White Papers

Business Intelligence and BI Technology

Tackling Big Data - The Business Intelligence Approach

Big Data solutions promise to unlock a potential treasure trove of information that is hidden in non-traditional, often unstructured, and previously discarded data. The insight offered by Big Data solutions can be a significant driver for identifying opportunities for cost savings, efficiency improvements, and other business functions that previously were not attainable.
Tackling Big Data - The Business Intelligence Approach

Guident BusinessObjects 4.0 Migration Services

The release of BusinessObjects 4.0 is forcing many organizations to review and refine their Business Intelligence strategy and infrastructure. BusinessObjects 4.0 provides a tighter integration between all client tools (Crystal, Web Intelligence, Dashboards, OLAP Analysis, and Explorer) products onto a single platform, allowing organizations to consolidate and standardize their Business Intelligence deployments and fully take advantage of a 64 bit processing. Additionally, this integration provides lower total cost of ownership due to its reduced system maintenance, hardware, end-user training, and support costs. BusinessObjects 4.0 gives user and developers more flexibility and a more consistent and intuitive interface. Guident, a leading BI services provider, maintains a core competency in migrating BusinessObjects and Crystal customers to the BusinessObjects 4.0 platform.
Guident BusinessObjects 4.0 Migration Services

Data Profiling for Business Intelligence

In this paper we concentrate on data profiling to support business intelligence and data warehousing. We review the typical set of reports comprising the basic data profile. We discuss how to analyze profiling results and how to identify bell‐weather data conditions that may be indicators of the need for special considerations or actions before using data. We discuss various approaches to profiling data and highlight recent trends in profiling applications. Finally we present several profiling scenarios to illustrate how profiling may be applied to meet different business requirements.
Data Profiling for Business Intelligence

Multi User Development Strategy for Oracle Business Intelligence

Multi-User Development (MUD) is the enablement of a shared repository in Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) which provides grouping of objects in the repository (.rpd) for check out/in against a master version. This capability allows for developers to work on different aspects of the Oracle Business Intelligence .rpd simultaneously without stepping on each other. During the requirements stage of an OBIEE project is typically when the decision for MUD is made including factors like team size and number of environments for development. The requirements for MUD can vary project to project but typically one implements this solution when there are many data sources and lots of tables; it would make sense to distribute the repository development work to multiple users. This paper will look at why MUD is a good solution for an Oracle Business Intelligence Applications (OBIA) or OBIEE project and will explore how and why implementation benefits the team.
Multi User Development Strategy for Oracle Business Intelligence

The Value of BI Applications Without an ERP Source

This paper discusses the benefits of these pre-built analytics applications for projects that are not sourced from the ERP applications. We will examine a project Guident has implemented where the Analytic Application for Public Sector Case Management was used to implement an OBIEE based BI solution from custom source systems.
The Value of BI Applications Without an ERP Source

OBIEE Dashboards Using GO URL - Customizing Reports using Go URL and HTML Formatting

This white paper is a technical study in building Oracle BI Enterprise Edition (OBIEE) dashboards focusing on Go URL and HTML formatting for links and embedded content. Unlike typical reports in dashboards which are more static in nature, the data in these dashboards are dynamic, customizable, and built to adapt with your organization. In addition, the implementation of Go URL within OBI EE allows drilling on measures and from report to report which provides greater flexibility in use.
OBIEE Dashboards Using GO URL - Customizing Reports using Go URL and HTML Formatting

Data Driven Dashboards in Business Objects XI: Customizing Dashboards Using a Data Driven Approach

As your organization grows do your Business Objects XI dashboards keep up with the change, or are you still tracking measures from years ago? Data driven dashboards in Business Objects XI are the perfect solution to the dynamic and constantly updating nature of performance management dashboards. But unlike legacy dashboards which are mostly static in nature, data driven dashboards are scalable, customizable, and built to adapt with your organization. In addition, the implementation of data driven dashboards within Business Objects XI requires much less maintenance than typical dashboards and will allow greater flexibility in use.
Data Driven Dashboards in Business Objects XI: Customizing Dashboards Using a Data Driven Approach

