groups.
  • Search for objects both inside and outside of Library with Global Search.
  • Library Mobile certification for Android OS 11.
  • Deep link to Library from other applications.
  • Export dossiers with Table of Contents and grid pagination.
  • Customize the position of hierarchical attribute parent elements above or below child elements in grids. This feature only applies to MDX/OLAP sources for hierarchy reporting.

MDX

Federated Analytics

MicroStrategy for Power BI

  • Improved import performance.
  • Import data in your defined locale.

MicroStrategy for Tableau

  • Improved import performance.
  • Use the suggested default MicroStrategy Library URL.

MicroStrategy for RStudio

RStudio Server Open Source Edition 1.2 is certified.

MicroStrategy Packages for R and Python (mstrio, mstrio-py)

MicroStrategy for Office

  • Import data from compound grid visualizations to Excel.
  • View imported object and source information such as prompt answers, filters, attributes, metrics, owner, certification status, last modified date, etc., of imported data in the add-in side panel.
  • Select a new import destination if the original selected range is unavailable.
  • Support for OIDC authentication for Azure.

MicroStrategy Intelligence Server

MicroStrategy Platform Analytics

Configure Platform Analytics to use a custom respository database name.

MicroStrategy Integrity Manager

New modern, user-friendly page for SQL comparison in dossiers, documents, and reports.

MicroStrategy Mobile

iOS

  • MicroStrategy Mobile certification for iOS 14.
  • Mobile SDK certification with AppConfig for iOS 14.

MicroStrategy Library Mobile SDK

iOS

Android

  • The Library Mobile SDK for Android is certified to work with Android 11 (API level 30). When you customize Library Mobile for Android, you must have Android SDK 30 to develop and compile your application.

  • Deep link to Library from other applications.

MicroStrategy Mobile SDK

iOS

When you customize MicroStrategy Mobile SDK for iOS, you must have an Apple Mac, running Xcode® 12.0 with the Apple iOS SDK 14, to develop and compile your application.

Android

The MicroStrategy Mobile SDK for Android is certified to work with Android 11 (API level 30). When you customize MicroStrategy Mobile for Android, you must have Android SDK 30 to develop and compile your application.

MicroStrategy Custom Visualization SDK

Configure the display of the Change Visualization context menu.

MicroStrategy Embedding SDK

MicroStrategy REST APIs

  • Identify applications to load on server startup.
  • Manage filter objects through the Modeling service.
  • Create and edit email subscriptions.
  • List available recipients for a given user, including Shared List and Personal Addresses.
  • Execute a single subscription on demand.
  • Create, update, and deleted schedules.
  • Manage data sources with a complete set of REST APIs.
  • Ability to request DateTime data to be returned from reports, cubes, and dossiers in the ISO 8601 format.
  • Ability to update page-by selections for reports.
  • Enhancement to APIs returning data from reports and cubes to allow the modification of attribute and metric template positioning.
  • Enhancement to APIs that execute reports, cubes, and dossiers to allow the request for asynchronous executions.
  • Monitor and manage cubes. This includes viewing and changing the status of a cube.
  • Additional server and application level settings from MicroStrategy Developer are available in MicroStrategy Workstation.
  • Ability to request object lineage information.

MicroStrategy Cloud Platform

Improved scalability of deployments across AWS and Azure, including:

  • A new One-Node Enterprise deployment type for production-quality single node deployments that leverage scalable file storage and high availability MD instances
  • The availability of one-click hotfix upgrades to M2019 Update 7 and M2020 Update 3
  • The ability to stop/start/resize individual nodes within a cluster for improved vertical scalability

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Security enhancements, including:

  • Option to deploy environments with only Private IPs
  • Automatic, default SSL encryption between I-server and Web server in MCP deployments for 11.3 and beyond
  • Improved load balancer encryption to TLS 1.2 protocol

Enhanced global availability of MCP deployments recently expanding into the following regions:

  • Middle East (Bahrain)
  • Canada Central
  • Sao Paulo
  • EU (Stockholm)

Azure

Security enhancements, including:

  • Option to deploy environments with only Private IPs
  • Automatic, default SSL encryption between I-server and Web server in MCP deployments for 11.3 and beyond
  • Improved load balancer encryption to TLS 1.2 protocol

Enhanced global availability of MCP deployments recently expanding into the following regions:

  • South Central US (Texas)
  • Canada Central
  • Asia Southeast
  • Japan East
  • South Africa (North)

Installation

  • The Windows and Linux debug installation log file MSTRInstall.log has been renamed to MSTRDebugInstall.log to help distinguish it from the high-level install.log. Additionally, the file has been moved to the Log directory to centralize all log collection.
  • The MicroStrategy Repository is now an independent component that can selected for use during installation for Platform Analytics and Collaboration Server. If you want to use your own certified Postgres database, or if you have already installed the MicroStrategy Repository on another machine, a new screen allows you to connect to a remote repository instead.
  • Administrators can now use the Recheck button for Windows and Linux installations when missing requirements are identified. Now, the requirements can be installed, and without leaving the same installer screen, administrators can recheck these requirements and proceed when they have all been satisfied.
  • MicroStrategy now supports and bundles Adopt OpenJDK11 with the Linux and Windows platform installers. Fresh installations or upgrades to 2021 are automatically upgraded, with no further action needed. For your hosted J2EE web application servers, you must upgrade to JDK11 before deploying the new 2021 WAR files. You may also use Oracle JDK11, which is supported.

