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BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND COGNOS G:\User\Train\_FVTP\01 Bird\Project Info\Cognos\Business Intelligence and Cognos.docx Contents Business Intelligence Overview ...................................................................................................... 3 History ......................................................................................................................................... 3 BI Adoption ................................................................................................................................. 3 Components of BI ....................................................................................................................... 4 Queries and Reports ............................................................................................................... 4 Dashboards ............................................................................................................................. 4 Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 5 Data Sources ............................................................................................................................... 5 Relational versus Dimensional Database ................................................................................ 5 Data Warehouse ..................................................................................................................... 5 Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) .......................................................................................... 6 FirstVision and FirstVision Business Intelligence ............................................................................ 7 Business Intelligence Resources ..................................................................................................... 8 Understanding Business Intelligence .......................................................................................... 8 IBM Cognos Business Intelligence .............................................................................................. 8 Links ........................................................................................................................................ 8 Documents .............................................................................................................................. 8 IBM Cognos 8 to BusinessObjects Mapping ............................................................................... 9 IBM Cognos 8 BI ............................................................................................................................ 10 Core Applications ...................................................................................................................... 10 Additional Applications ............................................................................................................. 11 Performance Management Applications .................................................................................. 12 Business Intelligence and Cognos 2 Business Intelligence Overview Business Intelligence (BI) describes the methods, applications, and technologies used to access, analyze, and integrate data in order to improve business decision-making. In practice, BI is a framework to help a business make better strategic decisions by leveraging data from its own resources, such as data warehouses, databases, or flat files. Business intelligence has largely replaced the term “executive information systems,” which more closely matched the dashboard concept. History The concept of using information collected about the organization and the competition to succeed has been in use long before the introduction of the term “business intelligence.” Sun Tzu, a Chinese general of the 5th century BC, says in his work “The Art of War” that, “what enables the wise commander to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge.” The phrase “business intelligence” was coined by IBM researcher Hans Peter Luhn in a 1958 article where he defined the term as "the ability to apprehend the interrelationships of presented facts in such a way as to guide action towards a desired goal." In 1989, Howard Dresner proposed business intelligence as an umbrella term to describe "concepts and methods to improve business decision making by using fact-based support systems." Whether they call it knowledge, data, competitive information, or business intelligence, business owners have always looked for ways to observe, collect, analyze, and share information with the intention of making the business more profitable, more efficient, and less vulnerable to competitors. These are the goals of business intelligence. BI Adoption With the size of modern businesses and the wealth of data that can be collected, it has become difficult for one person to comprehend all the information that might impact a decision. Even so, many people continue to rely on “soft” information, such as experience, rules of thumb, and instinct, to make decisions, to the exclusion of “hard” numerical data, because the Business Intelligence and Cognos 3 reporting and analysis tools to make use of data have tended to be difficult to access, use, and