John Daniel Associates has been delivering Enterprise Intelligence (BI) options to our purchasers for 25 years! Sure, we’re celebrating 25 years of serving to individuals inside firms on the lookout for higher, quicker, simpler methods to have a look at the intelligence gained from their information to assist enhance their enterprise. So many issues have modified over time, and but so many others stayed the identical. On this publish, we share the story of John Daniel Associates. All of it started in 1996…

What was occurring on the earth in 1996?

• Pokemon was launched to the world
• In January 1996, there have been 100,000 web sites (6 billion in 2020)
• eBay began on-line auctioning
• The Summer time Olympics have been in Atlanta, Georgia
• DVD’s have been simply being launched
• CRM was simply getting into the market, and so they seemed like this:

Our first (ever) brochure

We titled our first brochure – sure, we imply the paper type – “Change the Means You View Data”. We nonetheless try this right this moment, change the best way individuals view data. And it has prolonged to incorporate a number of know-how companions and options for our purchasers.

Our first partnership:  Cognos:  The chief in reporting and analytics

It began with a PowerPlay.  An incredible title for excellent software program from Canada.  However hockey isn’t the sport right here.  Our journey of BI started with a strong OLAP know-how from Cognos, and PowerPlay was that know-how.   Exhibiting purchasers learn how to “slice and cube” their information was actually significant. 

We known as it the “aha” second. To see a shopper’s response to their enterprise for the primary time after we merely “dragged and dropped” income or product line into their product dimensions was tremendous enjoyable.  That half has stayed the identical. It’s nonetheless tremendous enjoyable to indicate individuals how briskly and simple their information will be accessible to them with the precise processes and know-how in place to assist their enterprise wants.  Oh, and after we bought PowerPlay software program to a shopper, they obtained a field, or bins of software program CD’s to put in. My millennial pals are saying “what in regards to the obtain?”….. effectively, we simply weren’t there but. Many purchasers paid nice cash for this $.25 CD! Oh, and there was no “internet” model.

PowerPlay had a mighty sidekick, a question product known as Impromptu that additionally had an necessary function to play in getting common customers stable data from their database.  Cognos Impromptu even generated SQL, so a non-programmer may generate a question and construct their very own studies.  It was throughout this time that we started utilizing the time period “energy consumer”.  That consumer or customers in a company who have been information savvy, enterprise savvy, and will bridge IT and enterprise customers.  These energy customers launched the muse of Enterprise Intelligence. They drove know-how firms to be extra user-friendly for enterprise customers in order that the logjam of requests to the IT division could possibly be opened up, and open up it did!

Cognos was acquired by IBM, and the BI platform has grown to an enterprise answer that now consists of Cognos Analytics, Planning Analytics (FP&A), and enterprise scale dashboards through reporting. 

The Web booms, and need for information is insatiable.

Then got here this loopy, loopy factor. The explosion of the web, and together with that got here the explosion of BI on the web. Now, we will serve tons of, 1000’s of customers with BI. And with these tons of and 1000’s of customers got here extra information, and extra information, and extra information. Now John Daniel Associates was ready to assist our purchasers manage, or “warehouse” this information. As a result of reporting and analyzing that information was possible in place, we now had a wonderful blueprint for the information warehouse. Information warehousing for big client package deal firms, retailers, producers (and others) turned a major a part of our observe. 

We Want Simple Analytics:  A Partnership with Qlik is born.

The evolution of knowledge consumption made the thirst for significant information QUICKLY much more prevalent. The query was, “Are you able to make this presentation of knowledge extra compact, simpler to devour? An general view of many sorts of knowledge that we will search on? A presentation from an organization in Radnor, PA, Qlik, was made, and our purchasers have been thrilled. Qlik made it attainable to “google my information”. Our partnership with Qlik advanced, and purchasers have been hungry to make this know-how a part of their providing to their enterprise.  Our customers may now, in seconds, reply questions on their enterprise just by “qliking” on the information set earlier than them, deciding on standards that answered their questions.  Analytics from firms like Qlik exploded for the enterprise consumer, and now, the facility consumer was even much less depending on IT to assist get the data they wanted. 

The change didn’t cease there. The enterprise local weather shifted from on-premise to cloud-based options. Ahhhhh….the thriller of the cloud. So, our purchasers are asking if we will help them with reporting and analytics options which might be cloud-based.

FP&A within the Cloud with Vena Options – We love Excel!

Our partnership and implementation of Vena Options was attainable as a consequence of some shut skilled pals that had moved to Vena from our early days at Cognos.  No partnership works with out belief, and after studying lots about Vena and implementing our first hospitality shopper with Vena’s workforce, we believed that purchasers in search of FP&A options within the cloud versus on-premise can be effectively served with our partnership with Vena Options.  This simply appeared like a no brainer to us as a result of Vena makes use of Excel as its front-end.  Vena’s engine is powerful, but the Excel interface that finance groups love allows rapid understanding and adoption. Furthermore, our purchasers will be on-line rapidly and the processes and information of the answer are leveraged nearly instantly.

Custom-made Software program Growth:  Make it Mine

Generally our purchasers have very particular know-how wants. They honestly want an answer purpose-built only for them. Custom-made software program options have been constructed for some industry-leading purchasers within the hospitality and industrial area the place we have been initially delivering analytics and reporting options.   The custom-made answer for our hospitality shopper leverages .NET know-how and gives a strong interface for gathering monetary attributes throughout 100+ entities. Most fun, this huge initiative was delivered on time, on price range! Custom-made software program growth requires a best-practice deployment and challenge administration workforce from each the shopper and JDA.  Our custom-made software program growth options have efficiently delivered each and resulted in an utility that’s precisely what the shopper wanted! 

25 Years:  Expertise continues to be simply a part of the answer.

By right this moment’s requirements, many appear to imagine that “the know-how” you select makes your BI initiatives extra profitable and makes the corporate extra profitable.  Whereas know-how is a crucial a part of  Enterprise Intelligence success, it’s actually the individuals at our purchasers which have made their BI initiatives profitable. Folks, coupled with nice know-how, have pushed our wonderful 25-year journey. Enterprise Intelligence know-how has modified lots in 25 years, and but a lot has stayed the identical. It was 1996, and folks have been sharing their need to study extra, quicker, to enhance their enterprise’ efficiency. They needed the precise data to make them higher, quicker resolution makers. It has been a privilege to assist them accomplish these goals. We heard it usually in 1996: “we have now the information…we simply can’t get to it”.  And we nonetheless hear it, 25 years later. 

We’re grateful for an incredible workforce that continues this journey with us, and particularly for the purchasers who’ve trusted us alongside the best way. Thanks.