2006 Gordon James

Copyright © 2006, SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

SAS Users New Zealand

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What exactly do these numbers mean?Where do they come from?

October 2006Gordon JamesSolutions Specialist


Any Business Depends on Trustworthy Information for its Success

These numbers must be wrong…we shipped 1000

units where?!

Why doesn’t the corporate revenue report balance with the subsidiaries?

Boardroom

How can we make informed decisions with conflicting information?

Supply Chain

IT

Finance

Sales

MarketingWhere does the

Customer Lifetime Value number come

from?

What exactly does “Target Revenue”

mean?

I only run the reports, I don’t decide what’s

in them!


Data on its own is of little useWhat do the following mean?

128The quantity in the warehouse of product number P12

Folio num 0134548‘Folio’ is a synonym for customer order number

At lunch they were 3 for 1‘They’ are the Black Caps scoring 3 runs for 1 wicket

$13.35Price of a taxi ride I took in Auckland

Bu4NPh4BThe chemical formula for nitrobenzine


“Relationships is the stuff of which Information is made” – W.Kent Data and Reality. North-Holland, 1978

For information to be useful it must include: The Symbols

The Name and Description of data

The Context of the data

…and it must be accurate and timely!


Where Do Business Terms Originate?

3. Common Object Data Definitions (CODDS)

2. Local Object Data Definitions (LODDS)

1. User Defined Objects

Source: Jonathan Wu, Business Intelligence: Whats in a name?, DM Review, Mar 2001


Where are business definitions usually recorded?

What• Data models• Process models• Application models• Data Dictionaries• Glossaries of Terms• Technical Metadata• Business Metadata

Where• System Documentation

− Paper− Computer

• Metadata Repositories• Case Tools• System Tables• Database Schemas• People’s brains

a.k.a. Metadata


What is Metadata?

“Data about Data” “Information, documented in IT tools, that

improves both business and technical understanding of data and data-related processes” - Robert S. Seiner

Typically broken down into 2 levels:

• Technical

• Business


Technical Metadata

Supports the development, maintenance and management of an Information Technology Environment.

Answers technical questions like:• What types of hardware and software are installed?• How and where is physical storage defined?• How are the data sources defined?• How do I integrate this change request?

Examples include • Physical storage structures, Server Systems, Installed

Applications, Data Manipulation processes etc.


Business Metadata

Makes the data and services in the environment easier to understand and use

Less concrete than Technical, but allows the business analyst to make sound decisions based on the data

Answers business questions like:• What do the values mean? • Can I trust these numbers…where did they come from?• What reports are available reports?• What data can our employees view?

Examples include • Data Classification, business meaning and usage,

presentation definitions, etc.


What do people want to see?

Analysts Business Analysts

Researchers Statisticians

BICCVery High Interest

Development & MaintenanceImpact Analysis

Change Management

High InterestSupport Business Users:

Metadata/Data OriginData Quality

High InterestDefinition of data

Origin of dataAuditability/Compliancy

Reliability

Little or No InterestTe

chni

cal

Analytics & BI

Business Users Business Managers

Decision Makers Info Consumers

Technical Users IT Users

ETL Developers DBAs

( Use

r Foc

us )

( Information Delivery System )

Bus

ines

s

Source Data

Reverse Impact/ Lineage / Pedigree

Impact Analysis / Forward Lineage


Functional group focus

Information = political power

Departmental standards

Departmental tools

Silos of information

Many NZ organizations are at Level 2 on the Information Evolution Model

Why do so many organizations struggle to provide this view?

The Information Evolution Model

Level 2: Consolidate Silos of Information


Lack of common business nomenclature and definitions for information objects

Disparate business and technical Metadata stored in product specific metadata models and repositories

User interfaces surface only their own metadata.

Why do so many organizations struggle to provide this view?


EAI, EII, CDI, MDM

Staging Databases

Operational Data Stores

Enterprise Data Warehouses

Data Marts

OLAP Cubes

Virtual Data Sources

Architectural options for designing Information Delivery Systems are numerous and complex

Why do many organizations struggle to provide this view?

Stored Processes

Portals

Q&R Tools

Analytics Tools

Desktop productivity tools

Spreadsheets

Intranet, Extranet, Internet

How did they get so complex?


Transactional Source Data

TechnicalUser

AnalyticalUser

BusinessUser

Database Schema

Data Dictionary

Models

Analysis Projects

Q&RQueries/Reports

Metadata Environment

Physical Environment

1. Reporting from Operational Databases


2. Reporting via a Data Warehouse


TechnicalUser

AnalyticalUser

BusinessUser

Database Schema

Data Dictionary Subject Model

Logical Model

Data Warehouse

ETL

Physical SchemaModels

Analysis Projects

Q&R

Queries/Reports

Process Model

ETL




3. Reporting via Data Marts


TechnicalUser

AnalyticalUser

BusinessUser

Database Schema


Logical Model

Data Warehouse

ETL


Analysis Projects

Q&R

Queries/Reports

Process Model

ETL

Data Marts

Dimensional Model

ETL



ETL

Star Schema


4. Reporting from OLAP Cubes


TechnicalUser

AnalyticalUser

BusinessUser

Database Schema


Logical Model

Data Warehouse

ETL


Analysis Projects

Q&R

Queries/Reports

Process Model

ETL

Data Marts

Dimensional Model

ETL



ETL

Star Schema

OLAP Cubes

Multi-dimensional Model


5. Reporting via Virtual Data Sources


TechnicalUser

AnalyticalUser

BusinessUser

Database Schema


Logical Model

Data Warehouse

ETL


Analysis Projects

Q&R

Queries/Reports

Process Model

ETL

Data Marts

Dimensional Model

ETL



ETL

Star Schema

OLAP Cubes


Information Map

Virtual Data Source


6. Reporting via Alternative Channels


TechnicalUser

AnalyticalUser

BusinessUser

Database Schema


Logical Model

Data Warehouse

ETL


Analysis Projects

Q&R

Queries/Reports

Process Model

ETL

Data Marts

Dimensional Model

ETL



ETL

Star Schema

OLAP Cubes


Information Map

Virtual Data Source

Personal Marts

Informal Channels

Q&RModelsETLData


How SAS addresses the Business Metadata Problem?

Information Maps to capture common business nomenclature and definitions for all information objects

Open Metadata Server that fully integrates business and technical Metadata spanning the entire information delivery system

Surfaces business metadata in user interfaces tailored to the needs of different users across the enterprise


Information Maps – create reports self-sufficiently

SAS Information Maps hide complex business querieshide complex business queries and enable business users to self-sufficiently create BI content

They support the use of common business nomenclature and definition across the business.


Access Information Maps from everywhere

Ease of use without having to understand SQL or MDX from all BI clientsStandardized access to data

SAS® Web Report Studio

SAS® Add-In for Microsoft Office SAS® Enterprise Guide

SAS® BASE


Consolidates metadata into one location:• Business Metadata • Technical Metadata including environment configuration• Security

Map physical data structures to understandable business terms

Access data from virtually any data source

Define consistent business views for relational tables

Create and manage IT controlled securities and business rules

Fully Integrated Metadata

Centralized, Integrated Metadata Repository


OneBox finds SAS Intelligence

Google Search connects business users directly to the SAS Enterprise Intelligence Platform

Google OneBox connects to the SAS Metadata Server to search for relevant information within the platform.

Business users access SASintelligence within the familiarinterface of Google Search.


SAS Users New Zealand

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