BI CONSULTING GROUP WHITEPAPER VERSION 2.0 !

FY08

The Great Debate: Buy Versus Build

1.1 OVERVIEW This whitepaper explores the relative pros and cons of deploying pre-built analytic applications from Oracle versus building a custom data warehouse against Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS), PeopleSoft, Siebel, JD Edwards or Similar Systems 1.2 DEPLOYMENT OF PREBUILT APPLICATIONS AGAINST EBS, PEOPLESOFT, SIEBEL, JD EDWARDS OR SIMILAR SYSTEMS Project Schedule and Milestones for Deployment of Pre-Built Applications against EBS, PeopleSoft, Siebel, or JD Edwards 1.3 DEPLOYMENT OF PREBUILT APPLICATIONS AGAINST A NONORACLE BACKEND Project Schedule and Milestones for Deployment of Pre-Built Applications against a nonOracle backend 1.4 CUSTOM WAREHOUSE BUILD AGAINST EBS, PEOPLESOFT, SIEBEL, JD EDWARDS OR SIMILAR SYSTEMS Project Schedule and Milestones for Custom Warehouse Build against EBS, Peoplesoft, Siebel, JD Edwards or Similar Systems

Oracles Pre-Built Analytic Applications Versus Building a Custom Warehouse

1.1 Overview
The following project comparisons are meant to serve as a guideline for organizations involved in the selection process with Oracle, and who are considering purchasing the pre-built analytic applications (which contain pre-written ETL, data models, and metadata repositories) versus building custom datamarts or a data warehouse against operational applications from Oracle including Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS), PeopleSoft, Siebel, JD Edwards, and similar systems. BI Consulting Group has completed more than 250 OBI EE projects, with slightly more than half of those based upon the pre-built applications from Oracle. Its been our experience that the pre-built analytic applications from Oracle typically meet at least 70% - 80% of EBS, PeopleSoft, Siebel, or JD Edwards customers data needs, which results in a dramatic reduction in the level of effort required to deploy a DW and BI solution on top of those systems. To put this in real terms, our cost and duration estimates for building custom datamarts against Oracle EBS, Peoplesoft, Siebel, or JD Edwards run at least 2.5 to 3.5 times our estimates for deploying the pre-built applications. And, thats for a team that knows the data models of Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft, Siebel, or JD Edwards intimately the estimates would be signicantly higher (or the result signicantly lower) for a team not familiar with those operational data models. The most common question that arises when organizations are investigating a deployment of the pre-built applications versus a custom developed data warehouse, is "how can applications that are 'generically' designed, work for my organization"?! That's actually an easy answer, and follows the 80/20 rule.! After building and deploying more than 300 data warehouses, we've reached the conclusion that for a given subject area (for example, Financial Analytics) 80% or more of the average data warehouse is based upon non-unique content. This content is typically the same regardless of whether your business creates pharmaceuticals, ies airplanes, or makes hard drives. Data elements such as AddressField1, ZipCode or AccountID might have different names from business to business, but those non-unique elds take up the vast majority of development time during the average data warehouse project. Its the last 15% - 20% of development that makes the unique differences between industries, as well as the differences in business strategies from company to company, even if those businesses sell the same types of products to the same types of customers.

Buy 1,000

Build 925

500 290
17 weeks 34 Weeks

Average Person Days

Project Duration
Cost Estimates of deploying Custom Datamarts typically run 2.5 to 3.5 times the Cost Estimates of deploying pre-built applications.

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BI CONSULTING GROUP WHITEPAPER VERSION 2.0 !

FY08 required, might be no more than 20% - 30% added to the project. Again, in real world terms, if a "typical" deployment requires 20 weeks, then a deployment requiring an Extract Layer to be developed might mean a 26 week project. These percentages can be used to easily calculate a series of indexes to compare different types of projects. For example, if an index of 1.0 is given to a project that deploys one of the pre-built analytic applications against a backend system where 100% of the components above can be used in their vanilla state (such as Financial Analytics against a typical implementation of Oracle EBusiness Suite), then a factor of 1.1 can be used for a project where 50% of the Extracts must be modied (for example, a deployment of Financial Analytics against a highly customized deployment of Oracle E-Business Suite), and a factor of 1.2 can be used when deploying one of the pre-built analytic applications against a backend system where an extract layer has not yet been written by Oracle engineers.

Why have Pre-Built Analytic Applications Historically Failed?

