BASICS: The Information Supply Chain   >   Problems

Enlarge Info Supply Chain Problems ISC Components: Overview Raw Inputs The Factory The Distribution Channel Problems

Theory and practice don’t always line up. In the world of DW / BI, this is often the case. Many companies have invested significantly in building up their DW / BI infrastructure, but struggle to pinpoint the ROI achieved from their investments. Despite having vast quantities of data at their disposal, they nevertheless struggle to crack the code on how to convert their data morass into actionable information for bottom-line impact.

 

There are many tell-tale signs of this problem, not the least of which is a general messaging and marketing strategy among industry players that emphasizes lofty ideas over demonstrable results. Other signs include pervasive user dissatisfaction and hodge-podges of DW / BI systems that clutter the enterprise system landscape, sometimes being minimally used. But perhaps the most helpful sign to examine, so as to better understand where the problem resides and how to fix it, is that which is identified in the above diagram: that is, the simple fact of what often happens at the point of contact between the DW and BI components - more data integration - or in keeping with the supply chain metaphor, a re-manufacturing of the content produced by the factory.

 

This suggests that there is a deficiency in the content coming out of the factory. Multiplying nodes in the information supply chain, or increasing the complexity of inter-node connections, translates to additional data storage, additional processing time, additional handoffs, and therefore additional points for failure, inconsistency of metric definitions, and increased administrative / support effort. More importantly, it indicates that what the factory is producing, the end-consumer simply has trouble putting to productive use. That is to say, the content factory, in the form in which it is often implemented, is broken, or at least it produces content that is deficient. And like a brick-and-mortar factory that produces defective or poorly designed goods, the content factory must be repaired, re-tooled, re-engineered, or replaced so as to address its deficiencies.

 

Enter VDDW. VDDW is an approach for building a content factory that begins with the end in mind, that is, with the end goal of elucidating Corporate Performance as the system’s driving design criteria. VDDW achieves this goal in as efficient a manner as possible, thereby streamlining the information supply chain, even as it delivers far greater ROI and in less time than traditional DW / BI approaches.

 

 

Learn More: VDDW Architecture & Design How VDDW Streamlines the ISC VDDW and Corporate Performance Management How VDDW Delivers Results VDDW Distinctives