Data Warehouse Technical Services
BUSINESS LEADERS increasingly recognise the vital need to better utilise information to support effective business processes, enable improved decision-making, and monitor and track performance. The information needs and solutions vary by organisation. Many, for example, seek a shared and comprehensive source of worldwide customer information, while others may determine that information focused on supplier relationships, financial data, human resources, or enterprise performance management will yield the greatest value. Regardless of the area, these valued information assets are enabling organisations to better integrate across functions and geography, and to tap into the islands of information that have been created over time. When brought together, this information can provide valuable insight to all levels of management, providing attractive financial returns.
The Challenge
Strategic investments in Data Warehouse & Business Intelligence solutions require ongoing access to experience and expertise to maximise the benefits available from the solution. But in today’s dynamic job market this experience is scarce, mobile and expensive to hire. In addition, business peaks and troughs hardly ever match the resource availability so staff utilisation is often not maximised. Hence many organisations have failed in their attempt to successfully implement a data warehouse programme of work that supports the business in the way envisaged by the business users, whilst supporting the ongoing activities necessary to keep the data warehouse application operational.
Scope of Services
Technical Services from BISOFT are the solution for the ongoing development and re-engineering of your data warehouse. The services are designed to supplement the existing support team during periods of high development activity or when specialist technical skills are needed, sometimes at short notice. There are four components to the services:
1 Re-engineering services
- These activities are performed during the development and enhancement of the data warehouse and could include:
- Refining the data warehouse architecture and data model
- Introducing data from new source systems to existing data warehouses
- Building a systematic process for explicit capture and management of metadata
- Consolidating data warehouses on the same or diverse platforms into an enterprise data warehouse
- Integration of external vendor-supplied data with the customer’s data
- Integration of additional data (CRM, Web, ERP, Legacy data) into existing data warehouse
- Migration from one database platform to another (e.g. Sybase to Oracle)
2 Data Warehouse Data Modelling Services
Data modelling is the process of identifying, documenting and implementing data requirements for an application and is performed at the beginning and throughout the life of a data warehouse.
Along with the definition of metadata, data modelling is the single most important activity in the design of a data warehouse. If this step is done correctly, success is almost ensured. If not, then areas such as flexibility, scalability, and usability will suffer.
The value of data modelling has always been to establish the “single version of the truth” of one’s business, or in today’s terminology “to see the 360° view” of an organisation or have a “single view of the business”.
Along with the definition of metadata, data modelling is the single most important activity in the design of a data warehouse. If this step is done correctly, success is almost ensured. If not, then areas such as flexibility, scalability, and usability will suffer.
The value of data modelling has always been to establish the “single version of the truth” of one’s business, or in today’s terminology “to see the 360° view” of an organisation or have a “single view of the business”.
3 SOS Services
These services are normally required when specialist skills are needed at short notice to resolve an issue such as query or data load performance.
4 Advanced Analytical Services
These services focus on answering questions such as:
Advanced Analytical Services looks at the whole process from understanding your business needs, your existing available data and structure, through to its preparation for analysis using OLAP and Data Mining tools and techniques.
- Who are my most profitable customers?
- How do I optimise my inventory?
- How do I increase my market share?
- Who are my website visitors?
- What clients are likely to defect to my rivals?
Advanced Analytical Services looks at the whole process from understanding your business needs, your existing available data and structure, through to its preparation for analysis using OLAP and Data Mining tools and techniques.
Customer Benefits
Choosing BISoFT Data Warehouse Technical Services provides you with the following benefits:
- Capability to meet a critical resource shortfall during periods of high development activity and hence satisfy the needs of the business
- Ability to plan ahead with fixed running costs at agreed service levels
- Reduced risk associated with the retention of quality and critical resources, particularly when they are often not needed on a full-time basis
- Specialists available just when you need them
- Better development service managed and delivered by a team of professionals with a track record of success, who use tried and tested Project Management and Data Warehouse Implementation methodologies
- Long-term commitment from both sides builds better working relationships and an understanding of your organisation and “how it works”
Getting Started
Technical Services are priced depending on the nature of the work being done and range from $80* per hour up to $150* per hour.
BISoft has the expertise to put data warehousing to work for you. Our consultants work with data warehouses of almost any size – from single area data warehouses to total enterprise implementations – and can support the entire solution life-cycle from strategy and planning through data warehouse development and ongoing support.
*Exclusive of GST and expenses. Surcharges apply for urgent work done out of normal working hours.
BISoft has the expertise to put data warehousing to work for you. Our consultants work with data warehouses of almost any size – from single area data warehouses to total enterprise implementations – and can support the entire solution life-cycle from strategy and planning through data warehouse development and ongoing support.
*Exclusive of GST and expenses. Surcharges apply for urgent work done out of normal working hours.