Data Management

Slowly Changing Dimensions: Data Modeling of Historical Descriptive Values

Numerous fields of a given row within a dimension table may and do change over time. This phenomenon in data modeling is known as “slowly changing dimensions” and can be applied to any dimension table in a data warehouse schema. In addition, both simple and sophisticated dimensional modeling techniques have been established and can be implemented for effectively handling the occurrences of the updates and changes within a dimension table. Slowly changing dimensions assist the data warehouse in accepting the responsibility of precisely describing the past, provide an efficient method for tracking history, and allow for the ability to respond to changes to descriptive values.
Slowly Changing Dimensions: Data Modeling of Historical Descriptive Values

Master Data Management: Consistent Reference Data Across the Enterprise

Master Data Management (MDM), also known as reference data management attempts to solve the issue of a having multiple systems of record within an enterprise. MDM solutions have become a combination of applications, technologies, and process that consolidate, clean, and augment corporate master data and synchronize it with all applications, business processes, and analytical tools. This results in significant improvements in operational efficiency, reporting, and fact based decision-making.
Master Data Management: Consistent Reference Data Across the Enterprise

Data Warehouses: What are they and how will they benefit your organization?

Data warehouses have been designed and built as separate technology entities from operational and transactional systems and have become the primary source for transforming the masses of data stored in business systems into meaningful information used for effective decision making. This white paper provides a broad understanding of data warehouse concepts and describes a business case for why data warehouse implementations have benefited many organizations.
Data Warehouses: What are they and how will they benefit your organization?

Project, Program, and Portfolio Management

U.S. Air Force-Wide Portfolio Management Solution

In 2007, on a contract with the U.S. Air Force (Air Force), Guident provided implementation of the Primavera Portfolio Management (OPPM, formerly ProSight) application. Now referred to as Oracle Primavera Portfolio Management (OPPM), this solution was implemented to help the Air Force achieve the best mix of forces, manpower, material and support under very tight fiscal constraints. This paper will discuss the business need, the solution, project activities, lessons learned and benefits to the Air Force.
U.S. Air Force-Wide Portfolio Management Solution

From Concept to Benefit: Achieving Corporate Strategy

Sound strategic planning is fundamental to achieving business objectives. Execution of the strategy is difficult and the complexities created by out of sync and competing activities, processes, functional groups and systems across the organization create many obstacles on the road to success.
From Concept to Benefit: Achieving Corporate Strategy

Investment Scoring Models: Optimizing the Portfolio

How can your business maximize return on its investment? How can you balance resource capacity and demand? How can you ensure you are achieving your strategic goals? These major business concerns drive the need for organizations to develop Portfolio Management to ensure the business is making the best investments. This process requires evaluating each requested investment against specific criteria, the scoring model, which reflect the business definition of value.
Investment Scoring Models: Optimizing the Portfolio

Project Management: How to Get the Right Formula for Success

Examining lessons learned from past projects can reveal valuable information to help ensure project success. Here we will look at processes, procedures and people to determine how to optimize project performances.
Project Management: How to Get the Right Formula for Success

Best Practices for Managing Successful Business Intelligence Projects

The proven approaches for successful transaction system implementations have repeatedly failed in the Business Intelligence world. This whitepaper will describe an approach developed specifically for Business Intelligence that has proven to be successful for hundreds of implementations. In this paper, this methodology will be discussed along with tips and techniques for successful Business Intelligence implementations.
Best Practices for Managing Successful Business Intelligence Projects

Enterprise Performance Management: Bridging the Gap from Strategy to Operations

Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) solutions solve organization’s need to make timely decisions. Moreover, these solutions bridge the gap between conceptual planning of organizational goals and the physical monitoring of status of daily operations, and allow organizations to determine if they are correctly proceeding both at the strategic level and tactical levels. These solutions allow for information to flow from executives, management, and lower level staff and back again to the executives in a circular manner. Actionable information seamlessly progresses through multiple layers of an organization in a carefully guided manner so all participants get the insight they need to recognize and solve problems quickly, efficiently, and effectively. Performance management is more than a tool set, but is an organized process and methodology for managing a business and closely monitoring results.
Enterprise Performance Management: Bridging the Gap from Strategy to Operations