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All Articles By Doug Henschen Seven Steps to Successful BI Competency Centers From setting a strategic vision and gaining C-level support to promoting successes and responding to emergencies, follow these seven suggestions for developing BICCs that boost business performance. IBM Upgrades Master Data Management and Data Quality Products Product Information Management and Information Server enhancements aimed at getting data right, matching names, standardizing terms and doing business around the globe. SAP Business Objects Takes Next Steps on Performance Management, BI Outlooksoft, Pilot and Cartesis applications 'integrated' with NetWeaver and BusinessObjects XI. Xcelsius presentation app hits the desktop, while SAP customers get free Crystal. Of BI and Baseball: Two Reports Present Vendor and Product Standings It ain't over till it's over, and Forrester and BIScorecard reports say the business intelligence playoffs are a long way off. BI Executive Bill Baker Leaves Microsoft Long-serving executive helped grow the business intelligence product line from its roots in Microsoft SQL Server. Actuate Upgrade Bridges Strategic and Operational Performance Management With an interface for every user type and eight extendable BIRT report layouts, Views 8 app is said to go from strategic scorecards down to operational exception reports. SAS Acquires SaaS-Based Specialist in Dynamic Price Optimization Deal nets online profit optimization platform. New global practice will branch out from hotels to events, online advertising and other potential markets. Competitors React to the Microsoft-DatAllegro Deal Oracle stays quiet while Greenplum, Netezza and Teradata say data scalability alone won't satisfy customers. Tableau Takes on Geospatial Analysis Tableau 4.0 upgrade adds mapping features as well as collaboration and usability enhancements. Microsoft Acquires DatAllegro to Scale Up SQL Server Deployments Deal validates tectonic shift in data warehousing, puts pressure on Oracle and independent appliance vendors. Business Objects Says It's Cracking Midmarket for BI SME-oriented Edge Series hits version 3.0. Crystal Report Server gains Office integrations and central management console. Combined sales grow 18 percent. Enterprise in the Cloud: Q&A with Google's Rishi Chandra As product manager at Google Enterprise, Rishi Chandra is responsible for spreading search appliances, Google Apps and a growing portfolio of services into the business world. Continuing a series of interviews on cloud computing, Intelligent Enterprise asks Chandra about Google's plans for applications, underlying infrastructure and meeting the demands of the enterprise. Oracle Pitches Enterprise Performance Management as Next ERP Fusion Edition EPM System completes integration of Hyperion apps and Essbase with Oracle Business Intelligence and Oracle E-Business Suite. SPSS Upgrade Takes Analytics Mainstream SPSS Statistics 17.0 makes analytic insights more accessible to business users while beefing up functionality for analysts, programmers and administrators. Oracle Introduces BI Application for iPhone Free 'Business Indicators' app taps Web services to display metrics and reports. Vendor promises two-way ERP and CRM apps. IDC Report Shows Steady Growth for BI, Pent-Up Demand for Analytics Microsoft, SAS and SPSS lead marketshare gains in 2007. Analyst sees media and academia driving mainstream demand. Ride the Next Wave of Flexible 'BI Workspaces' Forrester Research says SaaS and in-memory options will let power users and analysts gain insight without IT bottlenecks. Embrace the trend, but beware the costs and risks. Cloud9 Analytics Brings Forecasting to Salesforce.com Users Data warehouse in the cloud gains forecasting app, Excel-based visual report builder. HP-Oracle Warehouse Marks Another Win for Appliances HP BladeSystem bundle targets 1-4 terabyte market sweet spot. HP claims speed and energy efficiency advantages over Dell's alternative. Pitney Bowes MapInfo Integrates Software with Cognos 8 Platform Location intelligence vendor adds another BI suite integration to take geospatial analysis mainstream. Data Warehouse Alternatives Make a Hit in India and Europe Telco Reliance scales with DW appliances. Web marketer TradeDoubler loads and queries faster, cuts cost with a column-store database. Are You Ready for Advanced Analytics? You can now buy analytics as an add-on module for your BI suite, but you'll need expertise to make the leap into predictive analytics. Q&A: Amazon on Enterprise Computing in the Cloud Speaking at this week's Enterprise 2.0 Conference in Boston, Amazon's Adam Selipsky says enterprises are already embracing the agility and economies of scale of cloud computing. Informatica Tackles Real-Time, On-Demand and Cross-Enterprise Integration Platform upgrade addresses emerging latency, data-quality and identify management demands, incorporating technologies from two recent acquisitions. HP Upgrades Neoview Data Warehouse Appliance Enhancements target mixed workloads, high data volumes and low-latency demands of operational BI deployments. Appliance Lets Business Users Uncover Hidden Data Relationships One part search, one part data integration, Composite Discovery appliance takes