A Complete Blueprint for Maximizing the Value of Business Intelligence in the Enterprise The typical enterprise recognizes the immense potential of business intelligence (BI) and its impact upon many facets within the organization–but it’s not easy to transform BI’s potential into real business value. In top BI expert Mike Biere presents a complete blueprint for creating winning BI strategies and infrastructure, and systematically maximizing the value of information throughout the enterprise. The New Era of Enterprise Business Intelligence, This product-independent guide brings together start-to-finish guidance and practical checklists for every senior IT executive, planner, strategist, implementer, and the actual business users themselves. Drawing on thousands of hours working with enterprise customers, Biere helps decision-makers choose from today’s unprecedented spectrum of options, including the latest BI platform suites and appliances. He offers practical, “in-the-trenches” insights on a wide spectrum of planning and implementation issues, from segmenting and supporting users to working with unstructured data. Coverage includes • Understanding the scope of today’s BI solutions and how they fit into existing infrastructure • Assessing new options such as SaaS and cloud-based technologies • Avoiding technology biases and other “project killers” • Developing effective RFIs/RFPs and proofs of concept • Setting up competency centers and planning for skills development • Crafting a better experience for all your business users • Supporting the requirements of senior executives, including performance management • Cost-justifying BI solutions and measuring success • Working with enterprise content management, text analytics, and search • Planning and constructing portals, mashups, and other user interfaces • Previewing the future of BI

Joe Celko's Analytics and OLAP in SQL is the first book that teaches what SQL programmers need in order to successfully make the transition from On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) systems into the world of On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP). This book is not an in-depth look at particular subjects, but an overview of many subjects that will give the working RDBMS programmers a map of the terra incognita they will face — if they want to grow. It contains expert advice from a noted SQL authority and award-winning columnist, who has given ten years of service to the ANSI SQL standards committee and many more years of dependable help to readers of online forums. It offers real-world insights and lots of practical examples. It covers the OLAP extensions in SQL-99; ETL tools, OLAP features supported in DBMSs, other query tools, simple reports, and statistical software. This book is ideal for experienced SQL programmers who have worked with OLTP systems who need to learn techniques—and even some tricks—that they can use in an OLAP situation. Expert advice from a noted SQL authority and award-winning columnist, who has given ten years of service to the ANSI SQL standards committee and many more years of dependable help to readers of online forums First book that teaches what SQL programmers need in order to successfully make the transition from transactional systems (OLTP) into the world of data warehouse data and OLAP Offers real-world insights and lots of practical examples Covers the OLAP extensions in SQL-99; ETL tools, OLAP features supported in DBMSs, other query tools, simple reports, and statistical software

Deliver SAP BI 7.0 Web Reports Distribute integrated, accurate, and timely data across your enterprise using the Web-based reporting components in SAP BI. Written by an SAP insider, Applied SAP BI 7.0 Web Reports: Using BEx Web Analyzer and Web Application Designer shows you how to construct effective queries, create HTML-based reports, and combine key analytics into a dashboard-style interface. Learn how to import data from multiple providers, configure custom templates, track Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and incorporate JavaScript and XHTML. Security, troubleshooting, and third-party tools are also discussed in this comprehensive guide. Essential BI skills for business professionals: Define queries and export them as links with BEx Web Analyzer Create BI-specific HTML pages using Web Application Designer and Report Designer Construct reusable templates, shortcuts, and Web items Design high-impact BI dashboards, cockpits, and billboards Integrate toolbars,drilldown capabilities, and drag-and-drop features Publish reporting objects with the Broadcaster and Broadcast Wizard Migrate existing systems and reports to the SAP BI 7.0 platform Add BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, and JavaScript components Peter Jones, MBA, is a principal/platinum business applications consultant with SAP Professional Services Consulting. He has more than 11 years of consulting and educational experience in a variety of strategic and leadership roles. Jones is the author of SAP Business Information Warehouse Reporting.

