FEATURE: BUSINESS ANALYTICS
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In a time when data has
been labelled ‘the new oil’,
businesses are scrambling
to implement effective
forward-thinking data
management strategies.
Neil Herbert, Director for
Business Analytics at SAP
Africa, says they need to
start the journey toward
a cloud-based world of
actionable business insights.
within the data) and physical (referring
to how data is represented and stored
using a database management system)
were applied to create a framework where
analysts could extract business value.
However, different lines of business, each
with their own ERP systems and internal
processes, often created huge potential for
misreporting as business analysts tried to
combine disparate data sets.
In industries such as banking and retail,
daily reports on the performance of the
business had to be compiled from these
data sets.
To further complicate matters, a report may
have arrived at a line manager’s desk in
D
ata modellers have become
indispensable assets to
enterprises wishing to
leverage their data to drive
competitive advantage.
However, there is often a disconnect
between the data modellers analysing and
extracting value from data and the business
decision-makers who need to utilise data as
a strategic asset to drive business outcomes.
Closing the misreporting gap
DEFENSIVE DATA ACTIVITIES
LARGELY AIM TO PRODUCE A
‘SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH’
BY ENSURING THE INTEGRITY
OF DATA FLOWING THROUGH
THE ORGANISATION.
Historically, businesses owned vast amounts
of structured and unstructured data in
their ERP, transactional and other business
systems, which was brought together in a
data warehouse. Excel form, supplemented with additional
information and then delivered to the next
more senior person in the reporting line.
Here, a range of different data modelling
tools, from the conceptual (showing
relationships between different entities)
to the logical (looking at certain attributes Any errors would have a direct impact on
the overall business’ ability to navigate a
challenging business environment or take
advantage of an emerging opportunity.
Form and
function:
Key considerations
for business
analytics in 2018
38
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