Business Decisions BI Functions

Describe, give advantages & disadvantages, give examples

1

1- Operational Decision: 

Operational processes constitute the core business

It is everyday operation.
- Everyday decision.

Advantage:

It is easily aid an organization implement strategic objectives, planning, controlling, strategic processes and more.
- Help organization to manage well.

Disadvantage:

Its dependence on utilizing many different components to work together to achieve the success.
- They might be some problem because they will not carried out properly.

Example:

•  Product Positioning - Pricing

Product positioning

How the marketers (Hua ho), how they position their products to catch the customers.

Pricing

Marketers will match the prizes with the other markets

- Sales

- Must have product to be saled

- Focus on the product

- More into day-to-day operation of certain products

-   Purchasing

- Part of procurement

- Getting item for a company (from supplier or manufacturer)

-   Marketing

- Ads, for example

- Word of mouth (we promote)

- Focus to customer than product

2- Tactical Decision
It is an approach that is typically used by smaller organizations. It is more short-term, transactional approach to procurement.
- Tactical level decisions aim at creating medium-term schedule or with stated datelines.
- Preparation before strategic is decide.

**Tactical is the one who give information to strategic.
Strategic will decide it

Advantage:

Disadvantage:


Example:

•  Competitive Advantage - Financial Outlay

Accounting

-  Count (More into numbers)

-  Communicating financial information (workers, manager)

-  Financial statement consists for a day, a month (all) statements

Technical supporting processes

-  Predicting direction or prices of a stock through study of past market data, primarily price and volume (statistic)

-  Focus on Trends and Patterns

Financial outlay
It defined as the money that a company spends to either purchase a fixed asset or to extend its useful life.

3- Strategic Decision

- Implementation and formulation of various strategies in order to achieve the goals of the company.
- Long-term decision for company

Advantage:

- Identifying strategic direction.

- Make better business decisions.

- It provides framework for decision-making.

Disadvantage:

- Complex process.

- Time-consuming process.

- Tough implementation.

- No effort to make a proper planning.

- With the applying strategic decision in an organization, it can be expensive.

- Long-term benefits vs Immediate results.

Example:

•  Priorities - Goal setting, - Forecasting for the future, - Global diversification

Prioritise
- which one they do it

Goal setting:

It is a plan to achieve the goal/success.
- to make sure they are achieving the goal

Forecasting for the future:

    Forecasting – Predict (sometimes happen), purpose is to help the business improve.

Example: Predicting the trends in the business.

2
Explain the functions of Business Intelligence, give examples

1- Analysing Data

It allows us to make informed decisions and to stop guessing.

Example: Project Manager

2- Decision-making

The actions or process of making decisions.

Example: 

- Hiring worker (interview for a new worker)

- Plan (weigh the possibilities and disadvantages of we don’t take her as our new worker)

3- Problem-solving

The process of finding solutions

Example: A car broken

 - Choose the best solutions with can be use to solve the problem

4- Designing more intuitive/Innovative system
- Contohnya ada tiga functions, but here it convert into one saja. Kana jadikan satu saja, dalam satu ada tiga functions atu.

Example:

References

Directionsmag.com. (2019). What is Data Analysis and the Role of Data Analyst?. [online] Available at: https://www.directionsmag.com/pressrelease/7632 [Accessed 31 Oct. 2019].

Planettogether.com. (2019). Advantages and Disadvantages of Operations Management. [online] Available at: https://www.planettogether.com/blog/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-operations-management [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019].

Charityvillage.com. (2019). The advantages and disadvantages of strategic management . [online] Available at: https://charityvillage.com/cms/content/topic/the_advantages_and_disadvantages_of_strategic_management [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019].

WiseStep. (2016). Strategic Management Advantages and Disadvantages - WiseStep. [online] Available at: https://content.wisestep.com/advantages-disadvantages-strategic-management/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019].

Technology Concepts Group International. (2016). Tactical vs Strategic Sourcing: Which Road Should You Take? - Technology Concepts Group International. [online] Available at: https://www.technologyconcepts.com/tactical-vs-strategic-sourcing-which-road-should-you-take/ [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019].

Smallbusiness.chron.com. (2019). What Is Capital Outlay?. [online] Available at: https://smallbusiness.chron.com/capital-outlay-65324.html [Accessed 4 Nov. 2019].

Network Planning - Proof Of Concept

-          How to design a secured network (methods) - Plan of proper secured network

-          The different types of network security designs that will aid good network security

1

        1-      Identify network assets.

        2-      Analyze security risks.

