Solution Design
Our solutions are based around two key technologies:-
- Cognos Business Intelligence and budgeting, forecasting and planning software, and
- Datamart applications built using Microsoft SQL Server
We then add to these technologies our knowledge of the industry sectors we know so well to deliver solutions that give an immediate benefit to our customers.
Using a dedicated server which hosts the Cognos software and our datamart application, we extract data from one or more transactional systems simultaneously. This data is then complemented with additional data from our Business Drivers database that the transactional systems do not hold. For a retailer or wholesaler this could be information about the size of their stores, like for like date, the type of store, etc.
The transactional data and Business Drivers data is loaded into the datamart on a regular basis. Once loaded, the datamart application will automatically begin to build OLAP (OnLine Analytical Processing) cubes. An OLAP cube is data that has been summarised from detailed data and stored in a special file. A software application such as Cognos can read this file and allows Managers to create reports from the data in the cube very quickly using drag and drop techniques. Managers can also drill down into the data to explore the information to identify what caused a change to occur. This is a major advantage of a cube based solution compared to a more traditional static or flat reporting system.
In every solution that we have delivered, a customer will have multiple cubes as cubes tend to have a specific function, for example to review the circulation of all publications or to analyse the performance of all customers.
Usually every customer will have a number of standard reports that are used across the business. These reports will be updated and made available to the Managers who need them. The distribution of these reports is automatic and can either be by using the web portal of the Cognos software or by emailing a pdf file to Managers. Either way distribution is fast and requires no input from the customer.
The whole system is designed, implemented and supported by our team of Consultants and Support Analysts. Everything needed for the system is provided by Tahola apart from a server and SQL Server software.
