Your SpotOn the IBM Cognos Edge

... just might be the winning combination!

SpotOn recently played a major role in a big European IBM Cognos win with a significant client. 

It was a competitive bid and according to the customer we won because of two main factors:

1. Commitment – despite busy schedules we hopped on a plane, flew 7+ hours, spent 30+ hours with the prospect discussing technology, implementation, ad hoc BI-Spatial analysis, and more.  The following week our team knocked together "blow you away" prototypes tailored to the prospect's business.
2. Integration – we demonstrated the best business intelligence (BI) and ESRI integration the prospect had seen.

This exciting news turned out to be the front edge of the avalanche - with two additional Vantage wins inside of an eight day span!  It seems that the GBI message is starting to be heard.

And now, we're off to execute.  Next stop, NSW Australia!

co

Black and white; day and night, etc... 

When it comes to using Gantt charts (i.e. MS Project) as a management tool, there likely are two distinct camps.  If I’m any indication, the two sides are quite wary of each other, to say the least – “I don’t care what it says, there are more than 8 hours in a day!” 

Google “love” + “gantt” and you will see that there is a [eerie...] yin to my yang.

This 2-sided paradigm seems to extend to Cognos BI deployments: those that care about Gantt charts; and those that don’t. For those that care, they really care, to the point where some crazy attempts have been made to satisfy their Gantt-love desires.  Life just isn’t the same without those horizontal bars being there for help manage complex projects.

Outside of the “interesting” crosstab technique referenced above, Gantting (I just made that word up) has not been supported within Cognos BI.  However last month, SpotOn engineer Mark Mallany wrote (read: prematurely announced, but what the heck) about the introduction of Gantt charts in a Cognos 8 environment through SpotOn Vantage.  Since then, we have whipped up prototype Gantt charts for Fortune-type clients and others – with the interactive Gantt visual inside the Cognos 8 Viewer, driven by the report queries.  They now have a manageable and effective way of distributing their critical Gantt charts to thousands of users throughout their worldwide Cognos deployment.

On top of all this, the charts are functional.  That means:

• Data driven styles where specific styles and colors appear for “critical” tasks.
• Interactive task tree on the left side of the chart.
• Display of other tabular data in a list on the left of the chart.
• Drill up and down on timelines.
• Zoom in and out of various elements of the chart.
• Task rollups.
• And much more...

Are Gantt charts in your Cognos 8 environment important to you?  We are definitely looking to understand this space (Gantt charts in BI reports) better. Let's you and I have a chat!

CO

We keep getting into these BI-GIS conversations, and it is sometime hard to know if we are acting as a "GBI translator", or just annoying people.  I suspect it's quite often the latter, but at least people remember us, right..?

A while back we were kindly asked to participate in a Proof of Technology session with a large insurance company.  Our topic was the technical integration of Cognos BI and Esri ArqGIS.  I kicked off the discussion with the suggestion that upon presentation of their geospatial reporting requirements, the BI vendor would propose a company dashboard targeted to 10,000 users that happened to include a map.  The GIS perspective would be an insanely rich and powerful location-based risk analysis application that would could be leveraged by a handful of GIS  analysts.

Two radically different solutions from the same set of requirements, and the right answer is likely between the two.  This got head nods and chuckles from the client, fairly  muted responses from the other vendors.

The crux of the issue is the hammer and nail analogy, your going to see the world through the perspective and strength of your solution. If you boil both BI and GIS solutions down to their essence, they are both simply information systems presenting business insight to users. 

Time to add the handsaw to the toolbox and start giving organizations the information they want and need.

PS; we haven't been invited back to another Proof of Technology since…

Hello all,

We’re going to shake this blog thing up a bit.  We had some good reasoning behind the decision to launch multiple topic-related blogs.  However, when you boil it all down to its essence, SpotOn exists to help organizations make their Cognos BI “fit”.  Lately the most prominent “fitting” that has been taking place is the inclusion of the spatial perspective (GBI) through the integration of ESRI GIS solutions with the Cognos BI foundation.  At other times its about integration with environments, authentication providers, performance tuning, or just helping clients to understand “how the damn stuff actually works under the covers!” 

Also, we didn’t post enough to make it work…  

So we’re going to bring everything together under one blog cover. 

A couple of mandates:

• Showcase some of the wizbangery that we’re putting together for clients and prospects – and the “why it might matter to you” business value
• Delve into Reporting Excellence and advanced charting and visualization in Cognos reports
• Explore the value of GBI solutions while recounting the interesting GBIS conversations that we find ourselves in
• Discuss BI integration and custom solutions: the good, bad, and everything in between

Plus all the other interesting things (read: shiny objects) that grab our attention and are (arguably…) worth sharing

Most of all, we want to have a conversation.  In our capacity as a IBM Cognos ISV Partner with a specialty niche and a decent reputation, we are exposed to some interesting (cool, wild, sometimes amazingly stupid, etc) stuff.  We’re going to try sharing more. 

