Covering All Reporting Needs
Traditionally Reporting solutions were segmented to cover the information needs of a diverse set of audiences within the enterprise. Information consumers are generally classified in 3 major classes of users, each with its own set of needs.
Strategical
At the strategic level the user needs high level business information that can convey the health of the organization at a glance. Theses types of needs are basically covered by balance scorecards, KPI Systems or simple dashboards which can give a bird’s- eye view of corporate success and growth.
Analytical
Analytical users ensure that existing operations and processes are in line with the organization's business objectives and strategies. They need access to in depth analytical tools such as OLAP and advanced ad hoc reporting capabilities to perform detailed analysis at the departmental or organizational level.
Operational
Operational users ensure that day-to-day operational systems are running efficiently .They comprise the biggest and most heterogeneous group within the organization. Their information needs are reduced to simple and highly customizable reporting with flexile output formats so they can view and print information in familiar tools and formats.
Today’s BI Landscape
Up till today BI systems were mainly targeted and deployed to a small audience within the organization, mainly strategic users. Tactical or operational users, who address critical business operations, did not have proper access to the data needed and have to wait until upper management brings a problem to their attention. This situation undermines the organizations primary purpose which is to enable users to make decisions that enhance the company’s competitiveness.
Another factor characterizing today’s BI Landscape is that companies have tried to satisfy these diverse reporting requirements with a collection of software tools targeted to each user class, and usually from different vendors Each solution was tailor made to fit in with departmental needs were each group had its own business definitions and rules, thus creating multiple versions of the truth within the organization. For example the finance department would have its own set of reports from a customized solution , the sales and marketing department would have a different reporting standard and so on. Fragmented departmental solutions made cross-departmental communication difficult because reports were not distributed simultaneously, making it difficult for people to synchronize their decision making activities and communicate using a common vocabulary.
New Requirements
A true Enterprise BI platform covers the reporting needs of all levels of personnel within the organization from high level strategic information needs to operational level, under a unified platform. It enables a broader distribution of information that supports operational decision making along with analytic and strategic information delivery targeted to the executive level. A true Enterprise BI platform provides the infrastructure so that the right data is delivered to the right people at the correct level of detail
Even more, today’s demanding working environments require flexibility in terms of information delivery level of detail. Therefore the information needs of user groups at the strategic, tactical and operational level may sometimes overlap. For example top managers also want detailed data and operational staff wants to have the overall picture, while middle managers want and need both detail and overview.
Conclusion
In today’s information intensive environment more and more users rely on Business Intelligence to guide them in decision making within the enterprise. Business users at all levels within the enterprise require information that is:
delivered in a portal like Interface witch is simple to user and delivers information from a diverse set of data sources from within a single User Interface.
interactive in content. Lets users easily navigate through or “slice and dice” the data, which includes the ability to rill down to more detail, drill across to different subjects (i.e., dimensions), or page through the data by category (Eastern region, Western region, and so on). Users can also insert new data or columns, add new calculations, or search, sort, format, filter, or pivot the data.
Timely— reports are updated in real time or in a timely fashion to meet user requirements.
Customizable—Information delivery is designated by user role and level, displaying only the reports and data that each user is authorized to see.
Personalizable—Allows users to select authorized reports or objects and arrange them within a personalized environment to suit their preferences.
Flexible in Delivery and Formatting—Lets users view reports in any format, including Excel, , PDF, HTML etc.
Portable—Lets users disconnect from the network and take data with them for further analysis.