another stab at providing an easy-to-use interface for gaining business intelligence. Q&A With Gartner's Don Feinberg on Database as a Service and Cloud DBs Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and Sun are now fueling the growing fire around the database-as-a-service and cloud database markets, but what's the difference between these offerings and what's the appeal? Database guru Don Feinberg defines terms and raises important questions about reliability and security. Your Next Data Warehouse? Size Up Column-Store Databases and Appliances These approaches may beat out conventional databases in price and performance. Here's how to find products that fit with your company's data analysis needs. Intelligence on the Go: Mobile Delivery of BI Many BI vendors now offer modules that let you deliver just about any report to smart phones, but as a major retailer, a health care provider and a major government agency have discovered, practical, tactical wins are the key to mobile success. New York Stock Exchange Ticks on Data Warehouse Appliances Netezza deployment replaces mega data warehouses while cutting query times from hours to seconds. It's Official: SEC to Propose XBRL-Based Financial Reporting Voluntary program destined to be mandatory for all public companies within two years, speeding competitive analysis and easing regulatory oversight. Head in Cloud, Vertica Taps Amazon for Online Database Service Column-store database vendor says hosted service will appeal to toe dippers and analytic SaaS providers. ILog Module Speeds Deployment of Analytic Models Rule engine vendor offers a faster way to deploy, tune and manage predictive and statistical scorecards. Gaylord Hotels Taps Text Mining to Boost Guest Satisfaction How can you quickly make sense of text-based comments on thousands of customer surveys? Text analytics helped this mega-hotelier uncover hidden obstacles to customer loyalty. IBM Informix Upgrade Enhances Clustering, Database Management Princeton Softech "Optim" tools round out IDS 11.5 management suite. Big Blue claims gains in database marketshare. Top U.S. County Reinvents Government Planning and Performance Maricopa County links performance metrics, financial plans and strategic goals. Microsoft PerformancePoint dashboards keep managers, employees and budgets on track. Gartner BI Summit 2008: The Next Generation of Innovation Decision making as core competency, emerging technologies as BI enablers and changes in the BI market itself are core topics at this week's Gartner Business Intelligence Summit in Chicago. Analyst Kurt Schlegel explains the trends and business drivers. Gartner BI Summit 2008: Q&A With Howard Dresner In a preview of his keynote presentation at this week's Gartner Business Intelligence Summit, former analyst Howard Dresner talks about his new book, the convergence of BI and process management, and what it takes to get to the next level of performance management. Natural Language Query: Old Answer for 'New' BI Opportunity As combinations of business intelligence and search technology are emerging, Progress Software is reviving a simpler approach: turning natural language queries into SQL code. The 'Secret Sauce' of BPM Success The business process management market is heating up, and a new report reveals that centers of excellence are the key ingredient of deployment success. SAS Acquires Text Mining Firm, Upgrades Core Platform Responding to competitive threats, SAS buys Teragram for its natural language processing, categorization and search technologies. Coldwater Creek Grows With Location Intelligence Women's clothier relies on geospatial analysis to track customers and avoid overlaps as it adds more than 60 retail locations per year. Cognos and SPSS Partner on Predictive Analytics Cognos fills gap in portfolio while SPSS gains another powerful ally and a leg up on SAS. SaaS-Based BI Helps Welch's Out of a Reporting Jam Manufacturer bypasses company standard business intelligence suite in favor of on-demand transportation and logistics reporting. Column-Store Databases and DW Appliances: How to Make the Right Choice With data volumes exploding, conventional enterprise data warehouses are fast running out of headroom. Data warehouse appliances are starting to fill the gap, but the emerging category of column-oriented databases may offer a better option. The key to success is matching your application to the right product. TDWI Keynote: Larry English Takes on the Status Quo Organizations that aren't managing information as a resource are wasting as much as half their IT budgets "moving data from database A to database B." This troubling perspective, from expert Larry English, kicked off this week's TDWI World Conference in Las Vegas. Here's the keynoter's advice on the right approach. Pega Puts Pedal to Process Development Metal New tools and frameworks speed business process definition, development, deployment and globalization. 