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Home » Resource Center » Real-World Decision Support (RWDS) Journal » January 2001 - Volume 1, Issue 10

January 2001 - Volume 1, Issue 10

IN THIS ISSUE

  • Shared Services: Building Internal Alliances   

    Some organizations have created a myriad of internal support functions to bolster those operating areas that provide direct service to customers. Others have chosen to outsource many of their support functions. Initially, these options were seen as a means of cutting costs. In the last few years the most progressive organizations have performed the proper analysis to evaluate these options and have selected the proper balance which is best for them. This is not only in terms of cost savings but also in leveraging strategic capabilities and adding value while maintaining control over key areas. This article focuses on those internal support functions, shared services, which the whole organization can call on for strategic support.

  • META DATA IS THE ANSWER; NOW WHAT WAS THE QUESTION?   

    Some people talk about meta data all the time as though it holds the answer to ALL questions about managing data. I may even be considered as one of those people. If YOU are already getting tired of talking about meta data, you are probably in the wrong business.

  • The Challenges of Going Global   

    Many of us in Information Technology receive data requests from our business units to answer questions about revenue, cost, and events from a corporate level. Business analysts from multiple departments and regions want a wider view of the corporation. We puzzle over how to process those requests in a quick, comprehensive, and satisfactory manner.

  • Practical Data Administration – Part I   

    A man once wandered upon a construction site for a large building. He walked up to the first man he encountered and asked what he was doing. He answered "I am laying bricks for this wall". The second man he approached said he was a glassmaker making stained glass windows. "I’m a carpenter building a door frame." the third man informed him. Then he came upon an old woman, hunched over, sweeping up the floor and removing the scraps left by the other workers. He asked her what she was doing. She answered "I’m helping to build a glorious cathedral!" Which person had the best perspective? Which person took more pride in their job? Obviously, the one with her eyes on the big picture. She was helping with something she believed in that was bigger then herself.

Letter From the Editor

by David Marco, President of Enterprise Warehousing Solutions, Inc.

Dear Readers,

Because of the large increase in our membership we have recently moved to a new Lyris server to house our newsletter email list. As with any move there are always a couple of broken boxes. In our case our readers that have a newer version of Netscape received a pretty garbled email. Hopefully this issue is solved with this announcement.

Welcome to our 10th issue of Real-World Decision Support (RWDS). In this issue we feature articles by Sharon Allen of a global transportation company, Kathy Iverson a professor at Roosevelt University, Dan Roth from a large insurance company, Bob Seiner, editor of The Data Administration Newsletter, and George Vukotich an independent consultant.

George Vukotich and Kathy Iverson have provided the lead article "Shared Services: Building Internal Alliances". Shared services is an emerging area of IT (information technology) and this article provides an excellent starting point for anyone looking to know more about this subject.

Sharon Allen has written on "The Challenges of Going Global". During this article Sharon shows the reader what it is like to be a "sock between two puppies". Next Dan Roth has done a wonderful job of writing in his article "Practical Data Administration". I believe Dan brings forward some sound information and advice. Sharon Allen and Dan Roth are new contributors to RWDS. Their articles are very good and I hope we here from them again.

Next, Bob Seiner of The Data Administration Newsletter has provided a wonderful article on the importance of meta data.

As a reminder, articles for our April, 2001 issue of Real-World Decision Support are due by March

12, 2001.

Lastly I'd like to personally wish all of our readers, writers, and staff a wonderful and blessed holiday season.

Calling All Writers

At RWDS we are always looking to publish new and informative, how-to articles. Our ever growing readership now totals over 26,000 registered readers and more than 30,000 unique visitors that visit the website during a new issue publication. Articles for RWDS can cover any topic in decision support, business intelligence, knowledge management, or information technology (IT) in general. Below is a brief list of possible topics:

  • Architecture
  • Best Practices
  • Conducting Tool Evaluations
  • Data Marts
  • Data Modeling
  • Data Warehousing
  • e-Business
  • Industry Standards
  • Meta Data
  • Operational Data Stores
  • Project Management
  • Staffing
  • UML
  • Unstructured Data
  • "War" stories from the field
  • XML, Etc.

Don't miss this opportunity to join the ranks of "those that write". If you would like to publish an article in Real-World Decision Support please send an email to MReed@EWSolutions.com and make sure to read our article guidelines at http://www.EWSolutions.com/

Please feel free to send all comments and questions on how we can improve Real-World Decision Support to ARiley@EWSolutions.com

This newsletter is published quarterly (January 1st, April 1st, July 1st, & October 1st) and is dedicated to providing informative, real-world solutions to the challenges of implementing decision support systems, e-business solutions, XML, and meta data repositories.

To offer feedback and suggestions on Real-World Decision Support, please contact us at: admin@EWSolutions.com