The Shortcut Guide to

Achieving Business Intelligence in Midsize Companies

By Don Jones

Realtime Publishers San Francisco, CA

TheShortcutGuidetoAchievingBusinessIntelligenceinMidsize Companies
Publishedby: RealtimePublishers 300MontgomeryStreet Suite#1121 SanFrancisco,CA94104 www.realtimepublishers.com Copyright2010byRealtimePublishers,SanFrancisco,California CopyrightStatement 2010RealtimePublishers.Allrightsreserved.Thissitecontainsmaterialsthathavebeen created,developed,orcommissionedby,andpublishedwiththepermissionof,Realtime Publishers(theMaterials)andthissiteandanysuchMaterialsareprotectedby internationalcopyrightandtrademarklaws. THEMATERIALSAREPROVIDEDASISWITHOUTWARRANTYOFANYKIND,EITHER EXPRESSORIMPLIED,INCLUDINGBUTNOTLIMITEDTO,THEIMPLIEDWARRANTIESOF MERCHANTABILITY,FITNESSFORAPARTICULARPURPOSE,TITLEANDNON INFRINGEMENT.TheMaterialsaresubjecttochangewithoutnoticeanddonotrepresenta commitmentonthepartofRealtimePublishersitswebsitesponsors.Innoeventshall RealtimePublishersoritswebsitesponsorsbeheldliablefortechnicaloreditorialerrorsor omissionscontainedintheMaterials,includingwithoutlimitation,foranydirect,indirect, incidental,special,exemplaryorconsequentialdamageswhatsoeverresultingfromtheuseof anyinformationcontainedintheMaterials. TheMaterials(includingbutnotlimitedtothetext,images,audio,and/orvideo)maynotbe copied,reproduced,republished,uploaded,posted,transmitted,ordistributedinanyway,in wholeorinpart,exceptthatonecopymaybedownloadedforyourpersonal,noncommercial useonasinglecomputer.Inconnectionwithsuchuse,youmaynotmodifyorobscureany copyrightorotherproprietarynotice. TheMaterialsmaycontaintrademarks,servicesmarksandlogosthatarethepropertyof thirdparties.Youarenotpermittedtousethesetrademarks,servicesmarksorlogoswithout priorwrittenconsentofsuchthirdparties. RealtimePublishersandtheRealtimePublisherslogoareregisteredintheUSPatent& TrademarkOffice.Allotherproductorservicenamesarethepropertyoftheirrespective owners. Ifyouhaveanyquestionsabouttheseterms,orifyouwouldlikeinformationaboutlicensing materialsfromRealtimePublishers,pleasecontactusviaemailat info@realtimepublishers.com. ForquestionsaboutRealtimePublishers,visit:http://www.realtimepublishers.com TodownloadanyRealtimebooks,visitourlibrary:http://nexus.realtimepublishers.com ISBN:9781935581116 ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica

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About the Author

DonJoneshasmorethanadecadeofprofessionalexperienceintheIT industry.He'stheauthorofmorethan30ITbooks,includingWindows PowerShell:TFM;VBScript,WMI,andADSIUnleashed;Managing WindowswithVBScriptandWMI;andmanymore.He'satopratedand indemandspeakeratconferencessuchasMicrosoftTechEdand TechMentor,andwritesthemonthlyWindowsPowerShellcolumnfor MicrosoftTechNetMagazine.Donisamultipleyearrecipientof Microsoft's"MostValuableProfessional"(MVP)Awardwitha specializationinWindowsPowerShell.Don'sbroadITexperience includesworkinthefinancial,telecommunications,software, manufacturing,consulting,training,andretailindustriesandhe'soneof therareITprofessionalswhocannotonly"crosstheline"between administrationandsoftwaredevelopment,butalsobetweenITworkers andITmanagement.DonisacofounderofConcentratedTechnologies, andservesasauthorandserieseditorforRealtimePublishers.

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TableofContents
Chapter1:WhatIsBusinessIntelligence,Anyway?..................................................1 BusinessGoalsforBI.........................................................................................................2 BI:NotJustforBigCompanies .......................................................................................3 BITerminology....................................................................................................................4 DataWarehousesandDataMarts...........................................................................4 DataMining......................................................................................................................6 Reporting,Dashboards,andScorecards..............................................................6 PredictiveAnalytics......................................................................................................9 BusinessPerformanceManagement...................................................................10 ABriefTechnicalOverviewofBI................................................................................11 DataMartsandDataWarehouses.........................................................................11 OLTPvs.OLAP.........................................................................................................11 Normalizedvs.DimensionalData....................................................................12 DataModeling..........................................................................................................14 DataTransformationandLoading ........................................................................14 InMemoryAnalytics..................................................................................................15 Reporting,Analysis,andVisualization................................................................15 BI:Analysis+Planning...................................................................................................18 AnalyzingandReportingonInformation..........................................................18 MakingDecisions.........................................................................................................19 Implementing................................................................................................................20 OneSizeDoesNotFitAll................................................................................................20
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BIinLargeEnterprises..............................................................................................20 BIinMidsizeCompanies...........................................................................................21 ComingUpNext ..............................................................................................................21 Chapter2:HowBusinessIntelligenceHappens........................................................23 AssemblingYourBusinessData..................................................................................23 DirectDataMapping...................................................................................................24 DataLoading..................................................................................................................25 DataMartsandDataWarehouses.........................................................................26 InMemoryAnalytics..................................................................................................28 CreatinganInformationDrivenBusinessCulture..............................................30 Reporting .........................................................................................................................31 Dashboards.....................................................................................................................33 Scorecards .......................................................................................................................34 AnalyzingBusinessInformation.................................................................................36 AnalysisandVisualization.......................................................................................37 UncoveringRootCausesBehindData.................................................................42 TheImportanceofModelingtheBusiness........................................................43 MakingDecisionsandTakingActionThePlanningConnection ................44 Planning:AligningResourcestoOpportunities..............................................45 ComingUpNext ..............................................................................................................48 Chapter3:DebunkingtheTopThreeMythsofBusinessIntelligencefor MidsizeCompanies................................................................................................................49 Myth1:BICanBeDisruptive.......................................................................................49 SpecializedToolsandTrainingRequired..........................................................50
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LongImplementationTimes...................................................................................53 ImpactonOtherBusinessProcesses...................................................................53 Myth2:BIRequiresSpecializedExpertise.............................................................54 ComplicatedDeploymentandImplementation..............................................55 SpecializedTechnologyManagementSkills.....................................................55 LargeCompanySkillsDontScaleDown...........................................................56 SpecializedEndUserSkills......................................................................................57 Myth3:BIIsExpensive..................................................................................................60 ExpensiveAcquisitionCosts ....................................................................................60 ExpensiveConsultingServices...............................................................................61 DontLikeNegotiatingwithVendors?................................................................61 UniqueAdvantagesofMidsizeBusinessBI............................................................62 InMemoryAnalytics..................................................................................................63 Consistency.....................................................................................................................63 WhatsGoodforBigBusinessIsKindofGoodforYouToo.............................63 BusinessModelFlexibility.......................................................................................64 AdvancedReporting...................................................................................................64 DataEverywhereAccessibility..............................................................................65 ComingUpNext ..............................................................................................................67 Chapter4:SuccessfullyAddingBusinessIntelligencetoaMidsizeCompany ........................................................................................................................................................68 ReviewingtheProblemswithBI................................................................................68 TooComplex..................................................................................................................68 TooExpensive...............................................................................................................70
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TooDisruptive..............................................................................................................70 AddingBIWithoutBreakingtheBank.....................................................................71 NotJustReporting!......................................................................................................71 ThinkBig,StartSmall.................................................................................................72 StartwiththeBiggestPain.......................................................................................73 AddCapabilitiesasNeeded.....................................................................................75 EnsurethatYouHaveaGrowthPath..................................................................77 SeekOutFixedPriceSolutions..............................................................................77 AddingBIwithYourCurrentITTeam.....................................................................78 SoftwareAppliances...................................................................................................78 ModularAppliances....................................................................................................79 EnsurethatYouHaveaGrowthPath..................................................................80 MidsizeManageability...............................................................................................80 AddingBIwithoutDisruptingBusiness..................................................................82 LowStartupCost..........................................................................................................82 MinimalSpecializedExpertise...............................................................................82 SelfServiceviaWebConsoles................................................................................82 IntuitiveUserInterfaces...........................................................................................83 KeepYourExistingTools..........................................................................................85 WhatsGoodforBigBusinessIsntNecessarilyGoodforYou.....................85 DownloadeBooksfromRealtimeNexus!................................................................88

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Chapter1:WhatIsBusinessIntelligence, Anyway?
Forafewyearsnow,businessintelligencehavebeenbuzzwordsoftheIT industry.UnlikealotofITbuzzwordslikeWeb2.0business intelligenceactuallycarriessomeweight,hasadefinitemeaning,andbrings realvaluetobusinesses.BusinessintelligenceorBI,asinsidersliketocall itreferstothepracticeofhelpingabusinessacquireabetter understandingofitself.Morebroadly,BIalsoreferstotheskills, technologies,applications,andpracticesinvolvedinbringingthat understandingtolight. Thetermbusinessintelligencewasfirstusedina1958articlebyIBM researcherHansPeterLuhn,whodefineditastheabilitytoapprehendthe interrelationshipsofpresentedfactsinsuchawayastoguideactiontowardsa desiredgoal.Inotherwords,BIisntjustabouttechnologycentricconcepts suchasdatawarehousingorbusinessanalytics;BIisreallyabout understandingtherelationshipsbetweendifferentaspectsofyourcompany sothatyoucanguidethecompanytowardspecificgoals,likeincreasing marketshareandimprovingcustomersatisfaction. TheITindustrybeingtechnologycentric,ofcourseusesthetermBIasa sortofumbrellaphrasethatcoversallthetechnologiesandcapabilitiesused togatherfactsaboutthebusiness,presentthosefactsinawaythatmakes relationshipsclearer,andallowmanipulationofthosefactstoprojectwhat ifscenariosallintendedtohelpguidebetterdecisionmaking. LetsconsiderasimpleexampleofhowBIcanhelpabusiness. ImprovingCustomerSatisfaction Widgets,Inc.hasbeenstrugglingtoimprovetheircustomer servicelevels.Thecompanygenerallygetsgoodcustomer satisfactionscoresonthesurveysitconducts,butitgoes throughperiodswheresatisfactiondropsbymorethan30%. Thecompanysexecutivesalreadyknowthatthedropscome duringperiodswhenthecompanyisextremelybusy,fielding farmoreordersthanusual.Thecompanyhasalreadyspent tensofthousandsofdollarsimprovingtheirdistribution centeroperationstoreducethetimeittakestoship
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customerorders,butithasntseemedtomakeany difference. ThecompanyinvestsinaBIsystem.Thesystemgathers informationfromanumberofinternalsources,includingthe mainorderprocessingdatabase.Thesystemalsocollects datafromsomeexternalsources,includingbillingdatafrom thecompanysshippingvendors,thecompanyspayroll system,andotherplaces. AfterusingtheBIsystemforafewmonths,company managersnoticesomethingunexpected.Duringperiodsof decreasedcustomersatisfaction,theirdistributioncenteris actuallylessbusytheycanseetheincreaseincustomer orderscorrelatewithadecreaseinpayrollforthe distributioncenter.Diggingabitfurther,theyrealizethatthe increasedcustomerordersaremainlyforproductsthatare beingdropshippeddirectlyfromacoupleofspecificvendors tocustomers.Managementrealizesthatitsthosevendors thatareslowtofulfillorders,causingthedropincustomer satisfaction.Theynowknowtofocustheireffortson improvingthosevendorsperformance,findingnewvendors forthoseproducts,orstockingthoseproductsintheirown distributioncenter,wheretheyllhavebettercontrolover shippingtimes. ThedrivingforcebehindBIisthatcompaniesaredrowninginunrelated factsthatcomefromsilos:payrolldata,financialdata,customerdata,vendor data,andsoon.BIpullsallthatdatatogetherandcorrelatesit.Thedatamay seemunrelated,butinfacteverythinginthebusinessisrelatedsomehowif somedataistrulyunrelated,thenwhyisitinthebusinessinthefirstplace? BIdoesntgeneratenewdataitsimplymakesiteasiertoexplore overlookedrelationshipsbetweendata.

BusinessGoalsforBI
Mostcompaniesevenmidsizeoneshaveanincredibleamountofdata livingintransactionbased,distributedsystemsanddatabases.Thepayroll systemhasonedatabase,theorderprocessingsystemhasanother,andso on.Thesedatabasesaretypicallyfinetunedforindividualtransactions,such asretrievingasinglecustomerorder,orforspecificbatchoperations,such
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asprocessingpayrollattheendofeachmonth.Whatthesedatabasesarenot designedtodoiscommunicatewithoneanother,toallowuserstoexplore datainunusualways,ortoprovidehighlevelsummariesofthedatainan instant.ThemaingoalforBI,then,istoprovideexactlythosethings: Theabilitytoviewdatafrommultiplesourcesinasingleview,such asseeingsalesinformationcorrelatedwithshippingexpensesand facilityutilitybills Theabilitytoquicklyseesummariesofdatafromdifferentplaces suchasthetotalpayrollspent,alongwiththetotalsales,foragiven timeperiod Theabilitytoseedataovertime,comparingdatafromyesterday, lastmonth,thepastthreequartersofthepast5years,toseehow thingshavechangedovertime Theabilitytoaskwhatifquestionsandhaveanswersgenerated basedonhistoricaldata;forexample,youmightwanttoknowif raisingsalesby10%forasustainedperiodoftimewillnecessitatea raiseinutilitycostsorpayrollexpenses

Ideally,theanswerstothesequestionscanfeeddirectlyintothecompanys planningsystems,helpingdefinebudgets,salesgoals,andotherplanning elements.Doingsoallowshistoricaltrendstodrivebusinessdecisions,and thosedecisionsautomaticallydrivebusinessplanning. OneofthereasonsBIhasbecomesopopularaterminthepastfewyearsis thatitisanincrementalITinvestment.Youdonthavetotearapartyour existingsystemsinanywayinfact,thosesystemswontknowthattheyre participatinginaBIsolution.ThefactthatBIdoesntimpactyour productionsystemsmeansimplementingBIisrelativelylowriskyoure notlikelytodisruptdailyoperationswhileimplementingaBIsolution.Best yet,aproperlydesignedandimplementedBIsolutioncanquicklydelivera highreturnoninvestment(ROI),somethingexecutivesreallyappreciate.

BI:NotJustforBigCompanies
TheresaperceptionthatBIisjustformajorenterprises,anditscertainly truethatmajorenterpriseshavealottogainfromimplementingBIandthat thosebigcompanieshavetheextracashneededtoimplementaBIsolution. Implementationinmajorenterprisescantakemonths,anditsrarelyan inexpensiveundertaking.
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ButthatdoesntmeanmidsizecompaniescantbenefitfromBI,andit doesntmeanmidsizecompanieshavetospendasmuchtimeormoneyas hugecompaniesdo.Afterall,midsizecompaniesoftenuselessexpensive, easiertoimplementsolutionsforthingslikepayroll,corporate bookkeeping,andcustomerrelationshipmanagement;BIdoesntneedtobe anydifferent. Buttheresanimportantcorollarytothatstatement:Justasmidsize businessesdontusethesamebookkeepingsoftwarethatamajorenterprise does,amidsizebusinesswontusethesameBIsolutionthatagigantic companyuses.BringingalargescaleBIsolutionintoamidsizecompany isntanysmarterthanbringingagiganticfacilitiesmanagementpackage intoamidsizecompany.WhatmidsizecompaniesneedisamidsizeBI package.Hugecompaniesaregenerallyaccustomedtolengthy implementationtimesforanynewsolutionpackagewhetherits EnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP),CustomerRelationshipManagement (CRM),payroll,orwhatever.Midsizecompaniestypicallytakeadvantageof moreprepackagedsolutionsthatarelessexpensiveandmucheasierto implement.ThesameapproachcanworkforBI. Infact,youcanmakeanargumentthatmidsizecompaniescanseeaquicker, betterreturnonaBIinvestmentthanlargecompanies.Afterall,large companiescanbeslowtochange,evenwhentheyvegotgoodintelligence, smartdecisions,andagoodplan.EvenwithafullyimplementedBIsystem, largecompaniesoftentakelongertoimplementthedecisionsthattheirBI leadsthemto.Midsizecompanies,incontrast,areknownforbeing somewhatsimplerinstructureandcanoftenreactmorequicklytochange. WiththerightBIsolution,amidsizecompanycouldeasilydevelopsolidBI, makesmartdecisionsaboutthecompanysfuture,andactonthose decisionsmorerapidlymeaningafasterROIfromthatBIsolution.

BITerminology
LetsbrieflystepbackfromthebusinessaspectsofBIandlookatsomeof themajorelementsthatgointoaBIsolution.Wellstartwiththenextfive sections,whereIlloutlinethemajoraspectsofaBIsolutionatahighlevel.

DataWarehousesandDataMarts
CentraltomostBIeffortsisadatamartoradatawarehouse.Theyreboth basicallythesamethingunderthehood:aspecializedkindofdatabase thatsdesignedtosupportbusinessanalyticsandtocontaindatafromone ormanydifferentsources.Thedifferencebetweenamartandawarehouse
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istheirscope:Adatamartonlyseekstoservetheneedsofaportionofthe company,suchasthemarketingdepartmentorfinancedepartment.Adata warehouseseekstoservetheentirecompany. Therearetwodesignapproachesthatcomeintoplaywhenyouretalking aboutmartsandwarehouses.Thetopdownapproachdirectsustobuildthe datawarehousefirst,consideringtheneedsoftheentirecompanywhen designingit.Thatsobviouslyacomplextask,asyoureallyneedtolookat howtheentirecompanyworksandhowitsvariouspiecesfittogether.With thewarehouseinplace,youcancreatedatamartsthatextractaportionof thewarehousetomeettheneedsofspecificaudiences,suchasfinanceor marketing. Thebottomupapproachdirectstheopposite,havingusbuilddatamartsfor eachaudiencewithinthecompany,thencombiningthosetoforma companywidedatawarehouse.Thisisofteneasiertoimplement,simply becauseitseasiertowrapyourbrainaroundtheneedsofaspecific departmentsuchasmarketingthantograspthecompanywideviewof things.However,thisapproachisnotwithoutitsdetractors.Ina2000 article,DataMartDoesNotEqualDataWarehouse,authorWilliamInmon offeredthisanalogy:Youcancatchalltheminnowsintheoceanandstack themtogetherandtheystilldonotmakeawhale.Whathessayingisthat thesilospecificdatamartswillhavegapsbetweenthem,andtheyllnever, insum,providetherealcompanywideviewyouneed. ThesesortsofdesignissuesarewhatmakeBIimplementationinlarge companiessocomplex.Inmidsizecompanies,however,theresan advantage:Prepackagedsolutionscantakemuchofthiscontroversyoutof yourhandsbyprovidingapremadedatawarehouse. RalphKimball,anothernoteddatawarehousedesignexpert,favorswhat manydescribeasabottomupapproach.Hesuggeststhat,firstand foremost,youneedtofocusonyourbusiness.Buildingsmallerdatamarts thateachfocusonaparticularsubjectwithinyourbusinesshelpsconstrain thetasktosomethingmoremanageable,andhelpsyoukeepthebusiness nottheultimatedatawarehousemorefirmlyinmind.Herecommends buildingdatamartsnotaroundbusinessunitsbutaroundbusiness processes,suchasorders,shipments,payments,andsoforth.Kimball refutestheuseofthebottomuplabelforhisapproach,pointingoutthat hisapproachdoesntfollowthetraditionalbottomupapproachofdesigning aroundorganizationalunitswithinthebusinessbutinsteadaroundhowthe businessworksandwhatitdoes.
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Resource AfulldiscussionofRalphKimballsapproachisbeyondthe scopeofthisbook,butyoucanlearnmoreat http://www.ralphkimball.com/.Especiallyinformativeishis FablesandFactspageat http://www.ralphkimball.com/html/controversies.html. Sowhatisadatawarehouse?Illgetintothetechnicaldetailsabitlaterin thischapter,butfornow,thinkofadatawarehouseasaplacewhereallyour companysdataiscopiedtoandthenrearrangedsothatrelationshipsare easiertoperceiveandsummariesareeasiertogenerate.