update. Proper planning, good data quality, attention to data warehouse structure, and good communication are all keys to avoiding BI adoption resistance. Components of BI Every business intelligence tool is designed to answer variations on four questions: What happened? What is happening right now? Why did it happen? What happens next? Which are all intended to help answer the most important business question: What should we do about it? The BI functions and activities that address these questions are queries and reports, dashboards, and analysis. Other BI functions support these applications by sharing reports with others, structuring data into discreet parcels, and creating interactive graphic representations of data. Queries and Reports A query is a structured request to the data warehouse for all the data that fits within the parameters defined in the query. The query reflects a proposed business question like, “How many of our customers used our introductory interest rate?” However, a query is not a simple question; it’s more like a mathematical equation: ‘All Customers’ minus ‘Customers who did not use introductory interest rate’ equals ‘Customers who used introductory interest rate.’ A report is the information returned by a query, and also the formatted virtual or physical document that presents the information to an audience. Queries and reports address the question, “What happened?” Dashboards A dashboard can be described as an interface that aims to consolidate and integrate the most important information from multiple components into a unified display. A dashboard enables users to monitor status in real time or near real time. Dashboards can address the question, “What is happening right now?” Business Intelligence and Cognos 4 Analysis Analysis is not a function of BI, but an activity that uses BI tools such as reports and dashboards. Analysis is sometimes confused with reporting, but they are distinct: reports deliver data, but analysis delivers insight. Another way of looking at analysis is to remember that analysts use reports rather than create them. Analysis addresses the questions, “Why did it happen?” and “What happens next?” and prepares the decision-maker to respond to the question, “What should we do about it?” Data Sources Business Intelligence data sources traditionally include databases for customer information and employee information databases, and can be flat (table) files, relational databases, or dimensional databases. Businesses have also begun to explore using non-traditional data sources such as email and web pages, which are not stored in structured databases. Relational versus Dimensional Database In a relational database, the rows of a table represent records (information about separate items) and the columns represent fields (attributes of a record). A relational database matches information from a field in one table with information in a corresponding field of another table to produce a third table that combines requested data. Data warehouses more commonly use more complex database schema such as dimensional models so that information can be brought together in meaningful ways. In the dimensional model, a database consists of a single large table of facts that are described using dimensions and measures. A dimension provides the context of a fact (such as who participated, when and where it happened, and its type). A measure is a quantity describing the fact, such as revenue. Data Warehouse A data warehouse is a copy of a transaction database that is designed for query and analysis. It is updated in batches or in real time and is intended to provide organizations with information on which to base decision-making. A data warehouse is not an exact copy of a transaction database. In creating a data warehouse, unnecessary information should be deleted and data quality improved. A data warehouse may even merge data from a variety of source systems. The most obvious reason to use a data warehouse over a live database as a source for reporting is that querying a live database slows down the operational system, impacting efficiency and the effectiveness of customer support. However, using a data warehouse as the source for reports can provide many other advantages: Business Intelligence and Cognos 5 Improves data access time Standardizes data Provides a more comprehensive information source Lowers reporting costs Increases access to data Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) Extract, transform, and load (ETL) is a process that extracts data from sources, transforms it to meet operational needs, and loads it into the target database or data warehouse. The transform stage is the most complex. During transformation, the extracted data may be filtered, sorted, cleaned, translated (for example, if the source system stores 1 for male and 2 for female, but the warehouse stores M for male and F for female), encoded (for example, mapping "Male" to "1" and "Mr" to M), merged with other data, aggregated, pivoted (turning multiple columns into multiple rows or vice versa), validated, and so on. Business Intelligence and Cognos 6 FirstVision and FirstVision Business Intelligence FirstVision is a group of software applications and services that facilitate electronic payment processing. FirstVision