Overview

Business Intelligence is a fairly common terminology, however at real, the consistent ability of an organization to gather, analyze and disseminate information from internal and external unstructured data without the support of robust technology is a perennial and failing challenge.

Gartner predicts that organizations that fail to embrace technology aided information processing will regularly fail to make insightful decisions about significant changes in their business and markets.

Foreseeing the change many organizations are embracing industry specific analytic application delivered via software as a prime source of reliability to growth and demanding business intelligence portfolio.

Focus America, Inc has rich experience in implementing Business Intelligence solutions on SAP BusinessObjects platform that provides solid information management & efficient analysis that enables users to make effective & informed decisions.

Focus America, Inc has over the years built prime business, functional and technical expertise in offering DW/BI solutions through SAP BusinessObjects.

Our target customers are typically enterprises that already use SAP BusinessObjects or purchased SAP BusinessObjects licenses and are on the lookout for a trusted implementation partner. We have tremendous experience in providing BI solutions for the Insurance and Healthcare sectors.

Summarized below are some of our key Business Intelligence skills via SAP BusinessObjects.

· BI Solution Roadmap / Migration Services
· BI Infrastructure Design Services

o Process, Architecture & Data Modeling
o Products and Integration Services
o ETL Design & Development

· Data Integrator
· Universe Builder / Universe Design
· Ad-hoc querying and Reporting Services

o Web Intelligence / Desktop Intelligence
o Voyager
o Crystal Reports

· Executive/Management Dashboards
· Dashboard Builder
· Crystal Xcelsius
· Development of Xcelsius Components as per Business Functionality.
· Functional Scorecards
· Development of Scorecard in Flex.
· Customization Services using SDK
· Mobile BI

The penetration of SAP Business Objects as a market leader in BI and that this platform requires minimal dependence on IT resources & developers across all levels of users is testimony enough of its efficiency

Analytics

Business managers increasingly rely on information that is derived from past experiences, rules of thumb, and other qualitative aspects to decision making. Organizations today, deal with several terabytes of unstructured data that requires surgical expertise in cleansing, formatting, structuring, categorizing, amending and recalling data for multiple purposes basis which organization strategy and growth is dependent upon. Analytics and BI play an extensive role in churning out precise data for enterprise decision management.

SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence (BI) provides the tools, we provide the knowledge, expertise in the technology, the domain and the support that you will require to implement and or configure these tools to optimally leverage them for powerful solutions.

Refined data is often hidden or remains cluttered in multiple unstructured sources. Analytics plays a very important role in purifying data and making it available for access in clearer formats. Analytics involves data mining and modeling techniques through extensive computation.

Reporting

Enterprise Reporting is a fundamental part of improved business intelligence. Organizations are compelled to access the right information, on time and on demand.

However the primary problem is that the specific information searched for is often contained or stored in multiple sources that are not readily accessible. The even burgeoning issue is the complexity or the inability to access data in a precise desired format.

Hence implementing the right reporting solution forms the foundation for a broader BI strategy. The basis to extract and present requisite information reliably, securely, in a timely fashion and in the required format is a true challenge.

SAP Crystal Reports is a business intelligence application used widely to design and generate reports from a diverse range of data sources. Crystal Reports has become the de facto standard report writer.

Our technical, functional and industrial expertise in Crystal Reports has enabled us to consult, implement and deploy crystal solutions for our customers enterprise wide.

Our expertise in deploying Crystal solutions accessible via multiple data sources include the following:

Databases: Oracle, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL

Spreadsheets: Microsoft Excel Files: Text, HTML, XML

SAP: Business Objects Universe, Info Sets

Other data sources accessible through, web services, ODBC, JDBC or OLAP

Interactive Analysis

The limitations with standard reporting is that it does not allow end users to interact with business information and answer ad hoc questions themselves.

The inability of end users to understand and perform complex database functions and structures has forced users to rely only on standard reporting.

With SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence, both self-service access to data and intuitive information analysis are available in one product – helping end users make effective business decisions through direct interaction with data contained in the database.

Web Intelligence from SAP Business Objects offers

Powerful on-line and offline ad hoc query and reporting
o Empowers end users via a robust semantic layer
o Makes query building easy with an intuitive, web-based Interface
o Ensure controlled and secure information access
o Access mobility when the system is offline

Integrated and trusted analysis for all users
o Access and analyze information from within a single interface
o Easily personalize, explore, and discuss information
o Web Intelligence offers a highly interactive analysis framework

A tool built upon the most complete, trusted, and agile business intelligence (BI) platform
o BI Standardization can be enabled via shared administration and security
o Deliver of Query, Reporting, and Analysis Globally can be easily achieved through a single deployment
o Extending the reach of interactivity, analysis and deliver self-service access

The interactive experience on the Web Intelligence platform is achieved with just a few mouse clicks. Users now can create their own queries from scratch and format information for easy analysis, trends, root causes and much more. Whilst users can also simply explore information in existing reports interacting with data to meet specific needs.

