Planning before a Planning Project
Today I was invited to a workshop with a potential client to discuss their budgeting and forecasting requirements and explain how the Oracle Hyperion EPM offering could support and optimise their current business process. One of the most invaluable lessons I’ve learned is how important it is to plan before you embark on an implementation of this nature.
Oracle Hyperion Planning is a centralized, Excel and Web-based planning, budgeting and forecasting solution that integrates the financial and operational planning processes of an organisation. Planning provides an in-depth look at the business operations and the related impact on financials, by tightly integrating financial and operational planning models. The ability to input and report budgeting and forecasting data in a central solution is important to analyse and manage any organisation. By including the Capital Expenditures (Capex) and Workforce modules with Planning an organisation can provide a solution for almost any requirement of the business planning process.
But, if an organisation fails to properly plan for the budgeting and forecasting implementation it will be almost impossible to achieve the benefits offered by Oracle Hyperion Planning offering. The following are fundamental items to keep in mind when implementing a new planning solution:
- Clearly defined business processes
- Identify the shortcomings of the existing system
- Focus on Planning
- Management buy in is crucial
Clearly defined business processes
The existing budgeting and forecasting business processes of an organisation should be clearly understood before implementing any solution. Any new business processes identified during the scoping and design of the new solution should be clearly defined and documented at the start of the implementation. The integration of the existing business processes across the organisation into the new budgeting and forecasting solution requires careful planning, it is important to streamline and automate processes to improve efficiency and reduce budget cycle times. Ideally, as the solution matures and users become comfortable with the technology the business processes should evolve as the business needs of the organisation change, for example, changing market conditions.
Identify the shortcomings of the existing system
A successful implementation cannot be built around a flawed or incomplete business process, and by integrating this unsound process into the new budgeting and forecasting solution the project could be delayed or worse, the fully capability of the Oracle Hyperion Planning tool could be compromised. Often these inefficiencies are included only because they have been a part of the process for years, but if the process doesn’t add value or save time. The implementation of the budgeting and forecasting system should also include a review and streamlining of the business processes. Most organisations can identify their biggest pain areas within the budgeting and forecasting process, many acknowledge that the data gathering process is one of the key areas that can be improved. By including the right players in the planning discussions most of the essential items can be identified prior to the implementation.
Focus on Planning
Focus on the main business requirement of the budgeting and forecasting solution. Using the same solution simultaneously for reporting or analysis purposes can be detrimental to the performance of the system. Depending on the business requirements and the system’s complexity certain cost allocations and business rules needed only for reporting or analysis purposes may possibly be done on a separate application optimised for data retrieval and calculations.
Management buy in is crucial
It’s essential to engage with executive management in the preliminary planning discussions and keep them updated right the way through the implementation of the Oracle Hyperion Planning solution. Executive management will sponsor the implementation of the new budgeting and forecasting solution and will ultimately be the audience for the output. Connecting with them upfront and regularly updating them on the status of the implementation will guarantee the solution meets their business needs and expectations.
Implementing a new budgeting and forecasting solution is a big undertaking that demands the input, effort and cooperation of many people across the organisation. Planning and considering the items mentioned above will factor in to the success of the Planning implementation.
For more information on Oracle Hyperion Planning:
http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/bi/planning/index.html
Business Intelligence in the current economic climate
Hi Everyone!!
This is my first post so all your feedback, criticisms, comments and suggestions are very welcome!
I would like to start with a brief description of myself with regards to my expertise. I am a graduate and have been working as a Hyperion Business Intelligence consultant (my first real job) for the past 9 months. I am infinitely passionate about the subject of Economics and the effects and consequences that even the smallest decisions (individually or corporately) can have on our day-to-day lives. Thus, don’t be surprised if my blogs have either a mild, or distinctly pungent economic flavour attached to them.
