Don't Let Reporting Burn a Hole in Your Pocket

So you have a Crystal Report, but you need to modify it. Where to begin?

As Crystal advisers one of the most common queries which we come across is from those companies or users that have an application which provides Crystal Reports, yet when a report modification or a new reports is required they have no way in-house of meeting this requirement.  

In these situations, more commonly than not, users will turn to third party providers to modify the report. In the first instance this may appear the easiest solution however is it the best option? Put it this way- if it is then why do we continue to receive enquiries from users asking for an alternative way of modifying reports?

Third party vendors, to give them their due, will get the job done but what if these report modifications are required on a regular basis? Is the ongoing expense and time it takes getting it done through a third party vendor justified? 

Often the changes required on these occasions are simple: e.g. name or design changes, things which could take a matter of minutes to complete with a copy of the software. Yet people will continue to pay over the odds and wait days for such work to be done. I understand there are a couple of initial stumbling blocks with the prospect of bringing the reporting in-house. For instance, not every company has an individual trained in using the software, the initial investment can also be quite an important step for some companies and users want to ensure compatibility before committing to a purchase. 

However, I believe the positives out-weigh the negatives on this issue; the software pays for itself in the long-run, DSCallards can provide the training to get even a beginner proficient in using the software, and furthermore we provide a free software evaluation so you can check before you buy.

In my experience, working with customers who initially relied on third parties before bringing the reporting in-house, taking the in-house route could:

•   Remove the reliance on another company for reporting.
•  Save time on completing those simple requests. 
•  Save your company money in the long-run.
•  Provide you with the chance to dig deeper with your reporting; with the ability to not only modify existing reports but creating reports from scratch, even from alternative systems.

In a completely shameless display, here comes the somewhat expected sales pitch: If you feel like your reporting is currently burning a hole in your pocket why not get in touch with one of the Crystal Team today at DSCallards? We can discuss how our software and services can help bring your reporting in-house, and more importantly the value that this will bring you in the long run.

It might not be as expensive as you think- call us on 0800 652 4050 and find out or visit www.crystalreports.co.uk.

Written by Abby Vanstone, Sales Executive, DSCallards

It's Not Just the Economic Times - IT Makes Sense!

I can’t remember whether it’s the current government or previous which was recently criticised for the amount of consultancy fees it paid out on IT projects. This was a statement I heard on the news not too long ago and came short and sharp with no explanation on what these fees were for.  I can remember feeling that it was an ashamedly high amount and wasn’t the government rubbish!

In hindsight I guess that was the desired reaction however after a few experiences I’ve had working with local and central government organisations I would like to share with you a positive story to show that not all of this consultancy is unnecessarily bad spending on the government part.

The experience I would like to share was with a client in the public sector who had agreed to our proposal to carry out some value engineering consultancy as an exercise to justify the proposed investment in a BI solution. In total this was a 5 day exercise including write up and short informal group and individual interviews with the project stakeholders.

In doing the interviews I have come to realise that maybe ‘value’ isn’t the right word to use? Today we find both public and private organisations ‘outcome’ focused for sure. Private organisations invariable relate ‘outcomes’ as ‘financial value’. In justifying the investment of implementing an IT solution they invariably will write a business case that highlights the financial value of increasing sales or market share and/ or decreasing costs. Public organisations tend to have non-financial focused ‘outcomes’ so value is not always the right terminology to use. For example the NHS state one of its key objectives is to improve patient outcomes. At first thought, achieving this outcome cannot directly be related to financial value as mentioned with private companies. Achieving this particular outcome for the NHS could be the result of a number of non-financial improvements such as better training of staff. Therefore ‘Outcomes’ such as these are not easy to define in terms of financial value and thus without a financial benefit make it harder to justify a proposed investment.

However, dig a little deeper and you uncover that many of the decisions associated with non-financial outcomes do in fact have financial implications. An example of which was seen in how training funds are distributed. This can equate to budgets of thousands if not millions of pounds being spent with third party organisations who provide the courses that train NHS staff. 

