bull fast track 15% bull fast track Business Intelligence made simpler

Transcription

1 5 Business Intelligence made simpler

2 5 Business Intelligence is at a crossroads From marketing to human resources, from production to finance, managers have an almost infinitely rich mine of information available to them. Customer behaviour, average shopping cart values, attrition rates, market trends, employee profiles They know what s available within the business and, increasingly, outside it (thanks to Big Data): infinite amounts of valuable and significant data that could help them take better and smarter decisions, much faster. And they know that progress in Business Intelligence applications like data mining, advanced analytics and free text searches means they can exploit that resource even more fully. But Business Intelligence (BI) systems designed decades ago just can t cope with the exponential growth in information, and no longer meet the needs or expectations of the business. IT and Business Intelligence Managers themselves are fully aware of the problem this poses; especially in businesses that inherently generate huge amounts of data, because they have so many transactions, customers or products to deal with. More data takes longer to load. More simultaneous users slow down response times. Industrialized data management is essential, but it also curbs flexibility. And getting information from so many heterogeneous sources can rapidly become a major headache All this means that, today, BI is at a real crossroads: torn between technology constraints and the expectations of the business. Too often, BI project managers are forced to choose between price and performance, industrialization and flexibility, acceptable service levels (SLAs) and scalability, standardization and personalization, rich functionality and in-depth analysis Now at last to reconcile these competing demands Bull offers Fast Track, an innovative Business Intelligence platform that combines all the flexibility of the Microsoft Fast Track architecture, all the power and robustness of a Bull solution, and all the Group s expertise in BI project delivery. 5 5 shows you the way

3 : the turnkey BI platform As an all-in-one appliance + services platform, is a unique and innovative offering in the Business Intelligence world. Designed in response to today s issues and challenges, is a plug & go solution, implemented end to end by Bull, for fast and secure Business Intelligence projects that effectively reconcile business needs and technical constraints. 5 includes: Hardware infrastructure from Bull A software stack based on Microsoft technologies Expert Business Intelligence services from Bull. Ideal for the BI Department in major companies and sectors that have to deal with huge amounts of data such as telecoms, e-commerce, banking and insurance, transport, social welfare, mass-market retailing, consumer energy delivers all the power of a massive system for the cost of a traditional infrastructure, and with all the flexibility of a highly customizable tool backed up by the robust and clear framework of industry standards. Key benefits of Unrivalled price/performance ratio: thanks to its dedicate and fully optimized infrastructure, and to the parallelization that comes from using Microsoft SQL Server, offers all the performance of a massively parallel system, at a highly competitive cost. Advanced customization: using its standard yet open framework, enables a made-to-measure, fully technically and functionally integrated solution to be built, that is perfectly suited to its business environment. A plug & go solution: built in the factory according to project specifications, delivered ready to use and implemented in next to no time, is designed for any business for whom time-to-market is key. End-to-end support: as the single point of contact, Bull can provide a wide range of value-added services (including pre-configured solutions specifically for the telecoms sector and HR) and brings all its skills into play at each stage; from design to implementation, right through the day-to-day running of the solution; to simplify, speed up and secure your BI project.

4 The best technologies from Bull and Microsoft in a single rack, the appliance is the perfect balance between standards and personalization, flexibility and industrialization. appliance: made-to-measure, industrialized Developed by Bull around the Microsoft Fast Track specifications the benchmark architecture recommended by Microsoft to optimize the use of SQL Server in Data Warehouses bull fast track is a dedicated BI appliance specifically adapted to the day-to-day demands of business use. Backed by its extensive expertise in HPC architectures, SMP/MPP Data Warehouses and high-availability critical infrastructures, Bull has selected high-end components, chosen hardware and software elements that complement each other perfectly, and enhanced the configuration of the core tools and fully integrated functions (administration via a dedicated, integrated server, disc back-up, cluster, network/san interconnections, redundant components, management and supervision tools ). All the performance of a massively parallel system at a highly competitive cost Even though uses SMP architecture, the native SQL Server mechanism allows totally parallel access to the discs that hold the relational data tables. This automatic functionality unique to the Fast Track architecture does not require the database administrator to define the data distribution in advance. Combined with Bull s other technical solutions, this delivers performance to rival that of massively parallel systems, but at a much lower cost and with greater usability. Depending on the performance required, several versions of the bull fast track appliance are available, featuring between 8 and 64 processors and operating at speeds of up to 4 Gbit/s. An appropriate infrastructure combined with a customized BI stack The appliance is not just a empty machine: it is fully integrated, configured and factory tested so it can be used straight away in each customer s specific context. Depending on the needs of each project, Bull incorporates the existing BI stack or new elements (specifically determined at this point) into the infrastructure. These can include ETL, OLAP, restitution and reporting, a portal All this is possible thanks to Bull s extensive expertise, combined with the flexibility of Microsoft technologies and their ability to integrate with the vast majority of available tools and specific applications. The result? A turnkey BI machine with all the advantages of a standardized, industrialized infrastructure and the rich functionality of a made-to-measure solution.

