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Stage 2: Localized analytics
The work begun by the independent analysts begins to show promise in this stage as they develop
new insights that have value for the company. One of two things happens at this point: either execu-
tive management agrees that it's time to start formally investing in BI and the company moves to the
next stage, or management remains unconvinced and needs more evidence of successful outcomes
from analysis before making the commitment.
As a result, the focus of this stage is to gradually build out a BI infrastructure at a local level with
minimal investment, such as a department-level, single-subject data mart. Despite the lack of support
from executive management, the BI team can use this stage to develop experience before tackling the
more comprehensive projects in the next stage. In addition, the department making the investment in
BI benefits from the business process improvements resulting from the better analytical capabilities.
According to the analytics road map, a company could be in this stage from one to three years.
The BI components in the Microsoft stack are a good starting point for a department-level data
mart that could also include a complementary tabular model or cube to support analysis in Power
View in SharePoint. Reporting Services can deliver standard reports to department users and provide
data feeds for power users to use in Power View in Excel or PowerPivot in Excel for deeper analysis.
Stage 3: Analytical aspirations
When a company is ready to commit to analytics at the corporate level, the focus shifts from the
tactical BI solutions found at the department level to a company-wide performance management
solution. The challenge at this stage is the integration of various tools and processes implemented
across departments and to reach agreement regarding the metrics against which to measure prog-
ress. In general, the road map indicates the length of time for this stage can be a few months or up to
two years.
In this stage, the Microsoft stack scales from a departmental deployment to an enterprise deploy-
ment. The Reporting Services platform remains in place for broad distribution of standard reports.
SharePoint and PerformancePoint Services now become tools for monitoring and reporting perfor-
mance management results. Power users can also now share Power View reports, Power View in Excel,
and PowerPivot in Excel workbooks by publishing them to SharePoint and thereby promote collab-
orative analysis.
Stage 4: Analytical companies
To move into this stage, the company must establish analytics as a priority and the corporate culture
must support an ongoing process of experimentation. Management encourages analysts to develop
and test hypotheses and to discover new areas worth exploring. The purpose of analytics in this stage
is to discover how to use information assets to differentiate the company from its competitors in the
marketplace. During this stage, the tools for analysis become more advanced, and developers are
tasked with embedding analytics into business processes.
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