So should the government state that we will have x number of newly trained midwives in the NHS by 2014?  There is a decision being made concerning course programme budget allocation or withdrawal which could have a huge impact on achieving the set outcome as clearly the objective you want to achieve means you want to guarantee that the courses with the best success rates are benchmarked for the learning benefit of other courses that are not so successful. Or another way of saying let’s not waste the tax payers money on courses that have a low pass rate compared to others. Similarly you want to know how many midwives are currently being trained and when they will be qualified to know how many will need to start to hit the numbers needed by 2014. Ultimately answering questions like this will help them to make informed decisions on training budgets. Accountability is such a necessity in public organisation for the very reason I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, every penny spent is scrutinised...

Value Engineering or Outcome Management offers both assurance and governance by providing the evidence that the outcomes are supported by IT processes and tools that enable them to be reported against and ultimately helps them to be achieved. If you like, it’s a blueprint for success.

Now as I say I’m sharing my experience in response to what I feel is a general negative perspective that Government IT consultancy expenditure is wasteful. The aim of this blog is to show that for a  minimal investment why not work out what the benefits are of implementing your BI solution, how are they going to be measured? How else will you know if the projects been successful or continues to be? This process has shown time and time again the ROI of BI is very good and in most examples I am aware of will pay for itself within an 18 month period.

Just to heighten the positivity even further take a look at this short video of the experiences another local government organisation had with value management http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1fsMd4ZaQI

Whether your organisation is public or private, ‘value’ or ‘outcomes’ driven, making the investment in Business Intelligence a strategic part of your business is an informed decision.

Source:  Ben Hedger, Senior Business Development Consultant, DSCallards

Building a "BI" Command and Control Centre for your Supply Chain

A recent study carried out by the Aberdeen Group has found that companies with top performing supply chains significantly outperformed their peers.

Specifically:

•  Their cash conversion cycle was 50% faster
•  Their customer service levels were 17% higher
•  Their forecast accuracy was 36% better

Not only that, but these Best-in-Class companies were able to decrease their warehouse operating costs by 2%, while the same costs at other companies increased. Operational business intelligence is one of the keys to their success. Best-in-Class organisations are far more likely than others to have near real-time visibility into their supply chain performance so that they can react faster when business conditions change, or unexpected events occur.

To learn more about how Business Intelligence can optimise your supply chain performance, contact our BI Team today on 0800 652 4050.

Blog Writer:  Lee Grogan, Sales Manager, DSCallards

Source:  If you'd like read the white paper, you can register for a copy here - http://v1.aberdeen.com/includes/asp/sponsored_registration.asp?ci=/launch/report/benchmark/7059-RA-supply-chain-intelligence.asp&spid=30412020&camp=

Your Business Intelligence Choice is Now Crystal Clear

In business, knowing that you're able to access business data is critical. While our revamped version makes it possible to access the most recent information, adding the our new version module allows you to do even more.

That's because it is designed to help you access your business data and share it in the best possible ways. The software works seamlessly with our other version, and ensures that you're able to:

Customize report templates to reflect your business and the goals that your company has set. Not only will you be able to present the most recent, relevant information, but also you will be able to create branded reports and showcase that data in a way that makes sense.

Produce multiple reports quickly, which allows you to tailor the information that you present to each team or department within the company so that everyone is able to be given the information that will have the greatest impact on them. This also ensures that reports can be used to foster strong relationships with other members of your team as you demonstrate your commitment to understanding where they're coming from and what they need.

Effectively access and communicate data throughout your organization, without needing to bring in those who are technically savvy. Our solution is designed to be easy to use without the need for coding or development; just access the information that you need, and creating reports will be able to be done exclusively with the interactive dashboard.

Because it's simple to create visually appealing reports with our solution, you will find that you are in a position to share information effectively. More importantly, however, you will quickly discover that you are able to do far more than just help others become aware of where the company stands and the progress that you're making toward achieving goals. Instead, you'll be able to make an impact, connect with your team, and help everyone become more invested in working together and seeing results.

