This data is a list of products with three additional text columns and one data column associated the product.  It's a tabular report, typical of database query results or spreadsheet summaries. 

To start,  we'll convert this to a crosstab using a one-step operation in nextanalytics, sometimes referred to as a 'pivot' operation.  All we need to do is identify which text column (Period, SubCategory, or Category) we want across the columns. One simple menu selection or script command - the rest is automatically done by nextanalytics.

SwapTextColumnWithColumn,Period

While many reporting tools would end with this crosstab, nextanalytics allows you to continue exploring your data, using the crosstab as a starting point. A number of simple operations which allow you to custom-control the order of the generated columns, as well as eliminate un-wanted columns, or as in this case, showing only the first 6 time periods, allowing you to zoom in on specific periods.

Simple operations allow you to quickly and easily sort or reverse the order of the rows or columns, such as reversing the columns so the most recent month appears at the left. This flexibility of presentation means you no longer have to extract information to a spreadsheet and stumble with selection ranges and formulas to get things looking the way you want.

More simple-yet-powerful operations would allow you to explore aspects of the product sales over time like cumulative totals or the 3-month rolling average as shown here.

It is also possible to perform common repeating calculations such as percentage growth (shown here) or net change. Sorting on the last column would yield the fastest growing products in the most recent month while displaying previous months growth.

RepeatingCalculation,Growth

If you need a change of perspective, it is easy to exchange the rows and columns. Each of these operations can be combined with any of the others, mix-and matched in any order. Each result page in nextanalytics is the starting page to the next operation. No formulas to worry about, no dimensions to re-define. Simple iterative analytics - the way you think.