Current Technologies

There are a number of database providers out there but the one I will concentrate on in this blog is Microsoft SQL Server 2005. Why? You may ask. No we are not MS Gold partners but in this product we have a full end to end Business Intelligence (BI) solution - specifically aimed at the middle market.

We have the ETL technology - SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services), which is a massive leap forward from the old DTS. We have the OLAP analysis layer - SSAS (SQL Server Analysis Services), which provides the multidimensionality required in modern analysis and we have SSRS (SQL Server Reporting Services) which provides the report delivery mechanism. In my opinion the last is the one that needs updating the most. Of course, on top of this we have the actual SQL Server database engine itself which rivals the likes of Oracle and the whole package together becomes massively cost effective as full BI product.

How does this fit in with KPI discussions? Well, to be able to deliver accurate measurements you need a trustworthy datasource in the form of a datawarehouse. Both SSIS and SSAS provide the mechanism to get us there and in the next article I will discuss SSAS in a bit more detail, specifically referring to how we use it for KPI measurements.

Can't See the Wood for the Trees

Many companies we have dealt with decide to implement a full MIS solution after many years of neglect, however, where on earth do they start? After all there are loads of technologies out there with snazzy front-ends, dashboards, scorecards - you name it.

To me the critical thing is designing the data warehouse correctly, in a well designed star or snowflake schema. So very often these projects are split onto phases whereby the datawarehouse is designed and built first. Some power users may even be given read access to this database to implement their own queries - this needs to be controlled carefully.

The next phase would take into consideration how the data should be presented, what reports should be deliverded and how, and also what KPIs will be displayed and to whom. My next blog will discuss current technologies and best practice for presenting an MIS solution.

What companies want to know

One of the most common things that we get asked when we visit a potential client for the first time is - What KPIs should we be measuring? Initially this surprised me as you would think that they should know better than anyone else how their business operates and what needed to be looked at.

Now I understand that fast growing companies have often ignored their reporting requirements and have been successful almost by instinct. There comes a critical point, however, where accurate performance measurements need to be available and reported on, normally once the business has reached some sort of natural plateau in sales.

Another common reason to report on how well the business is doing is that it can be a requirement from a company that is proposing a take-over or buy-out. They will need a guarantee that reports will be delivered regularly, especially at a high level, showing how the key areas of the business are performing against targets and dare I say it, promises.

Initial Blog

This is an initial test blog to see that everything is working fine. I hope that my readers and contributors will enjoy the discussions on Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and other interesting business measurements.