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Alexicon provides 12 years of certified experience building advanced data
models for business intelligence systems. Our data models provide thorough
analysis capability with quick response times. We have found that most large
data warehouses do not have the metric analysis capability that is required in
today's competitive world.
Most of our engagements involve large pre-existing data warehouses that require
enhancements and improvement. This is where we can help with re-structuring past
builds to open up analysis capability. One of our key services is structuring
data for monthly metrics. Since companies want to improve performance and
processes, this is the way to set up measurements and goals for performance
management.
Data Modeling
Data modeling is a method used to define and analyze data requirements needed to
support business processes for an organization. Data requirements are recorded
and used to develop a conceptual data model with associated data definitions.
The actual implementation of the conceptual model moves through a logical step
and is then finalized in a physical model. To implement one conceptual data
model may require multiple logical and physical models. Data modeling defines
not just data elements, but their structures and relationships they share.
While data modeling has advanced significantly in recent years, data modeling
techniques and methodologies need to be consistent. The use of data modeling
standards and tools is strongly recommended for all projects requiring a
standard means of defining and analyzing data within an organization.
- Manage data as a resource
- Integrate information systems
- Designing databases and Data Warehouses (e.g., data repositories)
Data models need to provide information for your business users through Business
Intelligence (BI) tools and through other systems. Data models today are more
advanced; however, are still typically loaded nightly loads with some real-time
updates. These real-time updates can be for maintenance, tolerances or goal
setting.
As a business evolves so does the data model. Data modeling may be
performed during various types of projects and in multiple phases of projects.
Data models are progressive; there is no such thing as the final data model for
a business or application. Instead a data model should be considered a living
thing that will change in response to a changing business.
Data models
should ideally be stored in a repository so that they can be retrieved,
expanded, and edited over time.
Our preferred method for building and storing data models is through the use of tools from Computer Associates (CA):
CA
ERwin
is a data modeling product that enables you to visualize complex data structures, inventory
information assets and establish enterprise-wide standards for managing data. It
streamlines the design process and synchronizes the model with the database
design. You can use its powerful data modeling capabilities to design
transactional systems, data marts and data warehouses. What management
challenges does it meet? It can lower your cost of development, ensure that your
investment in IT meets business requirements and provide a better understanding
of your corporate business and information architectures.
CA
Saphir
option transforms package specific meta data into CA ERwin® Data Modeler data models to assist
with ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) package integration. It provides out of
the box support for SAP, SAP BW, PeopleSoft Enterprise, PeopleSoft Enterprise
One (formerly J.D. Edwards OneWorld) and Siebel environments.
Extract Transform and Load (ETL)
SAP Data Integratior (ETL)
SAP BusinessObjects Data Integrator software allows organizations to easily
explore, extract, transform, and deliver data anywhere at any frequency. As a
result, you can ensure the integrity of your data, maximize developer
productivity, and accelerate data integration performance for all of your
operational and analytics initiatives.
Microsoft Integration Services (ETL)
Microsoft Integration Services is a platform for building enterprise-level data
integration and data transformations solutions. You use Integration Services to
solve complex business problems by copying or downloading files, sending e-mail
messages in response to events, updating data warehouses, cleaning and mining
data, and managing SQL Server objects and data. The packages can work alone or
in concert with other packages to address complex business needs. Integration
Services can extract and transform data from a wide variety of sources such as
XML data files, flat files, and relational data sources, and then load the data
into one or more destinations. Integration Services includes a rich set of
built-in tasks and transformations; tools for constructing packages; and the
Integration Services service for running and managing packages. You can use the
graphical Integration Services tools to create solutions without writing a
single line of code; or you can program the extensive Integration Services
object model to create packages programmatically and code custom tasks and other
package objects.
Informatica (ETL)
Alexicon provides consulting and development services for Informatica.
Oracle Warehouse Builder (ETL)
Alexicon provides consulting and development services for Oracle Warehouse
Builder.
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