Capture Business Data Intelligently

What is Business Intelligence BI?

BI helps your organization turn data into useful and meaningful information and distributes it to those who need it, when they need it, so they can make timely and better business decisions.

Business Intelligence
Business intelligence (BI) is a business management term which refers to applications and technologies which are used to gather, provide access to, and analyze data and information about their company operations. Why Business Intelligence ?
BI systems can help companies develop a more consistent, databased decision making process for business decisions (avoid "guesswork" ) BI systems can enhance communication among departments, coordinate activities, and enable companies to respond more quickly to changes (e.g., in financial conditions, customer preferences, supply chain operations, etc.). BI system that are well-designed and properly integrated into a company's processes can improve company's overall performance.

Capture Business Data Intelligently

Why BI? Does this sound familiar?

Multiple versions of the truth Inability to perform indepth analysis

Unable to locate important information

Historical values are not being retained Existing BI tools is too difficult to use Inability to comply with government reporting requirements

What is a Data Warehouse?

Provides access to business data

Transactional systems are real time

Data Warehouse is use for reporting

Data Warehouse can be relational model

Data Warehouse can be dimensional

Simple DW/BI Architecture

Dimensional Model
Access to the business data reporting purpose Not transactional analysis purpose Cube or Star Schema or ROLAP

Fact Table = business subject

Dimension table = focus of subject

Dimensional Model
ORDERS
Time key Product key Customer key Sold amount Units sold Cost amount

Time Dimension
Time key Day of week Month Quarter Year

Product Dimension
Product key Description Brand Category

CustomerDimension
Customer key Customer name Region State Country

Dimensional Model
Fact Table

Contains measurements Numerical business data Data is additive

Dimension table

Contains attributes Describes the dimension Row header in query

Star Schema
The result is refereed to as a star schema, as the dimensions arranged around the fact table resemble a star!

From Wikipedia

Star Schema is also called a Cube or a Multidimensional Cube. The fundamental structure for data in a multidimensional (OLAP) system. A cube contains dimensions, hierarchies, levels, and measures. Each individual point in a cube is referred to as a cell.

Cube

Source: http://www.sdgcomputing.com/glossary.htm

Simplest OLAP example

May 2008 June 2008 Online Sales 23456234 5235 July 2008 45 August 2008 2345345

Introduce Hierarchies

Offline Sales

2345234

2345234

3434

2345234

May 2008 June 2008 Online Sales Internet Text Message Offline Sales 23456234 21110611 234623 2345234 5235 3403 1832 2345234

July 2008 45 18 27 3434

August 2008 2345345 2110811 234535 2345234

Catalog
In Store

2110711
234523

1524402
820832

1374
2060

2110711
234523

More Dimensions And Hierarchies

Product Group A Apparel Type 1 SKU 3490857 SKU 2389057

Online Sales
Internet Text Message

Apparel Type 2
SKU 934785 Year 1 Quarter 1 Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Quarter 2 Month 4 SKU 90348 SKU 348907

Offline Sales
Catalog In Store

Data Warehouse and OLAP

Transactional (OLTP) separate from Data

Warehouse
Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) = philosophy Relational OLAP (ROLAP) = reality

Supports standard SQL Supports foreign keys Supports Referential Integrity Supports open systems

OLAP
Online Analytical Processing

New approach to thinking

What are the ways we want to slice and dice (dimensions) What the measures that are important to the business (facts) Also can use the subject based approach to analysis This talk is based on the dimensional modeling approach

Use transaction or operational data and create a data warehouse

Data Warehouse and BI Tools

Business Intelligence Reporting Tools
Oracle BI Answers Oracle Discoverer SAS-BI Sap-Business Objects IBM-Cognos

Answer Components

Business Intelligence Architecture cont.

ETL (Extract, Tier Transform, Load): Client Load and Refresh Warehouse, Manage the ETL Repository, and Store Metadata related to ETL Workflows/Maps
May be Informatica, Ascential, Server Tier Oracle Data Integrator and/or Oracle Warehouse Builder
Database Tier
OLTP Informatica Client Tools DAC Client

Informatica Repository

DAC Repository

DAC (Data Admin Console): Administer, Monitor, Control Data Warehouse Processes

Informatica Server Components

DAC Server

Native DB Libraries

JDBC

Data Warehouse

Primary BI EE End User Options

Complete Range of Insight Delivery Capabilities
Oracle Interactive Dashboards
Guided experience leads user from insight to action Intuitive and interactive dashboards/scorecards Personalized, function-specific and role-based

Oracle Answers

Ad-hoc data exploration True business user self sufficiency Create, modify and author analysis, pivots and dashboards
Dynamic problem/opportunity detection and notification Automated analytic workflows and processes Tailored delivery for wide range of mobile devices Schedule & distribute enterprise-class reports Sophisticate pixel-perfect report layout controls

Oracle Delivers

Oracle Reporting & Publishing

Enterprise Business Model Administration

DB2 Supply Chain DM Teradata OLAP Oracle ERP.

Physical Layer Intelligent Request Generation

Reads in system catalog Multiple sources Optimized SQL generation Regardless of Schema Function ship to appropriate data sources/Compensation
Siebel Operational XML Data Source

SQL Server Acxiom

Enterprise Business Model Administration Business Model Layer

Calculation Engine Physical complexity converted to logical subject areas Drill-Paths Complex/Derived Measures (Level-based, time series, dimension-specific, nested) Aggregate/Fragment Aware

Enterprise Business Model Administration

Presentation Layer

Role-based, in context, personalized presentation Oracle Answers

Key Terms
Subject Areas

Business related data Groups of data Table, view or join

Reports (Query) Fact or Dimension tables Briefing Books (Static)

SUBJECT AREA

Folders

FOLDERS

Filters

REPORT

DIMENSION

FACT

Key Terms
BI Presentation Catalog

Personal and Shared Requests Personal and Shared filters Interactive Dashboard Snapshots of requests Static and reviewed offline Displays content from request Allows interactive modification for personal use

Briefing Books

Dashboard

OBIEE Advantages
Oracle OBIEE Advantages

Ability to connect to any data source on any platform Ability to merge data from multiple sources Presentation Services (PS) Answers and Dashboards Delivers/ibots BI Publisher OBIEE Administrator Pre-Packaged content (BI Applications) Oracle Warehouse Builder license is included

Limitations
Oracle OBIEE Limitations

Expensive Difficult to administer and maintain and use Additional servers and hardware Limited Analytical functions