services are divided into three main categories: Operational Services, Professional Services, and Portfolio Management. Operational Services range from the optimization, management, and delivery of back office and customer service operations, to card production and printing of letters and statements. Professional Services incorporate training, portfolio and operation consulting, custom code development, and project management. Portfolio Management is designed to enhance marketing, risk assessment, and fraud assessment, and coordinate collections tracking and analysis efforts. FirstVision Portfolio Management includes Business Intelligence. FirstVision Business Intelligence components, tools, and services aim to make information actionable. In other words, FirstVision gives business users the capacity to analyze data, and from that analysis, identify business opportunities to generate revenue and reduce risk/cost by: Optimizing decision support Improving performance management Identifying new business opportunities Identifying profitability Business Intelligence and Cognos 7 Business Intelligence Resources The documents and links listed here are in an order that might aid understanding. Understanding Business Intelligence History of Business Intelligence http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1y5jBESLPE BI Next Generation http://www.b-eye-network.com/view/13057 Data Warehousing 101 http://www.b-eye-network.com/view/12929 Dimensional Modeling vs. Relational Modeling http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database_model Seven Steps to Creating a Data Driven Decision Making Culture http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/2006/10/seven-steps-tocreating-a-data-driven-decision-making-culture.html Using Dashboard-Based Business Intelligence Systems http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/034/bis.html Business Intelligence White Papers http://www.businessintelligence.com/ Data Integration Glossary DIGloss.pdf Executive Information Systems http://www.bestpricecomputers.co.uk/glossary/executiveinformation-systems.htm IBM Cognos Business Intelligence Links IBM Cognos BI Overview demonstration http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/data/swlibrary/cognos/demos/od_cognos8/ibm_cognos_bi.html IBM Cognos 8 BI v4 publications library http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/c8bi/v8r4m0/index.jsp Cognos website Cognos 8 info http://www.cognos-bi.info/cognos8.html IBM Cognos BI Radio podcasts http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/bi-radio/episodes.html IBM Learner Portal for training http://eb90.elearn.ihost.com/wps/portal/ IBM Cognos BI Demo directory http://download.boulder.ibm.com/ibmdl/pub/software/data/swlibrary/cognos/demos/od_cognos8/ Cognos to BusinessObjects comparison http://www.bi-dw.info/businessobjects-vs-cognos.htm Documents Overview Presentation transcript IBM Cognos 8 BI Overview Presentation Transcript.pdf Getting Started IBM Cognos 8 BI Getting Started.pdf IBM Cognos Connection IBM Cognos 8 BI Connection UG.pdf Query Studio IBM Cognos 8 BI Query Studio UG.pdf Report Studio IBM Cognos 8 BI Reporting Datasheet.pdf Business Intelligence and Cognos 8 IBM Cognos 8 BI Advanced Reporting Presentation.pdf IBM Cognos 8 BI Report Studio Express UG.pdf IBM Cognos 8 BI Report Studio Professional UG.pdf Event Studio IBM Cognos 8 BI Event Studio UG.pdf Metric Studio IBM Cognos 8 BI Metric Studio UG.pdf Analysis Studio IBM Cognos 8 BI Analysis Studio UG.pdf Administration and Security IBM Cognos 8 BI Admin and Security UG.pdf Framework Manager IBM Cognos 8 BI Framework Manager Tutorial.pdf IBM Cognos 8 to BusinessObjects Mapping IBM Cognos 8 (Description) BusinessObjects IBM Cognos Connection Web portal InfoView Query Studio Ad hoc querying and reporting Report Studio Express Managed reporting Report Studio Professional Managed reporting Analysis Studio Multidimensional analysis Event Studio Business activity monitoring Alerts Metric Studio Comparing performance measures to desired performance Dashboard Framework Manager Data modeling Designer Business Intelligence and Cognos Web Intelligence 9 IBM Cognos 8 BI The core Cognos BI 8 applications are IBM Cognos Connection, Query Studio, Report Studio, Analysis Studio, Metrics Studio, and Event Studio. Additional applications include Framework Manager, IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office, IBM Cognos Go! Search, and Transformer. IBM Cognos 8 Controller, IBM Cognos 8 Workforce Performance, and IBM Cognos Planning are part of the performance management solution. Core Applications IBM Cognos Connection IBM Cognos Connection is the Web portal for IBM Cognos 8. It is the starting point to access BI information and the functionality of IBM Cognos 8. Through the portal, users can publish, find, manage, organize, and view business intelligence content, accessing the various studios and performing content administration, including scheduling and distributing reports, and creating jobs. System administrators also use the portal to administer servers, optimize performance, and set permissions. Query Studio Query Studio is the reporting tool for creating simple queries and reports. A casual user can use Query Studio to create self-serve reports. Query Studio