Data Warehouse Assessment
MANY ORGANIZATIONS are making significant investments in data warehouse and/or data mart technologies. Yet not all of these organizations are realizing the full value of their investment for a variety of reasons. The data warehouse often lacks credibility because the information delivered is not accurate, consistent, timely or complete, or the technical infrastructure doesn’t scale to meet the ever-changing needs of the business community. The business users soon begin to take matters into their own hands and create their own data stores in Excel and Access which leads to multiple versions of the truth and a lack of common terms and definitions across the organization.
The Challenge
The challenge is to re-establish credibility and create a roadmap of how to move forward. The Data Warehouse & Business Intelligence Assessment, a service offering from DATA INFUSION ASSOCIATES, can assist organizations in evaluating their current data warehousing and data mart capabilities and implementation. In the course of the assessment, DATA INFUSION ASSOCIATES will identify high-value areas for improvement with the objective of restructuring the data warehouse implementation into a high return on investment situation that supports the current initiatives of the organization – be they technology- or business-related – and meets the expectations of the business community.
Data Warehouse & Business Intelligence Assessment Overview
A sustainable strategic advantage in the global economy rests with faster and better access to information to manage the organization. Throughout the DW&BI Assessment, DATA INFUSION ASSOCIATES looks for ways in which your data warehouse may benefit from new business analysis practices and new information technologies. The areas covered in the DW&BI Assessment include a high-level analysis of existing business requirements, a review of the technical infrastructure, and an assessment of the current reporting vs. business requirements. It is designed to assess the effectiveness of current management reporting and make recommendations for improvement by completing the following steps: Data Warehouse Solution Architecture
- Database design
- Data acquisition process design
- End user access environment
- Metadata environment
- Testing approach
- Archive/restore procedures
- Backup/recovery procedures
- Data security practices
Data Warehouse Administration
- Data warehouse performance
- Data quality, timeliness and accuracy
- End user support environment
- Documentation environment
- Training environment
- Operational support procedures
- Capacity planning practices
Data Warehouse Technical Infrastructure
- Software environment
- Hardware environment
- Network environment
- Database environment
Data Warehouse Scope
- Business requirements coverage
- Actual data warehouse/mart coverage
- Problem handling
Data Warehouse Management
- Program management
- Project management
- Development methodology
- Configuration/change management
- Transition to production
Customer Deliverables
At the conclusion of the study, the following documents are prepared and reviewed with the study sponsors:
- Assessment Findings A summary of key findings in each area covered
- Assessment Scorecard A rating score in each area, on a five-point scale, to highlight areas requiring urgent attention
- Assessment Recommendations A high-level action plan for addressing improvement areas
Customer Benefits
The Data Warehouse & Business Intelligence (DW&BI) Assessment is a comprehensive analysis of an organization’s current operations and capabilities in the areas of data warehouse and data mart technologies. Also included is an evaluation of how these elements support the business requirements and contribute to the strategic goals of the organization. The DW&BI Assessment will benefit any organization that has implemented data warehouses or data marts to meet the business analysis requirements of senior management.
Getting Started
DW&BI Assessment Services start from as little as $15,000* for a three-week engagement. However, depending on the size of the organization and complexity of current systems, the engagement could take as long as eight weeks with a related increase in cost.