Category: Analytics

  • Is it worth going the extra mile?

    That last bit of effort Most of us have encountered many situations where we need to make a decision: do we want to put in just a little bit more effort or should we just let it go. There is the project proposal that we have been working on for days. Should we do another…

  • Updates, updates, updates

    Busy times Wow. It’s been a busy but exciting week. There is a lot going on in the business analytics space these days. Here are some updates that you might find interesting. There is a new version of the IBM Cognos iPad app. You can download it from the iTunes store. The new version has…

  • TM1 – The swiss army knife for the finance department?

    IBM Cognos TM1 No doubt, IBM Cognos TM1 is a unique solution. I have never met so many loyal and enthusiastic long-term customers than for any other finance-related software solution. TM1 is special indeed. There is a lot to like: it is lightening fast (64-bit in memory), configuration does not require rocket-science, it supports Excel,…

  • The robot – a case study about the value of process automation

    The case for process automation Many business analytics programs follow a classic approach – they start with process automation. It is the low hanging fruit. Executives and project managers like process automation as it is usually easy to measure and identify the benefits (e.g.: cycle time reduced by 2 days, aggregation is 60% faster). However,…

  • Success with Performance Management – An interview with Mark Lack from Mueller Inc.

    The 80 year-old company Mueller Inc is a a leading manufacturer of pre-engineered metal buildings and metal roofing products. Mark Lack is responsible for performance management at Mueller Inc. He delivered a great presentation about their IBM Cognos implementation at  the recent IBM Vision 2012 event in Orlando. Following his session we sat down for…

  • Want to run a company? The Business Analytics Experience Workshop

    You are the new CEO! What does it feel like to run a company? How cool would it be to make really important decisions? How awesome would it be to have all the critical information that you need to get your job done? Good questions? Here is the good news for you: You can certainly…

  • Business Analytics News

    Business Analytics News Greetings from Munich, Germany! Just a quick update for this week. New Business Analytics blog There is a new business analytics blog you should check out. It is written by my Australian colleague Katrina Read and it’s called Kat’s Insigh. Her blog focuses on thoughts and ideas around IBM Business Analytics. Make…

  • IBM Vision 2012 – A great conference

    IBM Vision 2012 Greetings from the JW Marriott hotel in Orlando. The IBM Vision 2012 conference for Finance and Risk Management professionals is going really well. Close to 800 professionals from all over the world are here. The atmosphere has been great so far. An event of this size allows people to easily connect with…

  • IBM Vision 2012

    IBM Vision 2012 Greetings from Orlando. I left Munich Saturday morning to attend the IBM Vision 2012 conference. This three day event for finance & risk management professionals will be exciting. There are fantastic keynotes lined up as well as a ton of awesome break-out sessions. I am really looking forward to it. Keynotes The…

  • Part 2 – Interview with the TM1 book author. More about TM1

    Last Thursday, I posted an interview with the author of the new TM1 book Karsten Oehler. Here is the continuation of the conversation. This part of the interview focuses on the new IBM Cognos TM1 10.1 release. Christoph Papenfuss: IBM Cognos TM1 10.1 was released in February of 2012. What is so special about this…