The open source movement is gaining speed within the BI space. The typical argument of open source vs proprietary talks about ownership costs and savings, operational and strategic alignment and legal violations, to name a few. I wonder if the same analysis is done when organizations are purchasing solely proprietary software?
Many times it comes down to the "trust" a company has. The result of mega cash and time spent on branding, marketing, and advertizing. Cognos. Microsoft. Informatica. Oracle. Well known names that come with a certain amount of trust, even prestige, and even envangelism. Does that "trust" give their products stability and quality?
The marketing babble aside, here is an open source company that is on the right track. Pentaho
And thanks to Joeseph and Clarise for providing these Pentaho podcasts.
And finally, a little news on Pentaho's growth.
Thursday, April 27
Tuesday, April 25
Say no to being average
Ever need some motivation and ideas for improving your BI engagement or project?
Here Guy Kawaski lists ideas to drive your competition crazy.
And Seth Godin on a company leader who makes it happen.
BI can be much more than building analytical products, reports, and project management. What is your team's motivation?
Here Guy Kawaski lists ideas to drive your competition crazy.
And Seth Godin on a company leader who makes it happen.
BI can be much more than building analytical products, reports, and project management. What is your team's motivation?
Friday, April 21
Business is from Mars, IT is from Venus
An article from Rick Sherman questioning whether BI tools and people's skills have improved.
* Multiple "single versions of the truth"
* Data shadow systems are breeding like rabbits
* Business is from Mars, IT is from Venus
* It's not the tools; it's the data
* People still don't understand data warehousing
* The silver bullet solution
Is there potential for BI projects to have these problems today? Absolutely. But let's consider, for example, that building BI is different than typical software application development. An application can be built, and when done well, meets users needs.
Should BI be any different?
BI projects of some size & complexity are scary beasts. The horror stories of the "big bang approach" have been heard, so most project managers take an incremental approach, knowing not all requirements may be met. Of course, if there's the time and money, all user's needs can be met and many of the issues above would disappear. But practically speaking, budgets end and the IT department will move into maintenance mode.
So can "multiple single versions of the truth", "people still don't understand DW", and other problems ever be solved? I believe yes. Experience of teams will grow and vendors will improve their toolsets to meet the complexities of business.
But in the meantime, BI can still answer the most important business questions for a portion of users. And accept that some users will use Excel to fill their analytical gaps. But by focusing on delivering BI projects successfully and not worrying about answering all questions for all people, over time, incrementally, these problems will be eliminated.
"Every four years someone introduces a new approach to data integration. But the approaches aren't new."After reading this article, the feeling is the BI profession is going in circles by providing little improvements for the business. Rick explains:
* Multiple "single versions of the truth"
* Data shadow systems are breeding like rabbits
* Business is from Mars, IT is from Venus
* It's not the tools; it's the data
* People still don't understand data warehousing
* The silver bullet solution
Is there potential for BI projects to have these problems today? Absolutely. But let's consider, for example, that building BI is different than typical software application development. An application can be built, and when done well, meets users needs.
Should BI be any different?
BI projects of some size & complexity are scary beasts. The horror stories of the "big bang approach" have been heard, so most project managers take an incremental approach, knowing not all requirements may be met. Of course, if there's the time and money, all user's needs can be met and many of the issues above would disappear. But practically speaking, budgets end and the IT department will move into maintenance mode.
So can "multiple single versions of the truth", "people still don't understand DW", and other problems ever be solved? I believe yes. Experience of teams will grow and vendors will improve their toolsets to meet the complexities of business.
But in the meantime, BI can still answer the most important business questions for a portion of users. And accept that some users will use Excel to fill their analytical gaps. But by focusing on delivering BI projects successfully and not worrying about answering all questions for all people, over time, incrementally, these problems will be eliminated.
Tuesday, April 18
Be clear when reporting performance
The process for performance reporting may be rot with manual effort, costs, time and money but the end result, the monthly, quarterly or annual report, should be presented with a clear and relevant message.
Yesterday, I was given a set of principles for performance reporting used by a state level government. These principles are used as guidelines to produce quarterly/annual reports for public consumption. This guide could be used for internal publications too.
(liberties taken to protect the innocent)
Explain the organization - the why, what, who, how but also how its services are delivered and how it conducts its work. Let the public know the significance of the performance information being reported.
Link goals and results - what the organization intended to achieve and whether they are on track. Provide information where the public can make reasonable judgments about government performance.