"While business analytics sounds like a complex subject, this book provides a clear and non-intimidating overview of the topic. Following its advice will ensure that your organization knows the analytics it needs to succeed, and uses them in the service of key strategies and business processes. You too can go beyond reporting!"—Thomas H. Davenport, President's Distinguished Professor of IT and Management, Babson College; coauthor, Analytics at Work: Smarter Decisions, Better Results Deliver the right decision support to the right people at the right time Filled with examples and forward-thinking guidance from renowned BA leaders Gert Laursen and Jesper Thorlund, Business Analytics for Managers offers powerful techniques for making increasingly advanced use of information in order to survive any market conditions. Take a look inside and find: Proven guidance on developing an information strategy Tips for supporting your company's ability to innovate in the future by using analytics Practical insights for planning and implementing BA How to use information as a strategic asset Why BA is the next stepping-stone for companies in the information age today Discussion on BA's ever-increasing role Improve your business's decision making. Align your business processes with your business's objectives. Drive your company into a prosperous future. Taking BA from buzzword to enormous value-maker, Business Analytics for Managers helps you do it all with workable solutions that will add tremendous value to your business.

Sams Teach Yourself Google Analytics™ in 10 Minutes gives you straightforward, practical answers when you need fast results. By working through its 10-minute lessons, you’ll learn everything you need to use Google Analytics to accurately measure your website’s performance–and improve it! 10 minutes is all you need to learn how to… Quickly create a Google Analytics account and add Google Analytics to your site Define goals and measure how well your site is achieving them Track visitors from search engines, pay-per-click advertising, email, and other sources Discover the pages your visitors view, how long they stay, and where they exit Monitor specific user actions, such as playing embedded video, selecting Flash menu items, or downloading files Identify your best and worst content, and fix poorly performing pages Improve your site by tracking error pages and broken links Measure AdWords traffic, position, and e-commerce performance Manage Google Analytics through the Dashboard Customize Google Analytics to work more effectively with your site Capture more accurate information by filtering out internal traffic Choose the right reports and data, understand them, and act on what you learn

The "IBM Cognos 8 Report Studio Cookbook" by Abhishek Sanghani provides over 80 hands-on recipes to enhance your proficiency in creating business reports using Cognos 8 Report Studio. From mastering basic techniques to leveraging advanced features, this book is your guide to developing reports that meet real-world business demands. What this Book will help me do Understand and utilize advanced techniques for sorting, filtering, and aggregating data in reports. Implement features like conditional formatting, cascaded prompts, and master-detail queries to enhance report functionality. Create dynamic, user-friendly business reports tailored to specific requirements. Make use of XML specifications to customize reports beyond the capabilities of the default tools. Adopt best practices in report development such as version control and regression testing. Author(s) Abhishek Sanghani is an experienced Business Intelligence professional specializing in IBM Cognos and data analytics. With practical knowledge from implementing solutions for various industries, he brings a wealth of insight into creating powerful business reports. Abhishek's approachable writing makes advanced Report Studio concepts accessible to readers. Who is it for? This book is ideally suited for Business Intelligence or MIS developers working with Cognos Report Studio, seeking advanced guidance for creating reports. Business analysts and power users wanting to extend beyond basic report authoring will also benefit greatly. The book assumes a functional understanding of Cognos Studio and familiarity with its ecosystem.

An unparalleled author trio shares valuable advice for using Google Analytics to achieve your business goals Google Analytics is a free tool used by millions of Web site owners across the globe to track how visitors interact with their Web sites, where they arrive from, and which visitors drive the most revenue and sales leads. This book offers clear explanations of practical applications drawn from the real world. The author trio of Google Analytics veterans starts with a broad explanation of performance marketing and gets progressively more specific, closing with step-by-step analysis and applications. Features in-depth examples and case studies on how to increase revenue from search advertising, optimize an existing website, prioritize channels and campaigns, access brand health and more Discusses how to communicate with a webmaster or developer to assist with installation Addresses Google's conversion-oriented tools, including AdWords and AdSense, Google trends, Webmaster tools, search-based keyword tools, and more Touches on brand tracking studies, usability research, competitive analysis, and statistical tools Throughout the book, the main emphasis is demonstrating how you can best use Google Analytics to achieve your business objectives.

Valuable tips and tricks for using the latest version of Google Analytics Packed with insider tips and tricks, this how-to guide is fully revised to cover the latest version of Google Analytics and shows you how to implement proven Web analytics methods and concepts. This second edition of the bestselling Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics is the perfect book for marketers, vendors, consultants, and Webmasters who want to learn the installation, configuration, tracking techniques, and best practices of Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a free tool that measures Web site effectiveness and helps users better understand how web site performance; this book is a detailed usage guide written by one of the software's original creators Explains what filters keep data accurate, how to measure Flash usage and tag for e-mail marketing, and what visitor segmentation provides the most useful feedback Examines principles and practices of Web analytics, then shows how to use GA's reports and how to track dynamic Web pages, banners, outgoing links, and contact forms Discusses advanced setups for configuring goals and filters, how to integrate GA with third-party systems, and how to leverage the new API Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics, Second Edition is valuable for both novice and experienced users of Google Analytics.

