by Rick Sherman on April 30, 2007 – 9:38 am
The initial phase of a project should be an assessment. A classic systems integrators’ project methodology will include this phase and a sign-off on its completion before proceeding to the rest of the project. Why is this needed at the start of a project? Because in order to ensure project success you need to:
- Gather the business and technical requirements
- Examine what exists now
- Determine the gap between numbers 1 and 2
- Create a plan and architecture of what it will take to close that gap
- Assess how ready the business and IT is to design, deploy and operate these solutions
This is a pretty straight-forward approach to kicking off a project. Many IT project managers follow this approach whether they are using a systems integrator or not. Most people understand that they need to perform all these tasks in the first phase of a project with one exception: assessing the readiness of business and IT to actually succeed! Read More »
by Don Tirsell on April 23, 2007 – 9:41 am
Every mid-year, Informatica hosts its annual customer conference, Informatica World, and this year it’s being held in Orlando, May 1-3. As I’m busy preparing for an engaging week of sessions and interaction with customers, partners and analysts, I can’t help but reflect on the growth and relevance of our industry on the event’s 10th anniversary. I hosted the first user group event in Chicago, 1997, a lunch and learn for an enthusiastic group of 10 “data-mart developers” doing small projects within their respective companies. Now the event attracts 1200+ attendees from around the globe all anxious to share and learn about their mutual successes, new solutions and innovations emerging from the Informatica labs.
This year’s theme is “Integration Everywhere”, an apropos description of the role integration is playing in helping our organizations reach their revenue, cost savings and compliance goals. In the agenda, I’ve found a broad spectrum of presentations on Data Warehousing, Data Services, SOA, Data Migration, Master Data Management, Integration Competency Centers and the technology, methodologies and processes therein from customers, partners and industry experts.
Read More »
by Rick Sherman on April 23, 2007 – 9:18 am
The ROI from a company’s investment in Enterprise Data Management (EDM) is measured with fairly precise metrics, such as dollars and time savings, faster time-to-market, and increasing sales through more directed marketing (up-sell, cross-sell, better demographic targeting, etc.).
However, there are also benefits that are harder to quantify that may be even more significant, such as governmental and regulatory compliance, financial transparency, improved data consistency and integrity, faster data availability and utilizing performance management to run the business. Even these benefits are not touchy-feely and you need to quantify the impact they will have to your business.
Okay, the potential for significant ROI from your EDM should be a no-brainer but… A few years ago I came across a survey from Cutter Consortium that found that only 15% of firms surveyed considered their data warehousing efforts to date a major (my emphasis) success. What would the other 85% say their ROI is? They are probably embarrassed to say. Read More »
by Informatica on April 17, 2007 – 8:24 am
What impact does a sound data quality strategy have on the business? In this recently recorded interview, Informatica’s Chief Marketing Officer, Brian Gentile shares first hand experience about how data quality solutions can increase revenue through more accurate identification and targeting of prospects, as well as higher customer satisfaction and retention. Brian discusses how an organization that proactively manages its data quality can generate significant saving and lower operating costs with the removal of redundant customer data.
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by Informatica on April 17, 2007 – 8:13 am
Have you ever wondered what impact a unified data management solution has on your ability to deliver value to your organization? In a recent interview, Informatica’s Chief Financial Officer Earl Fry discusses how to extract the highest value from your investments in Data Quality and Data Governance and how traditional ways of just buying different applications cannot cut it anymore.
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