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Services The services offered by Tim Feetham Consulting
focus on business intelligence. BI is a field that includes a number of
strategies and technologies for using available data for management reporting
and analysis. A business intelligence initiative may include the building of
a data warehouse, an operational data store, and/or a packaged analytical
application – or it may rely upon direct access to operational data. The
field of BI stretches from quick, tactical projects with focused benefits to comprehensive
data warehousing initiatives with both tactical and strategic returns. Tim can help clients plan and implement cost
effective business intelligence strategies and/or projects that fit the needs
of their organizations through the following services: Exploring Business Intelligence
Options Getting To An Effective Business Intelligence
Strategy Implementing A Business Intelligence
Strategy On-going Data
Warehousing Architectural Services Business Intelligence Product
Marketing Exploring
Business Intelligence Options –
Customized briefings can help a company to
understand its business intelligence options. Tim can develop briefings
designed to generate interest and buy-in for a new business intelligence
initiative or he can speak to how you can increase the leverage of your
current systems. Getting To An Effective Business Intelligence Strategy –
Getting to an effective business intelligence
strategy takes an honest assessment of your organizational goals, economics,
attitudes, talent, organization, technology, production processes, and data
resources. Once we have these, we can review the options that are open to
you. The process should not go into great detail and should be completed in a
relatively short period of time. Implementing A Business Intelligence Strategy –
An effective business intelligence strategy requires
a sound framework. This framework includes data, process, technical,
financial, organizational, and timeline models. Depending upon the goals of
the organization, Tim can provide these architectural services or he can
assist your architecture team in providing them. Assessing new technology can be a challenge. Tim
can provide assistance in planning and reviewing database management systems,
enterprise reporting tools, analytical tools, extract – transform – and load
technology, and portal software. Many data warehousing efforts run into problems
with physical database design. Tim can assist your team in tuning your
database for efficient loading and access. He can also work with your data
modeling staff to ensure that the database organization is reflected in a
sound structural model. On-going Data Warehousing Architectural Services -
A data warehouse architect is a key part of a large organization's
data warehousing team. Data
warehousing presents similar requirements for small and medium sized
companies. However, the need for an experienced data warehouse architect's
services may not warrant a full time add-to-staff. Those companies will be
better served by developing a relationship with an independent data warehouse
architect. Tim offers such a service for small to medium sized companies that
are either building a data warehouse for the first time or desire to re-work
their current data warehouse according to best practices. Tim believes
that a data warehouse architect should be able to assist a firm with
everything from formalizing the business drivers to tracking return on
investment. He can help a company with its data architecture needs from
overall strategy to logical data modeling and performance tuning. He can
design the processes required to maintain the data warehouse as well as work
with the company to build an optimal technical architecture for its unique
needs. Tim can also assist in designing the data warehouse access framework
and the administrative support function. If a company
finds itself ready for a full-time architect, Tim is available to help define
the position and/or assist the company in its candidate selection process. Data Analysis Projects –
Sometimes all an organization needs is the answer
to a key question and the time is not right for creating an overall business
intelligence strategy. Given the availability of the necessary data, Tim can
assist you in this sort of project or he may be able recommend other
resources. Business Intelligence Product
Marketing –
When a vendor introduces a new
product or a significant upgrade to the market, that vendor is frequently
interested in market exposure. Product reviews play a significant role in
this process. However, a product review may also be valuable during
development. This early review process gives the development team and their
marketing support an idea of how their product will be perceived when it is
released. Tim provides both pre-release and post-release product reviews. He
can also work with the vendor to re-position its product if necessary. Tim contributes his reviews to The Data Warehousing
Institute’s FlashPoint, an on-line journal that reaches the most active and
well-informed professionals in data warehousing. However, The Data
Warehousing Institute guards its motto, “No Hype, No Bias, No Fluff”
fiercely, and in order for Tim to get a review accepted by the Institute, it
must pass the Institute’s rigorous editorial review. Acceptance is not
guaranteed. Vendors using Tim’s product review services should not expect
vanity pieces. |