Selecting the Right BI Tool

8/13/2019 Selecting the Right BI Tool

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Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI Client Productbased on your business requirements for SAP BW CustomersIngo HilgefortDirector Solution Management


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2012 SAP AG. All rights reserved. 2

Disclaimer

This presentation outlines our general product direction and should not berelied on in making a purchase decision. This presentation is not subject toyour license agreement or any other agreement with SAP. SAP has noobligation to pursue any course of business outlined in this presentation orto develop or release any functionality mentioned in this presentation. This

presentation and SAP's strategy and possible future developments aresubject to change and may be changed by SAP at any time for any reasonwithout notice. This document is provided without a warranty of any kind,either express or implied, including but not limited to, the implied warrantiesof merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. SAPassumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this document, except ifsuch damages were caused by SAP intentionally or grossly negligent.


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SAP BusinessObjects BI portfolio

Reporting

Monitoring

Analyze

Discover


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Reporting

SAP BusinessObjects BI portfolioReporting

Consistent layout and formatRepetitive usage

Pre designed contentStrong distribution capabilitiesFormatted & Printable reportsOperational reports


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Monitoring

SAP BusinessObjects BI portfolioMonitoring

Tracking corporate KPIsHighly visualized information

Aggregated informationReal-timeInteractiveSimpleMobile


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Analyze

SAP BusinessObjects BI portfolio Analyze

Changing viewsExchange dimensions and measures

Hierarchical reportingCreating calculationsForecasting & PlanningMulti-dimensional dataMobile


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Discover

SAP BusinessObjects BI portfolioDiscover

Business User focused Asking questions Finding answers

Read, Enrich, Manipulate, and Combine informationEasy and SimpleUncover trends, and outliers



SAP BusinessObjects BI portfolio

Crystal ReportsWeb Intelligence

Reporting Monitoring

Analyze Discover

DashboardsDesign Studio (ZEN)Exploration Views

Analysis

Design Studio (ZEN)

ExplorerVisual Intelligence



SAP BusinessObjects BI portfolioWho creates the content?

Reporting Monitoring Analyze Discover

IT

Business User

Crystal Reports

Web Intelligence

Design Studio

Dashboards

Exploration Views

Design Studio

Analysis Explorer

Visual Intelligence



SAP BusinessObjects BI portfolioWho consumes the content?


Crystal Reports

Web Intelligence

Design Studio

Design Studio

Analysis Office

Explorer

Visual Intelligence

Executive

Senior Mgmt

Business Analyst

Individual Contributor

Analysis

Analysis

Design Studio

Design Studio Explorer

Web Intelligence

Exploration Views

Design Studio

Exploration Views

Design Studio

Dashboards

Dashboards


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Guidance for SAP NetWeaver BW customers

Customers using Web Application Designer (WAD) should adopt Design Studio as theirprimary tool for creating dashboards and applications, both on the Web and on mobiledevices.Customers of SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards should continue with dashboards andleverage the upcoming HTML5 functionality for on-device dashboards. Customers usingSAP BusinessObjects Dashboards on top of SAP NetWeaver BW should strongly considerbuilding their new dashboards in Zen.


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Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI Client

based on your audience





Crystal Reports

Web Intelligence

Design Studio

Design Studio

Analysis Office

Explorer

Visual Intelligence

Executive

Senior Mgmt

Business Analyst


Analysis

Analysis

Design Studio

Design Studio Explorer

Web Intelligence

Exploration Views

Design Studio

Exploration Views

Design Studio

Dashboards

Dashboards

Explorer



Reporting (Crystal Reports & Web Intelligence)

Consume standardized reports to review operational metrics

Receive alerts from pre-built reports and leverage information for follow up

Use guided interactivity for filtering and selecting the right information

Share reports with larger audience and make use of product interoperability

Use interactive reporting capabilities to access and analyze a variety of data sources

Monitoring & Analyze (Design Studio & Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office)

Consume and interact with information using prepared workbooks

Analyze operational metrics inside the Microsoft Office environment

Follow guided analysis using pre-built BI applications





Monitoring and Analyze (Design Studio & Analysis)

Analyze corporate information to fulfill ad hoc requests from management

Build and share Microsoft Excel and web based BI applications for guided analysis