WHAT ARE THE ODDS YOU'LL WIN THE LOTTERY? How long will your kids wait in line at Disney World? Who decides that “standardized tests” are fair? Why do highway engineers build slow-moving ramps? What does it mean, statistically, to be an “Average Joe”? NUMBERS RULE YOUR WORLD In the popular tradition of eye-opening bestsellers like Freakonomics, The Tipping Point, and Super Crunchers, this fascinating book from renowned statistician and blogger Kaiser Fung takes you inside the hidden world of facts and figures that affect you every day, in every way. These are the statistics that rule your life, your job, your commute, your vacation, your food, your health, your money, and your success. This is how engineers calculate your quality of living, how corporations determine your needs, and how politicians estimate your opinions. These are the numbers you never think about-even though they play a crucial role in every single aspect of your life. What you learn may surprise you, amuse you, or even enrage you. But there's one thing you won't be able to deny: Numbers Rule Your World… "An easy read with a big benefit." —Fareed Zakaria, CNN "For those who have anxiety about how organization data-mining is impacting their world, Kaiser Fung pulls back the curtain to reveal the good and the bad of predictive analytics." —Ian Ayres,Yale professor and author of Super Crunchers: Why Thinking By Numbers is the New Way to Be Smart "A book that engages us with stories that a journalist would write, the compelling stories behind the stories as illuminated by the numbers, and the dynamics that the numbers reveal." —John Sall, Executive Vice President, SAS Institute "Little did I suspect, when I picked up Kaiser Fung's book, that I would become so entranced by it - an illuminating and accessible exploration of the power of statistical analysis for those of us who have no prior training in a field that he explores so ably." —Peter Clarke, author of Keynes: The Rise, Fall, and Return of the 20th Century's Most Influential Economist "A tremendous book. . . . If you want to understand how to use statistics, how to think with numbers and yet to do this without getting lost in equations, if you've been looking for the book to unlock the door to logical thinking about problems, well, you will be pleased to know that you are holding that book in your hands." —Daniel Finkelstein, Executive Editor, The Times of London "I thoroughly enjoyed this accessible book and enthusiastically recommend it to anyone looking to understand and appreciate the role of statistics and data analysis in solving problems and in creating a better world." —Michael Sherman, Texas A&M University, American Statistician

Most companies have massive amounts of data at their disposal, yet fail to utilize it in any meaningful way. But a powerful new business tool - analytics - is enabling many firms to aggressively leverage their data in key business decisions and processes, with impressive results. In their previous book, Competing on Analytics, Thomas Davenport and Jeanne Harris showed how pioneering firms were building their entire strategies around their analytical capabilities. Rather than "going with the gut" when pricing products, maintaining inventory, or hiring talent, managers in these firms use data, analysis, and systematic reasoning to make decisions that improve efficiency, risk-management, and profits. Now, in Analytics at Work, Davenport, Harris, and coauthor Robert Morison reveal how any manager can effectively deploy analytics in day-to-day operations—one business decision at a time. They show how many types of analytical tools, from statistical analysis to qualitative measures like systematic behavior coding, can improve decisions about everything from what new product offering might interest customers to whether marketing dollars are being most effectively deployed. Based on all-new research and illustrated with examples from companies including Humana, Best Buy, Progressive Insurance, and Hotels.com, this implementation-focused guide outlines the five-step DELTA model for deploying and succeeding with analytical initiatives. You'll learn how to: · Use data more effectively and glean valuable analytical insights · Manage and coordinate data, people, and technology at an enterprise level · Understand and support what analytical leaders do · Evaluate and choose realistic targets for analytical activity · Recruit, hire, and manage analysts Combining the science of quantitative analysis with the art of sound reasoning, Analytics at Work provides a road map and tools for unleashing the potential buried in your company's data.

