Monthly, weekly and even daily reports are standard fare in corporations worldwide. The majority of executives are accustomed to regular deliveries of piles of paper documenting everything from sales to warehouse stock and more.
"Most of the reports currently generated are created and printed from templates long since developed in spreadsheets or word processors," says Alwin Swales, Director at GBI. "They are static reflections of a state of affairs at a particular point in time.
"While spreadsheets certainly have value and should not be underestimated as an analytical tool, they also have their limitations and provide limited possibilities for further analysis or investigation into particular areas of interest - unless management requests another report be devised."
Swales says one of the primary reasons analytical tools have not been widely accepted into corporate reporting functions is the lack of a concise understanding of what they are and can accomplish. This confusion has been aided in the past by vendor marketing efforts focused on moving products instead of solving problems.
"Interactive reporting and analysis enables executives to take proactive measures to keep the business running smoothly, while also allowing them to identify and drill down into potential problem areas and enact resolutions in appropriate time," says Swales.
GBI has therefore decided to run a one-day course, Mindset Change - Reporting to Analysis and Beyond, to teach business about the advantages and potential benefits analysis tools and techniques can bring to their regular reports.
"GBI will not be delivering a product punt or even a GBI punt," says Marc Scheepbouwer, CEO of GBI. "Our intention is to demonstrate to non-technical business people how much more effective and productive they and their reporting can be when using the appropriate business analysis tools instead of, or as an addition to, the standard spreadsheet. We want to change delegates` mindsets from narrow reporting to business performance management (BPM), and in the process create awareness and appreciation of tools and techniques available to assist them."
Some of the topics to be covered include defining OLAP, defining multidimensionality; discussing types of OLAP (MOLAP, HOLAP, ROLAP, DOLAP); and explaining OLAP concepts like slice and dice, drilldown, pivot, etc.
"We will also unravel the unnecessary mysteries surrounding visualisation, computer simulations and run an analytical techniques workshop where delegates are divided into smaller groups, each of which gets a business issue/problem to discuss and come up with techniques that will help resolve the issue, or at least gain a better understanding," Swales explains.
"One of the most common questions we face is about key performance indicators (KPI). We will therefore also be discussing KPI measurement in various areas - financial, operational, sales and marketing, etc."
The course runs on 27 November at Glotec Park. Interested businesses and individuals who would like to attend should contact Beverley Nikitaridis on (011) 319 9800 or bnikitaridis@glotec.co.za.
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