Feel free to let us know what you’d like to hear about.  Tell us if you like something we’ve said, and tell us if you don’t.

We hope you enjoy the journey!

Hello all,

Apologies, it has been a while since our last update in the GBI blog - the marketing department keeps reminding that October was a long time ago.  Seems we (probably I) have been too busy with our "SpotOn Vantage World Tour 2009-10".  Rock On! (enterprise software style).

Highlights from the past 6 months:

• Webinar: Introduction to GBI
• IBM Information on Demand (IOD) Conference in Las Vegas
• Awarding of the IBM CTO Innovation award at IOD
• Sponsoring of IBM Cognos Performance Events:
  • Washington DC; Toronto; Los Angeles; Boston; Chicago
• Speaking at the ESRI Canada User Conference (see related post re: when the audience know more...)
• Newly minted ESRI Partnership: Developer and Reseller
• Webinar: Integrating Maps into IBM Cognos
• Exhibiting with IBM at the ESRI Federal Conference in DC
• Gold Sponsor of the IBM Cognos Federal Forum in DC
• Attending the ESRI Business Partner Conference in Palm Springs (see picture)

"Seriously, I'm at a conference... I told you these GIS guys are different!"

We've had whirlwind trips to Europe, and more trips to Redlands, CA than you can shake a stick at.  We have new people in the virtual shop, a newly minted partner tearing up the UK, and our good friend Freddy is about to light up another corner of Europe (stay tuned).

Most importantly, we've delivered - and are delivering, at an accelerated pace - on the promise of achieving a complete information perspective with our customers.  Bridging the geographic and the business dimensions to deliver the complete picture.

And boy, have we learned a bunch along the way!  Looking forward to sharing. 

co

BI is the CIO's top technology priority; it has been for more just about a decade - so says Gartner Research.  There has been a mad scramble by the megavendors to acquire the top rung of the pure play BI solutions.  Upstart, "flexy", dashboard and reporting solutions have been making their presence felt.  So what exactly are we talking about here?

I recently had an opportunity to present to a senior team at an enterprise mapping/GIS firm.  The subject was on why they should care about business intelligence.  In researching the presention, my favorite definition for BI  that I came acrosse was the following from Microsoft:

BI simplifies information discovery and analysis, making it possible for decision-makers at all levels of an organization to more easily access, understand, analyze, collaborate, and act on information, anytime and anywhere.

I found this definition very compelling as it focuses on the desired outcome.  Wait a minute....!!!

What if broad-based understanding of BI focused on the desired outcome - useful, actionable information for everybody (regardless of role) in the organization - rather than the features and functionalities of the various BI tools and technologies?  

Looking through the other end of the kaleidoscope leads to some interesting thinking; information usage versus technology capability; what different information consumers in the organization require; do they get the complete picture; how does the information get to the people that need it; how often...  It also puts the traditional BI "bake offs" in an interesting light, as different information systems can play specific roles in a well planned information architecture (foreshadowing alert: we like geography).

Or maybe I'm just too hopped up on coffee!  Interesting or irrelevant?  Let us know what you think.

Chris

In a long-winded post on the IBM Cognos Forum a couple of weeks ago, I made mention of "hardware".  Here is a photo of Darren and I procuring said hardware:

Yep, the burly guy on the left is holding the award for the 2009 IBM Cognos Global ISV Technology Partner of the Year.  This award was in recognition of the ESRI integration capabilites delivered through our SpotOn Vantage solution.

It is a tremendous honor and we are very thankful.  This year is cueing up to be a very exciting, insanely hectic, journey into the domain of location intelligence for IBM Cognos customers.  Hope to have you all aboard!

Here is the deal; we have been very active recently in helping folks integrate high-end enterprise mapping (GIS) with Cognos 8 BI.  We've come to the conclusion that there is real value in bringing the geographic perspective to your core BI.  Hence we have gravitated to the following definition of GBI.

Perhaps influenced by the backgrounds and experience of the folks at SpotOn, we believe that BI is the foundation for GBI.  BI has been the top technology priority for CIOs for almost a decade now.  Companies count on BI for their mission-critical operations.

However, the impact and power of spatial analytics and GIS solutions are staggering.  These tools can deliver unprecedented insight into businesses, and the key operations relation to location.

The goal of this blog will be to share the learning and adventures as we collectively explore the world where Geography and BI meet.

Let get past the "why" and "what", and start digging into the "Where"!   

