Oracle Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Solutions

Robert Stackowiak is Vice President of Business Intelligence in Oracle's Technology Business Unit. He has worked for over 20 years in business intelligence, data warehousing, and IT-related roles at Oracle, IBM, Harris Corporation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. His papers regarding business intelligence and computer and software technology have appeared in publications such as President & CEO Magazine, Database Trends and Applications, and The Data Warehousing Institute's publications. He also co-authored the books Oracle Essentials: Oracle Database 10g (currently in 3rd Edition, February 2004, O'Reilly), Oracle Application Server 10g Essentials (1st Edition, August 2004, O'Reilly), and Professional Oracle Programming (1st Edition, June 2005, WROX). Joseph Rayman leads the Oracle Consulting Business Intelligence Practice in North America with over 20 years of business experience in a vast array of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, retail, telecommunications, healthcare, and federal government. His technical and business leadership spans enterprise architecture design, enterprise data modeling, VLDB system tuning, data warehouse design, data mining, and quality assurance activities for data warehouse practices. Joe is a key contributor in defining and authoring Oracle Consulting's Data Warehousing Methodology. Prior to joining Oracle, Joe designed and deployed business intelligence and statistical analysis solutions for a large food manufacturer and provided real-time trading and analysis solutions for a major international financial organization. Rick Greenwald has worked in the IT field for over 20 years for major vendors, including Oracle, Gupta Technologies, Cognos, and Data General. He has coauthored more than a dozen books, including Oracle Essentials: Oracle Database 10g (currently in 3rd Edition, February 2004, O'Reilly), Oracle Application Server 10g Essentials (1st Edition, August 2004, O'Reilly), and Professional Oracle Programming (1st Edition, June 2005, WROX). Mr. Greenwald currently works for Ingres Corporation.

Acknowledgments. Introduction. Part I Oracle Business Intelligence Defined. Chapter 1 Oracle Business Intelligence. Business Intelligence and Transactional Applications. Daily Business Intelligence. Balanced Scorecard. Enterprise Planning and Budgeting. Activity-Based Management. Oracle Integration Components Enabling Business Intelligence. Data Hubs. Business Activity Monitoring. BPEL Process Manager. Enterprise Messaging Service. Custom Data Warehouse Solutions. The Role of the Oracle Database. Oracle Warehouse Builder. Oracle Business Intelligence Standard Edition. Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition. BI (XML) Publisher. Oracle Portal. Spreadsheet Add-ins. Building Custom Business Intelligence Applications. Emerging Trends. Chapter 2 Oracle's Transactional Business Intelligence. Transactional Business Intelligence. Business Terminology. Oracle's Daily Business Intelligence. How DBI Works. Varieties of DBI. Balanced Scorecards. Oracle Balanced Scorecard Structure. OBSC Architecture. Creating an Oracle Balanced Scorecard. Data Hubs. The Oracle Customer Data Hub. How Data Hubs Work. Other Oracle Data Hubs. Is Transactional Business Intelligence Enough? Chapter 3 Introduction to Oracle Data Warehousing. Oracle Data Warehousing Basics. Oracle Database Analysis and Schema Considerations. Managing an Oracle-based Data Warehouse. Where to Start? Oracle/PeopleSoft EPM. Oracle/Siebel Business Analytics Applications. Choosing Completely Custom. Chapter 4 Choosing a Platform. Scaling Up Platforms Versus Scaling Out. Hardware Platforms. Cost Considerations. Availability Considerations. Manageability Considerations. Sizing the Platform. Information Needed for Warehouse Hardware Sizing. Benchmarking. Sizing Hardware for Business Intelligence Tools. Your Strategy. Part II Custom-Built Data Warehousing Solutions. Chapter 5 Designing for Usability. Approaches for Design. Key Design Considerations. Features for Design - Enhancing Performance. Business Scenario. Normalized Design. Dimensional Design. Hybrid Design. Online Analytical Processing Design. Other Considerations. Selecting the Best Approach. Chapter 6 Business Intelligence Tools. Oracle Portal and Portal Products. Using Oracle Portal. Building and Deploying Oracle Portal and Portlets. Reporting. BI/XML Publisher. Oracle Reports. Oracle BI Reporting Workbench (Actuate). Ad hoc Query and Analysis. Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition. Discoverer and Business Intelligence Standard Edition. Oracle Spreadsheet Add-ins. Building Business Intelligence Applications. JDeveloper and BI Beans. Data Miner. Other Tools. Chapter 7 Data Loading. Oracle Database Data Loading Features. Embedded ETL in the Oracle Database. SQLLoader. Change Data Capture. Transportable Tablespaces. Data Pump. Oracle Warehouse Builder. OWB Packaging. Typical Steps when using OWB. ETL Design in OWB. OWB and Dimensional Models. The OWB Process Editor. Balancing Data Loading Choices. Chapter 8 Managing the Oracle Data Warehouse. Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control. Database Performance Monitoring. Database Administration. Database Maintenance. Database Topology. Management and Management Options. Chapter 9 Data Warehouse Performance Tuning and Monitoring. Understanding Performance Challenges. Who Is Responsible? Causes of Poor Performance. Successful Approaches to Performance Tuning. Critical Tasks for Performance Tuning Lifecycle. Hardware Configuration. Software Configuration. Database Application Design. Business Scenario: Tuning Our Sample Solution. Where To Start. Enterprise Manager Advisory Framework. Approaches for Success. Part III Best Practices. Chapter 10 Scoping the Effort and an Approach for Success. Uncovering Key Business Initiatives. Where to Start. Information Sources. What is Important. Accountability and Securing Business Sponsorship. Establish a Steering Committee. Project Review Board. Endorsing a Methodology. Choices of Methodologies. A Business-focused Approach. Staffing the Project. Organization Structure. End-User Experience. Engaging the Business: Education and Training. Managing Risk. Communication - Managing Expectations. Contingency Allocation. Financial Risk. Technology Risk. No Place to Shortcut. Chapter 11 Understanding Business Needs. How Bad Deployment Choices Impact the Business. Independent Data Marts. Limited and Inflexible Reporting. Sources of Information Limited to Internal Data. Limited Data History. Lack of Current High-Quality Data. Limited Growth Flexibility. Project Drivers and Business Types. Financial Companies. Healthcare. Manufacturing. Media and Entertainment. Retail. Telecommunications. Other Business Types: Transportation and Utilities. Educational Institutions. Government Agencies. Developing Scope and Gaining Business Support. Chapter 12 Justifying Projects and Claiming Success. Concept to Project. Business Constraints. Where to Start Justification. Measuring Value. Common Metrics to Measure. Common Budgeting Techniques. Total Cost of Ownership. Modeling Total Cost of Ownership. Return on Investment. Modeling Return on Investment. Claiming Success. Index.