TDWI | Training & Research | Business Intelligence, Analytics, Big Data, Data Warehousing

From the Editor

• By James E. Powell
• September 15, 2005

It’s all about the data. We all want to make the most of what we already have, and in this issue we face the subject head on.

Senior Editor Hugh Watson points out that real-time data can fuel applications that impact your competitive ability, and suggests that real-time data is sufficiently different to be called the “next generation of decision-support data management.”

Tony Fisher warns that your company can only succeed by leveraging information to enter new markets or maximize customer value. He suggests a new model for assessing data management maturity to help you understand the risks associated with undervalued data management practices.

Vivek Mehra has the data on data—probing the meaning of metadata to your enterprise and why building a metadata-driven enterprise is critical to your competitive advantage.

Of course, data alone isn’t enough—you must be able to act on it. As Bennett Indart points out, a decision not executed (or not executed in time) is only a good idea. His five step process combines best practices and technology to achieve the best performance management possible.

Once you act, you must measure results. Michael Brooks admits that key performance indicators and performance metrics are nothing new, but notes that companies still fall short on how to build, manage, and maintain them. He looks at how to avoid pitfalls and create meaningful, strategic metrics.

The how-to idea shows up elsewhere in this issue. Our Experts’ Perspective discusses how to implement an EDW to support the entire company and promote a customer focus, concentrating on how to gain executive support for a governance project. Cass Brewer looks at a book tackling how IT managers maintain equilibrium in today’s fluid environment. In an excerpt from TDWI’s director of research and services, Wayne Eckerson, you’ll learn how to evaluate your organization’s readiness for performance dashboards.

Raymond J. Elson and Rey LeClerc explore the steps your organization can take to ensure secure and confidential customer data in your warehouse, while Lawrence De Voe and Ken Neal describe how BI tools can benefit staff at all levels, with examples of companies that have turned BI into business value.

As always, we’re interested in your comments. Please send me your feedback: [email protected].

 

This article originally appeared in the issue of TDWI.