Focus on a few critical aspects - limit the goals, objectives, and measures to a critical few that show key issues. The public will have a clear and concise picture of the performance and areas for improvement.
Link resources, strategies, and results - link financial and performance information to show how resources and strategies influence results. This leads to discussions about the choices that government makes and the impact of choices on the people it serves.
Provide comparative information - put expected future results in context by comparing past information and performance of other similar organizations or industry benchmarks. Trend information can help the audience tell whether there is improvements, deterioration, or static performance.
Present credible information - information is based on quantitative and qualitative information that should be fairly interpreted. It should be relevant and reliable, consistent and understandable.
Disclose the basis for judgements - should disclose how the information has been prepared and the limitations that apply to its use. The public will better understand how the performance report should be used.
Yesterday, I was given a set of principles for performance reporting used by a state level government. These principles are used as guidelines to produce quarterly/annual reports for public consumption. This guide could be used for internal publications too.
(liberties taken to protect the innocent)
Explain the organization - the why, what, who, how but also how its services are delivered and how it conducts its work. Let the public know the significance of the performance information being reported.
Link goals and results - what the organization intended to achieve and whether they are on track. Provide information where the public can make reasonable judgments about government performance.
Focus on a few critical aspects - limit the goals, objectives, and measures to a critical few that show key issues. The public will have a clear and concise picture of the performance and areas for improvement.
Link resources, strategies, and results - link financial and performance information to show how resources and strategies influence results. This leads to discussions about the choices that government makes and the impact of choices on the people it serves.
Provide comparative information - put expected future results in context by comparing past information and performance of other similar organizations or industry benchmarks. Trend information can help the audience tell whether there is improvements, deterioration, or static performance.
Present credible information - information is based on quantitative and qualitative information that should be fairly interpreted. It should be relevant and reliable, consistent and understandable.
Disclose the basis for judgements - should disclose how the information has been prepared and the limitations that apply to its use. The public will better understand how the performance report should be used.
Thursday, April 13
Incentive for better BI
A quote from Elvis on making BI happen... (thanks to Tom Asacker for providing this)
"A little less conversation, a little more action please.
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me.
A little more bite and a little less bark.
A little less fight and a little more spark.
Close your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy me.
Satisfy me baby."
Focus on moving forward. The goal is to finish. The other goal is to keep completing the smaller tasks that will get you there.
"A little less conversation, a little more action please.
All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me.
A little more bite and a little less bark.
A little less fight and a little more spark.
Close your mouth and open up your heart and baby satisfy me.
Satisfy me baby."
Focus on moving forward. The goal is to finish. The other goal is to keep completing the smaller tasks that will get you there.
Making change happen
"It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be." -- Isaac Asimov on change.
How many new initiatives in corporate and government environments meet their potential? The culture in many large organizations confines internal initiatives within a box of comfort where risk is minimized and so is the potential for greatness. But when companies make massive leaps in vision and execute their objectives, they become industry leaders and reap the rewards and benefits. Just look at Google or Apple for what they have accomplished.
The challenge is not (just) having BI in your organization. It should be more than that. Envisioning something bigger may include:
(Self Sufficient) - Make it quick and easy for users to access information they need (more than what they have today) with no IT support.
(Culture) - Enable a performance-based culture where users spend time analyzing and asking questions, instead of trying to figure out what the report means.
(One Shared Truth) - Company performance, analytical detail, and operational reporting should be reported from the same source. And more than just the same source but all BI aspects should find the exact same answers when asking the same questions.
(Evangelism) - Users at all altitudes of an organization should be beyond being on-board with the BI project. Internal leaders can make users aware of how BI can improve their daily work and even build interest in how the business works by using BI.
Change starts with small steps initially but drive and determination will make greater visions become reality in any organization.
How many new initiatives in corporate and government environments meet their potential? The culture in many large organizations confines internal initiatives within a box of comfort where risk is minimized and so is the potential for greatness. But when companies make massive leaps in vision and execute their objectives, they become industry leaders and reap the rewards and benefits. Just look at Google or Apple for what they have accomplished.
The challenge is not (just) having BI in your organization. It should be more than that. Envisioning something bigger may include:
(Self Sufficient) - Make it quick and easy for users to access information they need (more than what they have today) with no IT support.
(Culture) - Enable a performance-based culture where users spend time analyzing and asking questions, instead of trying to figure out what the report means.