I just wrapped up attending a two-day commercial summit that ESRI hosted for its current and potential business partners.  The objective of the summit was to arm partners with the knowledge and capabilities to go after the for profit business sector.  Makes perfect sense.  The event was well put together and provided the attendees with ample potential opportunities in a myriad of directions. 

As a "lowly BI guy" in the room, I had my head spinning as incredible geo-spatial capabilities were showcased that would provide invaluable information business insight across various industries.  I think I'm starting to understand why GIS folks are so passionate about their solutions.  However something was gnawing in the back of my mind; why would companies utilizing these capabilities need BI?  Demo after demo, we were shown staggeringly powerful capabilities that delivered all the information anybody could ask for.  Why was I in the room?  Who in their right mind would want my crosstab - let alone my simple list...

But then in started to don on me; almost every demonstration started with the desktop power-tools.  Jokes were made during presentations about "chained up GIS developer in the dungeon".  Even when presenting the web-based server tools, the thrust of the presentation was on the analytical capabilities.  There are a ton of potential buttons to press and levers to pull.  I was starting to formulate a theory...

And then were uttered, in the final session of the final day of the summit, words that reinforced my growing suspicion; "it's all about getting this information beyond the analysts....".  The thrust of point was not about leveraging BI solutions like IBM Cognos, but about building web application to present mapping capabilities. 

Aha!!!  I'll do you one better than your custom web apps.  How about we deliver the spatial capabilities with the same vehicle used to disseminate the rest of your business information.  What if we use the enterprise BI security model to control access to your maps.  Maybe we augment the map with a layer or two based on the BI data.  Heck, let's get the whole thing working together with interactive capabilities allowing the user to click on the map and affect the tabular view - or use the map or a report prompt control.

It's not the sexy side of the information game, but the key "so what?" about BI solutions for GIS capabilities could very well be the administration and dissemination capabilities.  On the flip side, even a simple interactive map in a report gets your average BI guy into a tizzy - very sexy!  This simple map also seems to cause disdain and scorn from GIS folks, "that's just dots on a map". 

Fine by me, will focus on mapping capabilities for the "low brow" BI masses.  We'll leave you to your power-tooled enable dungeons!  

The SpotOn executive team recently had breakfast with a senior software executive.  What a great morning.  First off, I love breakfast!  But the dialog has had me thinking for several days now.  I'm hoping to be able to relate aspects of the discussion in these blog posting. 

The purpose of the breakfast was to catch up with this individual, let him know a little bit about what SpotOn is up to, solicit some advice in the area of Customer Advisory Boards and Board of Advisors, and to establish an ongoing dialog.  We also had a fantastic discussion on the role of partners to large software vendors, and the future of business intelligence - both technology and the licensing models to support the deployments of the future.  What do you want to hear about?

One analogy that was particularly apt to the partner reality was that of the "streak in the windshield".  Picture if you will a set of windshield wipers as the pass over the glass on a rainy day.  Sometime a streak gets left on the glass.  However there is a good chance that the streak will be removed on the next pass, and if not quite probably it will be gone on the subsequent pass.  Huh?  Stay with me...

Now picture a sharp partner company in, let's say, the Cognos space.  They go about their business drumming up services and doing good work for their clients.  The partner recognizes that they have, in short order, solved the same problem with three successive clients.  The "aha" moment; we can solve this for all clients by developing a product.  Time, effort, and money go into the development; hopefully the partner is able to get the offering to market and effectively promote the solution. 

But look out, here comes the wiper blade!  Cognos announces new administrative feature in the next release eliminates the originating issue.  The Partner's market has just been dead-ended, current sales cycles screech to a halt.  Partner screams bloody murder.  But is Cognos not supposed to fix the obvious issues?

Interesting scenario; who's right and who's wrong?  Is there a right and wrong?  Couple of thoughts that I've been chewing on:

• As a Partner, you had better know if an opportunity has long-lasting potential, or is a streak on the window.
• Identified streaks likely can be profitable, have legs, and earn a decent return - but don't forget that it is a streak.
• Is there any value to the Wiper in the equation (say Cognos) to not addressing the issue and promoting the partner solution?  Does this promote a thriving partner ecosystem?  Is this outweighed by customer frustration?
• What are the options for "steak" partner offerings? Let them continue to exist independently? License the technology for distribution of core product integration?
• What is the true cost of swapping out partner technologies for core software technologies when customer switching costs are considered?

At SpotOn are goal is to identify greenfield opportunities with Cognos customers where we can rapidly deliver high impact technology solutions with staying power.  The reality is that somewhere in the walls at Riverside, smart people are thinking about the same opportunities.  We believe that the SpotOn secret weapons in the equation is speed and agility.  Not only in bringing technologies to light and to market, but also to keep moving when our own "streaks in the windshield" disapear.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.