provides direct interaction with data. Report Studio Express The Express authoring mode provides a simplified and focused Report Studio interface. It is designed for nontechnical users to create traditional financial and management statement reports. This mode allows access to dimensionally-modeled data and uses a member-oriented data tree, by default. It supports crosstab reports. Express authoring mode does not allow users to modify objects that can be inserted only in the Professional authoring mode, such as charts, maps, and lists. Express authoring mode allows the user to view live data. Report Studio Professional The Professional authoring mode gives users access to the full range of Report Studio functionality. In this mode, the user can create any report type, including charts, maps, lists, and repeaters, using any data source (relational or multidimensional). Professional authoring mode does not allow the user to view live data. Event Studio Event Studio alerts decision-makers of events as they happen, so that they can make timely and effective decisions. Specify the event condition, or a change in data, that is important. When an agent created in Event Studio detects an event, it can perform tasks, such as sending an email, adding information to the portal, and running reports. Business Intelligence and Cognos 10 Metric Studio Metric Studio is a scorecarding and metrics tool, helping translate strategy into relevant, measurable goals. It tracks performance against predetermined targets and indicates the current status of the business. Metric Studio can model metrics and relationships based on any standard or proprietary scorecarding and management methodology already in use. Analysis Studio With Analysis Studio, it is possible to see trends and understand anomalies or variances that may not be evident with other types of reporting. Analysis Studio users can easily focus on what is important even with large volumes of dimensional data. Analysis Studio users interact directly with visible data. Mainly used by business analysts. Additional Applications Framework Manager Transformer IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office Business Intelligence and Cognos Framework Manager is a modeling tool for creating and managing business-related metadata for use in all Cognos 8 BI applications. It lets modelers model relational data dimensionally, apply hierarchies to allow drill behavior, apply member functions and query any of the supported data sources (relational database with SQL or OLAP with MDX). The main users of Framework manager are data warehouse developers and data modelers. Report authors base on the metadata information set up using Framework Manager when creating new reports. IBM Cognos 8 Transformer is a multi-dimensional data modeling component. It is used to create a multi-dimensional model: a business presentation of the information in one or more different data sources that share common data. After adding metadata from IBM Cognos 8 packages, reports, and other various data sources, modelling the dimensions, customizing the measures, and applying IBM Cognos 8 secured views with dimensional filtering, PowerCubes can be created based on this model. These cubes can be deployed to support OLAP reporting and analysis around the globe. IBM Cognos 8 Go! Office allows users to work with secure content in a Microsoft Office environment, including data, metadata, headers, footers, and charts. Predefined reports and be used, or new content can be created using Query Studio, Analysis Studio, or Report Studio. 11 IBM Cognos Go! Search IBM Cognos Go! Search allows full-text searches of IBM Cognos 8 business intelligence content frim IBM Cognos Connection, Cognos Viewer, Query Studio, and Analysis Studio. Administrators create and manage the search index. Administrators can also create Go! cards which allow enterprise search engines, such as IBM WebSphere Information Integrator OmniFind Edition, to index IBM Cognos 8 content. IBM Cognos Go! Search also allows administrators to easily supply the Google OneBox for Enterprise with report, metric, and search result content. IBM Cognos Go! Dashboard IBM Cognos 8 Go Dashboard allows executives to monitor the things that are most important to them like key human resource measures such as employee rankings. IBM Cognos 8 BI Go Mobile IBM Cognos 8 BI Go Mobile allows executives to stay informed when they're on the road. On mobile devices, IBM Cognos 8 BI can take care of location intelligence, automatically filtering a report based on regional data; for example, so a report automatically displays information for customers where the executive is currently located. Performance Management Applications IBM Cognos 8 Controller IBM Cognos 8 Controller is a Web-based financial consolidation tool that provides standard reports to support both statutory and management reporting. IBM Cognos 8 Workforce Performance IBM Cognos 8 Workforce Performance is an analytic application to help organizations optimize human resources management. It provides packaged reports of workforce measures to help improve planning and management. IBM Cognos Planning IBM Cognos Planning provides the ability to plan, budget, and forecast in a collaborative, secure manner. Business Intelligence and Cognos 12