Case Study Ananthakrishnan Snata develps J Architect, Snata Sftware cmprehensive BI Applicatin fr a leading prvider f Animal Nutritin Slutins Snata Sftware Limited www.snata-sftware.cm
www.snata-sftware.cm Snata develps cmprehensive BI applicatin fr a leading prvider f animal nutritin slutins The custmer, a majr prvider f animal nutritin slutins and related technlgy, needed a BI slutin t integrate data acrss its varius prfit centres t make infrmed and accurate business decisins. Snata, with its extensive BI expertise and Micrsft experience, wn the prject and delivered a BI slutin that helped the custmer access infrmatin frm its varius prfit centres. Custmer Prfile The custmer is a leading glbal prvider f animal nutritin slutins and the technlgy related t it. With varius prfit centres spread acrss 30 natins, the custmer uses its internatinal resurces f research and develpment t prduce high quality nutritin prducts fr animals. It als emplys its technical expertise in animal nutritin t prvide high quality fd t almst all species f animals. Business Scenari The custmer was using seven Online Transactin Prcessing (OLTP) systems fr managing its transactin-riented applicatins. There was a heavy wrk lad n these OLTP systems. Als, usage f different OLTP systems at different prfit centres created prblems fr integratin and reprting f data. T vercme these prblems, the custmer required a BI slutin with the fllwing bjectives: Implementatin f a data warehuse with a cmmn business mdel: The custmer wanted t achieve unifrmity in data reprting and analysis acrss its varius prfit centres. Since each prfit centre wrked as an independent unit with its wn specific requirements, a mdel had t be develped that culd be used equally well acrss all the prfit centres. Integratin f data frm diverse surce systems: Data needed t be integrated acrss packaged ERP applicatins, CRM applicatins and bespke applicatins. Integrated and intuitive reprting f data and OLAP analysis platfrm, accessible t and useful fr all users, irrespective f their departments. SOLUTION OVERVIEW Prfile Snata Sftware, headquartered in Bangalre, India, is a leading IT cnsulting and services cmpany. Snata's custmers are lcated acrss the US, Eurpe and the Asia- Pacific regin. Its prtfli f services includes IT Cnsulting, Prduct Engineering Services, Travel Slutins, Applicatin Develpment, Applicatin Management, Managed Testing, Business Intelligence, Infrastructure Management and Packaged Applicatins. As per the industry rankings released by NASSCOM fr FY07-08, Snata Sftware ranked amng the Tp 20 IT Sftware and Service Exprters in India. Website www.snata-sftware.cm Scenari T develp a BI slutin fr a majr glbal prvider f animal nutritin slutins and related technlgy. The slutin needed t integrate varius data surces t enable the custmer t make infrmed business decisins. Micrsft Technlgies Benefits ETL Layer Data Transfrmatin Services OLAP Layer SQL Server Analysis server / Cgns Pwerplay Enterprise server OLAP Frnt End Cgns Pwerplay / Imprmptu. Streamlined access t infrmatin. Reductin in wrk lad n the OLTP systems used by custmer. Integratin f data reprting fr seven subject areas frm different OLTP systems. On the basis f its extensive BI expertise cupled with Micrsft experience, Snata secured the prject. 1 Snata Sftware Limited
www.snata-sftware.cm Slutin Delivered Snata develped a cmprehensive Enterprise Data Warehuse (EDW) applicatin, based n Cmmn Dimensin Mdel (CDM), t address the custmer s requirements. The CDM was based n the CPG (Cnsumer and Packaged Gds) framewrk develped by Snata fr the distributin-intensive industry. T develp the EDW applicatin, Snata understd the custmer s analytical requirements and mdified the CPG framewrk t suit them. The EDW applicatin cnsisted f ver 150 key perfrmance indicatrs (KPIs) that culd be analysed acrss 35 dimensins. It cvered all key peratins and functinal areas in the custmer s businesses sales and marketing, pricing, lgistics, prductin, finance, custmer service and purchase. The EDW applicatin had adaptrs fr flat files, which retrieved data frm hetergeneus surces such as ERP systems, Lab Inf Management systems, Lgistics systems, Excel-based budget data, etc. Data files were then prcessed thrugh a set f prgrams such as Micrsft Data Transfrmatin Services (DTS) and SQL Server-stred prcedures, and laded int the EDW applicatin (SQL Server database). Mdificatin f the data t satisfy the custmer s business requirements was handled by Micrsft DTS and SQL Server-stred prcedures. The custmer culd als use the CPG framewrk t retrieve the data stred in its ERP applicatins, Supply Chain Management slutins, CRM applicatins and ther custm develped applicatins. The architecture fr the EDW applicatin develped by Snata is given belw: 1. Data Surce Layer The data surce fr the EDW applicatin was in the frm f flat files btained frm the fllwing peratinal surce systems that captured the custmer s business transactins: MOVEX/NAVISION/SAP ERP system. CRM system. Lgistics systems. Excel-based budget data. Custm applicatins. 2. ETL (Extract, Transfrm, Lad) Layer The ETL layer perfrmed the fllwing functins: Extractin f data frm the surce system (flat files) int a staging area. The extracted data was then cleansed and transfrmed as per the custmer s business requirements and finally laded int the EDW applicatin. SQL Server 2000 was used as the staging database and Micrsft DTS, alng with SQL Server-stred prcedures, was used fr ETL. DTSs used fr lading data frm flat files t the EDW were scheduled t run at midnight and culd be cnfigured t run n a daily/weekly/mnthly basis at a specified time. Maintenance f data integrity and cnsistency during data migratin. 2 Snata Sftware Limited
www.snata-sftware.cm 3. Data Strage Layer The data strage layer was respnsible fr physically string the data. It cmprised the Data Warehuse layer and OLAP Cube layer. Data Warehuse layer: The Data Warehuse cntained lw-level data fr all the functinal dmains i.e. sales, finance, prductin, pricing, lgistics, etc. OLAP Cubes layer: OLAP Cubes were built fr each functinal area, using the data frm the EDW. These Cubes cmprised aggregated and summarized data, while EDW prvided detailed data underlying these aggregatins. 4. OLAP and Reprting Layer This prvided fr accessing data frm the OLAP Cube layer thrugh Cgns Pwerplay as well as frm the Data Warehuse layer thrugh Cgns Imprmptu. Pwerplay Cubes hsted n the Cgns Pwerplay Enterprise server culd be accessed thrugh a Pwerplay custmer, with security gverned by Cgns Access manager. Imprmptu reprts culd be dispatched as well as accesses via e-mail. Imprmptu catalg business layer enabled Imprmptu reprts t put queries t the EDW database. Slutin Architecture Tls & Technlgy Database SQL Server 2005 3 Snata Sftware Limited
www.snata-sftware.cm ETL Layer OLAP Layer OLAP Frnt-end Data Transfrmatin Services. SQL Server Analysis server/cgns Pwerplay Enterprise server. Cgns Pwerplay/Imprmptu. Business Benefits The custmer derived huge business benefits frm Snata s BI slutin. The mst prminent benefits were: Integratin f data acrss the custmer s varius prfit centres. Ease f data integratin and reprting, leading t flexibility f data analysis. Reductin in wrk lad n the OLTP systems used by custmer. Cst benefits Fr mre infrmatin, cntact inf@snata-sftware.cm Click here t knw mre abut ur Micrsft BI Slutins 4 Snata Sftware Limited