(One Shared Truth) - Company performance, analytical detail, and operational reporting should be reported from the same source. And more than just the same source but all BI aspects should find the exact same answers when asking the same questions.
(Evangelism) - Users at all altitudes of an organization should be beyond being on-board with the BI project. Internal leaders can make users aware of how BI can improve their daily work and even build interest in how the business works by using BI.
Change starts with small steps initially but drive and determination will make greater visions become reality in any organization.
Thursday, April 6
Can Microsoft compete
Microsoft has released re-built products for Business Intelligence and Performance Management tools (again). Their previous round of tools were uncompetitive (although inexpensive) compared with the BI industry giants.
Round 1: Functionality and maturity won out over cheap tools.
Ready for Round 2?
Don't count Microsoft out (yet). As with most new software products, there is that maturing period after a release where the early technology adopters (these companies are the ones comfortable taking the bumpy road of frequent releases and finding functionality that doesn't work) jump in. Based on their response, the masses may beat down Microsoft's door to make them a BI leader.
Microsoft isn't taking the BI industry lightly. But a recommendation to use their BI products for companies looking at large, complex BI implementations isn't there. But time will tell whether their second kick-at-the-can is successful for them and their customers.
Round 1: Functionality and maturity won out over cheap tools.
Ready for Round 2?
Don't count Microsoft out (yet). As with most new software products, there is that maturing period after a release where the early technology adopters (these companies are the ones comfortable taking the bumpy road of frequent releases and finding functionality that doesn't work) jump in. Based on their response, the masses may beat down Microsoft's door to make them a BI leader.
Microsoft isn't taking the BI industry lightly. But a recommendation to use their BI products for companies looking at large, complex BI implementations isn't there. But time will tell whether their second kick-at-the-can is successful for them and their customers.
Tuesday, April 4
Are you prepared
Being prepared when undertaking a BI project will considerably increase your chances of success and maximize the return on your time, effort and finances you'll be spending.
1) Do you have a strong Business Sponsor willing to stand behind your BI project?
2) Do you have the staff available to work on this project? Time from business users is a must.
3) Where in your organization will see the biggest benefits from BI?
4) What software toolset has the features that will meet your needs today? Going into tomorrow?
5) And seek information from people who have "been there & done that". Find BI experts, consultants, or other companies with a track record and learn from them.
1) Do you have a strong Business Sponsor willing to stand behind your BI project?
2) Do you have the staff available to work on this project? Time from business users is a must.
3) Where in your organization will see the biggest benefits from BI?
4) What software toolset has the features that will meet your needs today? Going into tomorrow?
5) And seek information from people who have "been there & done that". Find BI experts, consultants, or other companies with a track record and learn from them.
Thursday, March 30
Overloaded with too much
The vehicle to deliver BI to the masses is a mixture between the right information, presented by the right tools. And this is based from the needs of users.
Sometimes when we provide more than what's needed, we end up giving less. Overloading what the vehicle should deliver, can bring your BI project to the brink of unsuccessfulness in the eyes of users.
"This is too complicated to learn." "Too many dimensions or metrics to grasp." "Too many tools. I don't know when to use which one." "I'm just more comfortable using my tabular reports and Excel."
The advantage of creating "just enough", can leave the feeling of wanting more. Deliver just enough functionality and information to users and they'll be more comfortable learning it and using what is delivered. Building in phases isn't just for the project team. And just building a BI system doesn't mean success.
The litmus test of success is found within the usage of a BI system.
Sometimes when we provide more than what's needed, we end up giving less. Overloading what the vehicle should deliver, can bring your BI project to the brink of unsuccessfulness in the eyes of users.
"This is too complicated to learn." "Too many dimensions or metrics to grasp." "Too many tools. I don't know when to use which one." "I'm just more comfortable using my tabular reports and Excel."
The advantage of creating "just enough", can leave the feeling of wanting more. Deliver just enough functionality and information to users and they'll be more comfortable learning it and using what is delivered. Building in phases isn't just for the project team. And just building a BI system doesn't mean success.
The litmus test of success is found within the usage of a BI system.
Tuesday, March 28
For Form or Function
Brammo Motorsports gives a prime example of function over form. This car is all about function - only the necessary pieces. Although some (those engineering minds) may enjoy it for its looks, this car is for a unique group of people.
Should BI be built with form or function in mind? Why not both. Easy for users to access information but enough depth in information for users to grow into BI as they become "advanced".
