Newsletters Welcome, Guest Log In | Register

Business of Tech

Alignment, staffing and culture are often more critical than software and apps

About this Blogger RSS

Subscribe

Sign up now and get the best business technology insights direct to your inbox.

  • Daily Edge
  • CTO Edge Update
  • Business Tools & Templates
  • Aligning IT & Business Goals
  • Maximizing IT Investments

2

Once Upon a Time, in a Data Warehouse Far, Far Away...

Posted by Ann All Mar 27, 2008 2:30:02 PM

I've had a couple of recent blogs on jargon: whyit's bad or, sometimes, not so bad.

 

IT folks who throw out terms like ETL and OLAP, blather about "single versions of the truth" and get bogged down in discussions over how many terabytes of data their business intelligence tools can handle are missing out on a rare opportunity to wow business users. As freelance writer Ted Cuzzillo says in a recent dispatch from the TDWI World Conference that was published on Enterprise Systems:

Business intelligence seems especially ripe for good storytelling. Isn't BI about letting the data tell its story?

Storytelling is one of six principles espoused in the book, "Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath, writes Cuzzillo. Long story short: A compelling tale is one of the best ways to make an idea "stick" in someone's mind. There is no better way to promote BI than to lay out a story about how it can help a company achieve its business objectives.

 

For instance, I blogged about how an Illinois farm improved its yields and increased its margins by using BI tools to analyze data gathered using GPS-equipped tractors. The tools let farmers include relevant information such as seed prices, fertilizer costs, weather histories and market pricing in their analyses.

 

Have you heard the one about the Richmond, Va., police official who used BI tools to analyze crime reports with other data such as sporting event schedules and weather patterns to determine when and where crimes might occur? The result: The city's crime rate fell by 20 percent in 2006.

 

Such success stories are a good first step in getting users to warm to a technology that has gotten a lot of knocks (many of them well-deserved) for its use of arcane interfaces and rigid reporting requirements.

Add a comment Leave a comment on this blog post.
Mar 28, 2008 11:38 AM Guest Fernando Labastida  says:

I love stories, becuase data can be manipulated to suit your needs but stories about happy customers and how they have used reporting technology, or integration technology, etc., talks about real people with real problems and how they became real successes! Kukdos ona great post!

 

Fernando Labastida

May 21, 2008 3:29 AM Guest Logicstic  says:

Thank for sujection. this article is good for every one.

Lowering Your IT Costs with Oracle Database 11g Release 2

This white paper identifies the key capabilities a database management solution needs to successfully deliver more information with higher quality of service, make more efficient use of IT budgets, and reduce the risk of change in data centers.

Choosing a Standard for BI and Reporting: Simplify the IT Environment, Reduce Your TCO, Increase Your ROI

Read this white paper to learn how the right BI solution lets business users move among capabilities in a guided way, get the answers they seek, and collaborate while giving IT complete control over the BI environment.

Decision Management

Applications, management tools and industry advice on how to optimize your data for better business decisions.

Data Warehousing for Business Intelligence

Comprehensive storage solutions for better data access and retrieval, leading to better-informed business decisions.

Applications for Mid-size Businesses

Applications that mid-sized businesses can use to improve operational efficiency, accelerate growth, and maintain profitability.

Information Management

Tools, tips and solutions to help you manage your data more efficiently to tackle today's challenging economic environment.

Social Media Policies Toolkit

Define the rules at your company for the proper use of social media platforms such as Blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Youtube. Ensure your users are spending their time productively and company resources are being used for the business.

Learn more >

The Complete IT Policy Kit

Download a comprehensive bundle containing over 40 IT policy templates. Each can be modified to align with your specific business requirements. Complete instructions are included.

Learn more >