DataMining
DataminingissimplytheprocessofextractingpatternsfromdatainBI terms,fromadatawarehouse.Wanttofindoutwhythedistributioncenter processesordersmoreslowlyatcertaintimesofthemonth?Mineyourdata warehouselookingforpatternsperhapsyoullfindthatthingsslowdown asthesupplyofcardboardboxesdwindlesbecausetheboxvendorisnt fulfillingtheirordersquicklyenough. Itsimportanttorealize,however,thatdataminingcantrevealpatternsin datathatarentpresentinthedatabeingmined.Thatsoundsobvious,butit canbedeceptivebecausedataminingcanoftenseemtorevealpatternsthat arentreallythere.Whatyoucanfindyourselflookingatisapattern comprisedofsymptomsratherthancauses,whenthecausaldataisnt presentinthedatawarehouse.Thisisnttosaythatdataminingisnt usefulitsattheheartofBI,infact.Rather,youjustneedtobeawareof whatsinthedata,andwhatisnt,andtakecommonsenseapproachesto verifyingandvalidatingtheconclusionstowhichyourdataminingleads you.

Reporting,Dashboards,andScorecards
Withallthedatathatadatawarehousecancontain,mostuserswillneed simplifiedmeansoflookingatcommonlyexaminedinformation.Reports areoneobviousproductofadatawarehouse,andtheycanrangefromhigh levelsummariestoextremelydetailedanalyses.Anotheroptionisa dashboard,whichprovidesasummaryofcommonmetricspossiblyfrom multiplesources,andoftencontainsplanningandactualcomparisons,often visualizedinaslick,simplifieduserinterface(UI)suchastheexample Figure1.1shows.

 Figure1.1:Anexampledashboard. Dashboardsdontoftendrivedirectdecisions;rather,theyletindividual usersgetafeelforgeneralperformance,suchassales,inventoryturn, customercomplaints,andsoforth.Dashboardsletyouknowifeverythingis allrightoriffurtherinvestigationiswarranted.Dashboardsmayalso includetrendssuchasdaybydaysalesfigurescomparedwithgoalsor plans.Again,thedashboardisntgoingtoletyouknowwhysalesarewhere theyarebutiftheyresignificantlyoffplan,youllbeabletotellataglance andinitiatefurtherinvestigation. Dashboardsareusefulbecausetheycanhelpnewandlessexperienced usersquicklystarttakingadvantageofthedatainadatawarehouseor eventhedatainatransactionalprocessingsystem,suchasanorderentry application.Thelearningcurveforadashboardisusuallyprettyshortand shallow,somoreusersarelikelytousethemmoreeffectively. Anotherusefulvisualizationisascorecard.ThiscustomUIlinksinternaland externaldatatotheorganizationsgoals.Basically,ittellsyouhowfaralong youareintermsofachievingyourgoals.Figure1.2offersanexample,
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showinghowfarvariousdepartmentsareinachievingaspecificcompany goal.

Figure1.2:Anexamplescorecard. Scorecardsareusefulpreciselybecausetheyshowyouwhereyouarein relationtoyourgoals.Inthisexample,theSalesdepartmentisdoingwell; theHumanResourcesdepartmentmayneedsomeinvestigationand assistance.Scorecardshelpyoufocusyourefforts,spotproblemareas,and managetoyourgoalsonadailybasis. Dashboardsandscorecardsserveasimilarpurpose,andsomeBIsolutions presenttheminsuchawaythattheresnopracticaldifference.Ifyouneed tomakeadistinctionbetweenthem,adashboardusuallyjustshowsyou whereyouareinabsoluteterms;ascorecardshowsyouwhereyouare relativetoyourgoals.Bothareuseful,andbothmaybepresentedina dashboardstyleUI. EmptyBeds?!?! Considerthisexampleofhowdashboardscanhelp managementfocusontherightareasfortheirattention.Nice
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Hotels,Inc.traditionallymanageditselflikemosthotelsdo theirprimarymetricwasroomoccupancy.100%occupancy wasalwaysthegoal,althoughmostoftheirpropertiesrarely achievedthatonaconsistentbasis. AfterimplementingaBIsystem,managersweregivenanew dashboardthatshowedthemtotaloccupancyaswellas occupancyonaperbedbasis.Thedashboardalsoshowed thenumberofgueststurnedawayinanovacancy situation.Theyfoundthattheirfrontdeskagentswere assigningsinglegueststoroomswithdoublebeds;laterin theevening,theywouldturnawayfamiliessimplybecause theonlyroomsleftatthatpointcontainedsinglebeds. Managersstartedmanagingtoperbedoccupancyinsteadof perroomoccupancy.Thescheduledroomcleaningssothat anequalnumberofdoublesandsingleswouldbecleanedat roughlythesametime,ensuringthatthefrontdeskwould havethebestchanceofhavingtherightsizeroomfor whateverguestwascheckingin.Theytrainedthefrontdesk tonotusedoubleroomsforsingleguests. Overtime,somepropertieswerestillseeinghigherthan desiredquantitiesofemptybedseachnight,sotheybegan planningtoconvertsomedoubleroomstosinglesduring refurbishments.Singleroomsrequirelesstimetoclean,are lessexpensivebecausetheycontainlessfurnitureandsoft goodssuchassheets,andthosepropertiesclearlyhada surplusofdoublerooms. Bybeingabletoseeperbedoccupancyataglance,managers begantomanagemoreaggressivelyandintelligently, customizingeachpropertytoitshistoricalclienteleand realizingadditionalrevenueandsavingsovertime.

PredictiveAnalytics
Predictiveanalyticsisexactlywhatitsoundslike:miningdata,lookingfor patterns,andmakingpredictionsaboutfutureeventsbasedonhistorical facts.Creditscoringisoneofthemostwellknownformsofpredictive analysis,andcreditreportingcompaniesmakeuseofsomeoftheworlds largestdatawarehouses.Thereportingcompaniesproprietaryscoring algorithmsconsiderfactorssuchascredithistory,paymenthistory,loan
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applications,andothercustomerdatatoassignnumericscoresthatarea predictionofthecustomersabilitytoproperlymanageandservicetheir debt. Crosssellsuchastheyoumightalsolikeproductsuggestionsfrome tailerslikeAmazon.comisanotherexample.Byanalyzingthetotal purchasesmadebyallofitscustomers,acompanycanpredict,withsome degreeofaccuracy,whatproductsyouarelikelytopurchasebasedupon thoseyouhavepurchasedorthoseyouareconsidering.Byofferingyou thoseitemsratherthanmakingyougohuntforthem,thecompanycantake advantageofimpulsebuying,helpingtoincreaseoverallrevenue. Internally,manycompaniesusepredictiveanalyticswithouteventhinking aboutit.Forexample,manyretailersknowthattheirholidaysaleswillbe somemultipleoftheirpreholidaysales;theyalsoknowthatacertain numberofadditionalemployeeswillbeneededtohandletheadditional holidaysalesvolume.Bylookingathistoricaldataandplottingatrendinto thefuture,thosecompaniescanmakeaninformedguessabouteachyears holidayhiringneeds.Mostcompaniesfacenumerousadhocdecisionsevery day;predictiveanalyticscantmakethosedecisions,butitcanhelpinform themwithmoreaccuracythanagutdecision.

BusinessPerformanceManagement
BusinessPerformanceManagement(BPM),orCorporatePerformance Management(CPM),rollsupreporting,predictiveanalytics,andotherBI practicestogetherwithplanning,budgeting,andforecasting.Itsdesignedto provideaframeworkthatorganizesinformation,deliversnewinsight,takes action,andoptimizesperformance. InTheNextGenerationofBusinessIntelligence:OperationalBI,author ColinWhitedescribedthelinkbetweenBIandbusinessperformance management: ThebiggestgrowthareainoperationalBIanalysisisintheareaof businessperformancemanagement(BPM).OperationalBPM applicationsnotonlyanalyzetheperformance...butalsocompare themeasuredperformanceagainstbusinessgoalsandalertbusiness userswhenactualperformanceisoutoflinewithbusinessgoals. Aswithscorecards,goalistheoperativekeywordforBPM.BIisgreat; comparingtheinformationfromBItoyourgoalsallowsyoutomanage.

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Althoughthefancynameisnew,BPMasaconceptisntallthatnew.Most salesmanagers,forexample,areinthehabitoflookingatthepriordays saleswhentheysitdownforworkinthemorning.Theymightdrillintoeach salespersonsindividualsalesaswell.Theycompareallthatdatawiththeir salesgoals,andtypicallyknowhowmuchtheystillhavelefttosellinthe monthbeforetheymeettheirgoal.BPMandBIsimplytakethattoahigher level,automatingthecollectionofthedata,automaticallycomparingitwith goals,andnotonlydisplayingtheresultinadashboardbutalsoalerting managementwhenperformanceisoutoflinewithgoals. BPMmightevendriveautomateddecisions.Forexample,ifsalesare markedlyhigherthanplanned,aBPMsystemmightacceleratethevelocity ofproductsordersplacedwithvendorstoensuresufficientstockisonhand tomeetthegrowingdemandtrend. BPMisacontinualloop,meaningaBPMsystemupdatesitself.Asthe companyrespondstocurrentevents,theBPMsystemcontinuouslycollects itsdataandchangesitsanalyses,helpingthecompanyimmediatelyseethe neartermandpredictedlongtermeffectsofitsefforts.

ABriefTechnicalOverviewofBI
Now,letsspendsometimelookingatthetechnologythatlivesunderthe hoodofaBIsolution.Manyofthesetechnologiesarereallyjustclever extensionsofproven,decadesoldtechnologiesusedinnewwaystohelp achievegreaterresults.

DataMartsandDataWarehouses
Adatawarehouseoradatamartsubsetisreallyjustanormaldatabase. Typically,theyliveinthesamerelationaldatabasemanagementsystems suchasOracle,SQLServer,DB2,orwhateverthatnormaldatabaseslive in.However,datawarehousesanddatamartsarestructuredquiteabit differently. OLTPvs.OLAP AnOnlineTransactionProcessing(OLTP)ortransactionaldatabasehas severalkeyfeatures: Itcontainsdetailedinformation.Forexample,itcontainsnotonly summaryinformationsuchasthetotalamountofanorderbutalso detailedinformationsuchashowmucheachitemcosts.
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Itisdesignedtoprocesstransactionsmeaningitstypicallydealing withonepieceofdataatatime:oneorder,oneproduct,one customer.Itmaybeusedtogeneratebasicreportsfromthisdata, butitsstructureisoptimizedtosupportrapidaccesstosmall chunksofdata,thereforecontainingmanytables. Theschemaisrigidandunchanging. Itcontainsuptodateinformationandisupdatedinrealtime.Itmay purgedataonceitisnolongerneededorrelevant,therefore containingonlycurrentdata. Thequalityofinputdataisoftenveryhigh,meaningapplicationsand otherelementsensurethatcorrectdatagoesintothedata warehouse.

AdatawarehouseisanOnlineAnalyticalProcessing(OLAP)database,and oftenincludesthesefeatures: Somedatamaybesummarized,meaningdetailisnotavailable.You maybeabletotellthetotalamountofagivenorderbutnotthecost ofeachproductcontainedintheorder. Itspurposeistodriveanalysisanddecisions.Accessisoptimizedfor examininglargequantitiesofdatainordertoseetrends. Theinformationishistoricalandisonlyasuptodateastheloading schedule.Theemphasisisonpastdataandtrends,moresothan immediate,realtimedata.Historicdatafrommonthsoryearsago willoftenbestoredwithinthedatabase. Dataisoftencleansed,meaningerrantoredgedatamaybe removedtomaketrendsclearer.Datawarehousestendtofocuson setsofdataratherthanonindividualelements.

Companieswithadatawarehousewillalwayshaveoneormorenormal databasesthatfeedthedatawarehouse. Normalizedvs.DimensionalData OLTPsystemsrelyonnormalizeddata,meaningtheyseektoreducedata duplicationandrelyondependenciesbetweensetsofdata.Customersplace orders,forexample,andsoanOLTPdatabasemighthaveonetablefor customerdataandanotherfororderdataandwoulduserelationshipsto connectcustomerstotheirorders.OLTPdatabasesworkwellbecausein manysituationsonlysmallpiecesofdataarebeingmanipulatedenteringa

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newcustomerorretrievingoneorder,forexample.OLTPdatabasesare tunedtosupportthisbehavior. However,whenitcomestoBI,youdontalwaysneedthefinedetailslike whichcustomersorderedwhatproducts.Instead,yourelookingatbigger trendslikehowmanyofaparticularproductweresoldinthepreceding quarter.OLTPdatabasescanprovidethatinformation,buttheyreabit sloweratitbecausetheirdatabasestructureisntfinetunedtosummarize andaggregatedatainthatfashion.Infact,askinganOLTPdatabaseto providethatinformationcanimpactperformanceofnormaldatabase operationsmeaningyourquestforBIwillactuallyslowdownbusiness. Adatawarehouseusesadifferentdatabasestructureentirely.Figure1.3 showsasimpleexampleofastarschema,oneofthesimplestdata warehousingstructures.

Figure1.3:Anexamplestarschema. Here,allthepossibledatesarepulledintoonetablecalledadimension table.Allpossibleproductsareinaseconddimensiontable,andallthe companysstoresareinathirddimension.Acentralfacttablelinksthethree dimensionssothatyoucandiscoverwhichproductsweresoldinwhich storeonwhatdate.Thisstructureisnotoptimizedtoreducedata redundancyinfact,therewilllikelybealotofduplicateddata.Thatsokay; datawarehousestradesizeforspeed,meaningtheyoftencontainagreat

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dealofredundantdata,butthatredundancyhelpsthemproduceresultslike reportsmuchmorerapidly.Usingaschemalikethis,forexample,makesit mucheasiertoseethedaysonwhichtelevisionssoldmorequicklyor whetherthereareanystoresthatselllaptopcomputersespeciallywell. DataModeling Thetricktoaneffectivedatawarehouseisintheschemahowyoumodel thedata.Youneedtoknowinadvance,toadegree,whatquestionsyouwant answeredbythedatawarehouse.Forexample,theexampleinFigure1.3 wonthelpyoufigureoutwhethermorecustomersuseVisaorAmerican Expresstopurchaserefrigeratorsbecauseyoudidntincludepayment informationintheschema.Ifthatsthetypeofthingyouwanttoknow,it needstobeincludedinthedatamodel. Datamodelingiswherelargecompaniesspendalotoftimewhentheyre implementingadatawarehouse.Fortunately,midsizecompaniesoften sharealotofcommondatasourcesandbusinessneeds.Justasanoffthe shelfbookkeepingpackagetendstoworkwellwithjustaboutanykindof midsizebusiness,anofftheshelfBIsolutioncanalsoworkwellwithout allthetimeconsumingupfrontdatamodeling.

DataTransformationandLoading
Withyourdatawarehouseschemaready,thenexttaskistogetdataintoit. Onereasonadatawarehouseworkswellisthatitcopiesdatafrom productionsystemsintothewarehouse;thatmeansyoucanpullreports fromthewarehousealldaylongwithoutimpactingyourproduction systems.Italsomeansthatyourwarehousesdatawillalwaysbeslightlyout ofdateexactlyhowmuchdependsonhowoftenyoucopynewdataintoit. However,mostBIworksfromlongtermtrends,sonothavinguptothe momentdataisntusuallyanissue.ThereissuchathingasrealtimeBI,butit isbeyondthescopeofthisbook. Theactualprocessofcopyingdataisusuallyreferredtoasanextract, transform,andloadprocess(ETL).Theextractstepconnectstothesource databaseandpullstherequireddatafromit.AgoodBIsolutionwillhavethe capabilitytoconnecttomostcommondatabases;longstandingconnectivity standards,adoptedbymostdatabasevendors,makesthiseasier.The transformsteprearrangesthedataintotheschemausedbythedata warehouse.Thismayinvolvesummarizingcertainpiecesofdata,ifthedata warehousewontcontainlineitemdetails,anditusuallyinvolvesspreading thedataoutintothedifferenttablestructureusedbythedatawarehouse. Finally,theloadstepactuallyplacesthetransformeddataintothedata
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warehouse.Thismaybeaseparatedatabaserunningonarelational databasemanagementserveroraproprietarydatabasecontainedwithin theBIsolutionitself. ETLisntanallornothingprocess.Youmayloaddatafromcertainsources onceanhour,oreverynight;othersourcessuchasaccountingsystems maybecomeinvolvedonamonthlyorquarterlybasis.

InMemoryAnalytics
ArelativelynewdevelopmentinthefieldofBIisinmemoryanalytics.Rather thancopyingallyourdatatoadifferentlocationlikeadatawarehouse andperforminganalysisthere,dataissimplyreadintoaserversmemory andanalyzedrightthenandthere.Actually,theideaofinmemoryanalytics isntnew,butitsonlyrecentlywiththeavailabilityofmorepowerful computingresourcesatlowerpricesthatitsbecomepractical.Illdiscuss itinmoredetailinthenextchapter.

Reporting,Analysis,andVisualization
Thelaststep,ofcourse,istousethedatainthewarehouse.ThisiswhereBI systemsreallycomeintoplay:Simplyhavingalotofdatasittingina databaseisntterriblyuseful;theBIsystemcontainsthesmartstoturnthat dataintousefulreports,dashboards,scorecards,andotherformsof information. GoodBIsystemswillallowuserstoworkwiththetoolsthattheyrealready comfortablewith.Ivedescribedhowdashboardsandscorecardsprovide intuitivesummariesofdata;someusersmaypreferstraightforwardreports, whileothersmightprefertoworkwithpivottablesinaspreadsheet applicationsuchasMicrosoftExcel.Figure1.4showsanexampleofthese, andhowasingleBIsolutioncanprovidealltheseformsofoutput.

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 Figure1.4:Commonexamplesofdatawarehouseoutput. PivottablesthePivotTablefeatureinMicrosoftExcel,forexamplecan beusefulanalysistoolsforusersalreadycomfortableworkingwith spreadsheets.Welldiscussthemmoreinlaterchapters,butfornow,keepin mindthatpivottablesallowuserstoconstructcustomoutput,summarize keydataondemand,andrearrangedatatoseedifferentrelationships. BIsystemscanalsoprovidemorepowerfulvisualizationsfordata.For example,Figure1.5showsarelationshipchart,whichhelpsvisualize patternsindata.Inthisexample,theyellownodesrepresentindividualsina communitywhosmokecigarettes.Researchersusedthischarttostudythe effectsofthesmokersrelationshipsontheirsmoking,andfoundthatafter almost30years,moststoppedsmoking.Theoneswhocontinuedsmoking hadfewcloserelationships.Thissuggestedapatternofquittingifyour friendsquit,youwilltoo.Itsatypeofrelationshipthatonlyadata warehouse,andthisspecifickindofvisualization,canunveil.

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 Figure1.5:Anexamplerelationshipchart.

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Reporting,analysis,andvisualizationcanallseemlikethesamethingand theycertainlyallservesimilargoals.Sowhataretherealdifferences? Reportscanaddressavarietyofbusinessneeds,canbe personalizedandtargeted,andcanbeeasilydistributedviamany means.Theycanbeadaptedtorunfromdifferentdatasourcesas well,makingthemveryflexible. Dashboardstranslatecomplexinformationintohighimpact,ata glancedisplays.Theyremoreintuitivethanreports,andhelpkeep decisionmakersalignedwithorganizationalgoals.Dashboardshelp youspotproblemsmorequickly,makingthemgooddailyusetools. Scorecardsalsodeliverataglanceinformationbutshowhowwell youredoingcomparedwithspecifictargets.Theyregoodfor communicatingstrategyandprogress,andcanhelpincrease accountability. Analysisletsyouexploreinformationfromacrossthebusiness,and helpsyoudigdeepertodiscoverthewhybehindwhatyoure seeingonareport,dashboard,orscorecard.Youcanmovethrough summaryinformationtodeeperlevelinformation,andmodelwhat ifscenariostohelpfindtherightactionforimprovement.

BI:Analysis+Planning
Allthebusinessintelligenceintheworldisuselessifyoudontuseitto changesomethingaboutyourbusinessoratleasttovalidatethatwhat yourecurrentlydoingisthebestpath.GoodBIsolutionsfacilitatethisgoal bynotonlyprovidingintelligencebutalsobyhelpingyouanalyzethat intelligence,makedecisions,andactuallyimplementthosedecisions.

