Infor-ION-Business-Intellegence-Solution-Part-1

The Comprehensive Business Intelligence Solution

Executive summary.

Many organizations struggle with better managing increasing amounts of information—which often comes from multiple data sources. Not only can it be difficult for users to get to all the information they need, they can easily suffer from data overload.

To stay competitive and keep pace with business change, organizations need to put a solution in place that gives users business intelligence (BI) reporting and analytical tools that provide the most up-to-date information in a timely fashion. And the information needs to be delivered in a cohesive format that can help drive an organization’s business decisions and actions.

Even with sophisticated IT infrastructures, many organizations still encounter problems finding the information users need, when and how they need it. To overcome these obstacles, organizations need to implement a robust BI solution that accesses, filters, analyzes, and publishes information throughout the organization—anytime, anywhere. The solution should merge data from multiple sources into a single report, helping users quickly transform raw data into valuable information.

This paper examines such a solution, Infor10™ ION BI, which provides powerful BI capabilities to organizations and helps them understand and gain insight into the key factors that impact their business.

Infor10 ION BI overview.

Infor10 ION BI is a fully integrated, state of the art solution suite that supports all types of financial, operational, and sales BI requirements. More than 3,000 customers in over 100 countries around the world use Infor10 ION BI for standard reporting, dashboards, flexible ad-hoc reporting and analysis, business planning, budgeting, forecasting, and financial consolidation.

Infor10 ION BI is predominantly used to fulfill highly specific business needs. In many cases the solution is implemented using a multidimensional, online, analytical processing (OLAP)- based approach.

The Infor10 ION BI suite is a comprehensive BI platform that consists of:

1. Infor10 ION BI OLAP Server—A real-time, in-memory, OLAP database for multidimensional analysis, planning, and modeling.
   
2. Infor10 ION BI Application Studio—A web-based front end for data visualization, including reports, analysis, dashboards, and data entry.
   
3. Infor10 ION BI Office Plus—A fully integrated Excel® interface for reporting, ad-hoc analysis, cell-based reporting, and other uses.
   

   Infor is in no way committing to the development or delivery of any specified enhancement, upgrade, product or functionality. See “disclaimer” paragraph contained herein.
   

4. Infor10 ION BI ImportMaster—An ETL layer that facilitates integration with both Infor and non-Infor source systems.
   
5. Infor10 ION BI DeltaMiner—An analysis tool with data-driven and advanced analysis methods.
   
6. Infor10 ION BI Consolidation—A statutory and management consolidation tool that leverages the Infor10 ION BI OLAP Server.
   
7. Infor10 ION BI Planning—A tool for financial and operational budgeting, forecasting, and business planning.
   
8. Infor10 ION BI Business Analytics—Predefined, role-based content for sales, finance, production, and other functional areas.
   

    

   The Infor10 ION BI suite combines all the relevant business intelligence tools into one solution with consistent data, interface, and audit trail for financial and operational planning, reporting, and analysis.
   

   Infor10 ION BI is designed for business users and requires minimal IT resources and involvement. Finance, operations, sales, and other business users can easily update and administer the solution without heavy reliance on IT resources. This can help your organization keep up with the dynamic nature of your business.
   

   

Infor-ION-BI-OLAP

Make better plans.

Planning with pinpoint precision can make the difference between

operating in the red or black. Yet some companies aren’t equipped to

provide users with access to critical information on demand. Many

also lack integrated information sources, presented in a way that

helps users ensure compliance, improve decision making, and add

greater efficiency and accuracy to their organizations’ processes. To

accomplish all this, companies need a proven business intelligence

(BI) solution with online analytical processing (OLAP) capabilities.

Pick a strong partner.

Infor™ solutions have helped companies around the globe streamline

and improve the effectiveness of their business processes for more

than 30 years. Infor10™ ION BI OLAP provides an optimal platform for

planning, reporting, and analysis. This powerful multidimensional

database ensures fast access to large volumes of summarized data

that can be used to facilitate analysis and extend Infor’s planning

application. Plus, Infor10 ION BI OLAP allows you to leverage rather

than replace your existing systems, and to browse your data from

any angle and level of detail. Since the information is stored in a

central database, Infor10 ION BI OLAP minimizes typical spreadsheet

limitations like manual rekeying, timeconsuming consolidations, and

the risk of human error.

