Learning about data warehousing for mid-sized companies

My focus on the mid-market has caused me to speak with and work with companies looking at business intelligence from a different perspective in relation to the traditional BI landscape.  Mid-market companies may have the same business pains and overall goals, but their resources and internal infrastructures might be different.... [read more]

Gathering BI/DW requirements

There was a great article this week over on the Requirements Network – Data Warehouse / Business Intelligence Requirements Elicitation. Where do You Begin? I really liked the fact that early in the discussion the author said: After establishing these strategic objectives, make it a priority to get your users talking about their work... [read more]

Failing to Address Data Quality and Consistency - A Series of Unfortunate Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence Events

If data warehouses could talk, they might say “Don’t shoot me, I am just the messenger!”People sometimes think the data warehouse (DW) has caused a problem with data quality or inconsistency, when in fact, the problem started in the enterprise’s source systems. But because the DW can be the only place where business people can view... [read more]

It's time to industrialize analytics

There's a lot of talk about advanced analytics these days - the use of data mining and predictive analytics is growing rapidly so lots of articles, books (like Tom Davenport's latest) and blog posts are being written. One of these was by Jeff Kelly over on TechTarget on Data analytics team’s needs and, while I agree with some of what was... [read more]

The amount of digital data created in 2010 will equal…

If you want to impress your colleagues/friends with some huge numbers, simply use the funny comparisons made by Information Management in their article “Are You Prepared to Store All This Data?”. Here is an excerpt: “The amount of digital information created in 2010 (1.2 zettabytes) will equal: The digital information created by every... [read more]

The concept of non-relational analytics

There is a lot of talk these days about relational vs. non-relational data. But what about analytics? Does it make sense to talk about relational and non-relational analytics? I think it does. Historically, a lot of data analysis in the enterprise has been done with pure SQL. SQL-based analysis is a type of “relational analysis,” which I... [read more]

An Internet 1000 times faster than today’s

Imagine the possibility of an Internet 1000 times faster than the one of today.  Dr. Vincent Chan, a great hero of modern telecommunications (and a mentor I’ve been honored to serve on an advisory board with) is leading research into developments that can produce just that. Dr. Chan has been leading a research team at MIT in design... [read more]

Zen and Mao

In which Jill considers spending less, but buying smart.Lately I’ve become aware—okay, it’s been brought to my attention—that I buy stuff I don’t need. My two big weaknesses are Costco and art fairs.When it comes to Costco, I don’t really need half-gallon can of 3-bean salad, a foam rubber kitchen rug, or a bag of those fabulous... [read more]

Reinventing the BI Solution You Already Have - A Series of Unfortunate Data Warehousing/Business Intelligence Events #1

<!--break--> (This is part of our ongoing Series of Unfortunate Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Events. Click for the complete series, so far.) A fundamental flaw of many business intelligence solutions is recreating what the company is already using for reporting and analysis. This takes one of two paths: 1) ... [read more]

Data hostages: The emerging business model of Web 2.0

<!--break--> For years, as growing millions blogged, Tweeted, posted videos on YouTube and updates on Facebook, we in the press wondered about the business model of what we called Web 2.0. It didn't matter too much as long as investors bankrolled these companies. But now, as Jessi Hempel writes, the Web 2.0 party is over, and revenue... [read more]

Self-tracking: “If man were meant to fly” and other objections

<!--break--> Self tracking for performance has a place on the map now thanks to the May 2 New York Times Magazine article by Gary Wolf. But along with praise and interest, “The Data-Driven Life” also drew harsh, skeptical reactions. Many of the objections were of the “if man were meant to fly, he’d have wings” variety. But many... [read more]

So You Think You’re Ready for a Data Warehouse Appliance, Part 2

<!--break--> As I wrote in last week’s blog post, a data warehouse appliance simplifies platform and system resource administration. It doesn’t simplify the traditional time-intensive efforts of managing and integrating disparate data and addressing performance and tuning of various applications that contend for the same resources... [read more]