This case study discusses the work achieved by the Mensura team, together with element61, in implementing Business Intelligence and Planning & Budgeting-solution to support the management information processes.
The customer
Employees are the most important assets of a company. In these hectic times, it is important to keep them physically and mentally healthy. Mensura services strive for employees who can be deployed better, healthier and for a longer time.
Mensura offers a number of services to its customers to reach those goals :
- Develop a sustainable labour policy
- Give advice on safety and health on the work floor
- Pay child allowance
- Prevention and Protection
- Follow up on absenteeism?
The challenges
Mensura has grown very fast through mergers and acquisitions. This implies that data is spread over different applications and systems. To provide the stakeholders with the information and reports they require, Mensura decided to implement a company-wide Business Intelligence application. This ensures that everybody in the company is using the same high quality data in a controlled environment when producing financial or operational management information.
Some achievements:
- KPI dashboards
- Absenteeism
- Prevention and Protection
- Medical examinations (vs. benchmarks)
- Financial analysis by department / business unit
- Link to the IBM Cognos TM1 budgeting & forecasting solution
- Follow up on workforce planning by region
Solution
Mensura selected Microsoft SQL Server, TimeXtender and Targit to build their Business Intelligence platform on.
The data warehouse layer is built using TimeXtender. TimeXtender is a so called "data warehouse automation technology which builds, maintains and adjusts the data warehouse layer in a strongly simplified and agile manner. It allows users without a thorough SQL Server- database knowledge to maintain the system themselves.
It includes "out of the box:
- Project Repository (version-control, metadata)
- Full documentation of the designed data warehouse
- Graphical / Drag & Drop user interface
- Support of an agile-development methodology
Based on the data warehouse layer, TimeXtender is also used to generate the multi-dimensional cubes (SQL Server Analysis Services). Targit is the Business Analytics front-end tool used to tap into these multi-dimensional reporting cubes and allows the end-users to explore and consume the large amount of data available in the BI solution. All databases and cubes are stored in a Microsoft SQL Server environment.
element61 responsibilities
In 2014, element61 was asked to evaluate the BI-solution and organize some workshops on data warehouse best practices using TimeXtender and Targit. After these successful workshops, element61 became the preferred partner for Mensura to maintain and expand the BI platform in a coaching & co-development scenario. This means that the internal BI team and the element61 consultants work together on the BI project, including a focus on continuous knowledge transfer.
element61 is involved in the Mensura project for the following roles and activities, in close cooperation with finance & ICT:
- Introduction of Business Intelligence terminology, concepts and best practices
- Guidance in taking the right choices with regard to the BI-architecture and retained solutions
- Guidance of the installation and upgrades of TimeXtender and Targit
- SQL Server & Master Data Services expertise
- IBM Cognos TM1 expertise
- Design and development of the data warehouse and cubes by TimeXtender certified consultants
- Performance tuning of TimeXtender based solutions developed in earlier stages
- Design and development of analysis and reports by Targit certified consultants
Conclusion
Since 2014, element61 is helping Mensura in expanding a well performing and user friendly Business Intelligence environment. More than 50 users are relying on this system for analysing their key data every day. In a fast moving world it is very important that the combination of element61 and TimeXtender allows Mensura to shift quickly when new requirements are set.