The Theory behind pre-built analytic applications has been around for a number of years, but nearly all have failed to deliver. Traditional BI vendors have attempted to either package pre-built metadata, mapped directly to the operational tables of CRM, ERP, HR and other systems (including Oracle E-Business Suite, Siebel, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards and SAP); or, theyve attempted to write a small number of extracts to move that data into some form of datamart or data warehouse. Historically, these attempts have failed for two reasons. First, using the approach of mapping directly to these operational systems failed for the simple fact that theyve skipped one of the most important steps of business intelligence, namely the data warehouse. Those BI vendors glossed over that fact by using names like Siebel Adaptor or Oracle EBS Connector, and conveniently ignored 20 years of data warehouse best practices. This style of pre-built application failed on two fronts. First, they simply couldnt provide the performance required of a BI application against these operational systems (and also brought many mission critical applications to their knees), and at best, they mapped a minor subset of all possible metrics, KPIs and reportable attributes. The second approach taken by these traditional BI vendors had a glimmer of hope, since they attempted to follow the more accepted approach to business intelligence, namely building a datamart or data warehouse on top of these operational systems, using an industry accepted ETL tool, and the design and development of one or more star-schemas. While good in theory, the only BI vendor who was able to deliver on this promise, was the only BI vendor who also happened to be a CRM vendor, namely Siebel Systems (and now Oracle). Reasons vary why other BI vendors failed, but the greatest reason might also be the simplest, which was a lack of investment. Building a true data warehouse against a complex operational system takes time and money. Siebel was able to make this investment, while other BI vendors were not.

Whats the gain using Pre-Built Applications versus Building Custom?

As described in the introduction to this whitepaper, the typical gain in projects which use the pre-built analytic applications from Oracle, versus those that do not, is the difference of a factor of 2.5 or 3.5 to 1. The diagram below demonstrates visually the differences, and levels of effort typically applied to each component of the application.

Where is the real value of Pre-Built Analytic Applications?

When it comes to pre-built analytic applications, all is not equal when it comes to the value from each component. The diagram to the upper right is a close approximation of the contribution that each component typically has to individual projects. For example, if the entire pre-built stack adds 100% value in a completely vanilla environment against a known backend system such as Oracle EBS, then only 20% - 30% must be made up if the pre-built analytic stack is pointed to a backend system not supported by the out-of-the-box extracts. In real world terms, that means that if Oracle Financial Analytics (which has extracts written for Oracle E-Business Suite and PeopleSoft) was pointed instead to a non-EBS or PeopleSoft backend, the additional work

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FY08

PROJECT METHODOLOGY
STAGE 1.0 PROJECT INITIATION STAGE STAGE 2.0 DISCOVERY STAGE STAGE 3.0 DESIGN STAGE STAGE 4.0 BUILD STAGE STAGE 5.0 TESTING AND VALIDATION STAGE STAGE 6.0 DEPLOY STAGE STAGE 7.0 MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT STAGE

Comparison of Project Types

In the graphic below, we have summarized the relative level of effort typically required for several different projects based upon the buy model (using Oracles pre-built analytic applications), and have compared that to a build project (a project that requires the development of a data warehouse built from scratch, against Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft, Siebel, JD Edwards or similar systems). Details for each project type are outlined in the following pages, including a sample timeline, duration of each stage in the project, typical team sizes, and typical assumptions.

Project Type

Assumptions

Buy

1.2 Deployment of Pre-Built Applications against EBS, PeopleSoft, Siebel, or JD Edwards

58 person weeks of effort

1.3 Deployment of Pre-Built Applications against a non-Oracle backend

!This scope 75 person weeks of effort and level of effort is based Build 1.4 Custom Warehouse Build against EBS, PeopleSoft, Siebel, or JD Edwards upon a deployment of 185 person weeks of effort the OBI EE

Project Methodology
For all projects, BI Consulting Group employs the following custom methodology which was written specically for Oracle BI Enterprise Edition projects. The methodology denes a seven stage process, with inputs (materials and information provided by the customer), tasks, deliverables, and training recommendations identied at each stage.

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1.2 PROJECT SCHEDULE AND MILESTONES FOR DEPLOYMENT OF PRE-BUILT APPLICATIONS AGAINST EBS, PEOPLESOFT, SIEBEL OR JD EDWARDS
The duration below is based upon a 17 week project with three weeks of post production support. This timeline sample is based upon the deployment of up to 3 - 4 subject areas across up to three Analytic applications (such as Finance, HR, Supply Chain, etc.).