AnalyzingandReportingonInformation
Analyzinginformationcanhappeninmanyways.Youmightusereports or,morespecifically,youmightuseaninteractivedrilldownordrillup report.Thesereportsletyouclickanitemofdatatoseethedetailbehind thatitem,makingiteasiertodigtothesourceofsomethingthatis problematic.Oryoumightlookatinformationbasedonadhocqueries, whichcanbepresentedinavarietyofformats.Youmightalsouse dashboardsorothervisualizations,likethebreakdownshowninFigure1.6.

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 Figure1.6:Anexamplesalessummaryreport. IfyourecomfortableinExcel,youmightcreateaPivotTable,oruseoneof themanyBIaddinsforExcel.Thesecanhelpyouanalyzewhatif scenarios,likeseeingtheeffectofachangeinproductsalesforagiven month.Allthisanalysiswillhelpyoudrawconclusionsaboutwhythingsare thewaytheyarewithinyourcompany;youcanthenmakeinformed decisionsaboutwhichthingsneedtochangeinordertomeetyourgoals.

MakingDecisions
Makingdecisionscanbethetoughpart.Thetrickistomakesureyoure lookingatallthedata.BIsolutionscanhelpbycorrelatingdatafrommany sources,makingiteasiertoseepreviouslysiloedinformationinasingle, cohesiveview.Seeproductsalesnexttomanufacturingcostsalongside payrollandfacilitiesoverhead.Drilldownreportshelpyouseethenitty grittydetailseasilyandthendrilluptosummaryviewsthatshowyouthe bigpictureresultsofproposedchanges. WhatifiswhereBIreallycomesinhandy.Asyoulookatprojectionsand trends,BIsolutionsmakeiteasytoplugindifferentnumbers:Whatifwe increasedpayrollandhirednewshippingclerks?Whatifweusean additionalvendortosourcecriticalcomponents?Whatifunitsalesgodown 10%?Whatifweofferbiggerdiscountsforbulkorders?Bypunchingin proposals,youcanseealmostinstantlyhowthenumbersfallout,to determinewhetheryourproposalsmakeapositiveornegativeimpact.

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Implementing
Implementingiswheretherubbermeetstheroad:Itswhereyoutakeyour bestproposalsandputthemintoaction.Doingsomayrequireupdating corporatebudgets,financialoutlooks,andotherplanningandsupport systems;agoodBIsolutionwillprovidewritebackcapabilitiessothatyour whatifproposalscanbeacceptedandlinkedbacktobusiness optimizationandplanningtools.Inotherwords,justasaBIsolutioncan readdatafromplanningsystems,itcanalsowritedatabackintothose systemstoadjustassumptionsandplans.Itsagreatwaytoclosetheloop inBI,makingyourwhatifproposalsareality,sooner.

OneSizeDoesNotFitAll
BIlikemostbusinesstechnologiesisnotaonesizefitsallaffair.I actuallygetalittlesurprisedwhenIseemidsizebusinessesattemptingto implementorevenconsideringthesameBIsolutionsusedbyagiant companylikeFordMotorCompany,Aetna,orHomeDepot.Mostmidsize companieswouldneverevenlookattheERP,CRM,andotherapplications suitableforagiantcompany;mostsolutionvendorshavespecificproducts gearedtowardmidsizebusinesses.WhyshouldBIbeanydifferent?

BIinLargeEnterprises
Notwolargeenterprisesareexactlyalikeindeed,fewofthemareeven vaguelysimilar,evenwhentheyreinthesameindustry.Theymayhaveall startedassmallcompanies,buttheygrewupinverydifferentways.They handlepayrolldifferently,structuretheiraccountingdifferently,have differentmanufacturingmodelsandphilosophies,andsoon.Large enterprisesareoftenorganizedintobusinessunitsanddivisionswhich themselvesoperatealmostasindependententities.Insomelarge enterprisesGEisagoodexampletherearedivisionsthathaveabsolutely nothingtodowithotherdivisions,suchasGEsmedicalequipmentdivision andtheirtelevisionbroadcastingdivision(althoughGEsmedicalequipment doesgetsuspiciouslygoodplacementintheirnetworkstelevisionshows). AllofthismeansthatBIinalargeenterpriseiscomplicated.Youredealing withthousandsofdatasourcesintheETLprocessandmayhavehundreds ofdifferentaudiencesthatneeddifferentreports,dashboards,and scorecards.EveryBIdeploymentinoneoftheseenterprisesisacustom affair,fromdesigningthedatawarehouseschematowritingtheETL routinestodevelopingthefinaloutput.ManyBIvendorswhoworkatthis leveldontsellproducts;theyselltoolkits,alongwithdeploymentand
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implementationservicesexpertswhousethosetoolstobuildacustomBI solutionforeachnewcustomer. Soundexpensive?Surebutdontforgetthatbigenterpriseshavealotof moneyontheline.Iftheyspendacoupleofmilliondollarsimplementinga BIsolution,theymaybelookingtosavetensofmillionsfromthatsolution. Butitdoesntscaledown.Followthatsameimplementationprocess,using thesamevendorsandtoolkits,andyoullspendalotofmoneyandmidsize companiesarentlookingtosaveasmuch,sotheBIinvestmentdoesntseem worthit.

BIinMidsizeCompanies
Midsizecompaniesareatotallydifferentanimal.Theyremorelikely,for example,touseofftheshelforlightlycustomizedsolutionsforkeytasks suchasbookkeeping,payroll,CRM,andsoforth.Midsizecompaniestendto focusonsimilarbroadbusinessquestions:Wherearesales?Hows inventory?Whatdoespayrollandotheroverheadlooklike?Midsize companiestendtohavealotofbroadsimilaritieswithoneanother,inother words. Thus,BIvendorscanofferprepackagedBIsolutionsdesignedformidsize businesses.Thesesolutionsmayrequirelittleornooutsideexpertservices toimplement,andtheyredesignedinmuchthesamewaythatmidsize bookkeepingsoftwareisdesignedtomeetacommonsetofneeds,with enoughroomforcustomizationtoensureagoodfitonmostbusinesses.The BIvendorisabletospreadthecostofdesigningthedatawarehouse,output, andETLroutinesacrossallofitscustomers,resultinginalowercost,off theshelfproduct.ItwouldntbeatallsuitableforaFortune500company butitcanworkgreatformidsizebusinesses. PrepackagedBIsolutionsoftenofferthemostcompellingfeaturesfromthe fullsizedBItoolkits,suchasWebbaseddashboards,supportforpivot tablesinspreadsheets,scorecards,andsoon.Wellexploresomeofthese featuresandhelpbuildaBIsolutionshoppinglistinanupcomingchapter.

ComingUpNext
SoexactlywhatisinvolvedinmakingBIhappeninsideyourorganization? HowdoyouintroduceaBIsolution,andwhatsortofoutputswillyouneed? Howwillyouanalyzethatoutput,andwhatsortsofdecisionscanyouexpect tomake?Inthenextchapter,Illattempttoanswerallofthesequestionsby explainingthebasicprocessbywhichBIisintroducedintoanenvironment.
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Welldigalittledeeper,technically,thaninthischapter,butIllalsofocuson layingoutthestepsyoullbetaking.IlllookatwhyBIistraditionally complicatedandexpensive,andoutlinesomewaysinwhichmidsize companiescanleveragecertaineconomiesofscaleandsimilaritytosave bothtimeandmoney.

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Chapter2:HowBusinessIntelligence Happens
How,exactly,doyougetabusinessintelligence(BI)systemintoyour organization?BIhasnttraditionallybeensomethingyoujustinstallontoa serverorclientcomputer,soitsimportanttounderstandtheprocess,tools, andtechniquesthatareinvolvedinimplementingandcreatingit.Someof thesemay,infact,bemajorreasonswhyyourmidsizecompanyhasavoided BIinthepastmakingitevenmoreimportanttounderstandnotonlythe technologies,tools,andtechniquesbutalsohowtheyveevolvedinrecent yearstomeettheneedsofcompaniesotherthangiantenterprises. Inthischapter,IllexplainthebasicprocessesbywhichBIisintroducedinto anenvironment.IllalsolookatsomeofthereasonsBIistraditionallya timeconsumingandexpensivepropositionformostcompanies,andsetup someofthewaysinwhichyoucanimplementBImoreeasilyandforless money.ThinkofthischapterastheBIlifecyclealookintowhatBI actuallylookslikeinsideanorganizationlikeyours.

AssemblingYourBusinessData
BIis,firstandforemost,allaboutdata.TheultimatepurposeofBIistobring togetherdatafrommanydifferentsourcessothatyoucanstartmaking connections,findingpatterns,andspottingtrendsthatwouldntbeapparent otherwise.ThatmeansthefirststepinimplementingBIisdecidingwhat businessdatayoullneedtoassemble,andfiguringouthowtogetitallinto oneplace.Theactualtechnologiesfordoingsoarelessimportantrightnow; wereconcernedwiththedifferentkindsofdatathatdriveyourbusinessand thewaysinwhichthatdataiscurrentlystoredandused.Thatinformation willhelpusdecidewhichtechniquesyoushouldusetopullthatdataintoa BIplatform.

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 Note Imdeliberatelyavoidingthetermdatawarehousefora coupleofpages;althoughitslikelythatyourBIeffortwill involvesomekindofdatawarehouseordatamart,thatsnot importantatthemoment.Rightnow,weretakingastep backfromthedeeperlevelsofBItechnologyandthinking aboutwhatyourdatacurrentlylookslike,andwhatyouneed yourdatatolooklikeinordertouseitwithinaBI implementation. Rightnow,themajorityofthedatainyourorganizationprobablylives insidetransactionaldatabases.Thatis,yourdatalivesinthesystemsthat handleyourbusinessdaytodayoperationscustomerorderingsystems, invoicingsystems,financialsystems,andsoon.Thatinformationmight physicallyliveinsomethinglikeMicrosoftSQLServer,orOracle,orIBM DB2,orsomeotherrelationaldatabasemanagementsystem.Youmaywell havedatalivinginsmallerdatabasessuchasMicrosoftAccessoreven MicrosoftExcelspreadsheets.Someofyourdatamaybeinproprietary databases,likeaQuickBooksfile,orinadatabaseusedbymidsizebusiness softwarelikeMicrosoftDynamicsERP.Thesearecalledsourcesystemsor systemsofrecord. BIdoesntchangethat.Yourdaytodaydatawillcontinuetolivewhereverit livesnow,drivingbusinessapplications,lineofbusinesssoftware,andthe othersystemsthatmakeyourbusinesswork.WhatBIwantstodoislookat thatdata,possiblycopythatdatatodifferentlocationsandindifferent forms,andtoanalyzethatdata.

DirectDataMapping
DirectdatamappingallowsaBIsystemtoconnecttoyourbusinessdatain itscurrentlocation.Thatis,ratherthancopyingyourdatasomewhereelse (likeintoadatawarehouse),theBIsystemsimplyconnectstothedata wheneveritneedstouseit.Theadvantageofdoingsoisthatyourminute tominutechangescanbeimmediatelyviewedandusedwithintheBI system;adisadvantageisthatdependinguponhowyourBIsystemisbuilt andusedyoucanplaceasignificantperformanceburdenonyourlive productionsystems,somethingthatyoulltypicallywanttoavoid.

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ThemappingpartofthisreferstothefactthatBIsystemsasdiscussedin thepreviouschaptertypicallyorganizedatadifferentlythana transactionalsystemdoes.BIsystemsusedatastructuresthatareoptimized forfastqueryingofdata,whereastransactionalsystemsoftentrytostrikea balancebetweenqueryingdataandaddingnewdata.Inaddition, transactionalsystemsrarelyexecutethekindofcomplex,interrelated queriesthataBIsystemuses. Interestingly,datamappingalmostalwayscomesintoplaywithaBI systemevenifyoudontwanttoallowyourBIsystemtoquerydata directlyondemandfromtransactionalsystems.Sometimes,youmight prefertocopyrelevantdatafromyourtransactionalsystemsintoa dedicatedBIdatastore;whenyoudoso,youllstillneedadatamapthat helpstheBIsystemproperlyqueryandreorganizethedataforusewithin theBIsolution. Simplified Datamappingistheprocessofdesignatingthedatathatwill beutilizedintheBIsystem,whetherthatdataisaccessed directlywhereitsitsorcopiedintoadifferentdatastorefor BIpurposes.Datamappingdesignatesnotonlythatdatathat willbeusedbutalsotoadegreehowthedatawillbere structuredintotheformusedbytheBIsystem.

DataLoading
DataloadingisusedwhenyoudontwantaBIsystemtodirectlyaccess productiondatawhileusersaretryingtoenterorders,findinventory,and balanceaccounts.Utilizingadatamapthatiseithermanuallycreatedor,in somecases,generatedautomaticallybysoftwaretools,dataloadingutilities copydataoutofyourtransactionalsystems,transformorrearrangethedata intothestructurerequiredbytheBIsystem,andaddthedatatotheBI system. IntheBIworld,dataloadingisoftenreferredtoasExtract,Transform,and Load,orETL,whichnicelydescribesexactlywhathappens:Dataisextracted fromonedatabase,transformedintoadifferentstructure,andloadedinto theBIsystem.SomeBIsystemsmaybepreprogrammedwithdatamapsfor commonlyusedbusinesssoftware,includingEnterpriseResourcePlanning (ERP)solutionsorotherfinancialsoftware;mostBIsystemsalsoallow customdataloadingfromwhateverdatabasesyouhappentohaveinyour environment.
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ThetransformaspectofETLiswhathelpsmakeBIsouseful.Because differentdatabasesallusedifferentstructuresandconventions,connecting datafromdifferentplacescanbeverydifficult.Transformingthedatahelps standardizeit.Forexample,atransformprocessmight: Translateabbreviations,likethenamesofstates,intotheirfull names SelectonlycertainpiecesofdatathatwillberelevanttotheBI system Cleansedata,suchasrunningcustomeraddressesthroughan addressverificationsystemorformattingallproductIDnumbersto astandardizedformat Aggregatedata,suchascalculatingthetotalforcustomorders,even thoughyourtransactionalsystemonlystoreslineitemamounts Filterdata,eliminatingredundanciesorunwanteddata Joiningdatafrommultiplesources,suchaslookingupproduct namesratherthanstoringlesshumanfriendlyproductIDnumbers Validatingdata,ensuringthatthedatausedforBIpurposesis correct,valid,oruptodate Correlatingdatafromdifferentsystemsmatchingthedatafrom yourorderentrysystemtothedatainyourinventorysystemtothe datainyourshippingsystemtothedatainyourcustomer relationshipmanagement(CRM)system

Dataloadingisoftenaccomplishedduringoffhours,whenanyburdenit placesonyourproductionsystemswillbelessnoticeabletoyourusers.This meansthatyourBIsystemwonthaveuptotheminutedatabutinmost situations,thatsokay;BIsystemsareallaboutworkingwithlongerterm trendsandpatterns,andlessaboutworkingwithuptotheseconddata. However,ifyoursituationrequiresthatyourBIsystemworkwithsome kindsofrealtimedata,directdatamappingcanbeusedinconjunctionwith dataloadingtoprovideahybridmodelthatgetsyouwhatyouneed,when youneedit.

DataMartsandDataWarehouses
Asdiscussedinthepreviouschapter,datawarehousesaretypicallywherea BIsystemstoresitsdataafterloadingthatdatafromyourproduction, transactionalsystems.Toquicklyreview,adatamartcommonlyholdsdata relatedtoaportionofyourbusiness,suchasdepartmentaldata.Adatamart
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canthelpmakebroaddecisionsthataffecttheentirecompany,butitcanbe usedtohelpmakedecisionswithintheportionofthecompanythatitserves. Adatawarehousecontainsstandardized,consistent,cleanseddatafromthe entirecompany(orfrommostofit,atleast),andisusedtoanalyzepatterns andtrendsfromacrossthecompany. Forexample,adatamartmighthelpyourCFOunderstandtherelationship betweensalarycostsandproductsales,andmakewhatifdecisionstohelp predictfuturesalaryexpensesinvarioussalesscenarios.Alargerdata warehouse,incontrast,mighthelptieininformationonyourmarketingand advertisingefforts,helpingtheCFOpredictchangesinsalarycostsbasedon differentadvertisingeffortsormarketingcampaignsasthosethings presumablyaffectproductsales. Somedatawarehousesarebuiltfromacollectionofdatamarts(calleda bottomupapproach);otherexpertsprefertobuildthelargerdata warehousefirst,thenbreakitdownintodepartmentaldatamartsasneeded (thetopdownapproach).Therearestrongopinionsheldbydifferent expertsforbothtechniques,andwhichapproachtotakeisoftenoneofthe firsttoughdecisionsthatlargecompaniesfacewhencontemplatingaBI implementation. TopDown,BottomUpHelp! Pickupagoodbookondatawarehousedesignandyoumay quicklycometothedecisionthatBIisntrightforyour midsizecompany.Designphilosophiesarejustthebeginning ofthedifficultdecisionsitseemsyoullhavetosomehow make. Butthatsituationisactuallytrueformostbusinessdecisions. Willyourcompanyoperateoncashbasisoraccrual?How willyoustructureyourfinancialledgersandaccounts?How willyoubuildandmonitorasalespipeline? Giantcompaniesareoftenforcedtoconfrontthesedecisions, spendtimeeducatingthemselves,andmakeadecision.The technologysolutionssoldtolargecompaniesmustoftenbe customizedtofitthecompanysdecisions,whichcanbe expensiveandtimeconsuming. Midsizebusinesses,however,oftentakeacommonly acceptedapproach.Theypurchaseanofftheshelf accounting,ERP,orCRMsystem,thenuseithoweveritwas designedtobeused.Inaway,theyletthetechnologymake
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thedecisionforthem,because,inmostcases,thetechnology waswrittentomodelthemostcommon,bestpractices,and generallyacceptedwayofdoingthings.Inthisway,midsize businessessavethemselvestimeandmoney. BIshouldbenodifferent.Althoughgiantcompanieswillstill needtospendagreatdealoftimeondesigndecisionsand otherupfrontquestions,midsizebusinessescanoftenselect aBIsolutionthatwasdesignedformidsizecompanies,letting thesolutionsdesignersselectthemostcommon,generally acceptedwayofdoingthings,thensimplyworkingwithin thatframeworkratherthanhavingtomakeeverysingle designdecisionthemselves.

InMemoryAnalytics
OneofthehotnewtrendsforBIinthepastfewyearshasbeeninmemory analytics.Theideahereisthatratherthanloadingallyourdataintoadata warehouse(whichisreallyjustanotherkindofdatabasethatstoresdataon disk),youloadyourdataintoacomputersmemoryandworkwithit thereinteractingwithdiskbasedstorageverylittleifatall.Inmemory analyticsisntactuallyanewconceptbuttherecent(andmassive)dropin priceofcomputerprocessorsandmemoryhasfinallystartedtomakein memoryanalyticsmorepractical. Inmemoryanalyticscanhelpreduceoreliminatetheneedtotransformand loaddataintoadatawarehousesomethingthatisoftentimeconsuming beforeanalyzingthedata.Instead,datacanbequeriedfromproduction sources,transformedinmemory,andanalyzeddirectly.Thisisespecially usefulforobtainingmoreuptotheminuteanalysesandforanalyzingdata inanewwaythatisntprovidedforinatraditionaldatamartordata warehouse. Theinmemorytechniqueisimportantforafewreasons: Buildingadatawarehouserequirestechnicalexpertise,whichisalso requiredtohelptunetheperformanceofthedatawarehouse. Becauseinmemoryanalysisisadhoc,lesstechnicalexpertiseis needed,allowingbusinessanalystsandlineofbusinessmanagersto buildtheirownreportsanddashboards. Inmemoryanalysisisfasterthananalysisthatrequiresdiskaccess simplybecausedisksaremuchslowerthancomputermemory.
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Inmemoryanalyticscanallowmoreflexibleanalysisofthedata. Datacanberapidlyrestructuredinmemorytoanswerdifferent questionswithouthavingateamredesignthedatastoreandre buildthedatabasetablestosupportit.