Should BI be built with form or function in mind? Why not both. Easy for users to access information but enough depth in information for users to grow into BI as they become "advanced".
Friday, March 24
Got a Dashboard?
A recent survey/article stated "Such technology is sorely needed". Many companies are on their first generation of dashboard or performance management project. Some have 'pockets' of implementations within divisions with the long-term goal of a corporate dashboard.
The graph above shows the Oracle User Group's survey on what clients are replacing on their dashboard projects.
The technology, for the most part, is now available and mature (not all vendors are at the same maturity though). The business has been waiting for easy-to-understand views into their executive information for as long as some people have waited for the 80's fashion styles to come back.
So where are the dashboards?
Most are still using spreadsheets and paper-based reports (according to Oracle users). All that effort put into strategic & financial planning only to show the leaders in your company an Excel spreadsheet? You say you don't have any other tools? But what a great position to be in for initiating your own dashboard project. Ask a vendor to show you a demo. Ask an executive what she would like. And get people in your company excited. That's a start.
Wednesday, March 15
Packaging BI
Microsoft confirms it produced iPod parody video.
How BI is packaged or presented is as important as how Microsoft and Apple package their off the shelf products. Does a clean, simple packaging (like Apple) best suit potential clients or users of the finished project? Or should they know all the details, requirements, and features?
Many would say the higher the user or client's altitude in the company, the simplier it should be. And for those techies, give them all the details to wade through.
For me, a simple message is better. This goes for everyone, including technology people. The easier someone understands the message or deliverable or project, the quicker they will become a proponent for your BI solution. There will be time later to explain all the cool features that were added once they are on board.
How BI is packaged or presented is as important as how Microsoft and Apple package their off the shelf products. Does a clean, simple packaging (like Apple) best suit potential clients or users of the finished project? Or should they know all the details, requirements, and features?
Many would say the higher the user or client's altitude in the company, the simplier it should be. And for those techies, give them all the details to wade through.
For me, a simple message is better. This goes for everyone, including technology people. The easier someone understands the message or deliverable or project, the quicker they will become a proponent for your BI solution. There will be time later to explain all the cool features that were added once they are on board.
Saturday, March 11
Flexible tools
You may have heard the words. "Excel-hell".
Defn: The proliferation of Excel spreadsheets through an organization hindering people with their unmanageable and error-prone nature. Usually a band-aid solution used for budgeting or reporting when staff have no other option. Okay, and it's almost free.
But the BI industry has been steering companies away from this for years. BI tools provide all the benefits that Excel doesn't, like distributing web-based reports to many people or programmatically pulling data from disparate sources. So why is Excel still used by so many?
Because Excel is highly flexible and the layout can be changed on a whim. And people rely on what they know best. See Cindi Howson's article comparing Excel.
An executive asks for her numbers to be summed on the monthly report and graphed. It's done in a couple steps. While this seems terrific on the face, this leads a business down the rabbit hole (Excel-hell) where it lacks all the benefits that BI tools provide.
Find the right tool that meets your unique business needs and the needs of the business people.
Defn: The proliferation of Excel spreadsheets through an organization hindering people with their unmanageable and error-prone nature. Usually a band-aid solution used for budgeting or reporting when staff have no other option. Okay, and it's almost free.
But the BI industry has been steering companies away from this for years. BI tools provide all the benefits that Excel doesn't, like distributing web-based reports to many people or programmatically pulling data from disparate sources. So why is Excel still used by so many?
Because Excel is highly flexible and the layout can be changed on a whim. And people rely on what they know best. See Cindi Howson's article comparing Excel.
An executive asks for her numbers to be summed on the monthly report and graphed. It's done in a couple steps. While this seems terrific on the face, this leads a business down the rabbit hole (Excel-hell) where it lacks all the benefits that BI tools provide.
Find the right tool that meets your unique business needs and the needs of the business people.
Thursday, March 9
Pass the sales pitch for toolsets
You think you want BI and now you are looking for the best BI tool for you. What does that look like? Well, that's a "it depends".
First find the toolset(s) that give you what you need. Some features to consider are flexibility, distribution and automation. Flexibility to meet the ever changing landscape of your business. The distribution and automation features to make reporting easy and consistent for so many in your organization.
Want a list of vendors you should look at and the questions to ask?
Hint (in no particular order): Business Objects, Cognos, Hyperion, MicroStrategy, Informatica, or Microsoft.