Top

Dashboard & Visualization

Executive and key management users heavily rely on real-time information to manage the performance of the organization. The information is an indicator and advisor of performance that is driven by a set of pre-selected goals. Digital dashboards allow senior executives and managers to monitor the contribution of the various departments in their organization. To gauge quickly and exactly how well an organization is performing overall.

One of our strong points in BI is Dashboards and Visualization. Through our expertise in SAP Business Objects Xcelsius Enterprise you will be able to leverage a point-and-click data visualization tool specifically designed to create interactive analytics and dashboards with secure, live connections to SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise or SAP BusinessObjects Edge BI Series.

The robustness of Xcelsius is profound that it will transform the view of your business by a greater degree transparency and interaction with sophisticated and tailored made visual representations of processes and performance. The intuitive nature of Xcelsius provides you the power to perform what-if analysis with your dashboards to gain new and intelligent insights and make informed decisions.

Graphically, users may see the high-level processes and then drill down into low level data. This level of detail is often buried deep within the enterprise and otherwise unavailable to the senior and key executives. Specialized dashboards may track all corporate functions that are created to track or advise performance, progress and indications.

Benefits of using digital dashboards include:

o Visual presentation of performance measures from anywhere
o Empowers business users to create dashboards with the power of what-if analysis
o Ability to identify and correct negative trends
o Measure efficiencies/inefficiencies
o Ability to generate detailed reports showing new trends
o Ability to make more informed decisions based on collected business intelligence
o Align strategies and organizational goals
o Save time over running multiple reports
o Gain total visibility of all systems instantly

The creation and development of digital dashboards involve business units as the key driver and the BI platform for integration with data source, delivery and presentation.

The success of digital dashboard often depend on the metrics that are chosen for monitoring. Key performance indicators, balanced scorecards, and sales performance figures are some of the content appropriate on business dashboards.

Top

Data Management

Data Management is the architecture, development, execution and supervision of plans, policies, programs and practices that control, protect, deliver and enhance the value of data and information assets.

Bridging structured and unstructured data is critical. An effective information management strategy helps organizations to interact with all key stakeholders effectively and efficiently.

TThe seamless management of information becomes the very backbone of an organizations making of strategic operational decisions.

Focus America, Inc offers information management services in areas of Data Integration, Master Data Management and Meta Data Management.

Data Integration

Data integration involves combining data residing in different sources and providing users with a unified view of these data. Data integration appears with increasing frequency as the volume and the need to share existing data explodes.

Focus America, Inc has considerable experience in offering data integration solutions through the SAP BusinessObjects (SAP BO) Data Integrator tool. SAP BO Data Integrator allows organizations to easily explore, extract, transform, Load (ETL) and deliver data anywhere at any frequency. Data Integrator from SAP BO ensures, integrity of data, maximize developer productivity, and accelerates data integration performance for all of operational and analytics initiatives.

The typical real-life ETL cycle consists of the following execution steps:

Top

Master Data Management

The objective of Master Data Management is providing processes for collecting, aggregating, matching, consolidating, quality-assuring, persisting and distributing such data throughout an organization to ensure consistency and control in the ongoing maintenance and application use of this information.

While organizations evolve and interdependencies with data management within the ecosystem increase, the need for consistency becomes a crucial factor to contemplate with.

Master data management becomes a crucial factor with organizations that are departmentalized and offer multiple services to a single customer. In such organizations the lack of master data management leads to a common situation where the same customer is being approached by different competing or non-competing entities for cross selling solutions without being aware that the customer already has a working relationship or already uses the product or services offered by the company. So typical is the case with mergers and acquisitions. Master data management covers issues of dimension coordination, integration and reconciliation and provides the primary link between transactional systems, business intelligence and performance management.

Processes commonly seen in master data management solutions include source identification, data collection, data transformation, normalization, rule administration, error detection and correction, data consolidation, data storage, data distribution, and data governance.

The tools include data networks, file systems, a data warehouse, data marts, an operational data store, data mining, data analysis, data federation and data visualization.

Focus America, Inc offers end to end services in master data management, assisting organizations to smoothly transition from strategy to architecture and master data management implementation. These include – master data management business value services; reference architecture services and platform & solution development.

o Consolidation of MDM
o MDM Synchronization and distribution
o Centralized management of MDM
o Integrated customer data
o Managed vendor data

Top

Meta Data Management

Meta Data Management involves storing information about other information. In simple words it is the process of centralized and integrating metadata that produces accurate and consistent information across the enterprise.

