openIntel - A name describing an education data warehouse solution delivering education intelligence from mature open source, and free, software products that are widely available, have multiple support mechanisms and are being used in mission critical settings worldwide. The base components of the solution include:

• MySQL Version 5.1
• Business Intelligence Reporting Tool (BIRT)Runtime
• Engine Version 2.1.1
• BIRT Report Designer - Included in the free IBM Eclipse SW Development Kit Version 3.2
• Apache Tomcat Application Server Version 5.5
• Apache Web Server Version 2.2
• Client Access - Any standard W3C compliant web browser

The components of the solution are entirely server side components that allow you to design a web interface specific to your needs. All districts have typically have an IT resource that does web development. The code necessary to call the BIRT reports is included in the solution documentation and consists of only two to three lines that can be reused within any standard HTML page.

This open solution allows school districts to completely customize this to their needs without requiring any specialized technical skills. The underlying open source software comes with complete installation and configuration documentation, help documentation and has a many organizations providing support. Free support can be found in the multitudes of discussion forums on the web where developers have formed communities of free support.