5 Key advantages of the appliance 5 Performance: remarkable power, dedicated network resources and parallel disc access all combine to deliver optimum loading and response times. Scalability: the amount of data in BI systems is growing exponentially, but is designed to cope. For environments with highly constrained usage, Microsoft Parallel Data Warehouse combines several appliances in parallel, up to 6 TB, which creates huge room for manœuvre and allows you to get the best return on initial investment, incrementally, over the long term. Freedom: the flexibility and openness of Microsoft technologies and the Bull infrastructure means you can customize the appliance and adapt it to the specific characteristics of your information system and your end users needs. Rich functionality: data input, storage, restitution, analysis, distribution the entire BI stack is brought together into a single system. Sharing infrastructure resources helps to minimize the already-low Total Cost of Ownership in terms of your initial investment. Simple administration: integrated systems administration makes it easier to understand the origin of any performance issues (the amount of data held in a particular database, disc I/O, queries ) and anticipate needs. With bull fast track, IT Departments can sign up to high levels of service delivery (SLAs) with total peace of mind.

6 Project deadlines are getting tighter. From design to operation, the services offered alongside will speed up and secure BI projects. services: secure your projects is much more than just a machine; it is an integrated platform that combines hardware, software and expert services to simplify, speed up and secure Business Intelligence projects. also has the advantage of providing a single point of contact before, during and after the project, for continuity of service and easier access to all Bull s technical and business resources. Upstream: design and pre-configured solutions Drawing on pre-chosen BI software bundles or, if necessary, suggesting the most appropriate software stack, Bull s Business Intelligence experts put together the solution that best meets the organization s business objectives, required service and security levels, and internal standards. Because an appliance is used, a prototype can be shown to the customer as early as the initial design phase. The ideal way to capitalize on know-how gained during projects, the platform can incorporate specific expertise in the form of modules or pre-configured elements. Bull already offers a number of sector-specific BI solutions that are integrated into the appliance, fully optimized and ready to use: Telecoms Bull s telecoms sector experts have used their in-depth understanding of operators information systems (data sources, flows, formats, etc), key performance indicators (attrition rates, revenue per subscriber ) and industry best practice (TMF standards ) to build a data model, indicators and dashboards for every aspect of the business (marketing, finance, operations ). HR Capitalizing on its experience in human resources, built up over a long period, Bull has developed a dedicated HR BI solution including data extractors (most notably for HR Access), dashboards and indicators (administrative management, payroll, training ). Once they have been fine tuned following a gap analysis, these solutions enable Bull to deliver targeted, rapid projects with high added value. Other sectors and areas are in the pipeline to extend this range of vertical offerings.

7 5 During project delivery: an industrial approach to implementation Once it has been defined, the solution hardware and software infrastructure, BI software stack, third-party applications is integrated and configured, has its parameters set and is tested in the factory. The system is then installed on site and connected to the network, and its software licenses are activated. Typically it takes just a month to get a fully operational system. During the implementation phase, the pre-packaged utilities in the application (system administration, back-up, implementation support ) save considerable time on technical procedures. The project is delivered in a comprehensive and homogeneous BI landscape, from development to production: configuration, version management and deliveries are industrialized to save time, and boost quality and flexibility. This means an iterative approach can be taken, avoiding both the tunnel effect and risks to production. At every stage (qualification, production go-live, operational implementation, business continuity/disaster recovery ) Bull is there to support you, following proven procedures that fit perfectly with the needs of the Microsoft BI solution. Finally, Bull s extensive capabilities and its exclusive contacts with the major suppliers in the market (especially Microsoft itself), gives you easy access to expert resources as and when you need them. Downstream: from support to everyday operation Bull provides a single point of contact, to ensure comprehensive support for the solution (knowledge transfer, support, assistance, in-service support ) and long-term commitment to performance (SLAs, capacity planning, versioning ). For example, Bull can take on responsibility for managing data flows or data quality. Depending on each individual situation, any model can be used to actually operate the system: on site, remotely or under outsourcing arrangements at one of Bull s Data Centers. In particular, Bull offers remote surveillance, dynamic system supervision and preventive maintenance from its HA Services Center, to guarantee availability of up to HA999 level. customers also benefit from the continued enrichment of the platform, with the on-going development of an ecosystem of technical and business expertise within Bull and among its many partners.

8 B-bull_fast_track-en Bull SAS RCS Versailles B All product, brand, or trade names used in this publication are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners. UK: Bull Information Systems, Maxted Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire HP2 7DZ / USA: Bull HN Information Systems 3 Concord Road, Billerica, MA 82 Bull rue Jean Jaurès Les Clayes-sous-Bois France This brochure is printed on paper combining 4 eco-certified fibers from sustainable forests management and 6 recycled fibers in line with current environment standards (ISO 4). Design & layout T2BH - Photo credits: Shutterstock.com - VLADGRIN / T2BH