Dataspace Dimensions
The Dataspace Business Intelligence Newsletter

JANUARY 2011

Thanks again to all of you who have provided such strong response to this newsletter.  Our quizzes seem to be especially popular.  Our last quiz went over quite well and we were even honored to have entries from some industry luminaries.  Check out this month's quiz, and all the other items we've written and assembled for you.  My hope is that this newsletter gives you a quick overview of the hot topics in BI today and opens your mind to possibilities you may not have considered.

Here's hoping that you all had a happy and quiet holiday season (except for those of you in retail; here's hoping you found peace after the holidays :)  ).


Benjamin Taub, CEO
Dataspace


NEWS
What Data Models Are Used For: In business intelligence and, especially, data warehousing we create 'blueprints' of how our data will be structured.  These blueprints are otherwise known as data models.  This very short (only 3 Paragraphs) interview in VisualStudio Magazine provides a quick overview of what data models do and why they are important. 

If Measuring and Reporting Improves Your Company, Can it Improve You Personally? We stumbled across this article from the May 2, 2010 edition of the New York Times Magazine.  The author talks about people who compulsively capture and analyze data about themselves, or some aspect of their lives.  We all do it in way or another.  For example, most of us check our account balances or step on a scale every so often.  Is it possible to structure and use this data to accomplish your personal goals?  Useful or just geeky? 

Gartner's Take On Maximizing BI Value: In this short posting, Gartner recommends treating BI not as an IT project but as a tool of corporate transformation.  Their three main points are well taken.

Cindi Howson on BI Standards: Cindi Howson is a well known BI industry expert and founder of BI Scorecard (http://www.biscorecard.com/) a company that helps its customers navigate the crowded, confusing BI space and pick the right technologies.  In this article from a recent edition of InformationWeek she discusses how organizations should match their BI technologies to specific needs and periodically reevaluate their BI standards.  We were particularly taken with the following quote: The bottom line is that larger companies need an arsenal of BI capabilities. BI standardization is good when you are trying to rationalize overlapping, redundant capabilities. It's a bad strategy when companies assume a one-size-fits-all approach and fail to consider how technology and user requirements change. 

BI Example - Warner Bros: Targeting Piracy... as a market opportunity: This quick piece from paidContent.org provides details from a presentation given by the director of business intelligence at WB's anti-piracy unit (Anti-Piracy Director of Business Intelligence - what a great job title!).  His point is, rather than just trying to shut down pirates, Warner is using data about them to target them as possible consumers.  One shortcoming, the piece doesn't detail the source of Warner's data.

OPINION
Data warehousing is a poor fix for technology's failure to give us what we need from our data.

Read the posting at: Dataspace blog posting 


DATASPACE NEWS
In news around Dataspace, we recently worked with the facilities group of a major east coast hospital to select QlikView as their BI standard.  We are now helping them build analyses & dashboards to monitor capital projects and ensure compliance with regulatory safety requirements. 


DATASPACE ALUMNI
Over the years we have worked with some of the top folks in data warehousing.  Unsurprisingly, many of them have gone on to positions of authority in corporate America.  For example, our alumni include the directors of data warehousing at a number of major corporations.  One alum, however, has taken a very different path.  Alan Jackson worked on a number of Dataspace projects and helped us understand the BI needs of jails (yes, jails).  When Alan left us in 2009, he went on to start a franchise of a video game retail company called Disc Replay.  He now owns two stores in Indiana and performance is exceeding all of his expectations.  In fact, he's already planning a third store.  While we're sorry that his experience with us chased him away from data warehousing, it is great to see him thriving.  Contact Ben if you'd like to get in touch with Alan.

Are you a Dataspace alum with an interesting story?  Want to let your fellow alums know where you are?  Let us know and we'll profile you here!


DATASPACE
Founded in 1994, Dataspace provides consulting and staffing services in the areas of analytics, business intelligence, and data warehousing.

Have feedback for us? Please direct it to media@dataspace.com

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