About UsThe Decision Factor offers insightful comments and observations on analytics—from views on new technology approaches and market dynamics to the latest industry trends driving demand for faster, smarter information analysis. This blog contains personal views, thoughts, and opinions from SAP employees, mentors, and friends working in the area of analytics. It’s not endorsed by SAP nor does it constitute an official communication of SAP. |
Posted by: Scott Jeffries April 11, 2013  In part one of the series, I introduced you to three key activities to drive value through analytics. Today, we’re going to explore the first activity—gaining control over your data.
Gain Control Over Your Data
Since the advent of the internet, information resources available to businesses have exploded due to increasingly sophisticated information technology. This creates a terrific opportunity to support business decision-making with a very rich data set, but first, companies must be able to assimilate all relevant information—whether structured …
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Posted by: Ina Felsheim March 19, 2013  Intrinsically, you know that you need good data. But how far do you need to go? What are the real costs incurred if you DON’T have clean data?
How Bad Can it Be?
The most common data quality question is, “We’re still making money, so how bad can it really be?”
Consider the following scenario. You made the “mistake” of hiring good people. Rock stars, even. They’re smart people, and they want to make sure you keep making money. As processes break and bad reports …
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Posted by: Kristin McMahon January 29, 2013  Those of you familiar with the children’s story, “The Three Little Pigs,” know that a big bad wolf visits each of the pigs’ houses in anticipation of a savory meal. However, (spoiler alert here) only one little pig’s house ends up being strong enough not to be blown over by the big bad wolf. Well, that’s because that smart little pig knew that having a strong foundation for his house—in this case building it with bricks and mortar —would shield and protect his investment …
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Posted by: Adam Binnie September 18, 2012  “Be approximately right rather than exactly wrong.” – John W. Turkey
“Approximately” is a wonderful term – and an essential concept for everyone working with analytics.
First, I want to state a presumption. Data is valuable. Every bit of information your organization captures, copies, or keeps has an intrinsic value to the organization. But, that value is only realized when people leverage the information for some purpose that creates value.
I’ve worked with many companies; and, quite naturally, those tasked with providing data for analytics have a natural drive to make …
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Posted by: Ina Felsheim May 8, 2012  In talking to customers last week, they again reinforced that information governance success is still on the horizon for each of them—and these were companies that had a dedicated data governance organization in place for years! Here are some of the key barriers still affecting most customers I talk to, and some general guidance on how to overcome them.
Points for you, if you can identify some lyrics or the artist in my song choices—or if you can think of a better one!
Stayin’ Alive
They’re already …
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Posted by: Kristin McMahon March 8, 2012  The simple, yet often-forgotten, act of hand-washing. We’ve all heard that it’s one of the best ways of preventing colds and staying well in winter. It’s not hard to do, and we all know we should do it—but how often do we?
In a nationwide poll published by the New York Times and conducted by Harris Interactive, 1,013 adults were interviewed about their hand washing habits. Observers were then sent into public restrooms to see what actually happened. In the poll, 91 percent of adults claimed that they …
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Posted by: Kristin McMahon November 29, 2011  The concept of big data is a topic that continues to gain significant press, both in the blogging community as well as through discussions by software vendors. Big Data initial discussions with organizations often look at it from the angle of bigger data volumes will result in bigger data problems. Although this seems like a logical premise, the reality of what it really means to an organization and how to plan accordingly is what is often overlooked. Read on to learn why putting an information governance strategy in place …
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Posted by: Paul Clark July 14, 2011  Popular wisdom says that in order to do business analytics you need to get your data in order first. Consolidate it, cleanse it, standardize it, centralize it…create one version of the truth. I’m not about to debunk that, but I do think it’s only part of the story.
There are cases where we want and need the best quality information we can get. If you’re the CFO your earnings release needs to be right, not just close. But there are also times when it would be valuable …
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Posted by: Decision Factor July 5, 2011  What are the key considerations associated with starting a data governance initiative within an organization?
Although organizational readiness for governance varies by company, there are some common points that are often discussed and should be considered when beginning a governance initiative. Check out this list of five critical elements to jumpstart a data governance initiative by Chris Cingrani at Capgemini, which provides a good foundation for a successful endeavor.
Posted by: Victor Szczerba May 3, 2011  One of the first questions to come up in any customer discussion on enterprise information management is how to balance data quality against resource constraints. Limited resources, lack of visibility on how that data is used, and fear of getting rid of data that may be needed for down-the-line compliance combine to limit what they are willing do with data.
Many Companies Are Doing It Wrong
Eventually, users get into a rut of managing all their data the same way. This organizational inflexibility ends up driving up the operational …
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