Visit:  www.crystalreports.co.uk

Source:  SAP PartnerEdge

Using SAP BusinessObjects Edge BI to Simplify the Process of Increasing Cash Flow

When it comes to increasing business cash flow, you've got options. For example. you can:

• Reach out to investors with the info that you have, the plans that you've made, and hope that your company's track record speaks for itself.
• Empower your sales staff to offer promotions and reward loyalty and hope that, in time, those efforts add up.
• Limit production and warehousing in an effort to test out "just in time" manufacturing.

All of these efforts, however, force you to wait and see whether or not you get the results that you're looking for. But there is a far better way to simplify processes, communicate with your team and investors, and increase the cash flow for your business: our solution can help.

With our solution, it's possible to access data from various areas of your business and from across locations. As a result, you'll be able to examine whether or not your production and warehousing efforts are on target and quickly make corrections if you're not getting closer to achieving your goals. You'll be able to create reports that clearly convey your company's efforts and progress toward achieving your goals so that stakeholders - investors and those within your organization - are able to see progress and better work with you. More importantly, however, you will have the opportunity to perform ad hoc reporting - testing what if scenarios so that you can identify the likely success of each option you might pursue in an effort to increase capital.

In other words, you will be able to increase cash flow by gaining real business intelligence. You'll be able to drive decisions, communicate effectively with others so that they're on board, and know that you're not only working toward increasing cash flow but also doing it in a simple way that's sure to help you reach your goals.

Source:  SAP PartnerEdge

Share Information Effectively with SAP Crystal 2011

In business, knowing that you're able to access business data is critical. While our revamped version makes it possible to access the most recent information, adding the our new version module allows you to do even more.

That's because it is designed to help you access your business data and share it in the best possible ways. The software works seamlessly with our other version, and ensures that you're able to:

Customize report templates to reflect your business and the goals that your company has set. Not only will you be able to present the most recent, relevant information, but also you will be able to create branded reports and showcase that data in a way that makes sense.

Produce multiple reports quickly, which allows you to tailor the information that you present to each team or department within the company so that everyone is able to be given the information that will have the greatest impact on them. This also ensures that reports can be used to foster strong relationships with other members of your team as you demonstrate your commitment to understanding where they're coming from and what they need.

Effectively access and communicate data throughout your organization, without needing to bring in those who are technically savvy. Our solution is designed to be easy to use without the need for coding or development; just access the information that you need, and creating reports will be able to be done exclusively with the interactive dashboard.

Because it's simple to create visually appealing reports with our solution, you will find that you are in a position to share information effectively. More importantly, however, you will quickly discover that you are able to do far more than just help others become aware of where the company stands and the progress that you're making toward achieving goals. Instead, you'll be able to make an impact, connect with your team, and help everyone become more invested in working together and seeing results.

Source:  SAP PartnerEdge

The Crowded BI Bubble

Like CRM and ERP before, BI is the IT bubble growing far greater than any other. We are led to believe it will continue to grow and take the majority stake of any  IT investment for the foreseeable future.

This economic insight has seen the BI market space reshape dramatically over the past 5 years.

We have seen the acquisition of the leading independent BI specialists by the major Global IT vendors to consolidate the space. More recently new innovations in areas such as in-memory computing and SAAS as well as the resurgence of Open Source products devoid of the historical one man band stereotype giving rise to a growth with many new bright and gleaming Business Intelligence software offerings.

As a business owner no matter where you look or who you talk to, the message is clear. The message is telling you that your companies needs to harness its data to empower the business to make timely informed and insightful decisions or else… OK, OK, I hear you!

I would suggest this message has largely been accepted. The question now for the business is where to go? Who to trust? What will be my return on investment? And here lies the problem! Before we look at answering these questions what has been learnt.

