ISDS 2001 - application cases 3.1-3.6

CASE 3.2 What were the challenges, the proposed solutions, and the obtained results with BIGS?

Challenge: as a result of merger activity, BP need to integrate data held in disparate source systems without the delay of introducing a standardized ERP system (Enterprise Resource Planning) Solution: proposed solution was Kalido, an adaptive enterprise data warehousing (EDW) solution. The system integrates and stores information from multiple source systems to provide consolidated views for marketing, sales, and finance Results: the obtained results are that BIGS helps the business identify a multitude of business opportunities to improve profits and lower costs. Typical benefits include improved consistency and transparency of business data, faster and more flexible reporting, and greater ability to respond intelligently to new business opportunities.

CASE 3.5 What were the challenges AARP was facing?

AARP was unable to generate the analytics needed to support its activities

What were the challenges, the proposed solution, and the obtained results?

Expedia had no uniform way of measuring satisfaction, but there was plenty of data to work with. Expedia's solution was to start by identifying key drivers of customer satisfaction from these drivers, the customer satisfaction group constructed a scorecard application. This involved three steps: deciding how to measure satisfaction, setting performance targets, and putting the data into context. All of this was applied to their data warehouse (which they called DSS Factory) As a result, managers and executives have a quick and transparent view of how well actions are aligning with the strategy, with the ability to drill down into the data underlying any of the trends or patterns observed.

CASE 3.1 How can data warehousing and data analytics help TELCOs in overcoming their challenges?

Highly targeted data analytics play an even more critical role in helping carriers secure or improve their standing in an increasingly competitive marketplace

CASE 3.2 What is BIGS?

Its purpose is to deliver globally consistent and transparent management information across functions

CASE 3.6 Who are the customers for Expedia.com? Why is customer satisfaction a very important part of their business?

Its the parent company to some of the world's leading travel companies. Therefore, it acts as an online travel agent for consumers who want to travel. The customer's shopping experience is critical to Expedia's revenues. The travel experience is also critical to Expedia's success

CASE 3.4 Why would a state invest in a large and expensive IT infrastructure (such as an EDW)?

Like a business, a state government can operate more efficiently and make better decisions if it has access to current data. State officials can use the EDW to improve efficiency and better serve the state's residents

CASE 3.4 What are the size and complexity of EDW used by state agencies in Michigan?

Michigan's EDW has almost 10,000 users in five major departments, 20 agencies, and more than 100 bureaus. Just in the Department of Human Services, the EDW contributes to nearly every function, including accurate delivery of and accounting for benefits to almost 2.5 million clients receiving public assistance. It is safe to say that the EDW was large and complex

CASE 3.6 How did Expedia.com improve customer satisfaction with scorecards?

Scorecards give Expedia much better insight into customer satisfaction by providing staff, managers, and executives instant visualization and reporting of patterns and trends. Though KPIs, the scorecard also allows for comparison of the customer patterns and trends to Expedia's corporate goals and objectives.

CASE 3.1 Why do you think TELCOs are well suited to take full advantage of data analytics?

TELCOs control the telecommunications infrastructure, and acquire much usage data as a result. They have technical expertise. The industry and mobile technology have expanded and improved over the years, which provides a strong foundation on which to build intelligent solutions. The data analytics solutions that have been created to meet these challenges have also improved drastically over the past few years.

CASE 3.3 What were the challenges faced by the large Dutch retailer?

The business was facing challenges, and needed to ensure that they had good visibility of the competitive landscape. The company's 15 district divisions, each with a different data and IT infrastructure, aggravated this goal.

CASE 3.4 What were the challenges, the proposed solution, and the obtained results of the EDW?

The challenge is not directly states, but students should be aware that state governments struggle to balance budgets and satisfy a wide variety of needs. They also should recognize that a state operates many kinds of departments, so it likely could benefit from a unified source of information. The proposed solution was an enterprise (statewide) electronic data warehouse linking employees across departments. Results include financial benefits with $1 million per business day. Improvements in the accurate delivery and accounting of benefits

CASE 3.5 What was the approach for a potential solution?

The move to a single data warehouse appliance

CASE 3.5 What were the results obtained in the short term, and what were the future plans?

The project has produced positive results. The system is significantly faster, and allows functional employees to easily use and create reports. In the future the system will support more reliance on BI within the enterprise.

CASE 3.1 What are the main challenges for TELCOs (telecommunications companies)?

To stay competitive, TELCOs must continuously refine everything from customer service to plan pricing and use the power of highly targeted data analytics in helping the company secure or improve their standing in the highly competitive marketplace.