If you are in the process of implementing a BI/DW solution, devising and managing the Metadata strategy is a crucial process. It minimizes costs associated with managing multiple metadata resources, and simplifies deployment, administration and use of data.

Focus America, Inc can provide you with open, centralized and integrated metadata solutions so that data changes can be managed and documented from one location. By reducing the number of location or sources. business users can be rest assured of accurate data all through. However by using different types of media references to the location of the data can allow management of diverse repositories

It is part of the metadata strategy to make sure that at any given point in time, the metadata is complete, current and correct. And it is about making sure that users of the BI/DW are aware of the possibilities and how to use these possibilities in the BI/DW. It is very important to monitor the Metadata, constantly making sure that the BI/DW solutions provides data that corresponds with the at the time given business requirements.

Consolidate and audit metadata from disparate tools and sources, including business intelligence (BI). Extract, transform, and load (ETL), relational databases, modeling tools, and third-party metadata into a single repository.

Easily view and analyze the integrated metadata to get information on data usage, comprehensive change impact analysis, and report-to-source data lineage. Deliver trusted data for compliance requirements, data governance initiatives, internal controls, and improved decision-making by providing a central view of all metadata assets and their relationships.

Top

BI Testing

Just as with any other software application involving different technologies testing is a very crucial phase in the software development lifecycle for data warehouse/ business intelligence (DW/BI) projects. Testing for DW/BI poses unique challenges and requires specialized approaches. Focus America, Inc, over the years has developed its internal robust QA framework for this highly dynamic technology area .

QA in DW/BI may be defined as the expected accurate result of in-depth analysis of detailed business data that includes database, application technologies and analytics.

Characteristics of DW/BI contain:

o Usage of subject-oriented dimensional data model
o Cluttered data from multiple sources
o Integrated tools standard and third party for reporting and analytic purposes

The success of a DW/BI program testing is dependent upon meeting its key objective of ensuring data accuracy and providing a single version of the accurate data through flexibility in Analysis, Reporting and Presentation. This presentation layer is often extended by features such as the ability to slice and dice, drill down and enhanced visualization.

It is the best practice for any DW/BI testing to define the level of data accuracy that is expected from the DW. The tolerance level varies from application to application. For instance, in Sales Analysis accuracy of approximately 90-95% percent is acceptable, whereas, in the fraud analysis or risk analysis in a financial institution or a stock exchange, the accuracy levels are a no compromise.

It is imperative to admit here that any testing activity for DW/BI has to be focused on the key objectives, business rules, defined workflow and the expected results. Ensuring that the DW/BI implementation objective is met by the application while testing. To achieve the critical success factors; data accuracy and consistency in reporting/analysis data in a typical DW architecture passes through several steps of consolidation.

Data passes through several layers of churning, the root cause for data inconsistency and/or inaccuracy can occur in any of these layers, resulting in an adverse impact to the applications end result.

Typical data errors include

Voluminous extraction of duplicate data or incomplete data from source systems Incorrect cleansing
Incorrect aggregation
Incorrect mapping of dimensions in the cube
Combination of any or all of the above.

Top

Unlike other applications where testing is focused on user interfaces, due to the criticality of data, testing for DW/BI has to be more detail-oriented. Moreover DW/BI testing demands thorough understanding of ETL and OLAP concepts and the underlying technologies on the part of the testers.

Focus America, Inc’s DW/BI QA framework encompasses and factors all aspects of the application but governed by the end result.

The framework would be comprised of assets/job aids that facilitate efficient planning and execution of DW/BI testing, such as:

o Varying SQL queries against source and target databases
o Varying SQL queries to compare data at each stage of transformation
o Custom-built, reusable test utilities that are macros or component like programs that automate modular functions within the testing framework. These help in

o Reduction in human errors
o Productivity enhancement
o Reusability across different stages and objects

o Templates driven approach to track defects and results
o Test artifacts – The overall plan, strategy that is tailor made to suit each project.

Focus America, Inc understands the criticality and importance of DW/BI testing and that can never be overemphasized. Testing for DW/BI is a niche skill that demands a good blend of ETL/OLAP technical skills and thorough testing skills that seamless blend with the overall objective of the purpose of the application and overall quality assurance. Unlike other technologies, the tools currently available that can be used for DW/BI testing is very limited and at most times do not solve the purpose. In the absence of comprehensive automation, it is essential to define and develop a framework for DW/BI testing that comprehensively covers the various layers and stages of data transformation.

Focus America, Inc has encouraged its QA work force to adopt DW/BI testing as a preferred and focused skill and promote ways to advance these skills.

