Data integration and Business Intelligence solutions
Challenge - Knowledge is the key to success. That is why it is so important that it is complete and includes data from all areas of the company's operations. The constantly growing amount of data means that typical transactional IT systems are not enough to perform a global analysis covering all aspects of the company's operations. A thorough analysis of the company's condition is the basis for assessing its profitability. To make a profit, managers have to make the right decisions, often based on incomplete data. In addition, modern transaction systems (OLTP - Online Transaction Processing) are not optimized for analysis, therefore the creation of multifaceted statistics may slow down the operation of production systems.
It may be logical to have a separate system for running your day-to-day operations and a separate system for carrying out analyzes. Modern systems must be very flexible to be able to integrate with other applications operating in the enterprise. Analysts need a tool that will contain all the necessary functions, and at the same time will be able to make forecasts based on the information provided to them. In addition, the results of the analyst's work should be reported in a transparent way for users.
These types of systems are called "Business Intelligence", and the number of their applications is constantly growing. For many years, Microsoft has been providing BI modules for data integration, multidimensional analysis, and transparent reporting as part of its flagship database system (Microsoft SQL Server).
Integration - Our clients' information environments abound in dozens of applications and databases, thousands of documents and tens of thousands of files and folders. These data are most often related to each other in some way, although they are used by applications from different manufacturers, made in different technologies, at different times. Thanks to the Integration Services module built into MS SQL Server, you can quickly connect to virtually any data source. The intuitive interface will allow the user to efficiently guide the user through the entire integration process. This module allows you to define relationships between data that have not been related so far. For example, you can combine the data on the telephone numbers of contractors with the billing of telephone calls in order to check the contacts of people working in the company. Another example is the combination of data from the CRM system with the HR / payroll system to analyze the adequacy of salespeople's earnings with their results. The simplicity of data integration from various sources reduces the time needed to merge data to a minimum.
Data analysis - An element of MS SQL Server is the Analysis Services module, thanks to which the database management system becomes an analytical system. It is equipped with the ability to handle multidimensional data, i.e. OLAP cubes. MS SQL Server has many built-in statistical functions which gives great possibilities of applications. Additionally, the built-in data mining mechanisms allow for inference based on historical data. Thanks to this approach, the analyst will quickly prepare an analysis of events that took place in the past and generate a forecast quickly.
Reporting - Another element of the system is the Reporting Services module. Thanks to it, all previously prepared analyzes can be automatically included in the report. The analyst will not have to prepare a report from scratch each time, but will use a template. Its introduction will unify the appearance, making it easy to compare subsequent versions.
Experience - Our company offers Business Intelligence solutions built on the basis of Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014. The systems we have built integrate various data sources such as Oracle databases, MS SQL, DBF databases, MS Access, MS-Excel spreadsheets and many others. Thanks to the licensing model that is advantageous for customers, even with the use of the basic version of Microsoft SQL Server Standard, it is possible to create advanced BI systems for a price not exceeding ten thousand zlotys. As part of the license, in addition to the database management system, users can also use data integration modules (Integration Services), OLAP data analysis (Analisys Services) and Reporting Services. Users also have at their disposal an intuitive tool for building a data warehouse (Business Intelligence Development Studio).
Our competences were used, among others, by Autostrada Wielkopolska SA, for which we have prepared an extensive reporting system using, inter alia, data from transaction systems at toll collection points, automatic weather stations, traffic flow sensors on the motorway and data collected by telephone columns located on the motorway.
Summary - By using MS SQL Server and built-in BI modules, you can quickly prepare a ready report, which is the result of analyzes based on multidimensional data. MS SQL server is a comprehensive solution that shortens the working time at every stage of creating analyzes. All repeatable activities of integration, analysis and reporting can be replaced by an automatic machine, thanks to which the time of the whole process will be significantly shortened. This will facilitate making strategic decisions from the company's point of view.