Data Sources

See Platform Certifications for information on the latest supported and certified configurations.

  1. Gateway Certification

    • Teradata 17
    • Oracle Cloud 19c
    • Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse
    • SAP HANA 2.0 SPS05
    • PostgreSQL 12 & 13
    • IBM DB2 11.5
    • IBM Integrated Analytics System 1.0
    • MongoDB 4.x
    • Cloudera Data Platform 7.1
    • Yellowbrick 4.0

  2. New Gateways

    • New Cloud Object Storage Connector supporting AWS S3, Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 and Google Cloud Storage for files in Parquet, Avro, and ORC formats.
    • New Gateway Connectors for Kyvos, Yellowbrick, IBM Integrated Analytics System (IAS).
    • New OData Connectors for SAP S/4 HANA, SAP BW/4 HANA.
    • Azure SQL Data Warehouse is now Azure Synapse Analytics and is certified with MicroStrategy. See the Microsoft documentation for more information.

  3. OOTB Driver Updates

    • Teradata drivers are bundled out-of-the-box with MicroStrategy installation (Teradata Driver 17).
    • Snowflake drivers are bundled out-of-the-box with MicroStrategy installation (Snowflake Driver 3.12.11 (JDBC) and 2.21.2 (ODBC)).
    • SAP Hana Drivers are bundled out-of-the-box with MicroStrategy installation (SAP Hana Driver 2.6).
    • MicroStrategy 2021 ships the latest drivers for all gateways MicroStrategy ships out-of-the-box optimizing security and performance.

  4. Gateway Deprecation

  5. Security and Performance Enhancements

    • Support Kerberos, certificate-based authentication, and scram-sha-256 for password encryption of PostgreSQL. See KB484539, KB484540, and KB484541 for more details.
    • TLS configuration is supported in GUI and command line mode for all gateways that MicroStrategy ships out-of-the-box in the Connectivity Wizard. (SAP HANA excluded) See KB42495 for more information.
    • Secure SQL Execution using Parameterized Queries has been enabled by default for the following data sources: Amazon Redshift, IBM Db2, Oracle, Teradata, PostgreSQL, SAP HANA, Snowflake, Google BigQuery, MySQL, Yellowbrick, MemSQL, IBM IAS, IBM IPS, IBM Netezza, and Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL Compatible. See KB484512 for more information.
    • Implement unified quoting with Diamond and Platinum gateways as well as strategic gold gateways - PostgreSQL, Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL, Yellowbrick, IBM Integrated Analytics System, IBM Netezza, and IBM Performance Server for PostgreSQL.
    • The calculation of the DateDiff function has been pushed to the gateway side for SQL Server, Azure Synapse Analytics, and Amazon Redshift. To incorporate this change, you must update your metadata and schema. This change increases performance when executing reports and live dossiers or when publishing cubes against SQL Server or Amazon WH when DateDiff calculations are used.
    • The calculation of the Percentile function has been pushed to the gateway side for all Diamond and Platinum data sources. To incorporate this change, you must update your metadata and schema. This change increases performance when executing reports and live dossiers or when publishing cubes when Percentile calculations are used.
    • Snowflake - Improved live connections (report/cube) throughput performance by up to three times by updating the default Intermediate Table Type to Derived Table.

  6. Functionality Enhancements

    • Extended Connectivity Wizard DSN creation for Google BigQuery, Apache Spark SQL, Hive, Impala, Teradata and Snowflake.
    • Google BigQuery gateway now supports Billing Project and Catalog Browsing by Namespace.
    • Seamless Authentication for JDBC and ODBC Drivers Leveraging OAuth Workflow. For example, Snowflake and Google. BigQuery.
    • New report searching functionality for Salesforce Report gateway connector. See KB484556 for more information.
    • Network proxy support for MicroStrategy Community Connectors.
    • Support HTTP connection (proxy connection) for relational gateways.

Privileges

A few privileges have been migrated between license groups.

  • The following privileges have been moved from Client-Web to Client-Reporter:
    • Web add to History List
    • Web execute datamart report
  • The following privileges have been moved from Server-Intelligence to Server-Reporter:
    • View History List
    • Save personal prompt answers
  • The following privilege has been moved from Client-Web to Server-Distribution:
    • Web subscribe to History List