Use Analysis as starting point and leverage product interoperability for details

Create and edit reports without the need for IT or a report designer


Business Analyst

Discover (SAP BusinessObjects Explorer & Visual Intelligence)

Answer ad-hoc questions anywhere, anytime using historic and real-time data

Search and explore information by using natural words and simple visualizations

Access large volumes of information on-premise and on device

Combine, enrich, manipulate, and merge information




Senior Management

Monitoring & Analyze (Analysis & Design Studio)

Analyze and review corporate KPIs and measure progress towards set goals

Share findings with upper management in form of presentations with live data

Use actual and historical data for detailed planning scenarios to enable realistic forecasting

Leverage product interoperability to share findings with other BI clients

Analyze information on the desktop , via browser , and via mobile device

Reporting (Web Intelligence)

Consume and change pre-delivered reports without the need for IT or a report designer

Use interactive reporting capabilities to access and analyze a variety of data sources




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Monitoring & Analyze (Exploration Views & Design Studio)

Track and analyze company wide metrics using real-time interactive dashboards

Leverage what-if capabilities to evaluate different planning scenarios

Provide navigation for further analysis using product interoperability

Analyze information on the desktop , via browser , and via mobile deviceExecutive

Discover (SAP BusinessObjects Explorer)

Answer ad-hoc questions anywhere, anytime using historic and real-time data

Search and explore information by using natural words and simple visualizations

Access large volumes of information on-premise and on device



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IT

SeniorManagement

BusinessAnalyst

Individual

Contributor

Executive

Consume and interact with information using simplified BI templates

Use pre-built workbooks with guided steps

Create and customize BI applications and design guided navigations

Leverage BI applications for planning and forecasting scenarios

Leverage BI applications for planning and forecasting scenarios

User product interoperability to share results with other BI clients

Consume and interact with information using simplified BI templates

Analyze information on mobile devices

C R E A T E

C O N S U M E

SAP BusinessObjects BI portfolioWhats the role of SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio (ZEN)?


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Multidimensional data analysis withnative Microsoft Office user experience

Analyze and interact with data inMicrosoft Excel to discover, compare, and

forecast business drivers

Create live data presentations withMicrosoft PowerPoint to share businessinsights

Create predefined workbooks forsimplified data analysis

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis,edition for Microsoft Office

Senior Management Business Analyst Individual Contributor


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SAP BusinessObjects Analysis, edition for OLAP

Multidimensional data analysis within aweb-based environment

Analyze and interact with data throughdedicated web client to uncover answers

to business questions

Create workspaces for private usage orto share business insights across theenterprise

Run SAP BusinessObjects Analysis,edition for OLAP with other businessanalytic solutions integrated on the sameBI platform

Business Analyst


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Preview: SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio (ZEN) Analytical & Planning Applications

This presentation and SAPs strategy and possible future developments are subject to change and may be changed by SAP at any time for any reason without notice. This document is provided

without a warranty of any kind either express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

Rich and Intuitive design environmentfor building powerful analytical andplanning BI applications

Leverage a large set of out-of-the-box

design components and the ability tocustomize using simple scripting language

Create applications for on-premise andon-device using the latest technology, suchas HTML5 rendering

Create applications optimized for SAPNetWeaver BW and SAP HANA

IT


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SAP BusinessObjects Web Intelligence

Ad hoc interactive reporting

Access, analyze, format, and sharebusiness insights, all in one tool.

Create queries easily without the need toengage a report designer

Query on any type of data source withbuilt-in features focused on easy dataanalysis

Senior Management Business Analyst Individual Contributor


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SAP BusinessObjects Explorer

Search relevant information and directexploration of data

Answer investigative questions andobtain facts quickly

Self-service access to data without theneed for predefined report or query

Automatic generated visualizations forimmediate insight on data

Executive


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Visual Intelligence

Business Analyst

Provide flexibility and freedom tounderstand data, personalize it, andcreate beautiful content

Combine, manipulate and enrich data

to apply it to your business scenarios Self-service visualizations and analyticsto tell your story

Optimized for SAP HANA for real-timeon detailed data


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based on product capabilities


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Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI ClientComparing Product Capabilities

