Now that you have defined your measures and know exactly what data you need (if you haven't done this already, read my previous posts), how do you go about a "tool/technology" selection. I am putting those words in parantheses, because it might just end up being a new IT department that you just bought! Be careful!
1. Define your SLA (Service Level Agreements)
You know your measurements. You know what data you need. Now do you know how "fast" you need it? This is a common mistake people make. Everyone wants their data now. But does it really make sense to have all of it "now"? For example, if your measure is "quarterly revenue" or "physician performance", do you really need your data now? If you are only making decisions based on that data once every quarter, why do you need it now? So, define your service level agreement for each of your measures. For some measures, you will need your data faster than others. Understanding your SLAs early on will help you spend your money wisely without spending too much money on esoteric technologies that you may never use.
2. Evaluate your technology as it pertains to your business need
In 1998, I had a business that did staffing services and built custom applications for customers. Whenever a customer approached me with a problem, looking to build a new solution, the first thing I would do is search for a product that is already in the market that fit his/her need. If there was one that satisfied his/her need, I would simply point them to the product. The point being, if you can utilize existing technology and resources to satisfy your need, why spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on new technology? So if all you need is to have one data file loaded every month, SQL Loader or other existing technology might do the job. You don't need AbInitio or Informatica for that. Again, understanding your need, SLAs etc will help you make better decisions.
3. Cheaper options are here!!
You wouldn't go buy a Ferrari to take your three kids to school, now would you? First of all, there won't be any room to fit everyone in, second, it would cost you a small fortune and by the time your kids are done with it, your heart, wallet and pride all will be broken. While some technology vendors have reigned supreme in the DW/BI market, there are cheaper options out there who perform just as well as the big boys. Expressor is a promising newcomer in the ETL market. So are Talend and Jitterbit. Pentaho, BIRT, Jaspersoft etc. are all viable BI options. And if your argument is that open source has no support, think again! They don't cost you a fortune and do their jobs well. Some even outperform the big ones, as rumor has it.
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