The right information at the right time with the right quality

The importance of Information Analysis

By using a Business Intelligence 'scan' we chart your current business processes and associated information. The results will help you achieve improved efficiency even in the short term.

If you know exactly where you want to use analysis, management reporting and decision-making support within organisation the question that arises is: How? Should we establish a single large central warehouse or should we use datamarts? Another thing to be considered is integration with other systems, such as ERP, CRM and websites. Ikan Consulting has in-depth knowledge of all these alternatives and it is not dependent on a particular architecture. What is essential is that we provide a solution that works in your own specific situation. Customisation and feasibility are characteristic of our solutions.

Information analysis is of strategic importance to management. But not all information needs to be available to everyone. Timing is also an issue. Some information should be available online and at once. That is why we help you decide how and where which information should be available. We bring in KPIs. Together with standard reports designed by us they make sure the right information is available for the right staff member in a dashboard - information that may then be consulted on the internet or intranet.

Adapting source systems for your data warehouse

Source systems must be unlocked through an ETL process (Extraction, Transformation & Loading). During this process the data is taken from the source systems (periodically or in real-time) and adapted for the data warehouse. Data may be combined, checked for integrity, cleaned and transformed. The data warehouse is shaped dimensionally so data entered can easily be retrieved.

Next, an application must be made in appropriate OLAP and data mining tools. OLAP applications enable users to manipulate many variables and data dynamically and intensively - for financial modelling, sales forecasting, customer and product profitability, exception reporting, resource allocation and capacity planning, variance analysis, promotion planning and market share analysis. But functionality and user-friendliness are not the be-all and end-all. Queries should also be treated effectively. Accuracy remains of the essence: subtle details may have dramatic consequences for the speed and ease with which end-users receive an answer to their questions.

Data warehouse architecture is often complex.

The effects of applications, storage, hardware and software should be carefully measured against each other. In addition to these basic conditions there is, of course, the data itself. How is it migrated to the data warehouse and how is it retrieved? IKAN Consulting's data-warehouse consultants design the data warehouse architecture and advise you about the applications and infrastructure to be used. Of course, our people also help you with the setup and maintenance of your data warehouse.