Crystal

Reports forEnterprise

WebIntelligence Dashboards

Analysis,Edition forMicrosoft

Office

Analysis,

edition forOLAP SBOP Explorer Design Studio

Highly formatted reporting

Parameterized & DynamicLayout

Self Service reporting /Free form layout

Hierarchical capabilities

Data Visualization

Product Interoperability

Guided Navigation

Mobile Reporting


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Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI ClientComparing Product Capabilities SAP Data Sources

Crystal


WebIntelligence

SBOPDashboards

Analysis,Edition forMicrosoft

Office

Analysis,

edition forOLAP

SBOP Explorer Design studio

SAP ECC (directly) Yes Yes Yes No No Yes * No SAP ECC via TransientProvider ECC 6 - EhP05 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes SAP NetWeaver BW

(BI Consumer Services) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes SAP NetWeaver BW(Relational) Yes Yes Yes No No Yes No SAP NetWeaver BWA(via SAP BEx Query) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes SAP NetWeaver BWA(directly) No No No No No Yes No

SAP HANA (directly) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes * Yes Yes Non-SAP Sources Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No


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SAP BusinessObjects BI 4.x & SAP NetWeaver BWHierarchical Reporting Capabilities

CrystalReports forEnterprise

WebIntelligence

Dashboards(BI4 SP04

connectivity)

Analysis,edition forMS Office

Analysis,OLAP

Edition

SAPBusinessObjectsExplorer

Support for hierarchical member selection

Support for hierarchical parameters

Support for hierarchies in charts and crosstab OnlyHierarchical

Scorecard

Support for delegated measures

Support for hierarchical report design

Switching between hierarchies on the fly

Level based member selection

Showing Leaves only / Lowest Level of thehierarchy

Expand to Level as a configuration option

Skipping Levels of a hierarchy

Ranking data along hierarchies


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based on your business requirements


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Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI ClientUsing Business Requirements Financial Area

What did we hear ?Use of hierarchies (cost center / profit center / company structures)Probably usage of BEx Query StructuresUsage of Microsoft Excel and browser based accessCreation of calculations on the fly

Accessing multiple sources

Middle Management


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Crystal


Web

Intelligence Dashboards

Analysis,Edition for

MicrosoftOffice

Analysis,

edition forOLAP SBOP Explorer Design Studio

Usage of Hierarchies

Using BEx QueryStructures

Microsoft Excel as client

Internet Browser as client

Creating calculations

Multiple Source in onereport


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Usage of hierarchies and structures Crystal Reports, Web Intelligence, SBOP Dashboards are able to leverage hierarchies in reports but

are lacking deep hierarchical capabilities Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office and Analysis, edition for OLAP, and Design Studio provide the

complete bandwidth of hierarchical capabilities

Creating Calculations on the fly Crystal Reports and SAP BusinessObjects Dashboard would require to change the underlying report Web Intelligence allows to create calculation but the user needs to write formulas Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office and Analysis, edition for OLAP allow to create calculations in a

very simple way without the need to create formulas

Microsoft Excel as client to access the data Live Office is able to provide the information from Crystal Reports and Web Intelligence with limited

navigation Analysis, edition for OLAP and SBOP Explorer have no live integration with Microsoft Excel Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office provides a native integration into Microsoft Excel and Microsoft

PowerPoint


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SummaryBased on the combination of requirements from the Financial Area the recommendationwould be to use

Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office Analysis, edition for OLAP

Design Studio

Design Studio could be leverage to create a custom BI application / template for the useraudience

For less hierarchical driven reports and a more consumer (less power user) type ofaudience Web Intelligence might be an alternative


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Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI ClientUsing Business Requirements Sales Area

The Sales Manager for Canad a asked m e to create a reportfor h is s a les representat ives that wou ld a l low th em to seetheir cur ren t sa les p ip el ine . He ment ion ed that theinform at ion needs to be avai lab le in the off ice , on the road ,and on m ob ile devices .

He also s t ressed ou t that each sa les representa t ive needs tobe able to change the report as they wish so that they cansee the in fo rmat ion by opp or tun i ty, p rodu c t , week & m on th ,and o ther angles . Actu al h ierarch ies are on ly used l im ited .