Inmemoryanalysisisntaperfectsolution,though,becausecomputer memorystillisntunlimitedorfree.Someestimatessuggestthatcomputers beingusedforinmemoryanalysisneedtohavemultiplefastprocessorsand mustbeabletodedicatealargeportionofmemorytotheanalysisenough memorytoholdasmuchas100%oftheamountofdatabeinganalyzed, dependingontheexactcircumstances.Inmemorycompressionandother datahandlingtechniquescanreducethatmemoryrequirementinsome cases;somevendorscitea1to10datavolumeratio,meaningyoudonly needenoughmemorytoholdabout10%ofthedatayouplantoanalyze. Midsizebusinesseswhichoftendealwithlesssheervolumeofdatathan hugeenterprisesmayfindthatinmemoryanalyticsisanaffordableand practicaltechniquefortheirBIneeds. InMemoryAdvantages Businessusershatewaitingforanswers.Tellamanagerthat hisreportswillonlycomeonceaweekorthathellhaveto waitafewhourstogetresponsestoanalysisqueries,and thatmanagerwillprobablygiveuponBI.Infact,many organizationsstillrelegateBIsystemusetoafewtrained, patientbusinessanalysts.Butthepowerandflexibility gainedfromgivingfrontlinemanagersaccesstofastBItools cantbeignored. Withinmemoryanalytics,querytimemightdropfrom30 minutestoafewsecondsprovidedyoucanemploythe hardwareneededtomakeithappen.Onceusersbecome accustomedtosuchrapidperformance,theystartaskingthe BIsystemmorequestions,gettingmoreanswers,and runningthebusinessbasedonfactsandtrendsratherthan ongutinstinct. Inmemoryanalysiscanworkwithoutadatawarehouse, meaningyouwontneedasmuchonstafftechnicalexpertise togetupandrunningwithBI.Thatmakesinmemory analysisespeciallyattractivetomidsizecompanieswhoseIT
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staffmightnothaveBIexpertiseorwhosimplymightnot havethebandwidthforamorecomplexBIproject. Inmemoryanalysishasstartedbecomingpopularnotbecauseifits advantagesafterall,whowouldntwantfasteranswers?butbecauseof itsfeasibility.Justafewyearsago,1GBofcomputermemorycostover$150; todayitcostslessthan$35orso.Apowerfulanalyticsserverwith64GBof memorymighthavecost$64,000,andtodaycostsonly$13,000much moreaffordable.Theincreasedpowerandlowercostof64bit,multi corecomputerprocessorshashelpedtoo,asthoseprocessorscanphysically connecttothelargeamountsofmemoryneededtomakeinmemory analyticspossible. Resource Ifyoudliketoreadmoreaboutinmemoryanalysis,visit http://www.tagonline.org/articles.php?id=298.Youllfinda great,cleararticleonthesubject.

CreatinganInformationDrivenBusinessCulture
Everytimeweraisethepriceoftheproduct,wesellmorecopies.Thats whatonebusinessexecutivetoldme,andthatsimplecorrelationdrove manyofthecompanysbusinessdecisions.Ofcourse,correlationisnot causation;thecompanywasalsoaddingsignificantnewfeaturestothe product,exhibitingatmoretradeshows,andspendingmoreonmarketing andadvertising.Butthatonesimplyfactorproductpriceiswhatdrove thatexecutivesgutdecisions. Managingbyinstinctisespeciallycommoninmidsizecompanies, particularlybecausemanyexecutivesandmanagershavebeenwiththe companyforalongtimeandstillfeeltheyhaveacompleteviewintoallof thecompanysdata.Butastinycompaniesgrowtobemidsizeones,it becomesmoreandmoredifficultforasinglehumanbeingtokeeptheir fingersoneveryoneofthecompanyspulses;managersstopmanaging basedoninformationsimplybecausetheydontactuallyhaveallthe availableinformation.Eventually,theysimplystartmanagingoninstinct somethingthatisunreliable,notrepeatable,andgenerallydoesntserve midsizecompanieswellinthelongrun. AfteryougetyourdataintoaBIsystem,youhavetostartteachingyourself andyourcolleaguestousethatinformationandtotrustit.Createan informationdrivencultureratherthananinstinctdrivencultureinyour
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midsizecompany.BIsystemsofferanumberofefficientand,frankly, sometimescoolwaysofdoingso. SkillInstinct Notmanagingbyinstinctisnotthesamethingasnotneeding managerialskills.Goodmanagerscanstillrelyontheir experienceandtheirintimateknowledgeofhowthe companyworksthatexperienceandknowledgecansimply bemoreinformed.Providingfactsandinformation,filtered andtemperedbyexperienceandskill,isthewayBIcanmake managersdecisionsbetter. Ofcourse,Ihavetoacknowledgethatcreatinganinformationdrivenculture doesnotmeanthatexperienceandhandsonmanagementarentuseful.Ive knownandinsomecasesworkedfortoomanymanagersthatspentall daystaringatspreadsheetsandnevertemperedallthatinformationwitha handsonrealitycheck.Theywerent,toputitkindly,allthateffectiveat managing.Informationshouldcontributetothemanagementprocess,not dominateit.

Reporting
Goodmanagerslovereports.Reportsofferinformationdatapointsthat canhelpdirectmanagementdecisions.ABIsystemsimplyproduces broader,moreinsightfulreportsthanthoseofferedbyasingletransactional system.Anorderentrysystem,forexample,mighttellamanagerthe averagevalueofalltheordersenteredforatypicalbusinessday.ABI system,however,canalsotellthatmanagertheaveragecosttoenterthose ordersbecausetheBIsystemcandrawfrommanyothersourcesofdata includingsourcesthatoffersalaryamounts,utilitybills,andmuchmore.A BIsystemcanalsohelpthatmanagerseetrendsinordervolumebasedon advertising;askilledmanagerbackedbyagoodBIsystemwillknowexactly howmanyadditionalstaffwillbeneededtohandletheonslaughtof customerordersthatwillaccompanythenewestupcomingtelevisionad. ReportsfromaBIsystemcanbehighlyflexible,andevendynamic,allowing managerstouseareporttoaskwhatifquestions,andmakedecisions basedontheresults.Figure2.1showsatypicalBIreport,displaying aggregatesales,salesbyproductcategory,andtopsellingproducts.This kindofsummarylevelreporthelpsmanagersfocustheirefforts,make productstockingdecisions,andsoon.Adynamicversionofthisreport mightbeclickable,lettingmanagersdrilldownintomoredetailed informationasneeded.
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 Figure2.1:AcommonBIreport. SomemanagersareskilledinusingMicrosoftExcel,whichoffersbuiltin pivottablefunctionalityandcanuseaddinstoprovideevenmoreBI analyticalfunctionality.ByconnectingExceltoadatawarehouseoranin memoryanalyticsserver,asFigure2.2shows,managerscanpivotdata, buildcustomanalyses,drillthroughdata,andproposewhatifscenariosto seetheresults.Thishelpsmanagersseethepotentialoutcomeofdecisions, helpingdrivethedecisionthatmostbenefitsthecompany.Figure2.2 actuallyshowsanExceladdin,whichissomethingthatmanyBIsolutions includeoroffer.

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 Figure2.2:ConnectingExceltoadatawarehouseorinmemory analyticsserver. ThebiggestchallengewithaBIimplementationisgettingmanagerstouse thesepowerfultools.Onceexposedtothemandshownhowtoutilizethem, mostexperiencedmanagerswillneverturnback.

Dashboards
ThereportinFigure2.1mightbemoreaccuratelycalledadashboard,which isacommonfeatureofmostBIsystems.Dashboardsarespecializedkindsof reportsthatutilizegraphicaldisplaystosummarizekeyinformationforat aglanceconsumption.Dashboardslikethedashboardinyourcarhelp managerkeeptrackofcritical,highlevelmetrics.Figure2.3isanother dashboardexample.

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 Figure2.3:BIdashboard. Thisdashboardmightbeidealforexecutivesortoplevelmanagers,asit helpsthemseethecompanyscurrentbalancesheet,theprojectedbalance sheetinoneyear,earningsatriskbylineofbusinessandbyrisktype,and otherhighlevelmetrics.Dashboardsarentdesignedtodriveimmediate decisions;likeyourcarscheckenginelight,adashboardindicatoris intendedtodrivefurtherinvestigationifsomethinglooksamiss.

Scorecards
Scorecards,likedashboards,areintendedtogiveahighleveloverviewof keymetrics.Thebigdifferencewithascorecardisthatliketheonesyou remembersofondlyfromschoolascorecardappliesanabsolutegrade basedonrelativethresholds.Inotherwords,foreachmetric,thescorecard tellsyouifthecompanyisdoinggood,okay,orbad.Figure2.4shows anexample,wherecolorcodedmetricshelpdrawmanagersattentionto problematicareaslikesalesgrowth,Websitevisitors,andimprovement suggestions,whichareallredinthisgraphic.

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 Figure2.4:Examplescorecard. Theideaofascorecardissimple:IfeverythingisanAorB,thenyoure basicallydoingwell.ItemswithaCorDdeserveadditionalattentionand managerialeffort;itemswithanFareinneedofimmediateandsignificant attention.Aswithadashboard,theideaisnottodriveimmediatedecisions butrathertohelpfocuseffortandfurtherinvestigationwheretheyare neededmosturgently. Graphics=Engaging Humansarevisualcreatures.Fewmanagersrelishthe thoughtofstaringatrowsandcolumnsofnumbers,tryingto pickoutareasthattheyneedtofocuson.Informational graphicslikethoseindashboardsandscorecardsengageour visualsensesandhelpusquicklysortoutpriorities. Atypicalcorporateprofitandloss(P&L)statementisan exampleofhowrowsandcolumnsofnumbersarentalways goodatdrivingmanagerialattention.Expensesareat10%? Okayisthatgoodorbad?Wespent$23,000onshipping? Greatornot?
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Adashboard,however,canshowachartcomparingcurrent performancewithlastyears;anybarinthechartthatis significantlyoutofwhackisanimmediatecallforattention. Ascorecardcanbedesignedtocolorcodeanythingthatis morethan10%outofline,helpingdrawattentionwhereits neededmost. Althoughtraditionaltextualreportswillalwayshavetheir place,oneofthebiggestandmostimmediatevaluesaBI systemcandeliverisdashboardsandscorecardsthathelp managersfocustheirtimewhereitisreallyneeded.

AnalyzingBusinessInformation
LetsbrieflypauseandexaminewhereweareintheBIlifecycle.Figure2.5 illustrateswhatwevealreadyaccomplished.

Figure2.5:Ourprogresssofar. Wevemappeddatafromlivedatasourcesthroughouttheorganization.In somecases,ourBIsystemwillusethatdatadirectly,whileinothers,itwill extract,transform,andloadthatdataintotheBIsystemeitherintoadata warehouseorperhapsintoaninmemoryanalyticalstructure.Fromthere, theBIsystemwillproducethereports,dashboards,andscorecardsthat

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wellbeusingtocheckonourorganizationshealthandprogress,askwhat ifquestions,andsoforth. Thenextstepistogetthisinformationintothebrainsofmanagers,analysts, andotherswhowillusethatinformationtohelpdrivebusinessdecisions. ShouldIdrawanarrowleadingfromtheinformationtoaperson?Probably not:Onethingwehavetoacknowledgeisthatyoucantpushinformationto people;peoplehavetovoluntarilypullthatinformation,activelyexamining itandusingittohelpinformtheirdecisions.Thatsultimatelywhatmakesa BIimplementationsucceedorfail:Isitusedbytherightindividualsto informtherightdecisions?Ofcourse,youcanhelpspeedBIadoptionby ensuringthatyourBIsystemprovidesaccurate,timelyinformationtothe rightpeoplewithinyourorganizationandensuringthatitdoessoquickly. OncethatBIinformationisintherighthands,orratherheads,andtheyre preparedtouseit,theactofanalysisanddecisiondrivingtrulybegins.

AnalysisandVisualization
OneofthemostdifficultaspectsofaBIsystemisteachingitsusershowto analyzedata.Simplystaringatareportordashboardisntsufficient;BI usersneedtoknowhowtosliceanddicedatatofindtheanswersto specificbusinessquestions,seepatterns,spottrends,anddrivedecisions. Thishelpstouncoveropportunitiesfornewmarketsorefficiencies,orto explainwhyaparticularareaofbusinessperformanceisgoodorbad(and yesyoudefinitelywanttofocusongoodperformanceaswellasbad, becausethecausesofgoodperformancecanoftenbeutilizedelsewhereto improvetheoverallbusiness). Mostmanagersareactuallyfamiliarwithacertaintypeofbusinessmodeling andanalysis:spreadsheets.Theseareatwodimensionalformofbusiness modeling,oftendisplayingmetricsovertime,breakingdownperformance bybusinesscategories,orsomethingelse.Thatstwodimensions:metrics andtime,performanceandcategory,andsoforth.Figure2.6showsa commonspreadsheet,displayingactualbusinessmetricsagainstplanned metrics.Again,thatstwodimensions:actualandplanned.

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 Figure2.6:Analysisviaspreadsheet. Theproblemwithtwodimensionalanalysisisthatitsfartoolimited.Two dimensionsarentnearlysufficienttorepresentthecomplexitiesofevena verysmallbusiness,letaloneatypicalmidsizebusiness.Although spreadsheetslikethisareusefulforquickoverviews,theydontprovidean easywaytodrilldownintothedatatouncoverhiddendetailsandroot causes. Bycontrast,BIisbuiltaroundtheconceptofmultidimensionalanalysis.It canbetrickytoexplainandillustrate,simplybecausecomputersare inherentlytwodimensionalwhenitcomestodisplayinginformation. Todisplaymultidimensionalinformationrequiresdisplaytricksand conventionstomimicmultipledimensions;aspreadsheetpivottableisone suchconvention.Figure2.7showsanexamplepivottable.

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 Figure2.7:Anexamplepivottable. Note Microsoftsbrandnameforpivottablefunctionalitywithin MicrosoftExcelisPivotTable;themoregenericpivot tabledescribesthisfunctionalityinanyproductthatoffers it. Pivottablestypicallyconsistofmultiplefacts,whichareaddedbytheuser. Here,thefactsareUnits,Price,andCostnumericdimensions.Thecolumns androwscanbeanykindofdimension:Rowdimensionscreatearowfor everyuniquevalue,whileColumnscreateacolumnforeverycombinationof columnfieldsandfacts.AsimplepivottableliketheoneinFigure2.7can helpspotcriticalbusinessproblems,suchaspoorunitsalesinagivenregion orhigherunitcostsinagivencategoryinagivenregion.Itsthosemultiple dimensionsregions,categories,andstylesthathelpbringmore informationintoplay.

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Butpivottablescanrevealmuchmore.InFigure2.8,Iveaddedatotal rowshowninlightyellowtohelprevealaggregateinformation.

Figure2.8:Addingaggregatestopivottables. Theabilitytodynamicallyaddtotalsandotheraggregateshelpsusersroll upinformationtoseetheresultsfromagivendimensionorsetof dimensions.Here,bothboysandgirlscategoriesaresubtotaled,andeach regionistotaledaswell.Pivottablesaredesignedtoworkdynamically, allowingtheusertoexploreandvisualizedatainwhateverwaytheywant. Forexample,IcanremovetheCategorydimension,andthepivottablere calculates,asshowninFigure2.9.

Figure2.9:Rollingupdatainpivottables.
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Ivesimplifiedmyviewofthedatatoseeonlystyles,regardlessofcategory.I mayhavedecidedthatcategorieswerentafactorinwhateverIwas analyzing,andbyeliminatingit,Icanviewmydataandaggregationsbased onotherfactorssimplystyleandregion,inthiscase.Thisviewrevealsthat theEastregionsellsthroughsignificantlyfewerunitsthantheNorthregion, afactthatwasavailabletomebeforebutmayhavebeenlessobvious becauseitwasburiedinwithsomanyothernumbers. Butherestheproblem:Althoughpivottablescanbeusefulforuserswho arealreadycomfortableinExcel,youshouldntlimitthistypeofBItojust thoseusers.Also,digginginanddiscoveringfactsandinformationsolely usingspreadsheetscanbecomeprettyoverwhelming.Thatswhyanygood midsizeBIsolutionmaysupportpivottablefunctionality,butitwill definitelysupportmorepowerfulinmemoryanalytics,andoffermuch friendlierandmoreintuitiveuserinterfaces.TheseUIsareoftenpresented inaWebbrowserapplication,forexample.Figure2.10showshowaWeb interface,poweredbyabackendanalyticsengine,canpresentdatain simplerforms,likeabarchart.

Figure2.10:Displayingdatainchartform. Thischartwouldbebasedonliveorrecentlycollecteddatathatwas analyzedinmemory,meaningitsuptodate.Butthepowerfulpartabout thiskindofbusinessintelligenceisthatthischartisntstatic.Wonderingwhy golfequipmentsmarginsarethewaytheyare?Justclickonthatportionof thechart.Theanalyticsenginegoestowork,pullingtogetherthesupporting datathatresultedinthefirstchartanddisplayingaseconddrilldown chart,showninFigure2.11,thatshowsmoredetail.

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 Figure2.11:Drilldownchart. Nowwecanseethatputters,asacategory,isdraggingdownmarginsongolf equipmentabit.Furtherclickswoulddrilldownevendeeper,revealing individualproducts,manufacturers,andsoon,lettingusquicklyfindthe answerwewerelookingfor. Butaninmemoryanalyticsenginecandomuchmore.Supposethefirst chart,whichbreaksdownsalesbyproductcategory,isntansweringyour questions.Instead,youwanttoseeproductsalesgroupedbystorelocation, orbyproductvendor,orsomeothergrouping.Noproblem:Becausethe analyticsarebeingperformedinmemory,youcanrearrangeandregroup howeveryoulike,lettingyoulookatyourdatainwaysthatmakesenseto you,andhelpingyoudiscoverimportantnewrelationshipsandfacts. Asyoubecomemoreaggressiveaboutanalyzingyourbusinessdata,youll findthatthebestsuiteoftoolsincludesfeatureslikepivottablesina spreadsheet,analyticaladdinstoapplicationslikeExcel,andWebbased frontendstopowerfulinmemoryanalyticsengines.Withthiscombination oftools,moreusersandmanagerswillhaveaccesstobetterdatamore quickly.Theyllbeabletodynamicallychangewhattheyrelookingatto answerexactlytherightquestions.

UncoveringRootCausesBehindData
Youglanceatadashboarddisplayandseethatsalesarentwherethey shouldbewhatdoyoudo?AsIvedescribedearlier,adashboardandother BIsummarydisplaysshoulddriveinvestigation,notimmediatedecision; yourresponsetosomethingalarmingor,forthatmatter,gratifyingina dashboarddisplayshouldbetodigintotherootcause,lookingeitherfora problemthatneedstobesolvedorsomethingbeneficialthatmayneedtobe examinedandexploited.
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BecauseBIsystemscombinedatafromallovertheorganization,theyexcel atprovidingthedetailsbehindthedashboardforuserswhoknowwhatto askandhowtoaskit.IntheBIworld,askingaquestionofthesystemis calledaquery,andtheresultsaretypicallyareport,graph,orotherdata visualization.ThebenefitofaBIsystemisthat,unlikemoretraditional reportingsystemsbuiltatoptransactionaldatabases,BIsystemscan respondquicklywithanswersgivingusersmoreopportunitytorefine, revise,andresubmittheirquerytofindtherealanswerstotheirquestions. BIsystemstypicallyofferusersavarietyofwaystosubmitqueriesand receiveresults.Queryoptionsmayinclude: Naturallanguagequeries.Thesesystemsallowuserstoaskplain Englishquestionslike,HowdosalesintheEastandNorthregions compareforlastquarter?Thesystemparsesthequestionand matcheskeywordstodatafacts,andproducestheappropriate report. Graphicalquerybuilders.Thesesystemsuseadraganddrop interfacetopresentuserswithavailabledatafacts,allowingusersto selectthefactsthatinterestthem,indicatefiltercriteria,andso forth.

Querylanguages.Thesesystemsacceptquerieswritteninaspecific querylanguage,whichisoftenavariantoftheindustrystandard SQLlanguage.Althoughthisoptionrequiresamoretechnically proficientuser,itdoesofferahighlevelofflexibility. BIsystemscommonlyallowuserstosavetheirqueries;thismakesthem availablenotonlyforeasierqueryinginthefuturebutalsotoother,less skilledusers. AndbecauseagoodBIsystemwillalsomakedataavailablethrough intuitiveWebinterfaces,yourusersmightnotneedanyparticularquerying skillsinordertodrilldown,rearrange,andregroupdata,andfindthe answerstheyneed.

TheImportanceofModelingtheBusiness
Ofcourse,aBIsystemcanreallyonlyworkeffectivelyifitaccuratelymodels yourbusiness.Forexample,ifyourbusinesssuccessfocusesondelivering servicesinaspecificperiodoftime,butyourBIsystemsmodelsarefocused onfactssuchasrevenueandcosts,yourBIsystemwontbeaseffectivein helpingyouuncoverrootcausesandfindnewefficienciesandopportunities. ModelingoneofthefirststepsinaBIimplementation,andcloselyrelated
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todatamappingensuresthatyourBIsystemunderstandswhatyour businesslookslike,howitworks,andhowyourvariouspiecesofdatafit together.

