About the Book
Making Better Decisions Faster
“This readable, practical book helps business
people quickly understand what business intelligence is, how it works,
where it's used, and why and when to use it—all illustrated by real case
studies, not just theory.”
Nigel Pendse
Author of The OLAP Report
www.olapreport.com
So much information, so little time. All
too often, business data is hard to get at and use—thus slowing decision-making
to a crawl. This insightful book illustrates how organizations can make
better, faster decisions about their customers, partners, and operations
by turning mountains of data into valuable business information that’s
always at the fingertips of decision makers. You’ll learn what’s involved
in using business intelligence to bring together information, people, and
technology to create successful business strategies—and how to execute
those strategies with confidence. Topics covered include:
• THE BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE MINDSET: Discover
the basics behind business intelligence, such as how it’s defined, why
and how to use it in your organization, and what characteristics, components,
and general architecture most business intelligence solutions share.
• THE CASE FOR BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE: Read
how world leaders in finance, manufacturing, and retail have successfully
implemented business intelligence solutions and see what benefits they
have reaped.
• THE PRACTICE OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE:
Find out what’s involved in implementing a business intelligence solution
in your organization, including how to identify your business intelligence
opportunities, what decisions you must make to get a business intelligence
project going, and what to do to sustain the momentum so that you can continue
to make sense of all the data you gather.
Related Books
Table of Contents
About the Authors
vii
Foreword ix
Introduction xiii
Our Assumptions
About You xiii
Organization
of the Book xiv
Acknowledgments
xiv
PART I BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
FOUNDATIONS 1
PROLOGUE: The Mystery on Lovesick Lake
3
1 Understanding Business
Intelligence 13
Describing
Business Intelligence 13
Defining
the BI Cycle 17
Enabling
Business Intelligence 23
Summary
27
2 Bridging the Analysis
Gap 29
Multidimensional
Analysis 29
Operational
Systems 31
Business
Intelligence Systems 34
Summary
47
3 Defining BI Technologies
49
The High-Level
View 49
Reporting
and Analysis 53
The Data
Warehouse 60
Summary
63
PART II BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
CASE STUDIES 65
4 Improving Operational
Efficiency—Audi AG 67
Company
Background 67
Business
Requirements 68
The Solution
70
Solution
Benefits 71
Future
Plans 72
Summary
73
5 Maximizing Profitability—The
Frank Russell Company 75
Company
Background 75
Business
Requirements 76
The Picasso
Solution 78
The Einstein
Solution: Building on Success 81
Summary
83
6 Impacting the Bottom
Line—CompUSA Inc. 85
Company
Background 85
Business
Requirements 86
The Solution
88
Solution
Benefits 90
Project
Challenges 92
Lessons
Learned 93
Future
Plans 93
Summary
94
7 Keeping Customers Loyal—Disco
S.A. 95
Company
Background 95
Business
Requirements 96
The Solution
97
Solution
Benefits 100
Project
Challenges 101
Summary
102
8 Managing Seasonal Variability—Cascade
Designs 103
Company
Background 104
Business
Requirements 105
The Solution
107
Solution
Benefits 108
Lessons
Learned 109
Future
Plans 110
Summary
110
PART III A BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
ROADMAP 111
9 Identifying BI Opportunities
113
Doing
Your Homework 113
Sharing
and Collecting Ideas 122
Evaluating
Alternatives 128
Summary
142
10 Implementing a BI Solution
145
An Implementation
Strategy 145
The Fundamental
Decisions 151
Summary
174
CONCLUSION 175
APPENDIX A
Microsoft Data Warehousing Framework 177
SQL Server
177
Data
Analyzer 181
Microsoft
Business Intelligence Accelerator 182
Data
Warehousing Alliance 184
GLOSSARY 185
BIBLIOGRAPHY 193
INDEX 195 |