For h im as Sales Manager for Canada, he m ent ioned i t w ou ld

be a great value to be ab le to run som e s imp le scenar ios tosee ho w cer ta in changes co uld im pact the p ipel ine , forexamp le a change in the p rodu c t cos t o r p r ice.

and he then also mentioned that sometimes people prefer ju s t to g et an eMail w i th a PDF f i le.

Business Analyst

Middle Management

ndividual Contributor


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What did we hear ?The information needs to be available on-premise (in the office), offline (onthe road), and on mobile devicesUsers need the ability to change the report and change the view on thedata.

Only limited use of hierarchiesDistribution of the reports via eMail in a PDF format is also requiredFor the Sales Management some simple what-if scenarios would be a greatasset

Business Analyst


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Web

IntelligenceDashboards


MicrosoftOffice

Analysis,edition for

OLAPSBOP Explorer Design Studio

Offline Capabilities

Mobile Reporting

Distribution via eMail(Broadcasting)

Edit the report

Change the view of thedata

What-if scenarios


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Using the information on-premise and on the road (offline) Crystal Reports and Web Intelligence provide offline capabilities out of the box For SBOP Dashboards there are partner solutions available on SAP EcoHub Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office provides limited offline capabilities

Providing mobile access to the information Crystal Reports and Web Intelligence provide mobile access for Blackberry and iPad / iPhone via Mobile

BI SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is available for the iPhone / iPad SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards is available on Flash enabled mobile devices SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio allows you to build mobile BI dashboards

Distribution via eMail Crystal Reports and Web Intelligence are integrated with the Publication capabilities from the BI Platform SBOP Dashboards, Analysis, edition for OLAP and Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office are not

integrated yet SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is always a online access


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Changing the view on the information Crystal Reports and SBOP Dashboards only provide limited capabilities to change the report for the

consumer. Such workflows have to be considered as part of the original design already Web Intelligence, Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office and Analysis, edition for OLAP provide rich self

service functionality for the consumer SAP BusinessObjects Explorer provides such capabilities, but the consumer might be limited to the

Information Space definition SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio allows you to create BI dashboards with such functionality

What if capabilities A What if scenario is the strength of SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards Web Intelligence and Analysis, edition for Microsoft Office do offer limited capabilities in this area


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SummaryBased on the combination of requirements from the Sales Area the recommendation wouldbe to use

Web Intelligence Interactive Analysis Desktop

Mobile BI

What if Scenarios will be created using SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards or DesignStudio


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Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI ClientUsing Business Requirements Executive Area

As Execut ive Manager in th is com pany I need cons ol idatedin fo rmat ion , wh ich p rov ides me w i th a h igh - leve l overv iew onal l cr i t ica l corpo rate KPIs . I need to be ab le to access th isinform at ion anyt ime, anywh ere.

If needed I need to be ab le to get to the roo t cause and see

the deta iled inform at ion .

I a lso can no t a lways w ai t for m y bu siness analys t o f IT tosend m e the info rm at ion wh en I ask them a ques t io n . Itwo u ld be go od to be ab le to s imp ly search fo r the answer byen ter ing m y ques t ion .

Executive


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What did we hear ?Consume highly aggregated informationStrong data visualizations neededProvide the ability to drill down and navigate to detailed information whenneeded

Fast response timeInformation needs to be available via mobile device

Allow for search and exploration

Executive


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Web

IntelligenceDashboards


MicrosoftOffice

Analysis,edition for

OLAPSBOP Explorer Design Studio

Highly Aggregatedinformation

Strong data visualization

Drill Down / Navigate todetailed information

Mobile Reporting

Search & Exploration

This BI clients are not suitable for the intended audience.