MakingDecisionsandTakingActionThePlanning Connection
LetssayyouvegotagreatBIsystem.Itcontainsdatafromalloveryour organization,andyouvebecomeskilledinsubmittingquestionsand reviewingtheresults.Yourdecisionsarebeingdrivenmoreandmorebythe informationyouuncoverthroughyourBIsystem.Whatnext? ThelastconnectioninaBIsystemismakingthosedecisionsareality.Takea lookatFigure2.12,whichillustratesthetruepurposeofaBIsystem.

Figure2.12:ThepurposeofBI. ThegoalofBIistodrawdatafromyourbusinessanduseittoinform managers.Thosemanagersdecisionstheninfluencethebusiness,hopefully changingitforthebetterinsomefashion.Thatchangeaffectsthedata comingoutofthebusiness,whichgoesintotheBIsystemtoinfluencethe nextroundofdecisions. Sothemissingpiecehereisthis:Howdomanagersdecisionsgetintothe business?Inmostmidsizecompanies,itsnotassimpleasmanagersdeciding

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torunanewadcampaigntoboostsales;decisionshaveconsequencessuch ascostsandmanpowerthathavetobeaccountedfor.Thatmeansmanagers decisionscantalwaysbeimplementedinstantly;instead,theyhaveto impactthecompanysplanningprocess.

Planning:AligningResourcestoOpportunities
Mostcompanieshavesomekindofplanningsystemandprocessinplace.In manymidsizecompanies,itssimplyacollectionofspreadsheetssales forecasts,budgets,capitalplanning,andsoforth.Businessmanagersare constantlylookingforbetterdata:Whatdrivesthebusiness?Whereisthe businesstrending?Inmanysituations,thosemanagersturnto spreadsheetsoftenhundredsofthem,oftenindividuallymanagedby differentpeoplethroughoutthecompany. Theproblemwithgettinginformationthatwayisthatittakesatremendous manualefforttokeepitallupdated.Inaddition,learninganythingthat requiresaggregatingseparatespreadsheetsisreallydifficult.Whatsnice aboutthosespreadsheets,however,isthatyoucanchangethem:plug differentvaluesintodifferentcells,thenseewhathappens.Whatifwe assumeahighersalesvolumewillweneedmorestaffingbudget? Todaysbusinessesarealsobecomingmoredynamic,andthatdemandsa moreinterconnected,dynamicplanningandforecastingsystem.Thats whereyourBIsystemcanstepin.Figure2.13illustrateshowthemany portionsofyourcompanyareconnected;shouldntyourplanningdatabe justasinterconnected?
ENTERPRISE PLANNING
Sales Marketing Customer Service Finance Product Developme nt Operations Human IT/Systems Resources

UnitVolume Incentive

FinancialStatements Revenue Expenses PipelineCoverage CampaignPlanning CapitalExpenditures

CapacityPlanning ProductionPlanning InventoryPlanning

InitiativePlanning ServiceLevel& Capacity Planning

InvestmentFunnel NewProduct Introduction

WorkforcePlanning Compensation

Staffing InitiativePlanning

Figure2.13:Enterpriseplanningunderstandstheinterconnectedness ofyourcompanyspieces.
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AsimpleBIsystemconsistingofadatawarehousecanprovidefacts,butits essentiallyreadonly.Sure,youcanpullsomeofthatdataintoa spreadsheetperhapsusingapivottableoranaddinofsomekindbut thenyourerightbacktodealingwithindividualspreadsheets.Bymost definitions,adatawarehouseisalwaysreadonly:Itsaspecialpurposecopy ofyourdata. MorepowerfulBIsystemsoffertrueOnlineAnalyticalProcessing,orOLAP, includingwritebackcapabilities.Withwriteback,youreactuallyableto plugnewnumbersandfactsintotheanalysisengine.Yourenotmodifying anyofyourhistoricaldata,butyouaremodifyingthewaythenumbers connecttooneanother.Youremodifyingassumptions,andaskingwhatif, withthepoweroftheentireanalyticsenginebehindyou. Thinkabouthowthisworks.ABIsystemcanconnectallofthedatainyour company.Youcandynamicallyregroupandrearrangeinformationto answerdifferentquestions,allonthefly.Thatsgreatforanswering questionsaboutthepastwhathasalreadyhappened.Bybeingableto reachintotheanalyticssystemandmakechanges,youcanstartfiguringout whatmighthappeninthefuture.Youcanseesalestrendschange,seehow budgetsmightbeaffected,seehowyoumightchangeyourhiringpatterns, andsoon.Youtakethelatestbeliefs,forecasts,andcommitmentsfrom businessmanagers,andseehowtheyllaffectthingslikeinventory acquisitionorcustomerservicevolumeorproductioncapacity.Thatletsyou makeplanningchanges.Suddenlyyourenolongerreactingtoyour businessyouredrivingit. WhatifyouwritenumbersintotheOLAPsystemthatpredictadownward driftinrevenuesomethingmanycompanieshavebeenfacinginrecent years?Ratherthanbeingcaughtoffguardandhavingtomerelyreactto changingmarkets,youcanbeinfrontoftheproblem,recalibratingexpenses andotherexpendituressothatyourcompanycanremainagileand profitableevenduringadownwardswing.Itsallbasedonthecapabilityof yourBIanalysisenginetotakenewassumptions,crunchthemintoyour companywidedata,andshowyouwhattheresultlookslike. OneoftheworsttimesatmostanycompanyisBudgetTime,withQuarterly ForecastTimecominginaclosesecondworst.Sometimesitfeelslike everyoneisjustpullingnumbersoutofthinair,stickingthemin spreadsheets,andthenhopingforthebest.Partoftheproblemisthat everyonestryingtopulldatafromadozendifferentplaces.Theyretryingto rollupthatdatatoaprofitandloss(P&L)statementlevel,tocreate
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projectionsonthingslikecashflowandexpenses.Becauseofthedifficultyin doingthismanually,alotofcompaniesdontdoitveryoftenmeaning theyrerunningwithoutforecasts,withoutrealplans.Withawriteback OLAPsystem,however,allthatchanges.Yourenolongerworkingwith decoupledhighlevelgoalsandlowlevelcapabilities.Wanttoseewhatit wouldtaketodoubleyourrevenue?Plugthenumberin,andlettheOLAP systemshowyouwhatitwouldtaketoreachthatnumber.Wanttoseewhat effectadownsizingwouldhaveonthebottomline?Plugthenumberin,and lookatthegraphs,charts,andreports. AsFigure2.14shows,thisiswhereBIreallyclosestheloopforacompany. BIismorethanjustadatawarehousethatquicklyservesupfactsabout whathashappened;agoodanalysissystemcanalsotellyouwhatwill happen,whenyoupluginestimates,forecasts,andwhatifscenarios.

Figure2.14:ClosingtheBIloop. Note WritebackisntacapabilitysupportedbyallBIsystems;if youfeelthisisanimportantfeatureforyourbusiness,be sureyoutakeitintoaccountwhenevaluatingdifferentBI solutions.

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Closingtheloopinthisfashionhelpscreateamoreautomatedlinkbetween BI,management,andthecompanysdaytodayoperations.

ComingUpNext
TheresarealproblemwithBI,especiallyasitrelatestomidsizecompanies. Thatproblemismisinformation.Thereareatremendousnumberofmyths outtherethattellyouwhatyoucanandcantdowithBIinamidsize company,andmostofthosemythsareatbestbasedonoutdated information.Inthenextchapter,Illoutlinethefourbiggestmythsthatdrive midsizebusinessesawayfromBI,orleadthemdownanimplementation paththatisunnecessarilyexpensiveandtimeconsuming.Welldebunk thosemythsandsettherecordstraight.

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Chapter3:DebunkingtheTopThree MythsofBusinessIntelligenceforMidsize Companies

Thereisdefinitelyapervasivebeliefthatmidsizecompaniessimplycant afford,canthandle,orcantappreciatebusinessintelligence(BI).Ievenrun intoexecutivesatmidsizecompanieswhoabsolutelybelievethatcompanies thesizeoftheirsdontneedBIandcantbenefitfromit.Itsimplyisnttrue, andinthischapter,ImgoingtoplayMythbustersandaddressthemost commonmisinformationregardingBIasitrelatestothesecompanies. BeforeIdoso,however,Iwanttogetoneofthemostharmfulpiecesof misinformationoutoftheway,whichisthis:Midsizecompaniescantbenefit fromBI.Thatspatentlyfalse;itslikesayingthatmidsizecompaniescant benefitfromcustomerrelationshipmanagement(CRM),accounting software,payrollsoftware,oranyothercommonbusinesstool.Althoughits truethatmanyofthesetechnologysolutionsbeganinextremelylarge companies,thefactisthatanycompanycanrunitselfmoreeffectivelyand efficientlywhenthesetoolsareavailable.ItsalsotruethattheCRM solutions(totakeonetoolasanexample)usedbygiantenterprisesarebuilt differentlythanthoseusedbymidsizecompanies,butthatdoesntmean midsizecompaniesdontbenefitfromtheirparticularversions. Infact,thatsoneofthecommonthemesyoullfindinthischapter:Midsize companiescananddobenefitfromthesamebusinesstoolsandcapabilities asgiantenterprises;thosetoolsaresimplybuiltspecificallyforthemidsize market,andareofteneasier,lessexpensive,andfastertoadoptandusethan theonesdesignedforgiantenterprises.Ontothemyths.

Myth1:BICanBeDisruptive
IfindthattheresdefinitelyabeliefthatBIcanbedisruptivetothebusiness, oratleastthattheprocessofimplementingBIcanbedisruptive.Ive certainlyworkedwithcustomerswhohavehaddedicatedprojectteams workformany,manymonthsatbringingaBIprojecttolight,andtheentire processcertainlywasdisruptivetothebusinessinmanyways.Butthose weregiganticcompanies,andmanyoftheproblemstheydealtwithwere onesyoudonlyrunintoinsideareallylargeenterprise.Letsfocusonsome ofthemajoraspectsofthedisruptivemyth.
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SpecializedToolsandTrainingRequired
OneobjectionIhearfrommidsizecompaniesisthattheyfeartheyllneedto purchaseexpensivetools,andundergoextensivetraining,inordertobegin planninganddeployingaBIsolution.Itseasytoseewherethismyth comesfrombecauseIcanconfirmthatitreallydoeshappeninsidehuge enterprises. ButthisishardlytrueonlywithBIprojects.Lookatnearlyanymajor, enterprisewideprojectinamassivecompanyandyoulltypicallyseethe needforspecializedtools,extensivetraining,andsoon.Howmanymajor companieshaventbeenthroughanexhaustingimplementationfor accountingsoftware?Irememberwhenonepastemployera22,000 employeetelecommunicationsdivisionimplementednewfinancial softwareandspecializedtoolsandtrainingwasanunderstatement. HorrorstoriesaboundforCRMandEnterpriseResourcePlanning(ERP) solutions,aswell,andIveseenthoseprojects(inonecaseIgotropedinto one).Therewasatonofspecializedtoolsandtrainingfloatingaround.But again,thatwasinaverylargecompany. Hereswhy:Largecompaniestendtobeextremelydiversified.Theyhavea lotofthingsgoingon,andtheyhavedepartmentsanddivisionsthatoperate almostasautonomousbusinesses.Simplyfiguringoutwhatanaccounting systemneedstolooklikeorhowaCRMsolutionneedstoworkrequires someveryspecializedexperience.BIisprobablyanextremeexampleofthis: AtrulyenterprisewideBIsystemwantstotoucheverypieceofdatathe companyhassothatallthatdatacanplayaroleindashboards,reporting, analysis,whatifscenarios,andsoon.Figuringoutwhereallthatdatalives, whoownsit,howitworks,andhowitwillbeloadedintoadatamartordata warehousearecomplicatedtasks.Thetoolsusedtodesigntheresultingdata warehousearecomplicatedandcanbeexpensive;thetoolsusedtogather informationandrequirementsareequallyspecialized.Butthatsinavery largecompany. Soifspecializedtoolsandtrainingareatruthforlargeenterprises,why arethingsanydifferentforamidsizecompany?Idontwanttocomeacross assuggestingthatmidsizecompaniesaresomehowmoregenericthan largerenterprises,becausethatisnttrue.Butthefactisthatmostmidsize companiesdooperatebyamorecommonsetofrulesandpracticesthan largecompaniesdo.Thatisntadownsideofbeingamidsizecompany;itsa benefitthatmostlargeenterprisesoftenwishtheystillhad.Bearwithmefor amomentwhileIexplain.
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Startbyconsideringpayroll.Mostmidsizecompanieshavefairlybasicand commonpayrollneeds:Youpayemployees,youkeeptrackofpaidtimeoff, youaccountfortaxwithholdings,andyoulikelyextractsomemoneyfor benefits.Nomatterwhatlineofbusinessyourein,payrolltendstolookthe samesomuchsothatmidsizecompaniesoftenoutsourcetheirpayroll entirelyoruseofftheshelfsoftwarepackagesthatallworkthesameway. MidsizecompaniesdontoftenhaveamassivecadreofHRfolks,andso thosecompaniestendtokeeptheirpayrollwithintherealmthatcanbe handledbyoutsourcedcompaniesorbyofftheshelfpayrollpackages. Whenyougettobeahugecompany,however,andyoubuildupahugeHR department,itstartstobeeasiertododifferentthingswithpayroll,andso payrollbecomesalmostasidebusinesswithintheenterprisespecialized totheenterprisesneeds. Whataboutaccounting?MidsizecompaniestendtofollowGenerally AcceptableAccountingPractices(GAAP),andtherearenumerousoffthe shelfsoftwarepackagesthatprovideperfectlyacceptableaccounting capabilities.Midsizecompaniesdoaccountingbecausetheyhaveto,not becausetheyespeciallyenjoyit;therefore,theytendtokeeptheir accountingpracticeswithinthedomainthatanofftheshelf(orlightly customized)accountingpackagecanhandle.Sure,midsizecompaniescould startdoingcomplicatedthingswithaccounting,andtheydsavesome moneybuttheywouldntsaveenoughtomakeitworththeextra complication.Largecompanies,however,canseebiggersavingsfrommore complicatedanddetailedaccountingpractices,andsothoselargecompanies investinspecializedsoftware,specializedprocesses,andsoon. Thissametrendcontinuesthroughjustabouteverybusinesstool:Midsize companiescouldhavethesamelevelofcomplexityasagiantbusiness,but theresnotahugereturnindoingso.Therefore,midsizecompaniestendto havebackendsystemsthatalllookandworkinaverysimilarway.Those systems,toadegree,drive(oratleastinfluence)thecompanysbusiness processesandworkflows,meaningthatmostmidsizecompanieslookfrom abackendperspectiveifnotidentical,thenatleastverysimilar.Theres animportanttruthherethatIwanttoemphasize:Midsizecompaniesoften steerclearofverycustomizedtoolsandprocessesbecausethose customizationsaddcomplexitythatarenotjustifiedtoamidsizecompany intermsoftheiraddedvalue.

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SohowdoesthisaffectBIimplementationsinamidsizecompany?The reasonamassiveenterpriseneedsspecializedBItools,skills,andtrainingis becauseeverysinglemassiveenterpriselooksentirelydifferentfromthe others.Theyvealladoptedtheirowncustomizedaccounting,payroll,ERP, CRM,andotherpractices.DesigningaBIinfrastructurethatutilizesallthose datasourceswill,obviously,beacustomizedundertakingandwillrequire specializedskills,tools,andtraining. ABIsolutiondesignedspecificallyformidsizecompaniesstillrequires specializedtoolsandtraining,butbecausemidsizecompanieslooksosimilar onthebackend,thosespecializedtoolsandtrainingcomeintoplayonce, whentheBIsolutionisinitiallycreatedbyitsvendor.Afterthat,thesame premadeBIsolutionwillwithperhapssomelightcustomizationbe suitableformostmidsizecompaniessimplybecausemostmidsize companiesareusingthebusinesspracticesandpatternsthatweretakenas assumptionswhentheBIsolutionwascreatedinthefirstplace.Inother words,amidsizecompanycandowithoutthespecializedtoolsandtraining simplybecauseamidsizecompanywilltendtosteerclearofthe customizationsthatmakethetoolsandtrainingnecessaryforanindividual BIdeployment. ThisisanimportantconceptfordebunkingmanyoftheBImythsinthis chapter,soIappreciateyoubearingwithmethroughthisexplanation.Let metryandwrapitupwithanonbusinessanalogy,justtomakesureIve madethisimportantpoint. ConsideraNASCARcar.Thatcarrequiressomeexpensive,specializedtools, anditsdriverrequiresextensive,specializedtraining.Why?Thosetoolsand trainingcanbringthehundredthsofasecondadvantagethatmeansawin. Mostnormaldriverslikeyouandmedontneedahundredthsofa secondadvantage,sowemakedowithcarsthatdontneedhighly specializedtools.Thatmeanswecanveryfeasiblypurchaseandownacar withouthavinganyspecializedtoolsortraining.Thecarswebuyare designedtoworkinastandardizedfashion,eventhoughthecarsavailable tousvarywidelyinspecificfeaturesandcapabilities. Thatsbasicallywhymidsizecompaniesdontneedspecializedtoolsand trainingtodoaBIimplementation:Prepackagedsolutionsthataredesigned forthewaymostmidsizecompaniesalreadyworkhavethespecializedtools andtrainingbuiltrightin.

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LongImplementationTimes
IwasonaBIprojectina40,000employeecompanythattook2yearsto complete.Nokidding.Wespentthefirst9monthsonrequirements gathering,somethinglike3monthsdesigningreportsanddatawarehouses andsuch,andayearontheactualproductionimplementationandthe inevitable,oh,canitalsodothis?requestsfromthesystemsusers.Whyso long?Well,itwasahugecompany.Datawaseverywhere,andwehadto reverseengineerhowthecompanyworkedinordertobuildaneffective datawarehouse.Thatskindofaworstcaseexample,butitservesto illustratethepointthatBIcantakeaverylongtime.Inbigcompanies. IwontbelaborthepointImadeintheprevioussectionanyfurther,except tosaythatbecausemostmidsizecompaniesusesimilarbackendtoolsand processes,itdoesnthavetotakenearlyaslongtoimplementausable, effectiveBIsolutioninthosecompanies.Sure,thisstillisntacasewhereyou doubleclickSetupandaredonebutitsclosertothatthanthe implementationthatgiantcompaniesundertake. Inmanycases,prepackagedmidsizeBIsolutionsareallinonepackages. Youinstallasinglepieceofsoftwareandyougetaplaceforadata warehouse,Webserver,dataloadingcomponents,inmemoryanalytics, reporting,dashboarding,andeverythingelseaBIsystemneeds.Youjust pointitatyourexistingbusinessdataandletitgotowork.Iveseen implementationtimesofafewweeksorso,usingtheexistingITstaff.Some companiesmightbeabletogetaBIsolutionupandrunninginevenless time,especiallyifthesolutionisinitiallyonlyaddressingasingledivisionor departmentwithinthecompany,simplybecausethatmeansfewerdata connectionsthathavetobemade.

ImpactonOtherBusinessProcesses
Ithinkthefirsttwopiecesofthismythprettymuchhandlethisthirdone.If midsizecompaniescanimplementaprepackagedBIsolutioninafewweeks, usingtheirexistingITstaff,andwithouthavingtoofferextensivetrainingto halfthecompanyemployees,well,thentheBIimplementationisntgoingto beverydisruptive. MostofthedisruptioninalargescaleBIdeploymentcomesfromthe discoveryandrequirementsgatheringphases,whereBIprojectteam membersinvadeeverycornerofthecompanytryingtofigureoutwhatdata liveswhere,howeverythingfitstogether,andsoon.TheITstaffgets distractedwithnewhardware,complicatednewsoftware,complexdata connections,andsoforth.WithaprepackagedBIsolution,theressimplyno
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opportunityforanyofthattooccur:Youdonthaveamonthslongdiscovery andrequirementsgatheringphase,andtheITstaffisusuallydealingwitha single,simplerpieceofintegratedsoftwarethatsmuchmorewithinthe scopeofwhattheyreusedtodealingwith.