An unparalleled collection of recommended guidelines for data warehousing and business intelligence pioneered by Ralph Kimball and his team of colleagues from the Kimball Group. Recognized and respected throughout the world as the most influential leaders in the data warehousing industry, Ralph Kimball and the Kimball Group have written articles covering more than 250 topics that define the field of data warehousing. For the first time, the Kimball Group's incomparable advice, design tips, and best practices have been gathered in this remarkable collection of articles, which spans a decade of data warehousing innovation. Each group of articles is introduced with original commentaries that explain their role in the overall lifecycle methodology developed by the Kimball Group. These practical, hands-on articles are fully updated to reflect current practices and terminology and cover the complete lifecycle—including project planning, requirements gathering, dimensional modeling, ETL, and business intelligence and analytics. This easily referenced collection is nothing less than vital if you are involved with data warehousing or business intelligence in any capacity.

Why learn R? Because it's rapidly becoming the standard for developing statistical software. R in a Nutshell provides a quick and practical way to learn this increasingly popular open source language and environment. You'll not only learn how to program in R, but also how to find the right user-contributed R packages for statistical modeling, visualization, and bioinformatics. The author introduces you to the R environment, including the R graphical user interface and console, and takes you through the fundamentals of the object-oriented R language. Then, through a variety of practical examples from medicine, business, and sports, you'll learn how you can use this remarkable tool to solve your own data analysis problems. Understand the basics of the language, including the nature of R objects Learn how to write R functions and build your own packages Work with data through visualization, statistical analysis, and other methods Explore the wealth of packages contributed by the R community Become familiar with the lattice graphics package for high-level data visualization Learn about bioinformatics packages provided by Bioconductor "I am excited about this book. R in a Nutshell is a great introduction to R, as well as a comprehensive reference for using R in data analytics and visualization. Adler provides 'real world' examples, practical advice, and scripts, making it accessible to anyone working with data, not just professional statisticians."

With 2 billion sites on the Web, who's looking at yours? Google Analytics can tell you. With great new features including advanced customization and segmentation capabilities, Analytics supplies information about your site visitors that helps you ramp up the value of your site. And like its two previous editions, this guide shows you what's new in Google Analytics, how to get the most from the program, and what to do with what you learn. Understand the concepts, set up your Google Analytics program, use the right goals and filters, and read the reports Learn to interpret and apply Analytics results, even if you're not a Web pro See how other companies use Analytics data Explore new features such as AdSense integration, cost data settings, motion charts, custom reports, and event tracking Apply the information you'll get from reports on traffic, visitors, content, site searches, and more Drill down deeper with advanced techniques, tips, and hacks

Adeptly address today’s business challenges with this powerful new book from web analytics thought leader Avinash Kaushik. Web Analytics 2.0 presents a new framework that will permanently change how you think about analytics. It provides specific recommendations for creating an actionable strategy, applying analytical techniques correctly, solving challenges such as measuring social media and multichannel campaigns, achieving optimal success by leveraging experimentation, and employing tactics for truly listening to your customers. The book will help your organization become more data driven while you become a super analysis ninja!

This book is a practical guide to implementing high-performance multidimensional OLAP solutions using Oracle Essbase 9. It takes you step by step through software installation to the creation of fully-functional Essbase database cubes, helping you develop a solid understanding of multidimensional database concepts and the tools to create analytical OLAP applications effectively. What this Book will help me do Understand the fundamentals of multidimensional database technology and how it applies to analytical OLAP solutions. Construct efficient database outlines including dimensions and members. Import data from various sources into Essbase cubes and process it for analysis. Develop effective calculation scripts to automate complex data processing tasks. Leverage tools like Excel Add-In to produce dynamic, interactive reports for comprehensive data insights. Author(s) The authors of this guide are seasoned professionals with extensive practical experience in Oracle Essbase and OLAP technology. They bring years of expertise in database design, analytics, and performance optimization, ensuring this book provides both foundational knowledge and advanced techniques. Their teaching approach focuses on clarity and step-by-step guidance to make complex topics accessible to practitioners at all levels. Who is it for? This book is ideal for IT professionals with a general understanding of information systems who want to learn OLAP and Oracle Essbase. Beginners will find the step-by-step approach accessible, while experienced OLAP users will benefit from advanced tips and practical examples. If you're looking to enhance your analytics skills or explore Essbase for career growth, this resource is for you.