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Highly Aggregated Information SBOP Dashboards , SBOP Explorer, and Design Studio are capable presenting highly aggregated

information

Strong Data Visualizations SBOP Dashboards , SBOP Explorer, and Design Studio are offering strong visualization capabilities

Drill Down & Navigate to detailed information SBOP Dashboards allows to navigate to other BI clients and outside the dashboard to receive further

detailed information, as well as navigate to details in the dashboard. SBOP Explorer allows to see all the detailed information in a single view but has no capability to

navigate outside to receive further details SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio allows you define a drill down path as part of the dashboard or BI

application

Providing mobile access to the information SAP BusinessObjects Explorer is available for the iPhone / iPad SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards is available on Flash enabled mobile devices SAP BusinessObjects Design Studio is delivering a HTML5 output


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S l ti g th Right SAP B i Obj t BI Cli t


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Selecting the Right SAP BusinessObjects BI ClientDifferent Needs Require Different Experience

Phases

S e

l e c t

i n g

t h e

R i g h t

S A P B u s i n e s s

O b j e c t s

B I C l i e n

t

Auditing

Use SAP BusinessObjects Auditing totrack the BI activity

Use SAP NetWeaver BW statistics totrack the activity on BW

Leverage the information incombination with the IT and BW teamfor performance improvements

Use Case

What are the business requirements ?

What is the audience doing with theinformation ?How are they doing this today ?

How is your audience using thesoftware right now ?

Create a use case on department level,dont try to make one use case for allyour requirements

Audience

Who is your audience?

What are the skills of your audience ?

How is your audience using the software

right now ?Remember,

a business analyst in sales

might be different to

a business analyst in finance


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Your BI Strategy should start with the business requirements, not with the DWH.

Key Points to Take Home

Start by defining your requirements and your desired outcome.

Focus on the business pain points by area. One use case after the other not all in once

Understand your audience. Let them describe their workflow. Listen !

Remember Your BI Strategy starts with the business requirements.. Not with the DWH


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Thank You!

Contact information:

Ingo Hilgefort ([email protected])Twitter: ihilgefortBlog: www.mastering-sap-and-businessobjects.com


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Appendix


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Middle Management

GoalsReview and analyze regional/departmental goalsand KPIs and share findings with uppermanagement.

Analyze information to measure the progresstoward set goals and KPIs.

Fulfill executive level requests for information as

simply as possible.

TasksJointly set goals and targets on a department /line of business level and continuously monitorand review those goals and targets.

Regularly analyze operational reports andprepare analytical summaries for uppermanagement.

Leverage prebuilt reports to further analyze thedetailed information.

If needed, leverage the tools to further analyzethe information and to measure the currentagainst the agreed-upon goals.


Goals and Tasks Middle Management


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Executive

Goals Analyze overall companywide operational metricsand ensure that agreed-upon targets are met.

Oversee cross department / line of businessperformance and evaluate different scenarios forplanning and forecasting purposes.

Leverage the information for analyzing,

monitoring, and planning purposes tocontinuously improve company performance.

Combine the analytics with company strategiesand goals and integrate these strategies andgoals into each employees workflow and goals

TasksReview companywide metrics (including past,actual, and forecasted values), make informeddecisions, and take necessary actions.

Set goals and targets for middle managementand link them back to companywide goals andmetrics. Continuously monitor and review thosegoals and targets.

Regularly review operational KPIs and look foropportunities to improve operations and profit.


Goals and Tasks Executive


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GoalsReview regular sales reports and monitorindividual accounts and sales status.

Review regular account statements to controlcustomer invoices and vendor accounts.

Review actual operational measures againstgoals.

Fulfill management requests for information assimply as possible.

TasksFind a prepared report, view the information, andprint or export the information.

Receive and review alerts from prepared reportsand analytics.

Schedule prebuilt reports and review the resultinginformation.

Use predefined navigation steps and alerts toreceive needed information.

If required, provide information to the ITdepartment for additional reports and analyticsbased on the needed information


Goals and Tasks Information Consumer


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Business Analyst

Goals Analyze KPIs to find areas for improvement.

Create deeper analysis to find details aboutanomalies.

Leverage actual data and historical data to createdetailed planning scenarios to enable morerealistic forecasting and planning of future

company key goals.Leverage the data and tools to provide answersad-hoc to the management and leadership teamso that decisions are based on solid information.

TasksReview prepared reports for KPIs and analyze theprepared data for anomalies.

Edit existing reports and, if required, create newreports and analytics on the fly to answer relatedbusiness questions.

Share analysis and results with a larger audience

and the management/leadership team. Act as the go-to person for themanagement/leadership team by providingrequired analysis for informed decisions.


Goals and Tasks Business Analyst

Documents

Selecting the Right BI Tool