Dashboards, Reporting & Business Intelligence

If you have not checked it yet,

“IT Dashboard” is a new, one-stop clearinghouse of information that allows anyone with a web browser to track federal IT initiatives and hold the government accountable for progress and results. A part of USASpending.gov, the dashboard allows you to see what IT projects are working and on-schedule (and which are not), offer alternative approaches, and provide direct feedback to the chief information officers at federal agencies – in effect, keeping tabs on the people who are responsible for taxpayer dollars for technology.”

IT Dashboard tracks government spending and you can check it online at http://usaspending.gov

There is way to get your own customized version of the dashboard at

http://it.usaspending.gov/?q=content/data-feeds

While the need for business intelligence is widely recognized, the use and implementation thereof can often be confusing, or misunderstood.

Most business intelligence initiatives start with the purpose of delivering the right information at the right time. This gives the correct priority to timeliness and accuracy of information, but does not indicate where said information should go. Though a real time BI software solution may deliver up to date information via dashboards or traditional reports, it may not be enough for employees who barely have time to log into their laptops when off visiting major customers. For such people, this information is not “real time” in the truest sense unless it is also readily accessible at the right place.

Another myth about business intelligence is that it provides analytical reporting while core transactional applications supply operational information. In actuality, a standard business intelligence software solution must meet both informational needs equally. Because information from both of these areas satisfies a diverse set of requirements, the most important ingredient for successful business intelligence implementation is getting the various parts of the organization properly aligned. It is critical that business analysts, in the early stages of implementation, interview all key stakeholders and document and reconcile critical business requirements from operational experts, analytical experts, line management, and staff management at multiple levels of the organization. Failure to understand internal customer requirements is one of the top reasons for failed business intelligence implementations.

Once requirements have been elicited and rationalized with each other, the proposed solution must be vetted with all stakeholders to ensure correctness and, even more importantly, drive buy-in so that all stakeholders will support and work towards a successful implementation rather than ignoring or, worse, actively resisting it. Once the initial requirements phase is complete, the next important step in an implementation is architecting a proposed solution and then piloting the solution on a small scale with key users to reduce any risks and prove out the implementation. During this phase, training plans can be created. A strategy for rolling out the implementation incrementally can be initiated and kinks in the implementation can be worked out.

Post-implementation, it is advisable to follow up with users to reinforce training and ensure that the full benefits of the business intelligence software solution are being realized. Any deferred features or capabilities can be addressed in the form of a small post-implementation revision project which takes an evolutionary approach towards continually improving the solution

With open source BI, users have access to the source code for the business intelligence software that they use. This gives them the ability to make changes and add applications in a way that they wouldn’t be able to with an out of the box platform. Commercial software does not give its users access to the original source code, nor does it give them any right to change or make modifications to the product. Users of commercial business intelligence must wait until the provider releases a new version of the platform or a new application to get added functionality for their system. With open source, users are able to make modifications to the code as needed as long as they adhere to the restrictions dictated by the license that governs the original code.

What is Open Source Code?

Open source code is software that has been written by a person or a company and copyrighted, but is also licensed to include a large user population, who is able to make changes and fix bugs in the code. As users need different applications from their open source software, they can change it to fit their demands without facing the repercussions of copyright infringement. There are a couple of different licenses that designate code as open source and users must adhere to the guidelines put forth by these licenses in order to use and modify the software.

Open Source Licenses

There is a variety of licenses that have been approved by the Open Source Initiative or OSI. Two common licenses are the Berkeley License and the GNU General Public License (GPL). The Berkeley License allows users to take the source code and make changes to it before releasing it again under a separate propriety license. With the Berkeley License, the original creators of the code would have to be acknowledged publicly when the new software is released. With GPL, if derivative software is created using the original code, it has to be made available as a GPL product, allowing other users access to the new code and allowing other users to modify it for their needs.

Freeware vs. Open Source

Open source is different from freeware, in that the actual code is made available to users, not just the software. Freeware is software that you can download for free for a trial period or permanently, but has to be used as is without any modifications. There is some very reliable freeware that can be downloaded permanently, but freeware is also used by commercial software providers to entice buyers to buy their product after the trial period is up.

Because they have ability to make changes to the code in open source, users can customize their business intelligence software to best serve their company. Users also have access, the majority of the time, to upgrades and applications that other users have developed, in addition to any bug fixes. This means that there is no waiting on the parent company to come out with an upgrade or develop add-ons.

