CRM Innovations

Creating a Customer Centric Data Warehouse

In simple terms, the goal is to create a data repository built around
customer information. It sounds like a simple concept and from a logical
point of view it is, the difficulty is in the details. Before we look at why we
should build it and ultimately how we should build it -- let us first look at
what it is. A data warehouse is a logical container for all the data elements
which belong with a specific objective. A data universe is a collection of data
elements. Data universes are usually associated with databases and
databases with applications. Data elements reside within universes.

A data warehouse allows new relationships and extended data to be defined

and managed independently of the prime application and their universes. In
most large organizations, the business infrastructure contains an Order
Management System, an Inventory Management System, a Customer
Support System and any number of other systems that may or may not be integrated. In most cases,
customer related data is spread out over many universes. A data warehouse simply allows the data to be
collected and organized differently from the independent applications that either create or process it.

Why Build It
The objective behind building the customer centric data warehouse is to allow customer data to be utilized
and shared by various groups within your company. For instance, while order data is critical to providing
initial product delivery to customers (entitlement) it is also valuable to support, sales and marketing groups.
But it does not make sense to allow support, sales and marketing people to directly access the data from the
Order Management System. In the case of marketing they may want to see an aggregate of the data (all the
customers with a specific product), while support may want to find a specific product in a series of customer
orders, while sales may want to know all the products that a specific customer has. These are simple
examples where the data comes from a single data source.

Let us now consider the three groups and a similar query, how many license seats does a customer have left.
For marketing, they again may want to understand aggregates, sales specifics (which customers have a few
left or none) and for support what does customer x have for product y. Again, the LKMS may have sufficient
data to allow customized reports to be built for each group but it most likely will take data from two or three
sources to answer the queries.

The real power in building a customer centric data warehouse comes in being able to assemble a better
picture of your customer. Of course, the angle of the picture depends on your perspective (marketing, sales
or support). Imagine linking order, legal, product, licensing, delivery, marketing and support information and
having a flexible method for making inquiries, this is the value of a customer centric data warehouse.

Unleashing the Value of Your Customer Data

While collecting the data is not enough to release the hidden
value, it is the foundation. Getting to know your customers is the
key to serving them better and selling them more. By identifying
the relationships between various data elements you create a
layered and more complete picture of your customers, your
products and their sales histories. A customer is a collection of
end users, aligning products and customers allows you to identify
individuals. While no two individuals are alike, no two customers
are either.

Start Small, Think Inclusive

The single largest problem with most data warehouse projects is
notthe t echnology i t
’st he methodol
ogy used.Sometimes where
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you start dictates where you end up. By starting with internal systems you usually end up without a feedback
loop to include the customer. Customers are busy and can not afford to keep your data up-to-date unless
they have a reason to, so for a feedback loop to work in must be part of a critical process they must use
regularly.

Aside from the approach, the other common failure point is perspective. Think inclusive means try and satisfy
as many internal groups and the customer as possible. It is easy to see how this initiative can get out of
hand, so while thinking inclusion start out small. The keystone is a customer-facing application, look at the
data either being collected or required by customers as the starting point or first block in the building of the
warehouse. This allows the system to be interactive, ensuring your customer is going to validate and update
as much of the data as possible.

Unlike an operational system where building an airplane while flying it usually causes crashes, the data
warehouse is a secondary system more like a building; here we are free to add more data and functionality
over time. Thinking inclusively ensures the ground is firm and does not shift over time.

Building a Data Warehouse with Active Data Feeds

Create interaction by using a customer accessible system as the heart to pump new updated information into
the warehouse. The key to continuous ROI benefits lies in building a system which is systematically updated
from both user interaction and internal infrastructure updates.

OMS Solution: Beacon CRM

We have designed a solution to address the requirements associated with building a customer centric data
warehouse. In addition to the warehouse, OMS provides tools to access and act on the data within the
warehouse. Tools include function-specific intelligence engines, an integrated communications service and a
dynamic data explorer to create dashboards, reports and dynamic data exploration. To feed the warehouse,
OMS has three active data feeds:

Active Infrastructure Integration (AII)

AII means that infrastructure applications like your ERP,
CRM and LKMS can actively contribute data to the
warehouse. For instance, orders processed in your ERP are
automatically peeled into the data warehouse.

Active Configuration Management (ACM)

ACM allows your customers to update their asset
management maps and configurations and thereby share
that information with you. ACM ties accounts and users to
product instances, licensing details and service contracts.

Active Data Gathering (ADG)

ADG processes and records customer interaction during
downloads, installation, licensing and product updates
allowing configurations and transaction data to be created
and updated in the warehouse.

Contact Us

OMS SafeHarbor, Inc.

128 Warren Street Phone: 978.937.2363 x102
Lowell, MA 01852 USA Fax: 978.937.3784
Email: entitlenow@o-ms.com www.o-ms.com

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