Business Intelligence for the Enterprise

by Biere, Mike

• ISBN13: 9780131413030
• ISBN10: 0131413031
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-06-04
• Publisher: IBM Press

Summary

bull; Offers techniques based on years of field work at IBM bull; Includes stories of companies that implemented BI Those that succeed and those that have failed! bull; Coverage includes recommendations to help implement BI consistently at the enterprise level

Author Biography

Mike Biere is Worldwide Sales Specialist for Business Intelligence Analytics Tools for IBM Corporation

Table of Contents

Introduction to Business Intelligence	1	(6)
Your Definition of Business Intelligence	2	(5)
Defining Business Intelligence	7	(22)
Query Tools	8	(4)
The RFI/RFP Factor	9	(3)
Data Warehouse Processes	12	(3)
BI Biases and Internal Squabbles	15	(2)
Establishing a More Global BI Perspective	17	(1)
BI at the Business Unit and Departmental Levels	18	(4)
BI at the Enterprise Level	22	(4)
Hindsight ``Rules''	26	(1)
Intranets/Extranets---Data and Analysis Within You and Without You	26	(1)
Know Your User Base	27	(2)
The History of Business Intelligence	29	(14)
The Early End-User Computing Era	30	(2)
The Information Center Era	32	(1)
Charge-Back Systems	33	(1)
Personal Computers	33	(1)
The Client/Server Wave	34	(2)
The Information Warehouse Concept	36	(2)
The Data Warehouse Era of BI	38	(1)
Advanced Analytics: Delivering Information to ``Mahogany Row''	39	(1)
BI Milestones	40	(3)
The Impact of Business Intelligence	43	(20)
The IT Department and Business Intelligence	44	(3)
Non-Technical End Users and Business Intelligence	47	(6)
Business Analysts and Business Intelligence	53	(4)
External End Users---The Extranet Environment	57	(2)
Business Intelligence and the Enterprise	59	(4)
Content Management and Unstructured Data	63	(8)
Industry-Related Content Management Areas	65	(4)
Why a Relational Database Can't Solve This	69	(2)
End-User Segmentation	71	(16)
End-User Segmentation	73	(5)
End-User Attributes	78	(1)
A Holistic View of the Users	79	(8)
Elements of Business Intelligence Solutions	87	(36)
Data Warehouse versus Data Marts	88	(2)
Setting Up Information for BI Processing	90	(1)
Data Extraction, Transformation, and Cleansing	90	(5)
The Data Side of BI	95	(3)
The Analytics Tools	98	(2)
End-User Assumptions about Tools	100	(1)
The Spreadsheet's Role in BI	100	(2)
The Three Major Categories of BI Analytics Tools	102	(1)
Query and Reporting Tools	103	(2)
Time and Date Elements in Reporting	105	(6)
OLAP Tools	111	(4)
Data Mining Tools	115	(3)
Advanced Analytics---Executive Information Systems (EIS)	118	(5)
Justifying Business Intelligence Solutions	123	(16)
ROI: Return on Investment	125	(1)
Business Impact Justification	126	(3)
The True Costs of BI	129	(3)
Big Purchase with No Plan	132	(3)
Bringing in the ``Hired Guns''	135	(1)
Your Justification Scenario	136	(3)
Corporate Performance Management (CPM) and the Executive View of Business Intelligence	139	(12)
Data Readiness and Availability for CPM	140	(4)
Role-Based Analytics	144	(1)
Pushing Information: Proactive BI---Effective Communication	145	(1)
Buy or Build CPM	146	(1)
A Viable Approach to CPM	147	(4)
Platform Selection, Technology Biases, and Other ``Traps''	151	(10)
Traditional IT Traps	152	(1)
The BI Trap	153	(1)
Evaluating Analytics Usage for User Populations	154	(2)
The Database Is the Most Critical Choice	156	(1)
How Well Do Your Approved BI Tools Support the Database Decision?	157	(1)
A ``Typical'' History Lesson	158	(3)
End-User Support and Productivity	161	(16)
BI Products Are Still Computer-Based	163	(1)
A ``Straw Person'' Scenario	164	(1)
Setting Up BI Support	165	(12)
Internal Support Issues	165	(2)
Vendor Support Issues	167	(1)
Internal Support Issues Addressed	168	(5)
Vendor Support Issues Addressed	173	(4)
Implementation for Business Intelligence Solutions	177	(16)
Back Up and Restore What You Have Already Done	178	(2)
System Sizing, Measurements, and Dependencies	180	(1)
Setting Early Expectations and Measuring the Results	181	(1)
End-User Provisos	181	(3)
Recap the First Project, and Tune Your Support and Implementation Models	184	(1)
OLAP Implementations	185	(3)
Expanding BI Based on What You Now Know	188	(1)
Establishing a BI Competency Center (BICC)	189	(4)
Planning for the Future---What's the Next Wave of Business Intelligence?	193	(12)
Advanced Analytics	194	(1)
Database Enhancements and BI	195	(2)
Thinner and Thinner Clients	197	(2)
Data Formats with BI Aspects	199	(2)
Portals	201	(1)
BI Networks	202	(1)
Conclusion	203	(2)
Appendix A Checklist for BI Planning	205	(6)
Corporate BI Strategy	206	(1)
End-User Support Strategy	206	(1)
Database and Tools Strategy	207	(2)
Intranet and Extranet Strategy	209	(2)
About the Author	211	(2)
Index	213