Assumptions
! This scope and level of effort is based upon a deployment of the OBI EE Platform using one or more of the pre-built applications, against an operational application supported by the pre-built applications, such as Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft, Siebel or JD Edwards. ! This scope and level of effort assumes that the operational application has a typical number of customizations and/or re-purposed data elements. ! This scope and level of effort is based upon 3 4 subject areas, and 40 50 reports, however, using BICGs best practices design of reports and Dashboards, each report module will have multiple views and selections, resulting in dozens of permutations for each report.

Team Requirements
! ! ! Team Leader/OBI EE Architect BA/OBI EE Designer ETL Lead

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1.3 PROJECT SCHEDULE AND MILESTONES FOR DEPLOYMENT OF PRE-BUILT APPLICATIONS AGAINST A NON-ORACLE BACKEND
The duration below is based upon a 19 week project with three weeks of post production support. This timeline sample is based upon the deployment of up to 3 - 4 subject areas across up to three Analytic applications (such as Finance, HR, Supply Chain, etc.).

Assumptions
! This scope and level of effort is based upon a deployment of the OBI EE Platform using one or more of the pre-built applications, against an operational application not supported by the pre-built extracts. ! This scope and level of effort assumes that the operational application is in a relational data source, and that the data model is available, and that data stewards exist to understand the location of pertinent tables and elds. ! This scope and level of effort is based upon 3 4 subject areas, and 40 50 reports, however, using BICGs best practices design of reports and Dashboards, each report module will have multiple views and selections, resulting in dozens of permutations for each report.

Team Requirements
! ! ! ! Team Leader/OBI EE Architect BA/OBI EE Designer ETL Lead ETL Developer

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BI CONSULTING GROUP WHITEPAPER !

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1.4 PROJECT SCHEDULE AND MILESTONES FOR CUSTOM WAREHOUSE BUILD AGAINST EBS, PEOPLESOFT, SIEBEL, JD EDWARDS OR SIMILAR SYSTEMS
The timeline sample below is based upon a 34 week project with six weeks of post production support, assessment, and planning for Phase II.

Assumptions
! This scope and level of effort is based upon a deployment of the OBI EE Platform and the development of a custom datamart / data warehouse, against a back ofce system, such as Oracle EBS, PeopleSoft, Siebel, JD Edwards or similar systems. ! This scope and level of effort is based upon 3 4 subject areas, and 40 50 reports, however, using BICGs best practices design of reports and Dashboards, each report module will have multiple views and selections, resulting in dozens of permutations for each report.

Team Requirements
! ! ! ! Team Leader/OBI EE Architect BA / OBI EE Designer ETL Lead ETL Developers (2)

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BI CONSULTING GROUP WHITEPAPER !

FY08

HIGHLIGHTS
! Oracles largest consulting partner dedicated exclusively to Oracle BI EE with nearly 60 OBI EE experts in the U.S. ! Collectively completed more than 250 Oracle BI Enterprise Edition projects and more than 300 data warehouses and datamarts. ! Average consultant has 5+ years of Oracle BI Enterprise Edition experience, and more than 10 years of BI/DW experience. ! Every customer is referenceable including those who had previous failures with other consulting rms. ! Experts at both stand alone implementations and deployments of the Pre-Built Analytic Applications from Oracle including Financial Analytics, HR Analytics, Supply Chain Analytics, and CRM Analytics. ! BICG University teaches 10 key OBI EE courses.

About BI Consulting Group

BI Consulting Group (BICG) is Oracles largest consulting partner founded on Oracle BI Enterprise Edition (OBI EE, formerly Siebel Business Analytics) and winner of Oracles FY2007 Most Valuable BI Partner award. Our current track record includes more than 250 OBI EE projects, with more than 120 deployments of Oracles pre-built Analytic Applications. Our staff comes direct from the Business Analytics division at Siebel and Oracle, or from Enterprise Edition customers where they have lived and breathed Enterprise Edition for years. The average experience of our staff is 5+ years working on Enterprise Edition implementations, and more than ten years in Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing. All that, and were still 100% referenceable. BI Consulting Group provides our clients with experienced Enterprise and data warehousing consultants who provide a variety of consulting services for the design, development, deployment and maintenance of Oracle BI applications. These services include project management; requirements development and application design; metadata development; report and Dashboard design and development; data warehouse design and development; ETL development; and Training through BICG University.

Please contact us at info@biconsultinggroup.com if we can be of any assistance in your selection process. Best regards,

Michael Martin President, BI Consulting Group

Contact Us Email: info@biconsultinggroup.com 2130 Cliff Road Eagan, MN 55122 www.biconsultinggroup.com

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