Business Intelligence - Overview
There’s no doubt that the economic challenges we’re facing present difficult challenges for businesses of all kinds, in every industry. Companies are looking for ways to cut costs and reduce risks as they confront issues like tighter credit, reduced business activity, and slower consumer spending. But with challenges come opportunities. Business leaders who maintain a long-term perspective even as they take short-term steps to adjust to the current economic realities have the chance to sharpen their organization’s focus on the right priorities and ensure that they have the right resources working to achieve the right business objectives.
Business Intelligence solutions from Ensynch, based on Microsoft technologies help get the right information to the right people faster so that they can make smarter, more informed decisions in line with corporate strategy and goals.
The Ensynch Difference
Ensynch has a unique combination of technical and business experience gained in helping a diverse group of clients deploy Business Intelligence solutions to maximize executive insight and decision-making. We're focused on business results and our clients know they are getting proven, consistent solutions and "Whatever IT Takes" commitment, to deliver unparalleled return on investment.
Business Intelligence Benefits:
- Get Real-Time Information – Understand what is happening right now.
- Find Profitable Customers – Target the right customers.
- Pivot on a Dime – Forecast and plan based on scenarios and business conditions.
- Find Inefficiencies – Understand variances and drill to detail to find trends and make changes.
- Save Money – Know your cost structure and take action to ensure you hit the bottom line.
Assess
To understand more about where your organization is currently, and where you want to be, first - determine where you are according to the criteria below (Basic, Standardized, Rationalize/Advanced, or Dynamic), then review the challenges and benefits at each level to determine the potential impact on your business.
Basic
- Performance is tracked by manually entering metrics in static documents
- Reports are static, decentralized, and highly dependent on IT work for completion
- Analysis is standalone in spreadsheets
- Data is isolated for analysis and reporting by using hand-coded extract, transform, and load (ETL) processes
Standardized
- Interactive, departmental scorecards are created from performance metrics that are stored in a database
- Reporting is driven by IT; reports have parameters and come from defined data sources
- Analysis is performed by using a tool that is connected to subject-oriented data
- Basic ETL packages are used to load subjects; there is a functional data mart
| Challenges of moving from Basic to Standardized |
| Business |
- Manual entry of key performance indicators results in creation of static performance-tracking documents
- Information is isolated in data “silos”
- Multiple business intelligence tools are used, including many custom reporting systems
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| IT |
- IT has a backlog of reports
- Automated processes to extract, transform, and load data are limited
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| Benefits of Becoming Standardized |
Business Benefits
- Ensure department-wide strategic alignment that includes interactive scorecards and dashboards
- Ensure that end-user analysis is possible from multiple data sources
- Control IT costs by providing a single business intelligence framework that is easier to manage than disparate programs located in different departments
IT Benefits
- Improve the productivity and satisfaction of decision makers by providing a variety of user-driven reports
- Load data automatically by using ETL packages
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Rationalized/Advanced
- Enterprise-wide scorecards are driven by strategy
- Automated tools are used to budget, plan, and forecast
- Users drive report building, definition, scheduling, and subscription
- Data is published from front-end analytical applications by using wizards, and is analyzed in interactive Web tools
- There is a central, managed data warehouse
- ETL design, implementation, and maintenance are automated
| Challenges of moving from Standardized to Rationalized/Advanced |
| Business |
- Scorecards are inefficient and not centralized
- Self-service reporting is not in place
- Financial planning is not automated
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| IT |
- Tools are department-specific; there is no organization-wide business intelligence strategy to select tools
- Web and business intelligence applications are not customized
- Data marts are designed to meet functional and subject needs, but are not integrated or centralized
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Benefits of Becoming Rationalized/
Advanced |
Business Benefits
- Track and analyze performance by using strategy-driven scorecards
- Provide accurate reports and analyses to others by using Internet sites
- Streamline the financial reporting process by using automated financial tools
- SOA & Business Process Integration
IT Benefits
- Improve collaboration and the quality of decisions by making information available to people at all levels throughout the organization
- Enable users to easily create and distribute reports without having to load software on desktop systems
- Enable users to access information from a central, managed data warehouse
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Dynamic
- Reporting is embedded in business processes
- Visualization is advanced—key performance indicators (KPIs) are exposed in strategy maps and custom visuals
- Predictive analytics and data mining techniques are used
- Business intelligence and business activity monitoring occur automatically within business processes and master data management
| Challenges of moving from Rationalized/Advanced to Dynamic |
| Business |
- Standardized business intelligence tools are disconnected from business processes
- Real-time access to data is available only from desktop systems; there is no mobile access
- No common semantic layer exists across the organization
- Reporting on process data and monitoring business processes and status are difficult
- Analysis of various operations and transactions within a business process is cumbersome
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| IT |
- Business intelligence tools and Web applications are standardized
- There is real-time data access for desktop systems, but no mobile access
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| Benefits of Becoming Dynamic |
Business Benefits
- Assist managers in planning and forecasting work by presenting a single, common overview of business processes across departments
- Monitor specific business activities for real-time reporting and analysis by interoperating with other systems
- Customize tasks, enumerations, and transformations with custom data sources
IT Benefits
- Provide an in-depth look into business operations by enriching data with business logic in a hierarchical view
- Identify new business opportunities by using predictive analytics
- Explore data to discover business patterns and apply them to new opportunities
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Business Intelligence Related Products
- SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008
- 2007 Office System – Excel, Sharepoint
- PerformancePoint Server 2007
Request more information about how Ensynch can help you begin reaping the benefits of Business Intelligence.
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