Use the best tools.

Access to critical information is more important than ever to help all

levels of an organization ensure compliance, make more informed

decisions, and streamline their financial processes.No wonder

successful companies rely on Infor10 ION BI OLAP’s scalable

platform—which supports small applications with just a few users all

the way up to large multi-user applications—to meet key

information requirements.

Better planning. With its flexible modeling features and integration to

both OLAP and relational data, Infor10 ION BI OLAP delivers an ideal

platform for better planning models. Introducing multidimensional

data into your modeling process enhances “what if” scenarios,

improving not only your business decisions, but also your

confidence in those decisions. Infor10 ION BI OLAP also makes it

possible to test multiple planning scenarios quickly by automatically

allocating your budget down to any level of detail. Likewise, you can

set up business rules to reflect interdependencies.

Since calculations are performed in real time, you’ll immediately

see how a possible sales rebate would impact your bottom line.

User security settings are also supplied for better compliance with

Sarbanes-Oxley requirements. Functions like start and end dates

for users and groups as well as individual password security

settings for users help you adhere to regulations.

Easy to use and maintain. Infor10 ION BI OLAP is designed for

business professionals. Simply drag and drop desired data

elements and zoom in on details, all without needing IT support.

The solution also provides one common administrator interface

with the ability to control online backups, administer databases on

remote servers, and update roles from this single location. What’s

more, Infor10 ION BI OLAP is memory-resident, which means all

“write” actions and data modifications are stored in auditable

relational tables.

With this function, you can easily undo multiple actions to create

optimal models quickly and efficiently.

Demand great results.

Using Infor10 ION BI OLAP, you can provide more users with

access to important information—whenever they need it. This

helps ensure compliance, supports decision making, optimizes

your financial processes, and leads to a rapid ROI. Even better, you

don’t need to replace your existing solutions.

Infor-ION-OAGIS-Construction-Workflow

Infor-ION-OAGIS-Agilent-Enterprise-Integration-Model

Infor-ION-OAGIS-Canonical-Model-With-Lucent-SOA

Infor-ION-OAGIS-XML-as-a-Canonical-Model

Business Environment:

Case for a Canonical Model:

Infor-ION-OAGIS-Framework-Independence

• OAGIS is framework independent
• The separation of the message architecture from the framework is critical to enable cross environment deployment

OAGIS fits with ebXML

• Communication Layer (T&R)
  • ebXML Transport
• Partner Agreements (CPP, CPA)
  • Format – ebXML
• Process Definitions (BPSS)
  • Format – ebXML
  • Content – OAGIS
• Syntax
  • OAGIS Tags
• Meaning of Information
  • OAGIS Dictionary

OAGIS and SOAP

• SOAP Overlaps with BOD Application Area
  • Sender, DateTime, Digital Signature
  • BOD does not assume SOAP
  • BOD has to remain neutral
  • BOD may be used without SOAP
• Strategies for Use
  • Use Application Area for business applications
  • Don’t use Application Area as an envelope
  • Make sure you use DateTime and BODId at least

OAGIS and Web Services

Infor-ION-OAGIS-Scope

• eCommerce
  • e-Catalog
  • Price Lists
  • RFQ and Quote
  • Order Management
  • Purchasing
  • Invoice
• Manufacturing
  • Plant Data Collection
  • Engineering
  • Warehouse Management
  • Enterprise Asset Mgmt.
• Logistics
  • Shipments
• CRM
  • Customer
  • Sales Force Automation
• ERP
  • Financials
  • Human Resources
  • Manufacturing

Credit Management

Infor-ION-BOD-Assembly-Example

Infor-ION-BOD-Architecture

The BOD Architecture:

BOD Application Area