An Introduction to Business Intelligence WHY YOU SHOULD BE BI CURIOUS An Introduction to Business Intelligence JAMES McGILLIVRAY

The Journey to Understanding BI WELCOME The Journey to Understanding BI Agenda About the Presenter James McGillivray, Professional and Personal info. What is BI Definition The Data Life Cycle Data vs Information BI Basics Clean Data Historical Reporting and Trends Benchmarking and KPIs Advanced BI Statistical Analysis Forecasting Machine Learning Demo Reporting Services Analysis Services PowerBI Questions

James McGillivray / BI Architect WHO AM I James McGillivray Not 24601 Professional 10 Years BI Experience Microsoft Certified SQL User Group Johannesburg, South Africa Personal Sport: Cricket, Soccer, Squash, Running Slowly. Culture: Symphony Choir of Johannesburg, Musical Theatre Other: Board Games, Poker James McGillivray / BI Architect @JamesMcG_MSBI TheJimmyRSA

The Textbook Definition… WHAT IS BI? The Textbook Definition… the set of TECHNIQUES and TOOLS for the TRANSFORMATION of RAW DATA into MEANIGFUL and USEFUL INFORMATION for BUSINESS ANALYSIS purposes

The Data Life Cycle process capture store transaction WHAT IS BI? The Data Life Cycle Put your great subtitle here! process capture store transaction “You can have data without information, but you cannot have information without data.” Daniel Keys Moran. Computer Programmer and Science Fiction Writer.

What do we do with data once we have it? WHAT IS BI? What do we do with data once we have it? Data without context is just wasted space

The BI Maturity Model As the Business Intelligence solution moves up WHAT IS BI? The BI Maturity Model Make data great again Optimize Predict As the Business Intelligence solution moves up the curve, the questions answered become more complex, and the value of information increases exponentially. Forecast COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Statistical Analysis Alerts Self-Service Models Reports Ad hoc Queries (IT) Cleansed Data Raw Data COMPLEXITY OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE OFFERING

Effective Information Delivery BI BASICS Effective Information Delivery REPORTING is a FUNDEMENTAL BUILDING BLOCK for BUSINESS ANALYSIS. A SIMPLE REPORT is often the MOST EFFICIENT WAY to DELIVER MEANINGFUL DATA.

The BI Maturity Model COMPLEXITY OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE OFFERING BI BASICS The BI Maturity Model Make data great again COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Reports Ad hoc Queries (IT) Cleansed Data Raw Data COMPLEXITY OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE OFFERING

Data Scienctists Work Type Split BI BASICS The Importance of Clean Data a.k.a. Garbage In - Garbage Out What do we mean by “clean” data? Complete Data Scienctists Work Type Split CrowdFlower Survey Almost 80% of time spent COLLECTING and CLEANSING data Accurate Consistent Unique

Ad Hoc Queries from Business BI BASICS Ad Hoc Queries from Business Hello IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again. Impractical Users need to contact IT and request information. Slow Request is only serviced on demand. Simple Insights from ad-hoc queries are simplistic and provide little value. Reactive Users only request data when they identify a problem. Often too late. “He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp posts – for support rather than for illumination.” Andrew Lang, Scottish Writer

Data matures like wine, applications mature like fish. BI BASICS Standardized Reports Data matures like wine, applications mature like fish. Repeatable Automated Complex Proactive “War is ninety percent information.” Napoleon Bonaparte, French Military and Political Leader

Data-Driven Decisions ADVANCED BI Data-Driven Decisions If you do not know how to ASK the RIGHT QUESTION, you DISCOVER NOTHING!

The BI Maturity Model As the Business Intelligence solution moves up WHAT IS BI? The BI Maturity Model Make data great again Optimize Predict As the Business Intelligence solution moves up the curve, the questions answered become more complex, and the value of information increases exponentially. Forecast COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE Statistical Analysis Alerts Self-Service Models Reports Ad hoc Queries (IT) Cleansed Data Raw Data COMPLEXITY OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE OFFERING

Prospering in the Information Age ADVANCED BI Prospering in the Information Age Making your data work for you Self Service Let your users ask their own questions. Add flexibility. Approach information from different angles. Statistical Analysis Build complex models to identify trends and seasonal fluctuations. Users gain deeper insights. Forecast Extrapolate historical patterns to predict future behaviour. Optimize staffing/inventory etc. with accurate activity forecasts. Optimize Gain maximum value from your historical data, by using computational power to optimize your decisions “He who would search for pearls must dive below.” John Dryden

Prospering in the Information Age ADVANCED BI Prospering in the Information Age Making your data work for you Self-Service Analyse Predict Optimize “Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.” Aaron Levenstein, Business Professor at Baruch College

“…INVOLVE ME and I LEARN” DEMO BI in Action “…INVOLVE ME and I LEARN”

How many people have Irish heritage? DEMO Seasonality How many people have Irish heritage?

Why Guys Don’t Play DOTA with their Girlfriends. DEMO Why Guys Don’t Play DOTA with their Girlfriends. A Venn Diagram Guys with girlfriends Guys who play DOTA

DEMO The Machines Know Sort of….

With Absolute Certainty DEMO The Machines Know With Absolute Certainty

Seriously….Everywhere! DEMO BI is Everywhere Seriously….Everywhere!

INTELLIGENCE is ASKING the RIGHT QUESTION QUESTIONS Are you still not bored of me? INTELLIGENCE is ASKING the RIGHT QUESTION

HAVE A NICE DAY EVERYONE! THANK YOU HAVE A NICE DAY EVERYONE!