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Data Centric Applications
ETL (Extract Transform and Load)
Today, more than ever before, businesses need to make sound strategic decisions
that are driven from complete, accurate and integrated data. This approach to
processing data allows for one version of the data "truth" through centralization.
Data integration is the process of blending or aggregating data items from various
distinct sources and creating a larger, more comprehensive body of knowledge.
ComTec offers leading skills in Extract Transform and Load (ETL). This refers to the
process of extracting data from source systems, transforming the data so it will
integrate properly with data in other source systems, and then loading it into a data
warehouse.
More importantly from a business decision making perspective, integration provides
a uniform interface to access all of the data. The access to the integrated data is
usually read-only, in the form of querying rather than operational where updating
the data is allowed.
Data warehouse & Data-hubs
In short, a data warehouse is a collection of data that supports decision making.
Data warehouses tend to have three distinguishing characteristics:
- Use a subject oriented dimensional data model;
- Contain publishable data from potentially multiple sources and;
- Contain integrated reporting tools.
Data warehouses are unidirectional as they only consume data from sources and are
the target of an ETL application.
Data-hubs, in contrast, are bi-directional and provide updates to sources in addition
to acting as staging solutions for downstream data targets. Data hubs can also
accept updates from upstream sources when required.
Business Activity Monitoring
Business Activity Monitoring is the convergence of Enterprise Application Integration
with Data Integration for real-time access to critical business performance indicators
to improve the speed and effectiveness of business operations.
Business processes consist of a continuous sequence of functions, events and
transactions. These include manual, partially automated, fully automated, lights out
or user directed processes. Over the years these have come to include application to
application messaging, messaging which results from events occurring within these
applications as they support specific processes.
Messaging and events are data fragments which ComTec captures and analyzes to
provide visibility into how well client enterprise is executing historically, currently and
more importantly into the future.
Visualization
Visualization can be columnar, graphical or both and formalized into such terms as
Key Performance Indicators, Balanced Score Card, among others.
Often, visualization can yield the most effective "window" into an organization's data
value. ComTec's expers are well versed in providing the tool sets outlined below to
reach the various user levels within client's organization.
Scheduled Distribution: is passive delivery and represents the broadest group
of novice users, from senior managers to administrators. This group prefers to have
information delivered to them, either on a scheduled basis via e-mail or in response
to an alert, with minimal effort on their part. The underlying technology is invisible to
the user. Upper managers often take advantage of the push technology associated
with this tier.
Interactive: is active delivery initiated by a user request through an intuitive
user interface. These types of reports generally accommodate, parameter-driven
input, with the user supplying the values, selectable output formats such as PDF,
Excel, HTML, and e-mail, provisions for drilling down into the data set.
Analytical: is advanced delivery that extends the capabilities available to
knowledge workers. This tier often includes business analysts interested in, OLAP
panel analysis, drill-anywhere technology and complex output formats such as Excel
pivot tables.
Developmental Class: is customizable delivery using a series of tools that report
developers, highly-technical business analysts and reporting administrators would
use in supporting the other classes of reporting solutions. This group for the most
part works directly with the businesses data assets. Tools in this group include
Microstrategy, Business Objects, Power Analyzer, Cognos, Hyperion, SAS and others.
Portals
Portals are central to an overall solution, combining data visualization with
operational applications to create business views specific to roles and processes
within your organization. Combined with a content management solution portals can
precisely address the needs of your customers, partners and employees.
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© 2006 ComTec.
