The Building Blocks-Enterprise Applications Part 2- Information Management and Business Analytics

1. Business Analytic Applications

Data Analytics

Also referred to as 'Business Analytics' or 'Business Intelligence'

Although basic reporting capabilities have been built into ERP systems since their inception, there is increasing interest in making better use of existing data captured through ES

In addition, social media has provided a new rich source of data that organisations are hoping to tap into. This data is typically unstructured, textual (e.g. conversations on Twitter and Facebook, customer service logs in CRM systems,etc.) and requires new analysis approaches.

More recently, there has been a surge in emerging firms and technologies in the 'big data' space

Data Warehouse

A data warehouse is a database of corporate data (structured information) used for reporting, data analysis and management decision making.

- A central repository of data created by integrating data from various enterprise systems.

- Store current and historical data

- Used for creating management reports for senior management reporting such as annual and quarterly comparisons and for day to day monitoring of business performance.

2. Business Intelligence

Scope and Objectives

Scope

The scope of BI is to provide universal access to authentic, accurate and timely management information to assist decision making. It therefore impacts on all stakeholders, functions and systems.

Objective

The BI objective is to deliver capability to manage multifaced operations through:

-Informed decision making

-Operational visibility

-Management and Monitoring of KPI's

The BI strategy therefore identifies the governance, functional requirements, activities, and resources required to achieve these objectives in a specified time-frame.

The BI Dashboard (multidimensional views)

A BI Dashboard or OLAP dashboard is a visual display with two or more reports and/or graphs on a single computer screen. BI Dashboards are used by all levels of management to get an overall picture of various aspects of the business in a single concise format. The data that is visualized in the dashboard may or may not come from the same data source.

BI Business Architecture

The development and delivery of BI capability is defined in the business architecture and flows from strategy.

Strategic Priorities (measured by) KPI's (supported by) Information Architecture (supporting) Process (held in) Applications

Types of Reporting

To meet the needs of stakeholders all types of reporting and analysis are required from description reports for running the business to predictive reports for load planning.

Data Domains and Data Quality

Master Data: Needs to be synchronized

Reference Data: Must handle change over time

Analytic Data: Must make reporting easier

Event Data: Must be validated and audited

Single Platform Dependency

The Data Warehouse is the integration hub for all synchronization and Data Quality reference and baseline work.

Dashboard Development Approach

Methodology for Dashboard development projects.

Analyze-Design-Configure-Deploy-Operate

3. Enterprise Content Management

Observations

-Emerging discipline of ECM

-Current Vendor offerings based on legacy capability

-Convergence in Infancy

-Watch this space

-Business has commenced the adoption process

Corporate Portal

Portals

-Single entry point applications that integrate access to information and applications to enhance decision support and productivity.

-Navigation services site where people find information, launch applications, interact with corporate data & net sourced content and identify collaborators.

-Functionality varies from access to unstructured data to supporting collaborative processes.

Current state

Many companies have adopted the 'Thousand Flowers approach'.

From multiple data sources to an integrated portal solution.

Content Management

What is it?

The management of the life cycle of documents:

Create;

Store;

Access

Whilst they have value to the business.

Destroy at end of useful life

Publishing of Organisational content

Intranet/ Extranet

Requires Governance Process

-Create

-Review

-Quality Assurance (reliable)

-disposal and Archive

Requires effort to maintain

Document Management

Document are recorded communication with recognizable structure, on any medium, intelligible without any further processing except for on the screen or on the printed page.

Document Management Lifecycle

Whatever the model used, documents must be correctly administered throughout their lifecycles.

Creation-Distribution-Retention-Destruction

Document&Records Management

Concerned with managing the life cycle of documents through

-Creation

-Classification Authoring Document Records

-Storage

-Access Create Active Inactive

-Transfer

-Disposal

Records Management

Business Compliance Capability

Records Management is concerned with managing both electronic and paper documents providing evidence of agency or individual functions, activities or transactions

To be evidence a record must have content, context and structure, and be a part of a record keeping system

The RM lifecycle

-accession

-retention & disposal schedules

-privacy

-accessibility

-future-safe format of storage