'The BI Survey 7' Details Purchase Practices, Ranks Loyalty by Brand In the successor to "The OLAP Survey 6," Nigel Pendse delivers exhaustive customer survey findings on business intelligence vendor effectiveness and customer deployment success rates. Big Blue Introduces Joint IBM-Cognos Products, Plans for Analytics First step: Offer integrations and bundles for data warehousing, information integration and BPM. Second step: Deliver IBM analytics through Cognos software. Vitria Brings 'IPhone-like' Interface to 'Holistic' Process Management BPM suite combines modeling, management, monitoring and optimization presented in a single, highly visual interface. Q&A: Cognos' Rob Ashe on Performance Management, Aligning With IBM Now that IBM's acquisition of Cognos is a done deal, Cognos' top executive Rob Ashe will be presenting in New York this week on how the combined entities will work together. To get a bit of a preview, we recently sat down with Ashe to discuss performance management, application-embedded BI and the new realities of working with other companies from within IBM. IBM Bows Multi-Domain Master Data Management Server Pre-build data models address data quality and consistency problems related to customers, products, accounts, suppliers and more. Kalido Brings Visual Modeling to Data Warehousing Design tool helps business owners and IT gather requirements, understand information needs and quickly implement production systems and ongoing changes. Next-Era BI: Proactive, Pervasive, Performance-Oriented How do you differentiate your business when same-old BI and same-old automation are commodities? Cognos, SAP-Business Objects and independent vendors present visions and real-world examples of blended solutions. SAP Completes Business Objects Buy, Details 'Business Optimization' Vision Nine "joint product packages" present roadmap toward business intelligence and information management product offerings. SPSS Upgrades Take Predictive Modeling and Text Mining Mainstream Clementine 12.0 said to deliver faster modeling and intuitive data visualization. Text mining software integrates with predictive analytics. Financial Performance Management Boosts Charity Mission Opportunity International taps Oracle/Hyperion software to deepen analysis and speed financial reporting. Netezza Promises Petabyte-Scale Data Warehouse Appliances As data volumes increase, customers look for higher scalability. Q&A: Gartner's Janelle Hill on the Future of BPM, SOA and Enterprise Apps The drive toward model-driven application composition has Gartner considering two emerging concepts: Business Process Platforms and Integrated Composition Environments. Janelle Hill, a Gartner research vice president and lead analyst in the business process management arena, discusses the trends and implications for technology vendors and end-user organizations. Intelligent Enterprise Top-20 Stories of 2007 Trend stories, how-tos and reviews. Visitors to Intelligent Enterprise depend on all of the above, as proven by our list of the top-20 most-read stories of 2007. The roster includes perennial favorites, like the "Kimball University" series on better data warehousing, as well as forward-looking analyses, like Neil Raden's treatise on BI 2.0, and in-depth reviews, like Cindi Howson's tests of new BI products. Read on to catch the gems you might have missed. HP Adds Arsenal to its Neoview Customer List Vendor claims progress on its hardware, software and services push into operational business intelligence. Business Objects Gets Predictive With Help from SPSS Filling a gap in its portfolio, BI vendor adds analytics through a partnership with a SAS rival. Focus on Operational BI: Q&A With Information Builders' Gerald Cohen Despite industry consolidation, business intelligence is not a commodity utility, insists Gerald Cohen, CEO and founder of Information Builders. Among the largest independent BI vendors remaining, the company focuses on operational BI, and as Cohen explains, that means looking beyond data warehousing and conventional reporting and delivery methods. IBM Deal on Hold, It's Business As Usual at Telelogic Enterprise architecture vendor upgrades, integrates business process analysis and model-driven development to bridge the business-IT divide. GoldenGate Upgrades Real-Time Data Integration Platform Log-based system for operational BI adds Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Sybase and HP Nonstop/Neoview to support list. Business Objects Brings Planning and Budgeting to the Midmarket Performance Management module stands alone or complements Edge Series platform aimed at midsize businesses. Daptiv Partnership Is Tip of Cognos SaaS Iceberg BI vendor says more than 40 partners are embedding its technology in software-as-a-service offerings and hosted applications. American Airlines Finds an Edge in Analytics From post 9-11 restructuring to today's grab for Transatlantic market share, American Airlines relies on SPSS software to guide business decisions. IBM Announces Agreement to Acquire Cognos Joining the acquisition bandwagon, Big Blue snatches the largest remaining independent business intelligence and performance management vendor after months of industry consolidation. XAware Takes Integration Middleware Open Source Commercial vendor opens up its standards-based middleware for ETL, application integration and information integration. Cast Iron Adds RightNow-Flavored Integration Appliances Promising configuration rather than coding, hardware-based approach links SaaS-based CRM suite to back-end order management systems. IBM, SPSS Partner to Embed