5 questions to ask vendors to get you past their standard sales pitch.
1) Ask for reference sites. Talk to both successful installs and unhappy customers. Learn from their experiences.
2) Ask for a demonstration. And keep bringing them back to how their tools provide flexibility for users to make changes or to the criteria you've identified for your organization.
3) Ask how it will improve your business. Many times a sales pitch only explains the functionality of their tools. Ask them to be specific to your needs.
4) Always negotiate the price of software. Not quite a question but important to remember.
5) Ask which local development partners they have. Strong vendors will have consulting firms or software development companies they've worked with in the past. Regardless if they have their own internal consulting services unit.
First find the toolset(s) that give you what you need. Some features to consider are flexibility, distribution and automation. Flexibility to meet the ever changing landscape of your business. The distribution and automation features to make reporting easy and consistent for so many in your organization.
Want a list of vendors you should look at and the questions to ask?
Hint (in no particular order): Business Objects, Cognos, Hyperion, MicroStrategy, Informatica, or Microsoft.
5 questions to ask vendors to get you past their standard sales pitch.
1) Ask for reference sites. Talk to both successful installs and unhappy customers. Learn from their experiences.
2) Ask for a demonstration. And keep bringing them back to how their tools provide flexibility for users to make changes or to the criteria you've identified for your organization.
3) Ask how it will improve your business. Many times a sales pitch only explains the functionality of their tools. Ask them to be specific to your needs.
4) Always negotiate the price of software. Not quite a question but important to remember.
5) Ask which local development partners they have. Strong vendors will have consulting firms or software development companies they've worked with in the past. Regardless if they have their own internal consulting services unit.
Are we still using Excel
Here’s an article by Rick Sherman that shows over the past many years, after all these BI projects, and these fabulous new vendor tools, users are still using, or reverting back to, Excel to gather information and creating new reports that meet their needs.
You could walk away from this article and think BI isn’t meeting user’s needs. We could look to the vendors and say their tools are too complicated. We could talk to the IT group and consultants that run the BI projects. Or do users not understand how to use what they have?
History is showing that organizations are benefiting from successful BI projects. Remember, BI is for the business, its strategies and performance. Identify your project's goals for success and list “end user usage” as one of the measures your project aims for.
You could walk away from this article and think BI isn’t meeting user’s needs. We could look to the vendors and say their tools are too complicated. We could talk to the IT group and consultants that run the BI projects. Or do users not understand how to use what they have?
History is showing that organizations are benefiting from successful BI projects. Remember, BI is for the business, its strategies and performance. Identify your project's goals for success and list “end user usage” as one of the measures your project aims for.
Sunday, March 5
Comfortable with status quo
I convinced my family to convert our phone service to Vonage VOIP phone service. Although we were comfortable paying $100 in monthly bills for less features to the local provider, we needed to make a change.
Compare my small personal story and Seth's post on inspiring change to initiating change for large organizations. I've heard companies spending $10k to create a performance report for an executive group. It was highly complex and detailed and gave them exactly what they wanted.
What was surprising was the number of similar requests over the years that could be made to the IT department. It was time for IT and management groups to take that step back and start asking, "would we be better off moving to an efficient reporting or BI system? Would we save money and have our people be more efficient in the long run? Could we make money leveraging our data?"
Our new phone service saves us more than 50% on our monthly bills but we had to initiate change. A company should realize financial, business process, and cultural benefits when building a business intelligence or performance management system.
Ask yourself, what are your costs for reporting? Are you getting the information you need (want)? How timely do you receive your requested information? Within a day? A week? A month?
It could be time to think of making that change.
Compare my small personal story and Seth's post on inspiring change to initiating change for large organizations. I've heard companies spending $10k to create a performance report for an executive group. It was highly complex and detailed and gave them exactly what they wanted.
What was surprising was the number of similar requests over the years that could be made to the IT department. It was time for IT and management groups to take that step back and start asking, "would we be better off moving to an efficient reporting or BI system? Would we save money and have our people be more efficient in the long run? Could we make money leveraging our data?"
Our new phone service saves us more than 50% on our monthly bills but we had to initiate change. A company should realize financial, business process, and cultural benefits when building a business intelligence or performance management system.
Ask yourself, what are your costs for reporting? Are you getting the information you need (want)? How timely do you receive your requested information? Within a day? A week? A month?
It could be time to think of making that change.
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