Center of Excellence for IT at Bellevue College

IT-enabled business decision making based on

simple to complex data analysis processes
Database development and administration
Data mining
Data queries and report writing
Data analytics and simulations
Benchmarking of business performance
Dashboards
Decision support systems
Make more informed business decisions:
Competitive and location analysis
Customer behavior analysis
Targeted marketing and sales strategies
Business scenarios and forecasting
Business service management
Business planning and operation optimization
Financial management and compliance

Through 2012, more than 35 % of the top 5,000 global companies will
regularly fail to make insightful decisions about significant changes in
their business and markets

By 2012, business units will control at least 40% of the total budget for
BI

By 2010, 20% of organizations will have an industry-specific analytic
application delivered via software as a service (SaaS) as a standard
component of their BI portfolio

In 2009, collaborative decision making will emerge as a new product
category that combines social software with BI Platform capabilities

By 2012, one-third of analytic applications applied to business
processes will be delivered through coarse-grained application mashups

Gartner Research, Jan 2009, http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=856714
Database systems and database integration
Data warehousing, data stores and data marts
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems
Query and report writing technologies
Data mining and analytics tools
Decision support systems
Customer relation management software
Product lifecycle and supply chain
management systems

Leveraging new Web 2.0 technologies to:
Enhance the presentation layer and data
visualization
Provide information on-demand and greater
customization
Increase ability to create corporate and public
data mashups
Allow interactive user-directed analysis and
report writing
BI careers cross over all industries:
BI solution architects and integration
specialists
Business and BI analysts
BI application developers and testers
Data warehouse specialists
Database analysts, developers and testers
Database support specialists


Database theory and practice
Data mining and relational report writing
Enterprise data and information flow
Information management and regulatory
compliance
Analytical processing and decision making
Data presentation and visualization
BI technologies and systems
Value chain and customer service management
Business process analysis and design
Transaction processing systems
Management information systems
Knowledge of database systems and data
warehousing technologies
Ability to manage database system
integration, implementation and testing
Ability to manage relational databases and
create complex reports
Knowledge and ability to implement data and
information policies, security requirements,
and state and federal regulations


Understanding of the flow of information
throughout the organization
Ability to effectively communicate with and get
support from technology and business specialists
Ability to understand the use of data and
information in each organizational units
Ability to present data in a user-centric
framework
Ability to understand the decision making
process and to focus on business objectives
Ability to train business users in information
management and interpretation
For rapid analysis and display of large amounts
of data:
On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP)
Multidimensional/ hyper cubes
OLAP operations: Slice, Dice, Drill Down/Up,
Roll-up, Pivot
OLAP vendors and products




Basics of data warehousing design and
management
Data warehouse architectures
Data marts and data stores
Data structures and data flow
Dimensional modeling
Extract, clean, conform and deliver
Server management tools to package, backup
and restore
Database server activity monitoring and
performance optimization

Data mining: the extraction of predictive
information from large databases.
Data trend, connection and behavior pattern
analysis
Data quality
Data mining tools
Predictive and business analytics
Descriptive and decision models
Statistical techniques and algorithms






Data representations
Information graphics
Data representation techniques and tools
Visual representation trends and best practices
Interactivity in data representation
Tools and applications
The user perspective on information presentation

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2007/08/02/data-visualization-modern-
approaches/

Capturing and documenting the business
requirements for BI solution
Translating business requirements into technical
requirements
BI project lifecycle and management
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), actions, and
stored procedures
User education and training
Data-based decision making
Effective communication and consultation with
business users



Business Intelligence (BI) Specialist works with
business users to obtain data requirements for
new analytic applications, design conceptual and
logical models for the data warehouse and/or
data mart and communicate physical designs to
the database group. The BI specialist also
develops processes for capturing and
maintaining metadata from all data warehousing
components.

Business Intelligence Developer is responsible for designing and
developing Business Intelligence solutions for the enterprise. The
Developer works on-site at the corporate head quarters. Key
functions include designing, developing, testing, debugging, and
documenting extract, transform, load (ETL) data processes and
data analysis reporting for enterprise-wide data warehouse
implementations. Responsibilities include: working closely with
business and technical teams to understand, document, design
and code ETL processes; working closely with business teams to
understand, document and design and code data analysis and
reporting needs; translating source mapping documents and
reporting requirements into dimensional data models; designing,
developing, testing, optimizing and deploying server integration
packages and stored procedures to perform all ETL related
functions; develop data cubes, reports, data extracts,
dashboards or scorecards based on business requirements.
The Business Intelligence Report Developer is responsible
for developing, deploying and supporting reports, report
applications, data warehouses and business intelligence
systems. Primary responsibilities include creating and
automating quality control processes and methods,
providing maintenance and enhancement of data
warehouse reports, creating ad hoc data warehouse
queries, solving data related reporting issues and
documenting all reports created. The report developer
must have experience in user facing roles (e.g. gathering
requirements, establishing project objectives, leading
meetings) and in developing, selecting and conducting
user training as needed. The Developer also participates in
all aspects of data warehouse projects including
conceptualization, design, construction, testing, selection,
deployment and post-support implementation.

http://www.spscc.ctc.edu/academics/programs/business-intelligence/class-
description.html

http://bellevuecollege.edu/business/info_bus_intelligence.html

http://www.austincc.edu/techcert/microsoftbusintell.php

http://www.sju-online.com/programs/business-intelligence-curriculum.asp

http://www.setfocus.com/MastersProgram/curriculum_businessintelligence.a
spx

Top 5 On-Premise CRM Software Systems
http://www.crmsoftware360.com/crmsoftware.htm
Data mining is the process of extracting hidden patterns from data. As more data is gathered,
with the amount of data doubling every three years data mining is becoming an increasingly
important tool to transform this data into information. It is commonly used in a wide range of
profiling practices, such as marketing, surveillance, fraud detection and scientific discovery.
Dashboards: Typically, information is presented to the manager via a graphics display called a
Dashboard. A BIS (Business Intelligence System) Dashboard serves the same function as a cars
dashboard. Specifically, it reports key organizational performance data and options on a near
real time and integrated basis. Dashboard based business intelligence systems do provide
managers with access to powerful analytical systems and tools in a user friendly environment.
Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a company-wide computer software system used to
manage and coordinate all the resources, information, and functions of a business from shared
data stores.
Online analytical processing, or OLAP is an approach to quickly answer multi-dimensional
analytical queries. OLAP is part of the broader category of business intelligence, which also
encompasses relational reporting and data mining. The typical applications of OLAP are in
business reporting for sales, marketing, management reporting, business process management
(BPM), budgeting and forecasting, financial reporting and similar areas. The term OLAP was
created as a slight modification of the traditional database term OLTP (Online Transaction
Processing)
Multidimensional/ hyper cubes: A group of data cells arranged by the dimensions of the data.
For example, a spreadsheet exemplifies a two-dimensional array with the data cells arranged in
rows and columns, each being a dimension. A three-dimensional array can be visualized as a
cube with each dimension forming a side of the cube, including any slice parallel with that side.
Higher dimensional arrays have no physical metaphor, but they organize the data in the way
users think of their enterprise. Typical enterprise dimensions are time, measures, products,
geographical regions, sales channels, etc. Synonyms: Multi-dimensional Structure, Cube,
Hypercube
OLAP operations: Slice, Dice, Drill Down/Up, Roll-up, Pivot
See this site for all these definitions: http://altaplana.com/olap/glossary.html#SLICE AND DICE