Excerpts

Preface Let me begin by stating that this book is not intended to be used as a technical reference for your validation or argument in the evaluation or assessment of Business Intelligence solutions. I have avoided the use of products and acronyms whenever possible. This is not because I do not know the products or because I don't have an opinion about them. It is because I want you to think about what you are doing for Business Intelligence and why. A "best-of-breed" BI tool can be implemented so poorly that it provides no value at all. A dated but well employed BI tool may bring spectacular business results. I probably will repeat myself a bit, including using the phrase "Activity does not equate to success." BI success does not lie in the volume of usage nor the volume of paper generated. BI success is measured in business impact and by the improvements in critical areas that can be attributed to its implementation. I began working in the end-user computing arena in 1981 and have worked with nearly every tool and database on the market since then. Behind all these efforts lies a common theme--the need to produce key business information from existing data. I do not pass judgment on any specific solution or vendor. I do, however, believe that too many organizations take the easy way out by selecting some tools, hoping the end users will "magically" emerge with what they want. Meanwhile, the rest of the "important" work in data processing goes on...and on...and on. If an organization decides to provide some data and analytics tools to end users to get them off the Information Technology (IT) Department's back, it will fail and the organization will end up spending much more in the long run because ultimately they'll have to attempt to get it right. Your view and definition of BI will dramatically vary from others depending upon your role within the enterprise. If your position requires you to work with getting the corporate data into shape for BI, the issues you face will be drastically different than those of individuals trying to use what you have created. If you are a non-technical end user, your definition probably will be filled with noble business initiatives and some usage and functional assumptions about the tools you will use. An enterprise view of BI would combine definitions from all users and roles into a singular view with goals that span the enterprise--oops, I just gave away the rest of the material in this book. Please do not stop here. Years ago, I was sitting in an introductory class to a new, exciting query and analysis tool. The instructor had been constantly hammering into us that the tool we were trying to learn was "intuitively obvious to use." One of my fellow students finally said, "I am sorry, but I don't seem to be getting it. I thought you said this was going to be intuitive!?" The instructor said, "Well, the more you use it, the more intuitive it becomes!" We have all heard the adage that a million apes with a million typewriters given a million years would eventually write War and Peace. Sometimes, a BI solution can seem that way. If the users have to constantly flail at data with obtuse options in an attempt to produce a result, then something is dramatically wrong. Business Intelligence solutions are anything but intuitive. Regardless of how many names and technologies have been applied to the discipline we now call BI, it is a difficult yet incredibly rewarding area in which to work. BI can change the course of how an enterprise operates and can keep an organization afloat in difficult times. BI elements can be used to discover trends and information that "normal" thinking would not have disclosed. How does one get from "flailing" to spectacular success? Needless to say, your business has to be viable and in a position to increase profitability and implement changes. The heart of any BI success s