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November 12, 2001

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Successful OLAP Is Not Always Expensive

PRIVACY WATCH

IT and e-commerce issues

Citibank Case. A consumer law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against Citibank's credit card division. The suit, filed in South Dakota under that state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, alleges that Citibank illegally provided telemarketers and other vendors with private financial information from customer accounts. Attorneys said that telemarketers could use the information to post unauthorized charges to accounts.

Biometric Support. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is supporting the installation of biometric identification systems that use iris scans and digital fingerprints in airports to scan airport personnel and control access to secure areas in airports. The ACLU said it doesn't support using facial recognition technology and low-dose X-ray machines, known as "body scanners," to scan passengers for security purposes.

Indiscreet Resumes. The Privacy Foundation recently issued a report critical of the information practices of Monster.com, an online employment resource. The report concluded that Monster.com and other job sites share job seekers' personal information and resumes without permission.

Survey.com surveyed close to 650 OLAP users in 46 countries and concluded that the most important issues in the OLAP market are office politics, shelfware, and finding the best product for the least amount of money.

Nigel Pendse, an OLAP expert and author of the study, attributes the problem of OLAP office politics to the notorious inability of the IT department and end users to get along. "Companies need to spend more time at the beginning of the project outlining what each department needs," said Pendse.

Another pressing OLAP issue is shelfware - software purchased, but not being used. The average shelfware rate for the 10 leading OLAP products is 39 percent. Despite these high rates, many companies plan to buy more licenses. According to Pendse, "Organizations have two licensed but unused seats for every three they have deployed ... and more than 80 percent of organizations would like to deploy their OLAP solutions more widely."

Current costs of many solutions, the economic downturn, and the normal shakeout of companies in a relatively new market will all be factors in the future of OLAP. According to Pendse, "[OLAP] customers are moving from high cost to low cost" largely due to Microsoft's business model of selling its solution in high volume for a low cost - without losing quality. The survey found that unlike other solutions, most customers bought Microsoft OLAP due to its price and then were pleasantly surprised with its quality.

"There are too many vendors at this moment. Like other markets, [the OLAP market] will eventually consolidate. Some medium companies may survive, like Business Objects and Hyperion Solutions Corp.," said Pendse.

A successful OLAP implementation doesn't necessarily mean an expensive one, according to the survey. For example 40 percent of those companies using big-five consultants for implementation spent more than $500,000 on consultancy, but didn't have the highest goal-achievement rate. Instead, according to the survey, "the implementers achieving the highest goal satisfaction were specialist business consulting firms and vendor consultants."

— Jeanette Perez

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