Inside Data 48
By Graham Keitch
Graham Keitch takes a look at two products that will help you maximise your data assets.
HardCopy Issue: 48 | Found In: Database | Published: 01/05/2010 | Last Revision: 09/09/2010
Business intelligence (BI) is generally about leveraging data assets to help manage the business. There are many facets to this subject, but arguably the most important concerns using the information for informed decision making.
Some time ago, I was part of a small team that took nightly measurements of the optical characteristics of comets as they journeyed around the solar system. Our measurements of brightness variation over time were of greatest interest because they could be used to determine key properties about a comet’s physical nature. We used relatively simple formulae to model and predict a comet’s future behaviour and so help plan space missions.
For those running a business, being able to predict outcome is no less scientific and just as important - particularly in the world of finance. We’ve come a long way since the days when I worked in the actuarial department of a large life assurance company that needed to model life expectancy and economic conditions in order to fulfil customer needs while remaining profitable. In those days we used FORTRAN on dedicated mini-computers, as some of our programs could consume the entire company’s computing resources. Today we have more efficient tools, such as Oracle Crystal Ball.
Oracle Crystal Ball is a spreadsheet based application suite for predictive modelling, forecasting, simulation and optimisation. It can provide valuable insight into the critical factors affecting risk, helping the user to make tactical decisions. Monte Carlo techniques are used to calculate and record the results of thousands of different ‘what if’ scenarios. The analysis of these provides an indication of possible outcomes and where effort should be focussed.
Embarcadero E/R Studio is an easy-to-use tool for working with your data assets.
Embarcadero E/R Studio
Getting the most out of data requires some powerful database tools. This can be a difficult and complex task, especially in a cross-platform environment involving poorly documented legacy systems.
This is where Embarcadero E/R Studio can help. The Enterprise Edition is the de facto tool for analysing, visualising and communicating database and application designs for data and information architectures. It combines modelling and reporting into a powerful design environment where you can build, document and maintain large database systems.
When it comes to discovering and understanding data assets, the software can analyse and document database structures across multiple platforms from a single window. It provides organisations with the flexibility to analyse and design a business process or application logically, and generate as many different physical interpretations from the logical model as required. Multiple physical models can also be generated from the logical model.
Involving business users and other stakeholders in the process of ordering data is especially important. E/R Studio facilitates communication with business users by publishing data models and metadata directly to a corporate intranet or Web site for review. ER/Studio’s documentation generator enables users to automatically create reports in HTML or RTF that provide simple navigation through data models and model metadata.
Oracle Crystal Ball and Embarcadero E/R Studio are two very different products. The former will help you use data for informed decision making while E/R Studio provides insight into your data assets in the first place.