Do you really understand your online presence? Are you confident that visitors can use your website? Do you know their motivations? How do online communities perceive your company? To innovate and adapt your business quickly, you must know the answers to these questions. Complete Web Monitoring demonstrates how to measure every aspect of your web presence -- including analytics, backend performance, usability, communities, customer feedback, and competitive analysis -- whether you're running an e-commerce site, a community, a media property, or a Software-as-a-Service company. This book's concrete examples, clear explanations, and practical recommendations make it essential for anyone who runs a website. With this book you will: Discover how visitors use and interact with your site through web analytics, segmentation, conversions, and user interaction analysis Find out your market's motivations with voice-of-the-customer research Measure the health and availability of your website with synthetic testing and real-user monitoring Track communities related to your online presence, including social networks, forums, blogs, microblogs, wikis, and social news aggregators Understand how to assemble this data into clear reports tailored to your organization and audience You can't fix what you don't measure. Complete Web Monitoring shows you how to transform missed opportunities, frustrated users, and spiraling costs into online success. "This is a very comprehensive view of just about everything one needs to know about how websites work and what one needs to know about them. I'd like to make this book required reading for every employee at Gomez."-- Imad Mouline, CTO of Gomez

Pro SQL Server 2008 Analytics provides everything you need to know to develop sophisticated and visually appealing sales and marketing dashboards using SQL Server 2008 and to integrate those dashboards with SharePoint, PerformancePoint, and other key Microsoft technologies.

Yahoo! Web Analytics teaches readers how to collect data, report on that data, and derive useful insights using Yahoo!’s free Web analytics tool. This detailed resource from Yahoo!’s Director of Data Insights discusses the why of Web analytics as well as the how while revealing secrets and tricks not documented elsewhere. The thorough book also offers step-by-step instructions and advanced techniques on everything from using data collection groupings to creating compelling data visualizations. It’s a must-read for all analytics professionals and those who want to be.

A hands-on guide to making valuable decisions from data using advanced data mining methods and techniques This second installment in the Making Sense of Data series continues to explore a diverse range of commonly used approaches to making and communicating decisions from data. Delving into more technical topics, this book equips readers with advanced data mining methods that are needed to successfully translate raw data into smart decisions across various fields of research including business, engineering, finance, and the social sciences. Following a comprehensive introduction that details how to define a problem, perform an analysis, and deploy the results, Making Sense of Data II addresses the following key techniques for advanced data analysis: Data Visualization reviews principles and methods for understanding and communicating data through the use of visualization including single variables, the relationship between two or more variables, groupings in data, and dynamic approaches to interacting with data through graphical user interfaces. Clustering outlines common approaches to clustering data sets and provides detailed explanations of methods for determining the distance between observations and procedures for clustering observations. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering, partitioned-based clustering, and fuzzy clustering are also discussed. Predictive Analytics presents a discussion on how to build and assess models, along with a series of predictive analytics that can be used in a variety of situations including principal component analysis, multiple linear regression, discriminate analysis, logistic regression, and Naïve Bayes. Applications demonstrates the current uses of data mining across a wide range of industries and features case studies that illustrate the related applications in real-world scenarios. Each method is discussed within the context of a data mining process including defining the problem and deploying the results, and readers are provided with guidance on when and how each method should be used. The related Web site for the series ( www.makingsenseofdata.com) provides a hands-on data analysis and data mining experience. Readers wishing to gain more practical experience will benefit from the tutorial section of the book in conjunction with the TraceisTM software, which is freely available online. With its comprehensive collection of advanced data mining methods coupled with tutorials for applications in a range of fields, Making Sense of Data II is an indispensable book for courses on data analysis and data mining at the upper-undergraduate and graduate levels. It also serves as a valuable reference for researchers and professionals who are interested in learning how to accomplish effective decision making from data and understanding if data analysis and data mining methods could help their organization.

BusinessObjects XI Release 2 For Dummies In no time, you'll be finding your way around Universes to see how everything is shaping up, viewing and creating reports, building powerful queries on your organizations database, and measuring your company's performance using BusinessObjects XI Release 2. This completely jargon-free handbook will put you in complete control of the ways and means of a truly exciting and powerful suite of business intelligence tools. Discover how to: Make business decisions with help from BusinessObjects Use BusinessObjects XI wizards Perform a server installation Create and define a Universe Set up desktop reporting Customize and use InfoView Measure performance with Dashboard and Analytics Take advantage of data marts and understand how they fit into your BusinessObjects system Created by a team with more than 15 years combined experience working with BusinessObjects tools, BusinessObjects XI Release 2 For Dummies comes complete with several short lists of useful information, including tips on how to prepare for a successful BusinessObjects integration and helpful resources beyond the pages of this book. You'll also find an overview of Crystal Reports, BusinessObjects’ companion reporting tool.