       3-      Analyze security requirements and tradeoffs.

       4-      Develop a security plan.

       5-      Define a security policy.

       6-      Develop procedures for applying security policies.

       7-      Develop a technical implementation strategy.

       8-      Achieve buy-in from users, managers, and technical staff.

       9-      Train users, managers, and technical staff.

     10-  Implement the technical strategy and security procedures.

     11-  Test the security and update it if any problems are found.

     12-  Maintain security.

or

1 - Set Clear Administrator Privileges. 
- Set up or having proper plan for who are authorize to get in (to install the software); to make any changes or to modify the configuration system.
  

2 - Secure Your Private Network.
- Set/design the network to get access straightly to their network, without passing other permission. 

3 - Secure Endpoints by Configuring Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

4 - Monitor the Network.
- Monitor if there are data theft detected or unauthorized people that wants to access.

5 - Maintain Firewalls.
-

6 - Establish Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems.
-

7 - Protect Remote Access.
-

8 - Isolate Guest Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).
-

9 - Use Encryption Programs.
-

10 - Define and Practice Continuity Plans/Disaster Recovery.
-

Set Clear Administrator Privileges.  An important first step in providing security for your network is to establish and enforce administrator privileges, managing who has authorization to install software and change system configuration settings.

Secure Endpoints by Configuring Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).  In network security, endpoint security refers to protection of the private network where it intersects with public network. The common devices used at these endpoints to connect to the public network include mail servers to send and receive emails, web servers to host websites, and proxy servers to handle requests from clients seeking resources. 

A common security configuration to protect these endpoints is a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). A DMZ is a computer network with firewalls and other prevention systems inserted as a "neutral zone" between a company's private network and the outside public network. All incoming and outgoing communications pass through the firewall and intrusion detection and prevention systems prior to entering the private network.

Monitor the Network.  You and your cyber security providers should implement network logging and monitoring strategies. These allow companies to monitor unauthorized data transfers and unauthorized attempts to access your private network. Detection systems should provide responsible parties with appropriate alerts and scheduled reports.

Maintain Firewalls.  Firewalls are a fundamental network security solution. They are used to permit only appropriate traffic to enter and leave the private computer network. In addition to using firewalls to protect your private network from the Internet, firewalls installed within your private network can be used to segment the network into unique security domains supporting enhanced layers of defense.

Establish Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems.  Intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) can work together with firewalls to analyze traffic to determine if it is legitimate. An IDS product will provide alerts on invalid traffic, while an IPS will block the traffic.

Protect Remote Access.  If your employees are allowed access to your private network from remote networks, this access should only be through a firewall that protects your private network. Another option is to utilize a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that uses encryption and multi-factor authentication to provide greater security.

Isolate Guest Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN).  If your company operates a wireless local area network (WLAN) for the use of customers, guests and visitors, it is important that it is kept separate from the main company network.

Use Encryption Programs. When used properly, encryption technologies can virtually prevent files, directories, or disks from falling into unauthorized hands.

Define and Practice Continuity Plans/Disaster Recovery.  Once you have completed mapping and securing your network, assess any critical equipment or systems and evaluate the potential business impact if they should fail or are breached.

2

1. Firewalls

Firewalls monitor the incoming and the outgoing traffic based on a set of predefined rules. It is a barrier that separates trusted networks from untrusted ones. Hardware, software, or both can serve as a firewall.

2. NAC

Network Access Control (NAC) strengthens your network by controlling its access. Not every user is an authorized person to access the network, and by blocking noncompliant endpoint devices, you can save your network against potential security breaches.

3. VPN

The act of encrypting a connection over the Internet from its endpoint to a network is defined as a Virtual Private Network (VPN). This technology allows remote access to secure corporate applications or other resources.

4. DLP

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technology is responsible for securing the communication network of an organization in order to protect its sensitive data. These days, employees of an organization are prohibited to upload, forward, or sometimes to print critical information in an unprotected manner.

5. Endpoint Security

In network security, endpoint security or endpoint protection technology protects a corporate network when accessed from different remote devices. This remote access poses as a potential entry point for security threats.

6. Wireless Security

With the emergence of the mobile office culture, wireless networks and access points have become another channel for security breaches. Wireless security makes it challenging for any unauthorized access to damage your computer’s data.

References

Oppenheimer, P. (2019). Developing Network Security Strategies > Network Security Design. [online] Ciscopress.com. Available at: http://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=1626588 [Accessed 30 Oct. 2019].

