Oracle Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence Solutions (Paperback)

Up-to-date, comprehensive coverage of the Oracle database and business intelligence tools

Data warehouses are the core technology that businesses use to capture, store, and analyze vast amounts of business data, and Oracle has emerged as the leading database platform. Its business intelligence tools make it considerably easier to analyze data to support marketing, sales, and other initiatives. Written by a team of Oracle insiders, this authoritative book provides you with the most current coverage of the Oracle data warehousing platform as well as the full suite of business intelligence tools.

You'll learn how to leverage Oracle features and how those features can be used to provide solutions to a variety of needs and demands. Plus, you'll get valuable tips and insight based on the authors' real-world experiences and their own implementations.

Serving as a single reference that aims to help you avoid many common pitfalls while gaining professional success, Oracle Data Warehousing shares best practices for:

• Leveraging Oracle technologies to design, build, and manage data warehouses
• Integrating specific database and business intelligence solutions from other vendors
• Using the new suite of Oracle business intelligence tools to analyze data for marketing, sales, and more
• Handling typical data warehouse performance challenges
• Uncovering initiatives by your business community, security business sponsorship, project staffing, and managing risk

The companion Web site contains all the same code used throughout the book, plus links to related sites.

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Visit our Web site at www.wiley.com/compbooks/

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Table of Contents

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.

SQL*Loader.

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.