Top

Xcelsius Components

Hierarchical ComboBox:

Hierarchical ComboBox provides the capability to display a hierarchical list of values inside a combo box. Instead of providing a conventional ‘list of values’ drop down, Hierarchical ComboBox offers a ‘hierarchical tree view’ drop down. The outcome is the power to utilize hierarchies by a simple expand/collapse mechanism thereby allowing the user to navigate through hierarchies and selecting the desired one.

This component has successfully passed a load test of up to 150,000 records.

Multi Colour Column Chart:

Multi Colour Column Chart component lets you configure the colour of each bar/column based on color values stored in the database/excel sheet. This allows the colour of a specific data item to remain constant when the results change in the query result. In an Xcelsius standard PIE chart, the colour configuration is based on specific rows in the excel sheet. The user can only configure the colour for a specific row (red for 1st row, green for 2nd row). This limits the user to associate a particular colour to a particular data value in the data store.

The Standard Xcelsius components do not allow step by step multilevel drill down feature like the web intelligence document. This is because the standard Xcelsius graph does a drill down on a data change event. For e.g. if the requirement is to display country wise revenue while loading and then by clicking on a specific country column ‘India’, s/he would like to display the state level revenue in the same graph, it is quite very difficult to achieve this with the standard Xcelsius chart component through various workarounds. Multi Colour Column Chart allows drill down only when the user actually clicks on a column and not on a data change event. This enables the developer to build a dashboard with a step by step multi level drill down capability.

The current version supports only one type of insertion while drill down; the label type. The future releases will support rest of the insertion types.

Another important feature of this component is the ‘Staggered Axis Label’. In the standard Xcelsius chart components, the axis labels get transposed to a vertical alignment in case of a long text, thus making it unreadable and reducing the graph area. In our component, the axis labels will be staggered in cases of long text and if it still needs more space a partial text will be displayed with dots. Moreover provisions are provided to make the margins configurable through spin buttons, thus allowing more readability of the axis labels.

Top

Hierarchical ComboBox:

Hierarchical ComboBox provides the capability to display a hierarchical list of values inside a combo box. Instead of providing a conventional ‘list of values’ drop down, Hierarchical ComboBox offers a ‘hierarchical tree view’ drop down. The outcome is the power to utilize hierarchies by a simple expand/collapse mechanism thereby allowing the user to navigate through hierarchies and selecting the desired one.

This component has successfully passed a load test of up to 150,000 records.

Cross Tab Modeler

A non visual plug-in component for Xcelsius 2008 to provide point and click capability to convert a vertical table to a crosstab. This will help the developers to generate excel models for stacked bar chart and stacked column charts while reducing the need for redundant queries back to server and usage of heavy excel functions like “vlookup” this in turn will improve the performance of the dashboard.

Highlights

· Replace Excel logic and redundant queries leading to better performance.
· Cut down the development cost for a stacked bar/column chart from output of a data source like QaaW.
· Capability to evaluate large range of data sets and generate crosstab model.
· Higher performance compared to available excel formula based approach

Export to Excel

Export To Excel component lets you export data out of your Xcelsius dashboards into an Excel Sheet. It goes one step forward in providing export facility from multiple ranges within an excel worksheet. The .xlx component is packaged along with a jsp file which should be hosted on a Java supported web application server. The jsp file needs a temporary location with ‘Write’ permissions/rights for it to create temporary files.

Top

Advantages:

There will be no need to use multiple components to achieve the ‘Export to Excel’ functionality - XML Data Connection, URL Button, etc. The ‘Export To Excel’ component contains all the necessary properties required to export data to an Excel Format. The steps involved:

Use the ExportToExcel.xlx component within Xcelsius. Set all necessary properties. Host the Export_Excel.jsp file in a Java supported web application server

Allows export of multiple data ranges As the package is based on a mix of Xcelsius and Java technology , the ‘Export As Excel’ feature can be experienced on all platforms without being tied down only to a Windows based platform (.aspx hosted on IIS).

Package Contains:

ExportToExcel.xlx (Xcelsius Component)
Export_Excel.war (Contains the necessary jsp and jar files)

Bread Crumbs

Bread Crumbs Component provides links back to each previous page the user has navigated through to get to the current page or to say, the parent pages of the current page. It is a very useful component if there are drilldowns in the dashboard. It provides a trail for the user to follow back to the starting or entry point.

Calendar Component

This component provides improved navigation of the calendar. Here you can navigate by year, a very important feature which is not provided by the standard Xcelsius calendar component. This facilitates quicker navigation to a desired calendar date. Also the placement of calendar is customizable in this component.

Top