I came across an interesting article recently and would like to share it with all of you (click on the link to access it). There is a part I and part II to it so be sure to read them both!
http://www.swifteconomics.com/2009/05/16/pretty-girls/#comments
http://www.swifteconomics.com/2009/10/14/pretty-girls-part-ii/#comments
Why did I ask you to read those? Well, with the current economic crisis being the talk-of-the-town, and with everyone (including the “pretty girls”) having to ration out their incomes and change their behaviour in order to keep their heads above water, the decisions we make today are probably more likely to have larger impacts (good or bad) than ever before. From a corporate point-of-view, these impacts have even greater implication – most specifically, financial. In order to for these implications to work for you rather than against you, you need to be equipped with the right tools, and more importantly, the right information. This is where the concept of Business Intelligence comes in.
Business Intelligence basically refers to skills, processes, technologies, applications and practices used to support decision-making. The age we live in has commonly been recgonised as the “Information Age”, and with good reason. There is so much information out there today – a simple search on Google can yield an answer to the price of your next fashion accessory or to the cure of your stiff neck (which, before the search, you probably mistook for a fatal disease!). The point I’m trying to make is that being able to acquire and consequently analyze the right information at the right time can put you in a position to make the best possible decision for you or your business.
Don’t waste any more time! If it’s information you need, Business Intelligence has a component for you!!
What is HPCM?
This article serves to introduce the HPCM application, with further articles focusing on the uses, benefits and value of implementing Profitability and Cost Management solutions.
Hyperion Profitability and Cost Management (HPCM) is the “new kid on the block” as far as the Oracle|Hyperion suite of Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) applications go. Released in 2008 – on the common EPM platform of Essbase, EPMA, Workspace, Shared Services – HPCM allows for actionable insight into cost and profitability management.
HPCM allows for the creation of decision support models, utilising either pre-defined cost allocation methodologies such as traditional ABC, Time Based ABC, Standard Costing or customised models allowing for the creation of very unique network costing or shared/support costing models.
The solution drives business performance by discovering drivers of cost and profitability, empowering users with visibility and flexibility, and improving resource alignment.
Traceability maps and audit trail capabilities provide unique transparency and ease of use. Oracle Hyperion Profitability and Cost Management is the only packaged profitability application that leverages Oracle Essbase Plus, the industry’s leading OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) server, for faster, easier, powerful multidimensional analysis.
So what does Essbase stand for?
Introduction
Before I answer the titular question, maybe a brief introduction as to why I feel myself qualified to blog on Essbase and everything related to this product. I am an IT professional working in the BI field since 1992, and with Essbase specifically since 1995. In this time I have done it all, from being a lowly BI developer on Commander EIS, to running consulting teams and trying to sell BI software. My main focus area is still Essbase (can we still use the Hyperion name?), and all related technologies.
A brief history of Essbase
Essbase is the granddaddy of OLAP (On-Line Analytical Processing) databases. As was stated in a ComputerWorld article entitled “The Top 10 IT innovations of the last decade” written a couple of years ago, Essbase was recognized as the OLAP technology which put OLAP databases on the BI map. It was introduced to the market around 1993, and has been responsible for thousands of cubes and eons of man-hours in development since then.
So what is this OLAP thing?
Essbase is an OLAP technology. The term “OLAP” was first coined by E.F. Codd in 1993 who defined the 12 laws of OLAP . This defined an entire industry. The core principle of OLAP technologies is multidimensionality, and how to quickly answer multidimensional queries. Essbase is a multidimensional database, which creates a physical cube of data, unlike relational OLAP technologies which depend on a relational database.
Essbase stands for…
To come back to the original question, Essbase stands for Extended Spreadsheet Database. The idea was to simulate thousands of spreadsheets linked by multidimensional relationships in a easy-to-access database.
This blog is the first of ,hopefully, many more on the topic of Essbase, Hyperion, Enterprise Performance Management, and general BI subjects. Let me know if you want me to cover specific topics – what I cannot answer I am sure my Intellient colleagues will be able to handle.
