Crucial tasks such as forecasting sales, predicting supply requirements and identifying seasonal patterns are aided by Version 3.0, released this week. Forecast Pro's expert system engine for forecast method selection becomes even more useful with the new version's options for sophisticated data analysis and flexible presentation. Forecasting begins with data, and both new editions of Forecast Pro can draw data from more sources than before. Even so, there's ample room for improvement in data access. Spreadsheets, for example, must be arranged in particular formats to be parsed by Forecast Pro, and users cannot select an arbitrary named range when they open a spreadsheet file.
Similar restrictions apply to database files.
We believe that an analytic tool such as Forecast Pro should take its data as it finds it and should filter input data and assign needed attributes at the time that values come into the product's environment. Most spreadsheets, including Excel, already use this approach. Though finicky about data format, Forecast Pro 3.0 is surprisingly tolerant of small data sets that traditional techniques would not be able to use. It provides an expanded collection of data models with options for forecasting low or intermittent flows, as in situations where costly spare parts must be kept on hand to deal with rare but critical situations. Forecast Pro 3.0 makes it much easier than did previous versions to generate a forecast report that presents the desired information about past data, future predictions, risks and other vital parameters.