Myth2:BIRequiresSpecializedExpertise
WhenItalktoexecutivesinmidsizecompanies,Ithinkthefirstandloudest objectiontoBIisthebeliefthatthecompanyisgoingtohavetohireacadre ofspecialized(andexpensive)consultantstomakeBIhappen. ThatscertainlybeentrueinmanylargecompaniesIveworkedwith,mainly becausetheirITstafflackedthespecializedskillsittakestoplanand implementadatawarehouseandotherBIelements.Evenafterthemain implementationisover,consultantsandtrainersusuallystayaroundfor severalmonthsteachingthecompanysexecutives,managers,andother usershowtooperatetheBIsolutionandinsomecases,Iveseensome consultantsturnintofulltimeemployees,specializinginBIandinhelping thecompanysuserstakeadvantageofthesystem.Butmidsizecompanies dontneedtodealwiththat. Heresanotheranalogy:Considertwocompaniesthatbuildhomesfora living.Onecompanyonlybuildscustomhomesthatcostmillionsofdollars; theotherbuildshomesinmasterplannedcommunitiesandchargesafew hundredthousanddollars.Bothcompaniesbuildgreatlookinghomes,and theyusemanyofthesamerawmaterials.Theyrealsoheldtothesame buildingcodesandotherpractices,andtheybothbelieveincreatingahigh qualityproduct. Whenthefirstcompanybeginsarchitectinganewhome,alotofspecialized toolsarerequired.Architectshavetodraweveryaspectofthenewhome, andengineershavetofigureouttheroofstructure,loadbearingcapacities, andsoon.Becausetheircustomersarepayinghugesumsofmoney,every jobiscompletelycustomized,andsothearchitectsandengineersget involvedeverytime.Thecompanyscustomersallleadwildlydifferent lifestyles:Somewantinhomerecordingstudios,otherswantmassivemulti cargarages,andsoon,soallthatcustomizationisreallyabigpartofthe business. Thesecondcompanyscustomersdontwanttospendmillionsonahome, though.Sothesecondcompanyoffersafewpredesignedfloorplans,allof whichhavebeenarchitectedandengineeredinadvance.Thesearent
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cookiecutterhomes;thebuilderunderstandswhichwallsareloadbearing, forexample,andcandominorcustomizationsthatdontaffectthepre engineeredstructuralintegrity.Thiscompanyscustomersdontdemanda highlevelofcustomizationforexample,theysimplywanttopickouttheir cabinetsandcountertops.Becausethesecustomersdontwantorneed designedfromscratchhomes,theysavethemselvestheexpenseofan architectandengineer.Itsnotthatthosespecializedskillswerenever needed;theyweresimplyonlyneededonce,andtheresultsoftheirwork willbeusedmanytimes,bymanydifferentcustomers. Thisonetimeengagementofspecializedexpertiseiswhatdebunksthis mythformidsizebusinesses.Letslookatsomespecifics.

ComplicatedDeploymentandImplementation
AlthoughapreengineeredmidsizebusinessBIsolutionisntexactlyas simpleasdoubleclickSetup,itis,asIvealreadymentioned,notalotmore complicatedthanthat.Atleast,itscertainlynotascomplicatedasdesigning awholenewBIsolutionentirelyfromscratch.Deploymentand implementationdoesstartwithdoubleclickingSetup,ofteninstallinga completelyintegrated,onepiece(orfewpiece)solutionthatcontainspre builtBIcomponentssuchasadatawarehouse,reports,andsoon. Deploymentandimplementationisaboutthesamecomplexitylevelas deployingandimplementinganyotherserversoftware,suchasadatabase serverormessagingserver. Themostcomplexpartoftheimplementationisoftenthepartwhereyou connecttheBIsystemtoyourotherbusinesssystems.Typically, prepackagedBIsolutionsofferwizardsandothertoolstohelpmakethis processeasier.Prepackagedsolutionsmayevencomewithbuiltin connectorsforcommonmidsizebusinessbackendsystems,suchas accountingsoftware,ERPsystems,CRMsystems,andsoforth.Soalthough thisisntanobrainerpartoftheBIsolutiondeployment,itscertainly somethingthattheaverageITstaffcanhandlewithouthighlyspecialized skills.

SpecializedTechnologyManagementSkills
Theresalsoaconcernthatmidsizecompaniesdonthavethenecessary skillsintheirexistingITstafftomanageaBIsolutiononanongoingbasis. Fortunately,thatsnotgenerallyaconcern.Infact,evensomeextremely largeenterprisesgetawaywithverylittleinthewayofspecialized technologymanagementskills.
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TherearetwoaspectsofmanagingadeployedBIsolution.Thefirstisthe simple,basic,daytodayoperationalstuff:keepingdatabasestunedfor performance,backingupservers,keepingserversproperlypatchedand updated,andsoforth.ThiskindofmaintenanceissomethinganynormalIT staffershouldbeabletohandle;themostcomplicatedmaintenancetask databasetuningisfranklysomethingthatcanbemoreorlesssetuponce andthenscheduledtorunautomatically;prepackagedBIsolutionstypically havethisbuiltinandareadvertisedasselfmaintaining. TheotheraspectofBIsolutionmanagementisongoingcustomization.Big companieschangetheirpatternsandpracticesovertime,evolvingtheir business.Somelargeenterprisesmakesweepingchangesfairlyoftenand feeltheoperationalpainwhenalltheirsystems,includingaccounting,ERP, CRM,andsoon,needtobeupdatedtoreflectthechangesinthebusiness model.Forthosecompanies,havingspecializedITskillsonstaffisacostof doingbusiness.Plentyofhugecompanies,though,makerelativelyfew changestotheirbasicpatternsandpractices.Theydontwanttorearchitect theiraccountingrecords,redesigntheirCRMsolutions,orredesigntheirBI solution.Sothosecompanies,eventhoughtheyrequitelarge,oftendo withoutspecializedBIskillsonstaff.Midsizecompaniesalsotendtoavoid thekindofcomplexchangesthatrequiresweepingchangestotheirback endsystems.Remember,midsizecompaniesoftensteerclearofvery customizedtoolsandprocessesbecausethosecustomizationsaddcomplexity thatisnotjustifiedtoamidsizecompanyintermsofitsaddedvalue.

LargeCompanySkillsDontScaleDown
SomemidsizecompaniesarefortunateenoughtohaveBIexperienceon staff.Typically,itsintheformofanITstafferwhoperhapsworkedonaBI projectinapreviousjoboftenwithalargecompany.Oritmightbean executiveormanagerwhousedBIsolutionsinpastjobs.Thefear,however, isthatthoselargecompanyskillswontscaledowntothemidsizebusiness, meaningthoseexistingskillsareatbestuseless,andareatworstdangerous, astheywilldrivebigcompanydecisionsthatarentappropriatefora midsizebusiness. Inmyexperience,nothingcouldbefurtherfromthetruth.Ivespentalotof timewritingaboutprepackagedBIsolutionsformidsizecompanies;it wouldbeveryeasytoassumethatprepackagedsomehowmeans differentorlesscapable.Notso.PrepackagedBIsolutionsareBI solutions;theyworkinmuchthesamewaythatbigcompaniesBIsolutions work,andpastexperiencewithanyBIsystemwillmakesomeonemore comfortablewithanyotherBIsystem.Prepackagedsimplymeans
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assembledforyouratherthanbuildityourself;custombuiltBIsolutions arecustom,notnecessarilybetter. Solargecompanyskillsdontneedtoscaledowntomidsizebusinesses; thoseskillsarevaluableexactlyastheyare.

SpecializedEndUserSkills
DoBIsystemsrequirespecializedenduserskills?Wellyesandno.This isntacasewhereImgoingtotellyouagainthatmidsizecompanies simplydontneedthesameskillsasbigcompanies.AsIoutlinedinthe previoussection,bigcompanyBIskillsworkwellinamidsizeenvironment; thatsuggeststhatanyBIimplementationwillneedthesameskills,so someonewhodoesnthavethoseskillswillneedtraining.Right? Again,yesandno.Letmefallbacktotheexampleofaccountingsystems.In theveryearliestdaysofcomputerizedaccountingsystems,computerized accountingwasonlydonebybigbusinesses.Alotofspecializedskillswere involved;midsizebusinessesstuckwithpencilandpaperledgers.Asmore andmorebigbusinessesusedthoseaccountingsystems,however,thefolks whocreatedthosesystemsfoundwaystomakethemeasiertouse. Eventually,thatresultedinprepackagedaccountingsystemsliketodays QuickBooksforsmallbusinesses,orMicrosoftDynamicsformidsize businessesthatwereeasiertouseandreallydidntrequirealotofskills specifictothesoftware.Anycompetentaccountant,accompaniedbyagood instructionalbook,couldfigureoutthesoftwareanduseiteffectively. Inotherwords,theinvestmentbybigcompaniesmadethingsmore accessibletosmallercompanies.WeseethatagainandagainintheIT industry:Bigcompanieswerethefirsttoinvestinlarge,mainframe computersinthesixties;today,everycompanyhasseveralPCs.Thesame hasheldtrueforBI:Theinvestmentbybigcompaniesintrainingtheirend users,inimplementingBI,andsoonhasmadethingsmuchmore accessibletoendusers.ThefirstBIimplementationsreliedoncomplex reports,proprietaryanalysisinterfaces,andsoon;today,Webbased dashboardsandscorecardsareaccessibletomoreusers.Addinstofamiliar applicationssuchasMicrosoftExcelputBIanalysisinthehandsofmore people,withlesstraining.Bigcompaniesstartedwithsimple,information densecharts,liketheoneshowninFigure3.1.

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 Figure3.1:DetailedBIchart. Althoughthistypeofchartisstillusefultoday,ittookthefirstBIusersa gooddealoftimeandeffortusingspecializedskillstopullthis informationtogetherintothisdisplay.Today,BIsolutionsforboth enterprisesandmidsizecompaniescanautomaticallyproducericher displays,likethesalesdashboardshowninFigure3.2andthescorecard showninFigure3.3.

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 Figure3.2:SalesdashboardfromaBIsystem.

Figure3.3:ExamplescorecardfromaBIsystem.

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Again,theanswertothismythisntthesamemidsizecompaniesarentthe sameasbigcompaniesanswerIveprovideduptothispoint;inthiscase, specializedenduserskillsarelessneededbyanyBIsystemlargeor smallsimplybecauseBIsolutiondevelopershavemadeconsiderable efforttomakethingsmoreintuitive,automatic,andapproachable.Were simplyseeingtheculminationofmorethanadecadeofcontinuedprogress andevolution. Now,thatsnottosaythatbigcompaniesdonthaveenduserswhohave specializedskills.Ifyouretryingtoanswerentirelynewquestionsusinga BIsystem,thenthingswillcertainlygofasterifyoureexperiencedusing yourtoolset.Butinlargepart,Ithinktheoperativewordthereisexperience. Anyintelligentbusinesspersoncangainspecializedskillssimplybyusing theirBItoolsetforevermorecomplextasks.Andtrainingfortheseend usersisalsomorewidelyavailable:TypeBIdataanalysisintoanonline bookstoressearchengine,andyoullfindhundredsofresults.

Myth3:BIIsExpensive
WhenIveworkedwithbigcompanies,therewasnoquestionthatBIwasa priceyproposition.Butisnteverythinginabigcompanyexpensive?Thats partofthedealofbeingbig.Butyoucantusebigcompanypricingtodraw accurateconclusionsaboutBIcostsformidsizecompanies.Yourmidsize companydidntspendasmuchon,say,aCRMsolutionasagigantic enterprisewhywouldBIbeanydifferent?

ExpensiveAcquisitionCosts
TherearetwomaincostsassociatedwithaBIimplementation,andoneof themisobviouslythecostoftheBIsoftware.Thatiswhatitis,butamidsize companyshouldntexpecttopayanythinglikewhatahugeenterprise wouldinvest.Thevendorsthatproducethesesolutionsarentstupid;they knowperfectlywellthattheyneedtoofferdifferentpricepointsfor differentsizedbusinesses. Manyofthesevendorsdosobyofferingdifferentpackagesoreditionsof theirsolutionsandtoolsets.JustasMicrosoftoffersanUltimateeditionof theirOfficeproductivitysuite,theyassumeonlypoweruserswould purchasethatedition.OthereditionsHome&Student,Professional, andsoforthallprovidedifferentpricepoints,andfunctionalitypackages, foruserswithdifferentneeds.Today,BIsolutionsarentreallythat different:Yourmidsizecompanycangetthefunctionalityyouneedinan
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editionthatsmuchlessexpensivethanwhatabigenterprisewouldneed andbewillingtopayfor.

ExpensiveConsultingServices
TheothermaincostassociatedwithaBIimplementationisthehordesof consultantswhowillspendmonthsandmonthsresearching,planning, implementing,andtrainingbeforeyourBIsolutionisofficiallyonlineina bigcompany,atleast;asIvealreadydiscussed.Midsizecompaniescan benefitfromprepackagedsolutionsthatrequirelittleornoconsulting services.Sure,youllprobablyspendsometimespeakingwithasalesperson andatechnicalexpert,selectingtherightfeaturesetforyourneeds,and makingsurethatthesolutionyoueventuallypurchasewilldowhatyou expectitto.Butinmanycases,theseprepackagedsolutionsareprepackaged ineverysenseoftheword:Youdontneedtohaveabunchofoutsiderscome inandinstallitforyou. NoticeIsaidneed.YoucertainlycanhaveconsultantshandleyourBI implementation,andtherearesomevalidbusinessreasonsfordoingso, suchasanITstaffthatsimplydoesnthavetimefortheprojectregardlessof whethertheyhavetherightskills.ButwithBIsolutionstargetedspecifically atthemidsizemarket,youllfindthateventheconsultingexpensesshould youchoosetouseconsultantsforyourimplementationaremuchlower thanwhatabigcompanywouldexpecttopay.Yourelookingatweeksof implementation,notmonths;youredealingwithaBIsolutionthats intendedtobeinstalledusingfewerspecializedskills(meaningless expensiveconsultants),inlesstime,andwithlesseffort.

DontLikeNegotiatingwithVendors?
TheresanotherthingIfindaboutmidsizecompanieswhoareexploringBI options:Theyhatedickeringwithsalespeople.Theresthisfeeling, nowadays,thateverybusinesssoftwarepurchaseisgoingtobelikebuyinga car.Youhavetohaggleoverthebasiclicensepricing,thenhaggleoverthe maintenancefees.Thesalespersonistryingtofigureoutexactlyhowmuch hecansqueezebeforeyoukickhimoutoftheconferenceroom,whileyoure tryingtofigureouthowlowyoucandrivethepricebeforethesalesperson givesupandwalksaway. Somebusinesspeoplelovenegotiating,andtherewillalwaysbesalespeople willingtodoso.ButsomeBIvendorsespeciallythosetargetingthe midsizemarketrealizethatalotofmidsizebusinesspeopledonthavethe timeorinclinationforprotractednegotiations.Theyrebuyinga prepackagedsolution,afterall;whycanttheypayaprepackagedprice?
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YoullfindthatmanyBIvendorsagain,especiallythosetargetingthe midsizemarketprovidesimple,fixedpricingontheirmidsizebusinessBI solutions.Yourejustbuyingapieceofsoftware,notapieceofrealestate,so theytrytomakethingseasyaswellasaffordable. LookforaTrialVersion SomeBIvendorsmaketheirmidsizebusinesssolutions availableasafreetrialdownload.Tome,thatsaysanawful lotaboutthemythsweveexploredinthischapter. Afreedownloadmeansthevendorisprettysureyoullbe abletosetthesoftwareupanduseitquickly(beforethetrial expires),andthatyouwontneedspecializedconsulting servicesorskillsinordertohaveatleastbasicsuccesswith thesoftware. Afreedownloadmeansyourenotexpectedtohaveany specializedplanningordesigntools,either.Afreedownload isalsoasignofsoftwarethatis,orisonitswaytobecoming, somewhatcommoditized.Thatsnottosaythatdifferent vendorsdonthavecompetitiveadvantages,butrathertosay thattheyvereallygottenthesoftwareprepackaged,andthat obtainingitandusingitshouldntbeanymorecomplicated thatobtainingandusinganyotherpieceofserversoftware. Plus,afreetrialmeansyoucanofteninstallandexplorethe softwareentirelyonyourown,atyourownpace,andunder yourownconditionsyoudonthavetoengageinalengthy salesrelationshipjusttoseewhatthesoftwarelookslike, whatitdoes,andhowitworks.Ifindthatmidsize companiesespeciallytheirITdepartmentsreallylove beingabletotestsomethingontheirown,thenengagethe vendorssalesorganizationwhentheyrereadytoproceed.

UniqueAdvantagesofMidsizeBusinessBI
ThereareafewthingsthatmidsizecompaniescantypicallydowithBIthat isactuallyadistinctadvantage,givingmidsizecompaniesarealbenefitthat ismoredifficultforlargercompaniestoachieve.

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InMemoryAnalytics
Oneexampleisinmemoryanalysis.AsIdescribedinthepreviouschapter, itsagrowingtrendtouseinmemoryanalyticsbecausetheyrefast,can oftenaccessmoreuptodate(orevenrealtime)datamorereadily,and ultimatelybecausetheyprovidefasteranswerstoquestions.Theyallow morerapidexplorationofwhatifscenariosbecauseyoudonthavetowait forreportsorotheroutputtobegenerated. Bigcompaniescancertainlyuseinmemoryanalytics,butitcanoftenbe expensiveforthem(remember,everythingabigcompanydoesseemstobe expensive).Becausetheirbusinessmodelsdealwithsomuchdata,theyneed alotofcomputingpowerespeciallymemorytomakeinmemory analyticspossible.Somebigcompanieschoosetolivewithoutit,while othersmaketheinvestment.Midsizecompaniesoftendealwithasmaller volumeofdata,meaninginmemoryanalyticsismoreimmediately approachable.Computerhardwarecoststhesamenomatterhowbigyour companyis,andamidsizecompanywilloftenneedmuchlessofittoenable inmemoryanalyticsadistinctadvantagegiventhebenefitinmemory analyticscanhaveonbusinessdecisions.

Consistency
Bigcompaniesarewell,theyrebig.Theyhavelotsofdivisionswith differentneeds,andthatcanmakeBIdifficult.Peoplewinduplookingat different,customizedreports,anddrawingdifferentconclusionsfromwhat theysee.Anotheradvantageofmidsizecompaniesisthateveryonetendsto bealittleclosertotheactuallineofbusiness,soeveryonetendstobealittle moreconsistentintheirneeds.PrepackagedBIsolutionscapitalizeonthis bymakingconsistentBIoutputavailableacrossthebusiness,intheformof reports,dashboards,andsoforth.Bygettingeveryoneliterallyonthesame pagesomethingamidsizecompanycanhaveaneasiertimedoingyou canmakemoreconsistentbusinessdecisionsandgeteveryonemovingin thesamedirectionmoreeasily.

WhatsGoodforBigBusinessIsKindofGoodforYouToo
Hopefully,IveconvincedyouthatBIisntjustforbigbusinesses,andthat manyofthecommonperceptionsaboutBIareinfactmisperceptions.BI doesnthavetobeexpensive,doesnthavetoinvolveanarmyofconsultants, anddoesntrequireyourbusinesstoslamonthebrakesanddisruptitself. Butinusingtermslikeprepackaged,Imayhavegivenyoutheimpression thatmidsizebusinessBIofferingsaresomehowlesscapableorflexible,and
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Ineedtoaddressthat.AlthoughBIsolutionstargetedatmidsizecompanies oftendoincludeasubsetofthefeaturesfoundinabigcompanyBI solution,thatstypicallybecausemanyofthebigcompanyBIfeaturesare specifictoamajorenterpriseenvironmentandthosefeaturesoftendo requirethespecializedskillsandtrainingmidsizebusinessesarelesslikely tohaveorwanttoacquire. Thatdoesnotmeanthatprepackaged,midsizebusinessBIsolutionsare inflexible,onesizefitsallprogramsthatwillforceyoutochangetheway youdobusinessinordertofitthesolutionspreconceivedmodel.Modern softwareis,fortunately,muchmoreflexiblethanthat.

BusinessModelFlexibility
EveryBIvendorknowsthattheycantforceyoutoremodelyourbusinessto fitthevendorsnotionsofhowyourbusinessworks.Iftheytried,youd simplyneverbytheirproduct,andtheydfail.ThevalueofBIcanonlybe realizedwhentheBIsolutionmapsitselftoyourbusinessmodel,notthe otherwayaround;thatswhylargebusinessestypicallyhavecustomizedBI solutionsbuiltforthem. ItsthesimilarityofmidsizebusinessesthatmakeprepackagedBIsolutions feasible;nobodyexpectsmidsizebusinessestobeidentical.BIsolutions targetedatthemidsizemarketcanbeincrediblyflexible,andexploringa solutionsabilitytomaptoyourbusinessmodelisoneofthefirstthingsyou shoulddowhenevaluatingsolutionsforyourbusiness.