Analytics in Data Warehouses Embedded approach supports real-time analysis and parallels move by SAS and Teradata. Been There, Done That: Q&A With SAS's Jim Goodnight Doctor Jim Goodnight has led SAS since the company incorporated in 1976. Laconic and unflappable yet fiercely competitive, Goodnight has presided over a company that has long reigned atop the analytics market. We caught up with him in New York last week and discussed the changing BI market and the future of SAS. Faster Data Integration Helps Pfizer Speed Decisions on Drugs Composite Software's integration middleware cuts months out of the process of compiling information on prospective new products. SAP-Business Objects Deal Advances Move Toward Smart Apps Transaction management and decision-support systems are coming together, with business intelligence and analytics embedded in applications and business processes. Analysis: Business Objects Will Stand Alone Under SAP's Wing $6.8 billion mega deal will bring the leading BI vendor into the SAP Group. Business Objects executives will advise on analytic apps, guide integration of Pilot and Outlooksoft. Process Rising: Q&A With IDS Scheer's Dr. Mathias Kirchmer Few companies have been focused on business process excellence for as long as IDS Scheer. Founded in 1984, the company introduced its now widely used ARIS Platform way back in 1992, and it has been at the forefront of process design and analysis ever since. The company has the unique distinction of being the top process technology partner to both SAP and Oracle. In a chat with the company's U.S.-based Chief Innovation and Marketing Officer, Dr. Mathias Kirchmer shared his thoughts on "open BPM" and the direction of the industry. HP Touts Neoview Win, Banking Solution, BI Maturity Model Rabobank inks $4.3 million deal. New risk solution incorporates Informatica and Microstrategy software. Master Data: Think Globally, Start Locally BI, transaction optimization and SOA ambitions are driving master data management. The latest advice is think broadly, get in incrementally and prepare for the leg work. Data Warehouse Appliance Meets High-End Analytics Netezza opens box, builds developer network for predictive analytics and high-demand, non-SQL analyses. IBM Adds 'Key Agility Indicators' to the BPM/SOA Mix Announcements highlight business activity monitoring, vertical process content and assessment services. PerformancePoint At Last: Q&A With Microsoft's Alex Payne and Michael Smith After four years in development and more than a year in beta testing, Microsoft PerformancePoint is finally shipping. Intelligent Enterprise discusses what the platform delivers and what critics are saying with two key executives who helped guide development, packaging and pricing. IT Titans Take Manhattan IBM, SAP and Microsoft choose the Big Apple for three big-time, industry-altering announcements. Global 360 Enhances Process Intelligence, BizTalk Integration Workforce optimization, case management and back-end integration top BPM suite upgrades. Performance Management: The Next Big Thing for BI Vendors Business Objects bows first integrated release in the wake of its Cartesis acquisition. Business Intelligence Vendors Tackle Data Quality Problem Poor data makes business intelligence software look bad, so BI vendors are ramping up their data quality products and services. In a partnership with Informatica, Cognos today announced it, too, will tackle the issue head on. Cognos to Acquire Applix to Boost Financial Performance Management Deal nets advanced 64-bit, in-memory analytics capabilities as well as more than 3,000 customers. Field Report: eHarmony Finds a Compatible Database Dating site parts ways with SQL Server 2000 after finding a more scalable, available partner. Six Sigma and Lean Meet BPM: Q&A With Software AG's Bruce Williams There are plenty of Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing practitioners out there, but all too often they worked in isolation, unable to penetrate the IT domain and hard-pressed to measure and replicate success. Bruce Williams, general manager of business process management solutions at Software AG, says there's a big opportunity for companies to connect their Six Sigma or Lean initiatives with the data-gathering, execution and closed-loop-improvement advantages of BPM. Netezza Says Software Upgrade Doubles Performance Expanded support for mixed workloads moves Netezza's appliance into enterprise data warehouse roles. |
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MORE INTELLIGENT ENTERPRISE CONTRIBUTORS
Doug Henschen on the Intelligent Enterprise
Kimball Group on Data Warehousing Cindi Howson on Business Intelligence Seth Grimes on Analytics Neil Raden on Business Intelligence Mark Smith on Performance Management David Linthicum on Software as a Service Rajan Chandras on IT & Information Management Bruce Silver on Business Process Management Alan Pelz-Sharpe on Content Management Phil Kemelor on Web Analytics Tony Byrne on Content Management Nelson King on Enterprise App Development Sandy Kemsley on Process Management Mark Madsen on BI & Information Management Joe Celko on SQL Puzzlers
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Intelligent Enterprise
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