EC-Council Official Blog. (2019). What Is Network Security? Types of Network Security - EC-Council Official Blog. [online] Available at: https://blog.eccouncil.org/what-is-network-security-types-of-network-security/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2019].

Efraudprevention.net. (2019). 10 Steps to a More Secure Network. [online] Available at: https://efraudprevention.net/home/templates/?a=102 [Accessed 3 Nov. 2019].

Comparisons of OD, DW, DM

1. Create a table of comparisons for operational data, data warehouse, and data mart.

2. Describe the purpose of 3 tools and explain how it works. Include the advantages and disadvantages.

3. Research the role of business processes within an organisation and their function at different levels.

Comparisons of Operational Data, Data Warehouse and Data Mart
Operational Data	Data Mart	Data Warehouse
-The data that is been collected and analyze everyday -Day-to-day operation - overall but one day only (combination of any departments)	-   Data is from database -The information that they have is specific from one department saja - Data in a department - for a day only, a week, a month but for specific department only (categories)	- Accurate and appropriate data is being collected -    Data is being collected from different data mart - Organization system use to analyze data - contains different information from data mart

3 tools

Visualization

Sisense

MicroStrategy

Visualizations

Purpose

When the information is being presented, it makes the information easy to understand even for those people who are ot used to analyze data.

How it works

The visualization software pulls in data from these sources and applies a graphic type to the data.

Data visualization software allows the user to select the best way of presenting the data, but, increasingly, software automates this step. Some tools automatically interpret the shape of the data and detect correlations between certain variables and then place these discoveries into the chart type that the software determines is optimal.

Typically, data visualization software has a dashboard component that allows users to pull multiple visualizations of analyses into a single interface, generally a web portal.

Advantages of visualization

1 - Rapid Identification of Latest Trends

In this age, the volume of data that companies are able to gather about customers and market conditions can provide business leaders with insights into new revenue and business opportunities, presuming they can spot the opportunities in the mountain of data. Using data visualization, decision makers are able to grasp shifts in customer behaviors and market conditions across multiple data sets much more quickly

2 - Direct Interaction with Data

Data Visualization also helps the companies to manipulate and interact with their data in a direct manner. One of the greatest strengths of data visualization is how it brings actionable insights to the surface. Unlike one-dimensional tables and charts that can only be viewed, data visualization tools enable users to interact with data.

3 - Predictive Sales Analysis

With the help of real-time data-visualization, sales executives can carry out advanced predictive analytics for their sales figures, viewing up-to-date sales figures and see why certain products are underperforming and the reasons that sales are lagging. For example, discounts offered by competitors may be one of those reasons.

Disadvantages

1 - Data visualization tools show but they do not explain.

While data visualizations can be generated in real-time, they do not provide any explanations. In fact, the process through which companies draw insight has not changed in the last 30 years. Analysts look at data and then write reports. This process is too slow for the market and too costly for the company. At the same time, data visualization tools expect the user to be an expert in all of the data and all of the corporate best practices. Natural Language Generation (NLG) offers a solution adopted by many businesses. NLG automatically writes narrative explaining the insights and the drivers behind changes in the data. 

2 - No guidance

What if the user interpreting the data lacks expertise and/or training? He or she could make mistakes that may affect the entire company. At the same time, analysts could provide clients with incorrect or substandard advice. Even systems with Natural Language Query, expect the user to know what they are looking for. This works with simple data but the industry trend is towards big data, data lakes and complex analysis. It’s so complicated you might not even know what you don’t know, to paraphrase an American Defense secretary. The answer is so simple that its easy to miss. We don’t speak data, we speak English, so software that explains the data to us in plain English. This is the value of Natural Language Generation software, the last mile in the data analytics workflow.  

3 - Data visualization provides a false sense of security 

Graphics are great for conveying simple ideas fast – but sometimes, they are just not enough. If words could be replaced by pictograms, they would have been a long time ago. To express a complex situation, sentences and phrases are required along with a system that is smart enough to articulate   its reasoning process. Importantly, language also makes sure the end user really understands. Graphics can make users think they are making data driven decisions or think they fully understand the data when in reality they are only seeing a picture but they don’t know the full story.

Sisense

Purpose

- It enables user to easily share their insights with their team members and clients.

Sisense basically allows user to turn data into highly valuable insights and then share them with colleagues, business partners, and clients via interactive dashboards.

- It enables you to clean and consolidate data so you can explore and visualize it in a way that brings you valuable insights into your business.

How it works

It uses a Crowd Accelerated BI technology which can manage hundreds of queries simultaneously. Thus, Sisense allows users to collaborate in an accurate and real-time environment which ensures you get precise outcomes.

