DISTINCTIVES: What Makes FE Different?

  • FE is different from most of the DW / BI industry both in terms of the services we offer and the way in which we engage customers. We champion a different approach to DW / BI that begins with the right goal in mind – Corporate Performance Management or CPM – that is to say, the elucidation of financial performance from every operational angle, and recommend an explicit design and integration approach to achieve this end as efficiently as possible, thereby streamlining the information supply chain.
  • Further, we are not in the business of long, drawn-out engagements that leave a client dependent on our services. We are teachers and catalytic consultants – here to help a client achieve break-through – enabling you to perform rather than bleeding you dry.
  • Summarized, we and what we offer are different in the following ways:
  • Faster time-to-value and greater ROI than other approaches

    See VDDW basics to learn more


  • Holistic impact and methods

    We prefer to front-load a project with significant cross-functional training, team building, and battle-planning (see VDDW Services and Education for more information) to fast-track the client to self-sufficiency. We also prefer to remain involved as needed until the value is captured. In short we care not just about delivering a system, but lifting your bottom-line and improving organizational health in more than just a financial sense.


  • Catalytic Approach

    While we can take end-to-end responsibility for a project, we prefer to operate in a side-by-side mentoring capacity to enable the client to achieve results themselves. This is most in line with our values, is the best stewardship of everyone's time and resources, achieves longer-lasting and deeper impact for the client, and mitigates risk all around.

    We consider it a compliment to be told by a client “We don’t need you anymore.” That’s our goal.


  • Straight Talk

    We speak to what we know, not what we don’t. We qualify the difference between what’s been proven, what’s likely, and what’s unknown. We won’t mince words or conceal information that a client needs to know to make an informed decision.


  • Visionary yet Pragmatic

    We think big thoughts and strive to achieve audacious goals with our clients, and yet we don’t lose sight of the fact that that only comes by way of hard-fought battle in the trenches, with real-time, measurable success each step of the way. We believe we are unmatched in our ability to take the end objective, and thread the requisite work through all the technical, design, and political twists and turns required to meet it. We are strategically-minded tacticians.