AdvancedReporting
Midsizedoesntmeandumbeddown.MidsizebusinessBIsolutions typicallyincludepowerful,customizablereportingcapabilities.Adifference, however,isthatthesecapabilitiesaretypicallyexposedinamuchfriendlier, moreintuitiveway.BIdataisoftenstoredusingacommonmetadatamodel thatusesstandardbusinessterminologyratherthantechgeekspeak, makingtheBIsystemmoreunderstandabletobusinessusers.MidsizeBI solutionstypicallyincludelotsofbuiltinreportsforthemostcommon businessneeds,andthesereportscanserveasthebasisforadditional, customizedreportsthataresharedthroughacentralrepositoryacross theentirebusiness.Asusersgainexperience,theycanusuallybeginwriting theirowncustomreports,againsharingthesethroughtheBIsolutionwith theotherusersinthecompany.

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DataEverywhereAccessibility
Bigbusinesseswereamongthefirsttoinvestheavilyinmobileworkforce technologies,andthatinvestmentlikealltheothersbigbusinesseshave madeinIToverthedecadespaysoffformidsizecompanies.Having createddataeverywherecapabilitiesfortheirbigcompanyBIsolutions,BI vendorsmovedquicklytobringthefunctionalitytotheirmidsizebusiness offeringsaswell. Andanybusinesscancertainlybenefitfromdataeverywhere.The popularityofmobiledevicessuchasBlackberriesandiPhonesprovesthat businesspeoplelovetobeconnectedtotheirbusinessesallthetimeand beingconnectedtoyourBIsolutionisnodifferent.MidsizebusinessBI solutionscanproviderobustmobilesupport,includingtheabilitytoaccess reports,dashboards,andscorecardsfrommobileWebbrowsers,dedicated mobileapplications,andeventhroughmobileemail(seeFigure3.4). Note ThecontinuingimprovementtomobiledeviceWebbrowsers canmakeevenmoreBIdataavailableremotely,becauseas IlldiscussnextmanyBIsystemsarerelyingmoreand moreonWebbasedinterfaces.

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 Figure3.4:BIsolutionbeingusedfromamobiledevice. Mobiledevicesarenttheonlypartofdataeverywherethatyoushould lookforinaBIsolution.Simplybeingabletoaccessreports,dashboards, andanalysistoolsfromahomeoffice,fromahotelroomwhiletraveling,or intheconferenceroomofabusinesspartnerareallvaluableusage scenarios.MostmidsizebusinessITsolutionsaccommodatethesescenarios bystandardizingonpowerful,modernWebbasedinterfacesformuchof theirreportingandanalysisfunctionality.Figure3.5showsanexampleofa Webbasedanalysis/reportinginterfacesomethingthatuserscouldaccess usinganyWebbrowserfromanycomputerintheworld.

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 Figure3.5:Webbasedinterfacesareaccessiblefromanywhere.

ComingUpNext
Thenextandfinalchapterinthisbookwilloutlinearoadmapfor successfullyaddingBItoamidsizecompany.Nowthatyouvelearnedwhat BIis,howitworks,andwhatisnttrueaboutit,yourereadytoseehowto bringitintoyourcompany.Illstartbyreviewingsomeofthemain challengespresentedbyBI,andsomewaysinwhichyoucanaddressthose challengesinauniquelymidsizecompanyfashion.Illlookatwaystobring BIintothecompanywithoutturningitintoagiant,neverending implementationandwithoutbreakingthebank.IllshowyouhowBIcan bemadetoworkwithinthescopeofyourcurrentITresources,without needingexpensiveconsultantscampedoutforthenext18months.Finally, IlllookathowtodoBIinawaythatcomplements,ratherthandisrupts, yourbusinessenvironment.Illwrapupthisbookbyexplainingafewofthe thingsthatbigbusinessesdealwithwhenitcomestoBIandhowsomeof thosethingsarentgoodformidsizecompanies;Illthenshowyouhowto avoidthem.

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Chapter4:SuccessfullyAddingBusiness IntelligencetoaMidsizeCompany
Atthispoint,youshouldbeatleastreadytoconsiderabusinessintelligence (BI)solutionforyourmidsizecompanyandyoumayevenbeoutright convincedthatitstherighttoolforyourbusiness.Sohowdoyougoabout successfullyaddingaBIsolutionwithoutdisruptingyourcompany?Without breakingthebank?Withouthavingtoaddstaffmemberswithspecialties youveneverevenheardofbefore?Mygoalinthischapteristohelpanswer exactlythosequestions,withpracticaladviceforbringingBIintoyour midsizecompany.

ReviewingtheProblemswithBI
Beforewecontinue,Iwanttojustbrieflyreviewandsummarizesomeofthe hurdlesthatBIhastraditionallyfaced.Keepinmindthatthesehurdlesare potentiallyaproblemforanysizecompany;asIgo,Illoutlinewhybig companieschoosetoacceptthesedownsides,andhowmidsizecompanies canavoidthementirely.

TooComplex
BIsystemsaretypicallyseenasincrediblycomplex.Thatsbecause,toa largepart,theunderlyingbusinesssystemsandprocessesthataBIsolution mustmodelarealsocomplex.Inotherwords,ifyouhaveahuge,complex company,thenyourBIsystemislikelytobehugeandcomplexalso. Bigcompaniesacceptthisasafactoflifesimplybecauseeverythinginabig companyisbigandcomplex.Payrollsystems.Accountingsystems.Customer relationshipmanagement(CRM)systems.Enterpriseresourceplanning (ERP)systems.Assettrackingsystems.Heck,justfilinganexpensereportin abigcompanycanbeliketryingtopassabillinCongresseverythingis complicated.Toalargedegree,bigcompaniescantavoidthatcomplexity. Theyresubjecttoalotoflegalscrutiny,foronething.Microsoft,for example,hastobeverycautiousabouthowitsvariousbusinessunits interact,simplybecausetheyrealmostcontinuallysuedovertheresultsof thoseinteractions.

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Midsizecompanies,however,canoftenavoidsomeofthatcomplexityand typicallytryveryhardtodoso.Midsizecompaniesdontoftenhave internationaldivisions,multiplelinesofbusiness,andmergersand acquisitionstodealwith.Midsizecompaniesoftenuseofftheshelfsoftware orservicesforthingslikeaccounting,customermanagement,stock management,andsoon.Thatmakesmidsizecompaniesinherentlyless complicated,andalesscomplicatedcompanywillhavelesscomplicated optionsforBI. TheanalogyIveusedbeforeisthatofahouse:BuildingagiantcompanysBI solutionisalotlikebuildinganentirecity.Noothercityisgoingtobe exactlylikeit,soyouwindupwithalotofcomplexarchitecturalanddesign elements.Youhavemanydifferentbuildings,eachofwhichhaveadifferent purposeandmustbebuiltforthatpurpose.Youcantuseofftheshelf engineeringnumbers;youhavetoworkallthemathfromscratch.Nothingis standardized;everythingwillbecompletelycustomandtherewillbealotof ittodealwith.Allthatcustomizationandcomplexitymakesthebuilding processcomplex:Permitsarecomplicated(andtherearealotofthem) engineeringdrawings(tonsofthem)aremorecomplicated,eventhingslike gradingplansandlandscapingdesignswillnaturallybemorecomplicated. Theupsideisthatyougetanentirecityintheend;thedownsideisthatit takesalotoftime,money,andeffortandalotofwastedeffortbecause customalsomeansalotofwrongturns,backingup,andredoingthings. Anotherdownsideisthattryingtobuilditallinonegowillmeanalotof backtrackingandwastedeffort,alotofredonework,andalotofprojects thatstartbutsimplynevergetfinished. Forme,amidsizecompanysBIsolutionismorelikeanicehouseina masterplannedcommunity.Theresstillalotofqualityinthe constructioninfact,thequalitycanoftenbehigherthanthecustom mansionbecausethetradesmenarebuildingseveralunitsthatarebasically thesame,andtheyworkoutalltheglitchesearlyon.Thehousecanstillhave alotofsemicustomoptionsandelements,sotheyrenotcookiecutter (becausemidsizebusinessescertainlyarentcookiecutter),butmanyof thoseoptionsarepreengineered,sotheyreeasiertobuildandless expensive,andtheycanbepluggedintothebasehomedesignwithoutalot ofgriefandturmoil. SoareBIsystemscomplex?Yesiftheunderlyingcompanyiscomplex. Midsizecompaniestendtoavoidthatkindofcomplexityontheirown, however,soamidsizecompanyBIsolutionislikewisemuchless complicated.
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TooExpensive
Complexityleadstoexpense,andbecauseBIsystemsaretypicallyseenas complicated,theyrealsotypicallyseenasexpensive.Andtheycanbe.Big businessestypicallyneedthemtobeexpensivebecausethatexpenseiswhat paysforaBIsystemthatcanmatchtheunderlyingcomplexityofthegiant businessitself. MidsizebusinessesdontneedtoautomaticallyspendafortuneonaBI solution.Theresjustnoneed.PrepackagedBIsolutionswhatIllcalla softwareappliancecanbepurchasedforamuchlower,fixedpricethana custombuilt,massiveenterpriseBIproject.Softwareappliancesareentirely selfcontainedyoumayjustinstallasinglesoftwareapplicationontoa server,oryoumayevenpurchasethesolutionfromavalueaddedreseller whojustshowsupwithapreinstalledmachineandplugsitintoyour network. Withasoftwareapplianceorprepackagedapproach,yourcostsarealso knownfully,upfront,beforeyoumakeanacquisition.Youcandecidethenif itsexpensiveornot,andknowthatthepricetagisallyoullpaybecause theBIsolutionisprepackagedandselfcontained,theresnochancefor scopecreep,forneverendingimplementationprojects,orforconsultants thathavebeeninoneofyourofficesforlongerthanhalfyouremployees.

TooDisruptive
IvesavedmyworstcaseBIstoryforthislastchapter.Ionceworkedfora companyalargecreditcardissuingbankthatdecidedtoimplementa majorBIproject.Theywerestickingwithaspecificdivisionofthecompany, figuringthatwouldbeeasierandlessdisruptivethantryingtogowholehog withtheentirecompanyallatonce.Thisparticulardivisionemployedabout 12,000people(althoughmanywereparttimers),andhadliterallymillions ofcustomers. TheBIprojecttook2yearsbeforeitwasfinallycompleteandevery consultantwenthome.Inthemeantime,thedivisionhadtobringonanother 1000employeestooffsettheresourcesthatwoundupbeingtiedupalmost fulltimeontheBIproject.Theyspentforeverfiguringoutwhatreportsthey wouldneed,whatdashboardswouldlooklike,wheredatawascomingfrom, wheredataneededtogo,whatspreadsheetswouldcontributeandneedto beupdateditwasnuts.Thereweresevendifferentdatawarehouse designsinall,becauseeverytimetheydcompleteonedesign,theydrealize thatitwasmissingafewthingsandenduphavingtostartover.
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TwentyITpeopleincludingmyself,unfortunatelywereonthisproject almostfulltimefor2years.Weemergedfromitcompletelyunawareof whatelsewashappeninginthecompany.Mostofusoccupiedfairlysenior positionsinIT,yetwewereessentiallycluelessaboutthestateofourown departmentbecausewedbeenentirelyfocusedonthisBIprojectforso long. Disruptive?Youbet.BIcanbedisruptive.Now,ourprojectwasnota shiningexampleofBIeveninaverylargecompany,butthepointisthatBI cangetawayfromyou,andthatswhenitstartsbeingdisruptive.Canyou imagineatenthofyourITstaffoccupiedforseveralmonthsonnothingbuta BIproject? Thegoodnewsisthat,withprepackagedBIsoftwaredesignedforamidsize company,youllneverhavetoimaginethat.Theresnodiscoveryof businessrequirementstobedone.Manyreportsanddashboardswillcome prebuilt,soyouwonthavetocreateeverythingfromscratchyoullbeable tostartusingthesolutionmuchmorequickly.Therearenodatawarehouses todesign,redesign,discard,anddesignagaininsomecases,thesolution mayevenrelymoreoninmemoryanalyticsthanadatawarehouse.Muchof thedesignworkisdoneforyouallyouhavetodoisinstallitandconfigure dataconnections.Itdoesnthavetobeanymoredisruptivethaninstalling anewmessagingserverintoyourinfrastructure.Yes,someonewillhaveto spendsometimeonitbutthattimewillbemeasuredindays,notmonths oryears.

AddingBIWithoutBreakingtheBank
ThereareafewwaysyoucanchoosetoapproachBI,evenasamidsize companythatplanstouseaprepackagedsoftwareappliance.Youcould,for example,goforacompanywideBIsolutionthatencompasseseverything youdo;youcouldchoosetoinsteadfocusonasmallerinitialproject.Your choicesinthismatterwillhelpdefineyourcosts,sowhatchoicescanyou makethatwillminimizeacquisitionandimplementationcosts,while deliveringreal,tangiblevalue?

NotJustReporting!
BeforeIdivein,IwanttoreemphasizeonepointIvetriedtomake throughoutthisbook:BIisnotjustreporting.Itseasytoseewheresomeone mightthinkBIwasjustfancyreportingbecauseBItendstofocuson dynamicreports,staticreports,scorecards,dashboardsallofwhichare, really,akindofreport.TrueBI,however,shouldbethewhole,integrated
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reporting+analysis+planning.CallitCorporatePerformanceManagementif youlike(somefolksdo).Gatherdata.Analyzeitinvariousways.Make tentativedecisions,andseehowtheyaffectthedataoutcome.Makefinal decisions,andhavethemmodifyyourplanningsystemsdynamicallyto makeimplementingthosedecisionsseamlessandeasier.Repeat,asshown inFigure4.1.

Figure4.1:TheCorporatePerformanceManagementlifecycle. ThisiswhattrueBIisallabout.Notjustdeliveringdatainvisuallystunning dashboards,butgivingyourealtoolstospottrendsandunderlyingcauses, tomakedecisions,andtomakethosedecisionshappen.

ThinkBig,StartSmall
Inpreviouschapters,Ivementionedacoupleofapproachestodata warehousedesign.Thesearebothveryhighlevelphilosophies,both espousedbyveryhighlevelexpertsinthefield.Thefirstisthetopdown approach,whichsaysthatyouhavetostartbecreatingadatawarehousefor theentirecompany,thenbreakthatdownintosmallerdatamartsfor differentdepartmentsandpurposes.Thesecondisthebottomupapproach, whichmoreorlessstatestheopposite:Thatyoustartwithsmallerdata martsthatareverytaskspecific,thengraduallyaggregatethemintoa companywidedatawarehouse. Proponentsonbothsidesofthedebatehaveveryscathingandwittythings tosayabouttheiropponents,andIdontproposetohaveafinalansweron thesubjectinthisshortbook.However,whatIwillsayisthis:Philosophy anddebateisallverywellandgood,butthepracticalrealitiesofthe
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businessworldsometimesmeanyoumakeacompromise.Forme,bottom upisthatcompromise. Yes,youhavetothinkaboutyourentirecompany.Butimplementinga companywideBIsolutionisobviouslymorecomplexthanonethatjust servesaspecificdepartment.Aswevealreadyseen,complexity=time= expense;acompanywidesystemisdesirablebutitisntalwaysthemost practicalstartingpointforamidsizecompany.Whatsoftenmorepractical andapproachableistoimplementaprepackagedBIsoftwareappliancefor onepartofthecompany.Learnhowtouseit.Gainsomeexperiencewithit. Then,gradually,addinanotherpartofthecompany.Andanother.And another. WillaBIsolutionbuiltinpiecesbeasgoodasonethatwasbuiltfromthe topdownapproach?Well,thatdepends.Mynormalanswerwouldbe maybe,maybenot,whichisntverydefinitivebecauseitdependsaloton howwellthepiecesweredesigned. Dependingontheexactsolutionyouchoose,youmightwindupwith separate,independentBIsystemsfordifferentdivisionswhichcanbe unitedintoacompanywidesystem.OtherBIsolutionvendorsmayoffera singlesystemthatcanstartoutsmallandgrowtoincludeother departments,andeventuallytheentirecompany.Thisisapointto investigateasyoubeginresearchingandevaluatingspecificsolutions; neitherapproachiswrong,butunderstandingtheapproachthatavendor haschoseniscertainlyimportant.

StartwiththeBiggestPain
Ionceworkedforaninternationalretailer.Weshippedproducttohundreds ofstoresfromthreedistributioncentersworldwide;wealsomanageda smalldirectmailbusinessforcustomerswhodidnthaveastoreintheir immediatearea.Oneofthecompanysbiggestfrustrationswasourshipping costs.Wednegotiatethebestdealswecouldwithvariouscarriers,butthere wasalwaysthissensethatshippingwasavast,blackpitintowhichwejust pouredmoney.Ourexecutiveteamwasnotoriouslydetailorientedtheyd reengineeredanumberofourbusinessprocessesandhadsavedhundreds ofthousandsofdollarsinsodoing.Butshippingjustfeltlikethis untouchablecomponentitcostwhatitcost,andallyoucoulddowas negotiatelowerrates.Theywerealsofrustratedwithwhattheyperceivedas inconsistentdeliverytimesandotherdetailstheycouldntmakesenseof exactlywhattheirmoneywasgettingforthem.
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ItwasthefirstareathecompanychoseforaBIsolution.Infact,itwasthe untouchable,unknowablenatureofshippingthatmadeourexecutiveseven consideraBIsolution.Everythingelsetheydtriedhadntgiventhemany insightintoshipping;maybeBIcouldproveitselfbydoingwhatthey couldntaccomplishontheirown. Acoupleofmonthslater,wehadaprettybasicBIsolutioninplaceandour executiveswerealreadygettinganswerssurprisingones.Theirstrategy hadbeentoofferexclusivitytoagivencarrierinreturnfordeeper discounts,andtosendpackagesthatwereascloseaspossibletothe carriersmaximumsizeandweight.SomewhatifscenariosintheBIsystem suggestedthatevenwithmodestdiscounts,wedsavemoneyandget betterdeliverytimeswithsomewhatsmallerpackages,andifweused severalcarriers,selectingthembasedontheproximityoftheirhubstoour stores.Withinayear,theBIsystemhadpaidforitselfinshippingsavings. Notlongafter,westartedpluggingtheBIsystemintomoreareasofthe company.Wecouldpunchinproposedsalesfiguresforagivenmonthand seeexactlywhatwedprobablybespendingonshipping,seeifthe distributioncenterstaffwouldneedmoreorfewerparttimerstohandlethe restockingworkload,andevenpredicthowlongthelossprevention departmentwouldneedtoauditthesales.AsIwaspreparingtoleavethe company,asingledashboardcouldeventellyouhowmuchlosstoexpectfor agivensalesamount(itwassurprisinglynonlinearwesawgreaterlosses atverylowandveryhighsalesamounts,butlesslossforaveragesales), leadingtoawholenewsetofinitiativestocombatthatloss.Itwasexciting. Thelessonistofocusonwhereyouhavethemostpain.StartyourBIeffort there.Thereareafewreasonsfordoingso: Youhavethemosttogain.Relativelyfewandminorinsightsfroma BIsolutioncanprovidemaximaleffectinyourmostpainfulareaof business. Youreprobablyalreadyfocusingonthisareaofyourbusiness,so theBIsystemwontbeseenasadistraction,itwillbeseenasatool toassistyouralreadyheavyfocus. Itoffersthehighestincentive.Peopleinawellrunareaofyour businessarelesslikelytowelcomeaBIinitiativewithenthusiasm becausetheyllfeeltheyalreadyhaveeverythingundercontrol.By showingthemhowanotherpartofthebusinessbenefits,youllhave aneasiertimesellingthemonBIlater.
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Sohowdoyouquantifypaininanareaofyourbusiness? Lookforareaswheremajordecisionsarebeingmadeprimarilyfrom institutionalknowledgethatis,bygutinstinctfromexperienced managers. Lookforareasthatareawashinrawdatabuthaverelativelylittle refineddata. Lookforareaswheremanagersarealreadyaccustomedtousing spreadsheetstocrunchnumbersandmakedecisionsthosearethe folkswhowillbenefitfirstfromaBIsolution. Lookforareaswhereyousensethattrendsandpatternsmustexist butwherethosetrendsandpatternsneverseemtomaterialize. Lookforareaswhereoldassumptionsarestilldrivingcritical decisionsaBIsystemcanhelprevisethoseassumptionsusingreal worlddata.