For both software users and software creators, the advent of open source business intelligence has created much controversy. Since 1998, when the Open Source Initiative was formed, a steadily increasing wave of commercial and non-commercial licensed software has been developed and distributed over the internet. Currently, in the realm of open source BI software, over 60% of companies and governments are active users, with these numbers steadily rising. But even with such statistics, some potential users still prefer closed source software to its open source competition. On the other hand, some new software creators also prefer the world of closed source applications, with little interest in developing software for open source business intelligence.

For these closed source minded software users and creators, there are a few common misconceptions about open source software that should be examined more closely.

Concerns about Open Source Software

In the case of business intelligence, potential users may worry about the safety and security of software that is free for download over the internet. Would valuable and potentially damaging business intelligence information really be safely filtered through free software? Also, such potential users may also be worried about bugs within the open source software, or even a “back door” for the software creator to access the user’s information.

For software creators looking to tackle business intelligence, the open source software model may look like a worthless investment of time and expertise. Why would anybody make business intelligence software available as a completely free download? How would a software creator make any money if the source of his or her labor is freely distributed to anybody who owns a computer?

The Truth about Open Source Software

For those users worried about the safety capabilities of open source business intelligence software, they can rest easy. Since its inception, the creation of open source software has been targeted towards benefitting users, not scamming them. Also, there can be no such thing as a “back door” in open source software, because all of the software’s coding is fully available for everybody to see. If large companies and corporations are using open source business intelligence software, you can be sure that it is a safe and reliable alternative to any of the pricy closed source competition. In addition, open source business software allows users to come together over forums and discussions, where everybody can work together and troubleshoot to update the software into an even better free business intelligence tool.

Hesitant software creators should also realize that they can make big profits from creating something that everybody downloads for free. Unlike closed source companies, open source companies make money by shifting the commercial value away from their business intelligence software “product,” and instead, generate money from something called the “Product Halo.” This means software creators offer the open source software for free, but charge money for such valuable services such as tutorials, technical support, and system integration. Basically, if the open source business intelligence software creator is the most knowledgeable about his or her product, then users and companies will pay them for help in maintaining and updating the free software.

Though closed source software is here to stay, new software users and creators are wise to look into the benefits of the increasingly popular open source business intelligence software model.

This is a quick announcement. I am scheduled for presentation on OBIEE and GL Reporting.

This is the same presentation that was accepted last year (2008) at OAUG with title “GL reporting on steroids using Discoverer and OBIEE” but unfortunately due to client commitment I couldn’t make it.

This presentation is about how to make use of GL chart of account hierarchies in OBIEE. Since OBIEE is the de-facto BI app from Oracle the presentation will focus on building GL hierarchies in the repository. The same can be accomplished using Discoverer.

I will make the presentation available when its ready

Business Intelligence and On-Demand: The Perfect Marriage?
Both established vendors and upstarts now offer BI applications as on-demand services. And more customers are saying yes to faster deployment times, less onerous IT demands and speedier access to reporting data.

Ask Dennis Hernreich, COO and CFO of Casual Male Retail Group, what his life was like before he switched to an on-demand business intelligence reporting application, and he remembers the frustration all too easily.

read more >>http://www.infopurple.com/business-intelligence-and-on-demand-the-perfect-marriage

Four Tips for Better Business Intelligence in 2008
Avalanches of data and the need for better decisions mean it’s time to take BI to the next level. Aberdeen offers ways to make achieving that next level easier.

Companies want more actionable data, and they want more users to have it. But extending the use of business intelligence throughout the organization remains a challenge. One reason: Lack of BI and IT skill sets continue to plague companies interested in taking BI to the next level, …… read more at http://www.infopurple.com/four-tips-for-better-business-intelligence-in-2008

What is the Difference Between Querying and Browsing Data?

What is the Difference Between Querying and Browsing Data?
Search is beginning to gain interest in the business intelligence (BI) space, and several people have begun asking about the difference between querying data (using a traditional database query language) and browsing data using a search tool, and which approach to use when. This blog entry is […]

http://www.infopurple.com/what-is-the-difference-between-querying-and-browsing-data

Top 5 Ways To Increase BI Value

Top 5 Ways To Increase BI Value
What are the most effective ways to increase the value your company gets from its business intelligence systems?
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1)Better align our business intelligence systems with our business strategy [50% ]
2)Improve data quality [47% ]
3)Better integrate our business intelligence systems with other systems such as CRM or ERP [41% ]
4)Better understand […] read more >>>

http://www.infopurple.com/top-5-ways-to-increase-bi-value