Advantages

1 - Gather all your information from all your sources and unify them into a single, accessible repository.

2 - Produce rich and intelligent analysis using robust visual reports without going through the hassle of preparation.

3 - Easily share your insights with your team, partners, and clients.

4 - Easy to use interface allows non-techies to quickly adapt and get acquainted with the system.

5 - Very fast system as it maximizes the potential of 64-bit computer, multi-core CPUs and parallelization capabilities.

Disadvantages

1 - Sisense is a “heavy” application. 

One of the common things we hear from prospective leads is that Sisense was too “heavy” for them. This is a statement on the power of server and the amount of space and resources taken up by the application, but also the amount of time needed for setup and configuration and user adoption.  Many prefer Yurbi for its simple install with a very easy operations and maintenance requirement.  And also the intuitiveness and simplicity of the Yurbi interface.  Even though Sisense has more features,  Yurbi is easier for their business users to adopt and all that is required.

2 - Sisense’s dashboards only interact on the web. 

The dashboard works great for those with real-time web access,  but to share a flattened, less feature-rich version that can be embedded or printed can cause a roadblock.  Sisense doesn’t offer powerful scheduled reports that can be sent via email so that users can consume reports outside of the online dashboard. Sisense users have complained to us about the lack of ability to share a report or offline dashboard via PDF with users outside of the Sisense system.

MicroStrategy

Purpose

To allows user to drill anywhere in the entire relational database, all the way down to transactional-level detail

How it works

It supports interactive dashboards, scorecards, highly formatted reports, ad hoc query, thresholds and alerts, and automated report distribution. Interfaces include web, desktop (for developers) and Microsoft Office integration. MicroStrategy Mobile also supports mobile BI.  

Advantages

1 – A wide range of visualization capabilities,

2- Provides small smart companies the ability to create snapshots of reports, allowing users to see how to change reports at over time.

Disadvantages

A significant decline in micro-business intelligence strategy is also pricing. Although it seems at first sight that the resolution of intelligence in small business is competitive, you will quickly find that the addition of all required units quickly raises the price to levels close to cognos and companies.

References

Selecthub.com. (2019). Types of Business Intelligence Tools & Systems | What's Hot in 2019?. [online] Available at: https://selecthub.com/business-intelligence/key-types-business-intelligence-tools/ [Accessed 24 Oct. 2019].

Haije, E. and Haije, E. (2018). Top 15 Business Intelligence Tools: An Overview - Mopinion. [online] Mopinion. Available at: https://mopinion.com/business-intelligence-bi-tools-overview/ [Accessed 24 Oct. 2019].

2019 and Adair, B. (2019). Data Visualization Tools | The Best BI Visualization Software in 2019. [online] Selecthub.com. Available at: https://selecthub.com/business-intelligence/data-visualization-tools/ [Accessed 25 Oct. 2019].

SearchBusinessAnalytics. (2019). What is data visualization? - Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] Available at: https://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/definition/data-visualization [Accessed 25 Oct. 2019].

Visualr. (2016). 10 Advantages of Data-Visualization. [online] Available at: https://visualrsoftware.com/advantages-data-visualization/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].

Manning, A., Adebiyi, M., Coupel, T., Manning, A., Manning, A. and Manning, A. (2015). Top 4 Limitations of Data Visualization Tools - Yseop. [online] Yseop. Available at: https://yseop.com/blog/top-4-limitations-of-data-visualization-tools-2/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].

Financesonline.com. (2016). Sisense: Pros & Cons of the Top Business Intelligence Software - Financesonline.com. [online] Available at: https://financesonline.com/sisense-pros-cons-top-business-intelligence-software/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].

Financesonline.com. (2019). Sisense Reviews: Pricing & Software Features of sisense.com | FinancesOnline. [online] Available at: https://reviews.financesonline.com/p/sisense/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].

Post, T. and Post, T. (2019). Straight Talk: Review of Sisense; The Pros and Cons. [online] Yurbi. Available at: https://www.yurbi.com/blog/straight-talk-review-of-sisense-the-pros-and-cons/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].

Taylor, L. (2019). Advantages and Disadvantages of Microstrategy. [online] Bilytica. Available at: https://www.bilytica.com/blog/business-intelligence/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-microstrategy-microstrategy-consulting-services-in-saudi-arabia/ [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].

SearchBusinessAnalytics. (2019). What is MicroStrategy? - Definition from WhatIs.com. [online] Available at: https://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/definition/MicroStrategy [Accessed 27 Oct. 2019].