Selecttheareaofyourbusinessthathasthemostofthesefactors,andyoull begivingaBIsolutionthebestopportunitytohelpyouimprovethe business.

AddCapabilitiesasNeeded
Likemostappliances,softwareappliancesareoftenmodularinnature.Need anicemakerforyourfreezer?Wanttoaddtheicecreammakerattachment toyourkitchenstandmixer?WanttoaddanewreportingmoduletoyourBI solution?Noproblem:Extensibleappliancesarenothingnew,andtheygive youtheabilitytobuyjustwhatyouneed,justwhenyouneedit,soyoure savingmoneyandeffort. EveryBIsolutionvendorwillobviouslyfollowdifferentpatternsfortheir toolset,butingeneral,thecapabilitiesbreakintotwohalves: Analysisandvisualization.Thisincludestheabilitytopullinraw dataandgenerateanalysesandvisualrepresentations.Inmemory analyticsmaybeoffered,whichhelpsyougeneratefasteranalysis resultsfromrealtime,operationaldatastores.Thisiswhereyoull oftengetvisualizationslikethedashboardshowninFigure4.2.

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 Figure4.2:UsingadashboardfromaBIanalysispackage. Reportingandadhocquerying.Thisoftenincludesselfservice reportinginterfaces,givingyoutheabilitytocreatecustomreports. Thebenefithereisthatthereportsarealldrawnfromasingledata sourcethedatawarehouseandsoeveryuserwillbeworking withconsistentdata.Reportsareoftencolumnar,althoughyoull alsobeabletodesignmorecomplexones.Figure4.3showsasample BIreport.ThebenefithereisthattheBIsolutionprovidesatoolset thatletsuserscreatetheirownreportsratherthanjustusing prepackagedones.Thisfeaturehelpseachusergettheexact answerstheyneedatthatexactmoment.

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 Figure4.3:AnexampleBIreport. Youmayfindothermodules,too,suchasmodulesthatsupportMicrosoft Excelconnectivity,whichcanbeaboonforspreadsheetjockeysinyour companywhoarecomfortableusingExcelfordataanalysis.

EnsurethatYouHaveaGrowthPath
Whateveryoudo,makesureyouhaveaplaninthebackofyourheadto extendyourBIsolutiontootherareasofyourcompany.Discussthose possibilitieswitheachBIsolutionvendorthatyouspeakwithandletthem helpguideyoutowardasolutionthatcanaccommodatethosegrowthplans. Yourplansmightchange,buthavingasolutioninplacewiththeright flexibilitywillhelpensurethatyoucangetwhereyouwanttogo.

SeekOutFixedPriceSolutions
Ivebeeninvolvedinanumberofhighpricedsoftwareacquisitions,andI hatenegotiatingwithsalespeople.Frankly,Imnotverygoodatit.Inever knowiftheirfirstpriceisreallythepriceoriftheyexpectmetohagglethem down.Iftheydo,Idonteverunderstandwhytheyjustcouldntbringme thatpriceinthefirstplace. Whenitcomestoprepackagedsoftwaresolutions,however,yourerarely goingtofindyourselfhavingtonegotiateandyoushouldnthavetowitha midsizecompanyBIsolution.Solutionslikethisareaknownquantityforthe vendor;inservingamidsizebusinessaudience,goodvendorswillfocuson standardizedpricing. Whileonthesubjectofprice,however,Idohaveacautiontooffer:Dont seekoutadoityourselfsolution.Evenifyouvegottheworldsbestdata
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warehousingandBIexpertonyourstaff,arollyourownBIsolutionis nearlyalwaysgoingtocostyoumoretimeandmoneyinthelongrunthana packagedsolution.Iveseenjustacoupleofmidsizecompaniesgothebuild ourownroute,andafteracoupleofyearsofsustainedeffort,theyfinally gaveupandjustboughtsomething.Whentheydid,theygotasystemthat didmorethantheirhomegrownsystem,haditupandrunninginafewdays, andspentlessonsoftwaremaintenancethantheydbeenpayingthetwo stafferswhohaddevelopedandweremaintaining,theirinhousesolution. OneofthosecompaniesdecisionwasdrivenpurelybystaffingtheirBI expertquit,leavingthemwithoutanyonewhounderstoodhowtheBI systemhadbeenbuiltorhowitworkedunderthehood.Theyhadnochoice buttoeitherhiresomeoneelseandsalariesinthatspecializationhadgone wayupatthattimeorbuyaprepackagedsolution.

AddingBIwithYourCurrentITTeam
Ivesaidbeforethatmidsizebusinessescanandshouldimplementaright sizedBIsolutionwithoutneedingexpensiveconsultingservicesor specializednewhires.Herearesometipsfordoingso.

SoftwareAppliances
LookforaBIsolutionthatcouldaccuratelybedescribedasasoftware appliance.Iveusedthattermbefore,asasynonymforprepackaged;what exactlydoesitmean?Consideryourcorporatefirewall.Thereareacoupleof waysyoucangowhenchoosingafirewalladedicatedfirewallsoftware package,whichoftenrunsonanOSsuchasWindowsorLinux,orapowerful hardwarefirewall,likethosefromCisco.Theseallinvolveafairlycomplex levelofconfiguration,andyoullprobablyneedanexperttoatleastsetthe thingupinitially,ifnottohelpmaintainitonanongoingbasis.Configuration oftenrequiressomethingakintoprogramming,whichdefinitelyrequires specializedexpertise.Insomecases,youmayneedotherprerequisitesin ordertomakethefirewallsolutionwork,suchasanauthenticationserver, loggingserver,andotherelements. Thepointhereisthatyouhavetobuythesoftwareand/orcomponents, hookitintoyourinfrastructure,redesignyourinfrastructureto accommodateit,thenfullyprogramthethingwithallthesettingsitneedsto operateandthatyouneedtofityourbusinessneeds.Alternatively,youbuy afirewallappliance.ThisisaboxthatplugsintoACpowerandintoyour network.Configurationisoftenmuchsimpler,typicallyWebbased,and usuallywizarddriven.Youhavefeweroptionstoworryabout,fewerthings youcouldpotentiallydowrong,andyoulikelywontneedanexperttoget
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thethingworkingproperly.Manycanevenselfdiscovercertaininformation aboutyournetworksothatyoudonthavetoconfigurethosethings manually. Imusingfirewallsasanexamplebecausetheyreacommonnetwork elementthatcanbehadbothasacomplexsolutionandasaprepackaged, preconfiguredappliance.Formidsizecompanies,Irecommendthelatter approachforaBIsolution:Findanappliance.Itmightnotbealiteralbox youplugin,butitshouldntbefarfromthat.Itshould: Comelargelyprebuiltandpreconfigured Comewithwhateverprerequisitesitneedsyoushouldnthaveto buyorinstallanythingelsetomakeitwork Requireminimalconfigurationtoadapttoyourenvironment,and thatconfigurationshouldbedrivenbywizardsandothertoolsto helpmaketheconfigurationeasierandmoreorderly

ThatshowyougetaBIsolutionthatyourcurrentITteamcandeploy.Infact, lookforaBIsolutionthatsavailableasafreetrial.Ifthevendorisso confidentoftheireaseofdeploymentthattheyfeeltheycanofferadoit yourselftrialwithperhapsashortPDFevaluatorsguidetowalkyou throughsetupthenyouveprobablyfoundsomethingthatcanaccurately bedescribedasasoftwareappliance.

ModularAppliances
AsIvewrittenearlierinthischapter,youridealBIsolutionwilloftencome brokenintomodulessothatyoucanbuyjustthebitsyouwant.Another approachistooffereditions,wheresuccessivelyhighereditionsoffer greaterandgreaterfunctionality.Ipreferthemodularapproachbecause withityoucanbuyjustwhatyouneed;witheditionsIalwaysfindmyself stuckwiththenexthighereditionthanIreallywantjustbecauseofoneor twomusthavefeatures. Spendsometimeworkingwithtrialversions,and/orspeakingwiththe solutionvendor,tounderstandexactlywhatcapabilitieseachmoduleor editionoffers.Evenifyourefocusedonsavingmoney,dontforgocritical functionalitydoingsocouldspellfailureforyourBIproject,andmany companiesdontliketogivesomethingasecondchanceifthefirstattempt fails.Inotherwords,dontbuymorethanyouneed,butcertainlydontbuy less,either.

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EnsurethatYouHaveaGrowthPath
AsIvewrittenbefore,youneedtomakesureyourebuyingasolutionthat cangrowwithyouandyouneedtounderstandhowthatgrowthwill physicallyhappen.Heresanexample:Yearsago,backwhenMicrosoft ExchangeServerwasstillnew,MicrosoftreleasedaStandardeditionand anEnterpriseedition.Theprimarydifferencebetweenthetwowastheir storagecapacity:TheStandardeditionhadanarbitrarylimitonhowmuchit couldstore,whiletheEnterpriseeditionsupportedthemaximumWindows disksizeatthetime. TheproblemoccurredwhenpeopleontheStandardeditionranoutofroom anddecidedtoupgrade.Therebasicallywasnoupgradepath;youhadto buyEnterprise,installit,andthenmigrateallofyourmailboxestoitand thendecommissiontheoldserver,typicallywithoutreceivinganycreditor refundforthecostofitslicense. MakesureyourBIsolutiondoesntstickyouinthesameboat.Witha modularproduct,youshouldbeabletojustaddonnewmodulesasneeded. Ifyoureusingaproductthatsbuiltaroundfeatureeditions,makesure youhaveawaytogrowtothenexteditionwithouthavingtostartform scratch.Thatmightinvolvepayinganupgradefeeandenteringanew licensecode,forexample,ratherthaninstallingawholenewproductand migratingyourdata,reports,configuration,andotherwork.

MidsizeManageability
HowwillyourexistingITteammanageyournewBIsolution?ABI solutionevenonethatisprepackagedasasoftwareappliancestillhas maintenanceandmonitoringrequirements.Someoneneedstomakesure itsupandrunning,andthatitsrunninginahealthycondition.Ifsomething goeswronglikeitgetslowondiskspaceyoullwanttoknowbeforethat becomesarealproblem.WilltheBIsolutionneedperiodicdatabase maintenance?Whowillperformthat?Howhardisittodo? Themoreprepackagedandappliancelikeasolutionis,themoreIwould expectittodothesethingslargelyonitsown.Sure,youllstillhavetodoOS levelmaintenancepatchesandsoforthbutyourITstaffiswellequipped todothatkindofbasicupkeep.Thesolutionmightmaintainitsown database,andmighteventakecareofitsownmonitoring,perhapsby sendingsomeoneanemailifaproblemconditionisdetected.Somesolutions mightofferoptionsforsendingnotificationstoanoperationsmonitoring console,althoughthemoreprepackagedthesolutionis,thelessImight
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expectthatoption.Iwouldcertainlyexpectanappliancestylesolutionto provideitsownmonitoring,oftenthroughanadministrativeconsole. Ideally,theentireproductshouldbeeasytoadminister,perhapsthrougha Webbasedconsole.Figure4.4showsanexampleofhoweasyitshouldbeto addnewdataconnectionstothedatawarehouse,forexample:Anice,well laidoutWebconsolecanmakeotherwisecomplicatedtaskseasierforyour existingITstafftounderstandandaccomplish.

Figure4.4:AdministrationthroughasimpleWebbasedconsole. IfaBIsolutionusesanexternaldatabasemaybeitrequiresyoutoprovide aMicrosoftSQLServer,orOracleserver,forexampleImightexpectto handlethemaintenanceofthatdatabasemyself.However,suchasolution wouldnotbeanapplianceinmyopinion;appliancesdontrequireyouto BringYourOwnDatabase.

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AddingBIwithoutDisruptingBusiness
SoyoucandeployamidsizeBIsolutionwithyourexistingITstaff;canyou dosowithoutdistractinganddisruptingyourdaytodaybusiness?Thetrick indoingsoistorequireaminimumofcost,specializedexpertise,and specializedsoftware,aswellasaminimumoftraining.Letsseehowa properlydesignedmidsizeBIsystemmightaccomplishthat.

LowStartupCost
IvealreadyexplainedhowafixedpriceBIsolutionisdesirable,andhowa modularsolutiondesignletsyoubuyjustthepiecesyouneed.Thosefactors, combinedwiththeabilityofyourexistingITstafftodeployandmaintainthe BIsolution,leadstoalowerstartupcost.Alowstartupcosthelpscontribute toalessdisruptiveBIimplementationproject;fewereyeswillbenervously watchingeverystep,givingtheprojectanopportunitytobecompletedand putintousewithoutanyonepanickingaboutthemountingexpenses. Besides,highpricedsystemsinmidsizecompaniesalmostalwaysleadto agonizing,sometimesantagonisticbattlesaboutwhetherthecompany shouldevenpursuethesolution.Thatsortofthingputseveryoneofftrack, disruptingmanagerialrelationshipsanddistractingpeoplefromdaytoday business.Alowerstartupcostletseveryonehaveabetterdiscussionabout theprojectsmeritswithoutquiteasmanyeyesbuggingoutoveran exorbitantpricetag. Finally,afixedpricesolutionmakeseveryoneinvolvedwiththecompanys financialsfeelbetter.Starttalkingaboutconsultantsandservicesandfees, andeveryonegetsnervousbecausetheyjustknowthebillwillkeepgoingup andupandup.Anappliancestylesolutionwithafixed,knownupfrontcost isaknownquantitythatcanbeconsideredandaccepted;knowingthatthe pricewontcontinuetoclimbisanotherwaytopreventdisruption.

MinimalSpecializedExpertise
Aprepackaged,appliancestylesolutionavoidsthatbysimplynotrequiring verymuchinthewayofspecializedexpertise.Theexpertiseisbuiltintothe product,readytobeused;youdontneedmuchmoretogetitinstalledand working.

SelfServiceviaWebConsoles
UsersshouldbeabletoaccessmuchoftheBIsolutionsanalysis functionalitythroughsimpletouse,selfserviceconsoles.Webconsolesare moreeasilyaccessiblefromavarietyofdevicesandOSs,andgiveyourusers asingle,consistentknowledgeportalthroughwhichtheycanaccessa
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rangeofinformation.Webconsolescanofferrichfunctionality,tooFigure 4.5showsanexampleofacomplexanalysisthatausercanconductthrough aWebinterface.

Figure4.5:EasytouseWebinterfacesminimizedisruption. Webinterfacesalsomeanyoudonthavetodeploysoftwaretoeveryones desktop.Thatsahugething,givenhowdisruptivesoftwaredeploymentscan becombinedwiththetrainingandpainalmostalwaysassociatedwith newsoftware.

IntuitiveUserInterfaces
Speakingoftraining,youcanminimizethelearningcurveforyourusersby selectingsoftwarethatsintelligentlyandintuitivelydesigned.Forexample, Figure4.6showsanexcerptfromaWebdashboard.Someonelookingatthis mightwonder,Whyaremarginsingolfequipmentthewaytheyare?A welldesigneduserinterfacewillallowuserstodrilldownandanswerthat questionbydoingwhattheuserwilltendtodonaturally:ClickontheGolf Equipmentitem.

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 Figure4.6:Startingwithawelldesigneduserinterface Ifclickingleadstheusertoanotherlayerofdata,theyllcontinuetoexplore. Figure4.7showswherethefirstclicktookthemtoabreakdownof differenttypesofgolfequipmentanintelligentnextstepinalineoffree forminvestigation.Usersdontneedtoknowanydatabasequerylanguages, orevenunderstandthattheyreusingaBIsystemoradatawarehouse. Theyrejustexploringcompanydatatolookforpatterns,trends,and underlyingreasons.

Figure4.7:allowsuserstodrilleverdeeperintothedata Bycontinuingtosupportadditionallayersofdrilldown,thisuserinterface allowsausertocontinuelookingfortherootcauseoftheproblem.Here,it appearsthatputtersarethelowestmarginitem.Shouldthecompanyjust discontinueputters?Anotherclickandanotherdrilldowniswarranted.

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 Figure4.8:untiltheyfindtherootcause. AsshowninFigure4.8,itsonebrandofputtersthatsactuallydragging downthecategory.Now,thisusercanmakeabusinessdecisionbasedon facts,notongutinstinctorbadassumptions.Ittooklongerformetowrite thisnarrativethanitwouldhavetakenarealusertoactuallyreachthis conclusionallwithoutanyformatbusinessanalyticstraining.Thatsthe valueofawelldesigneduserinterface:immediateresults,lessdisruptionto thebusiness.

KeepYourExistingTools
Userswhoarecomfortablewithanexistingtoolsetshouldbeabletouse them,ifpossible.AsIvementionedbefore,manymidsizebusinessusersare incrediblyproficientwithExcelspreadsheetssowhynotletthemcontinue usingatoolthattheyreskilledwith? Ifyouhavesomeofthesespreadsheetjockeysinyourcompany,havinga BIsystemthatsupportsthembydeliveringBIdatatoExcel,andallowing themtoworkwithitthereisamusthavefeature.AlthoughExcelisntfor everyone,itcanbeincrediblypowerfulandempoweringforsomeonewho hasinvestedthetimetouseit,andbecausetheyreworkingina comfortable,familiarenvironment,youllfindthatthesespreadsheet jockeyswillbeamongstthefirsttograspthepowerofBI,andtostart makingareturnonyourBIinvestment.

WhatsGoodforBigBusinessIsntNecessarilyGoodforYou
Bigbusinessescanoftenaffordabigsacrificeiftheyseeabigbenefit. Midsizecompanies,however,havetobealotmorecareful.Disruptinga dozenemployeesfor3monthsishardlyevennoticeableforagiant
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company;foramidsizecompany,however,itcandistractvitalassetsforan unforgivablylongtime. ThatswhyBIisntonesizefitsall.Whatworksforanenormous enterprisemonthsoffactfinding,specializedconsultantstobuilddata warehousedesigns,lengthyimplementationsandevenlengthiertraining justdoesntfitamidsizebusinessmodel.Whatcanworkforamidsize business,however,aresmallersizedBIsolutionsthatalthoughtheywould neverworkforahugecompanyfitnicelyintoamidsizecompanysneeds, availableresources,andavailabletime. Iveusedthewordprepackagedalotinthisbook,andinthebeginningI worriedaboutusingthatexactterm.Prepackaged,tomanypeople,seems likeitmightmeanlowerquality,likeaprepackaged,frozendinner.Thats notwhatImeanatall.Inthetechnologyindustry,prepackagedsoftware productspowermostaspectsofmostmidsizecompanies,fromfinancial managementtocustomerrelationshipmanagement.Eventheoffice productivitysuiteyoureusingawordprocessor,aspreadsheet,and perhapsasmalldatabaseapplicationareprepackaged.Prepackageddoes notmeanlowerqualityorlesspowerful.Forme,prepackagedmeansan easytoinstall,easytolearnpieceofsoftwarethathandles90%ormoreof thefunctionsthat90%ofbusinessusersrequire.Itmeansnolengthy, expensivecustomizationsrequired.IntheworldofBIsolutions,prepackaged solutionsdesignedtofitamidsizecompanyarethebestwaytoimplement BI.Frankly,evenhugeenterpriseswoulduseprepackagedBIsolutionsif theyhadtheoptiontheydsaveafortuneandalotoftime.Thisisan advantagethatmidsizecompaniescancapitalizeon:Theabilitytousea prepackagedBIsolutionbringsyoubigcompanypowerwithoutthebig companypriceortimecommitment. Wevecoveredalotofgroundinashortspace.Inthefirstchapter,I explainedwhatbusinessintelligencereallyis,andwhyyoumightwantit inyourcompany.Inthesecondchapter,IexplainedthewaysinwhichBI becomesarealitystartingwithhowyouassembledataandanalyzeitto makebetterdecisionsforyourcompany.Thethirdchapterwasachanceto playmythbusters,debunkingconceptslikethefactthatBIcandisrupt yourbusinessorthatBIisonlyforlargecompanies.Inthischapter,Ioffered sometipsandpracticesforbringingBIintoyourcompanyinaproductive, practicalmanner. Ihopeyouvefoundthisinformationtobeuseful,andIhopethatBIison yourradarnotonlyasausefulsetoftechnologiesbutasanobtainable,
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practicalideaforhelpingyouandyourcompanymakebetterdecisions aboutyourfuture.Thanksforreading.

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