Well the biggest lesson learnt is to recognise that many BI project failures are emanate from an incorrect expression or interpretation of requirements at the initial stages. Typically these might include:

•    Lack of relevance to project objectives
•    Ambiguity and lack of clarity in the project outline
•    Conflict between departmental/line of business requirements

So with this knowledge…

Where to go?

Here comes the hard sell you were not expecting!

DSCallards recognises that it is often difficult for organisations to justify the upfront investment necessary to engage in the end-to-end delivery of a BI solution. Coupled with the current economic climate as a result equipped with this understanding and in addition to incorporating PRINCE2 processes, DSCallards has developed its own Project Methodology to ensure the successful delivery of BI projects that meet its clients’ expectations.

DSCallards can provide a means to identify and measure the ‘value’ of implementing a BI solution. This is what we call ‘Value Management’ and as part of our project methodology helps a business to map requirements to targeted outcomes. It can then be used as a reiterative method to help measure the success of not only the initial project implementation but the on-going use of a BI Solution. It can also be used to form the basis of a Business Case to justify a proposed investment. All in all we help a business identify the ROI in achieving its goals… You could almost call it a strategy!

Who to trust?

There are many BI products and delivery partners out there so my advice would be to go out and review the ‘reviews’. Start with the independent trusted sources such as online tech websites, magazines, the independent research organisations. Then make a short list… a short list, no more than 3! It’ll help to discuss and agree what type of solution would best suit your business, on-premise? On-demand? Web Hybrid? Open or closed source? Once you have your contenders ask your network for advice (whether that be social, work, friends or family). If you are responsible for reviewing IT solutions its very unlikely you don’t know someone directly or indirectly that can offer some impartial advice. If not or as the next step, review the vendors websites for awards won and relevant industry case studies.

If the vendor sells through a channel the best partners will usually have a presence on the vendors website. Look at recent PR about awards to see which partner is winning, look at the case studies as many will be delivered through and therefore mention a partner.

As a last resort why not speak with the people who could potentially deliver value back to your business?! Call the vendor, call the partner, ask to talk to the people that deliver the services, are on the helpdesk, the people that will be working with you. Ask yourself are these my type of people? Do they have the experience, processes and professional approach that will fit with your business?

What will be my return on investment? 

Unlike the implementation of ERP and CRM systems it is very difficult to know with BI what you’re going to get out the other end. That said I don’t believe that is an excuse to not try? As I’ve highlighted ROI for implementing a BI strategy can be understood upfront through the process of requirement gathering. However, we must also be aware the ROI is often found after implementation. The unforeseen ROI is my view is the most exciting. A key component of what true BI should deliver is the ability to explore and question or ‘drill through’ your data for this ability is what leads to ‘insight’ and ‘insight’ is what can bring the greatest rewards. 

That ‘insight’ might be identifying your most efficient supplier which has an immediate cost saving for the fulfilment of your service. It might be ‘insight’ shows you who your most profitable clients are and help focus your marketing activities in the right areas, cutting marketing spend, reducing the cost of sale and ultimately increasing revenue. There has been examples of businesses saving or making revenue into the tens of thousands through just one insightful exploration of their data. Are you getting excited?!

So clearly there are wins to be gleaned from implementing BI however these are not always visible from the outset.

Therefore, the initial efforts to identify ROI must apply the lessons learned from past projects failures. Be focused define your businesses requirements across the organisation. Determine what are the reporting issues? Does it take an inordinate amount of time to format a report every week? Do I have to wait for someone else to provide the dataset I want? Do I just put a finger in the air as I know I’m not going to get the information I need for that meeting? Whatever it might be, only through understanding the businesses reporting issues and requirements will you then start to understand the potential ROI. From past projects RIO pre implementation is typically identified through: 

• Improved operating efficiency
• Improved accuracy of information
• Improved audit of data lineage
• Improved ease of access to information
• Improved usefulness of information

So whether you are going it alone or are investing in help from a specialist I hope there are some useful points enclosed and by all means feel free to contact DSCallards!

Written by Ben Hedger, Senior Business Development Consultant, DSCallards