The On-Line Executive Journal for Data-Intensive Decision Support
*** October 28, 1997: Vol. 1, No. 4 ***
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IN THIS ISSUE:
BENJAMIN TAUB DISCUSSES LEVERAGED DATA WAREHOUSE SOFTWARE SELECTION
DATA MINING: A TOOL, NOT THE SOLUTION BY STUART HAIRE
FACT AND FALLACY IN DATA EXTRACTION: AN INTERVIEW WITH TORBEN MOLLER
ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY
LEVERAGED SOFTWARE SELECTION:
A BETTER WAY TO SELECT DATA WAREHOUSE TECHNOLOGIES
by Benjamin Taub, Dataspace, Inc.
Benjamin Taub is a widely recognized expert in the field of data warehousing and decision support. He is the founder of Dataspace Incorporated ( http://www.dspace.com ) a consultancy specializing in the unique complexities of data warehouses and reporting systems. Taub serves as the Data Warehouse Focus Area Manager for the International Oracle User Group. In the past he has held positions with both Andersen Consulting and MicroStrategy, Inc.
Taub observes: "How does the evaluation process usually work? Companies set up lists of tasks and run each candidate tool through those tasks. Because the evaluators usually have little experience with these tools and limits to the time they can spend with each, these evaluations are generally not very deep. Thus, important points are inadvertently overlooked, important points that become painfully obvious once the tool is purchased and used."
Stuart Haire is a consultant with Smith System Engineering, an independent information technology consultancy in Surrey, UK. In charge of Smith's data warehousing and data mining business, he manages a number of projects and bids that introduce data warehousing, data mining and decision support technology to existing and potential Smith customers. Smith's work in this area is concerned with testing and implementing data warehouse solutions, assessing and assisting in the use of data mining products, and advising on corporate strategies with regard to these products. In the European Commission's High Performance Computing (HPC) Technology Transfer Network (TTN), Stuart is chair of the Information Management and Decision Support (IM & DS) group.
Smith customers include central government and agencies, local authorities, utilities, health authorities, defence and emergency services, as well as industry, international and overseas organizations. Smith currently employs 140 people and has a turnover of 13million pounds.
Haire notes: "Data mining is vaunted as the solution to all market awareness problems, the means to a better corporate future, the uncoverer of endless profitable pieces of knowledge and worst of all, everyone's user-friendly application. This image is powered by vendors' marketing drives, which are to ensure their slightly dated relational or multi-dimensional databases and supporting products still have a market to compete within. It is further enhanced by journalists jumping on the 'data mining cures all' bandwagon. With this amount of hype, is it possible to uncover the realities?
DATA EXTRACTION: FACT AND FALLACY
AN INTERVIEW WITH TORBEN MOLLER, IA CORP
by Alan Beck, editor in chief
Dr. Torben Moller is a vice president and senior scientist at IA Corporation with more than twenty years experience. He is responsible for defining solutions in new business areas within data management and processing. IA Corp develops, markets, implements and supports software solutions for financial services organizations that require flexible automation of high-volume, complex transactions. The Company sells two leading application framework software products for advanced cash management services, CheckVision and RemitVision, which are built upon the Company's client/server complex transaction management software platform, WorkVision. IA offers scaleable, enterprise-wide application framework software products that enable its customers to manage and automate their business processes from end to end. IA deploys these software products through professional services that include comprehensive installation, training, ongoing maintenance, support and development services. The Company's customers include ABN AMRO, Crestar, GE Capital Mortgage Corporation, Harris Bank, QuestPoint/CoreStates, Sanwa Bank of California Ltd. and UMB Bank, NA.
Moller notes: "(D)ata extraction tools should enable quicker access to data that are effectively lost within databases. Now it is clear that in the best of all possible worlds -- which no one has -- is a global enterprise with a global data schema, and everything existing in grand DB2 databases so that everyone can do effective SQL queries. Although that's where we'd all like to be, we'll never get there."
ACTION ITEMS
Hummingbird, Andyne Combine for Enterprise Data Warehousing
Andyne Computing Ltd. and Hummingbird Communications Ltd. are joining forces to deliver enterprise data warehousing products. The proposed merger, worth approximately $60 million, will result in Andyne, of Kingston, Ontario, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Hummingbird.
Bank of Montreal Implements Data Mining
Using techniques in mathematics and artificial intelligence, the Bank will be data mining to uncover complex patterns or models in customer information that will then be used to solve business problems pertinent to direct marketing, credit-risk evaluation, fraud detection and other areas.
AMS Notes Increased Use of Applied Research Facility
Increasing numbers of firms are utilizing an innovative way to find real-world information to sell new technologies to CEOs and CFOs who want assurance they're spending money to help the business, not financing a learning experience that may or may not be effective. By putting the technology through its paces in a lab situation, execs can judge if the technology works well or can even demonstrate minor benefits.
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