Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence

Architecture
Presentation: 75 minutes
Table of Contents
Capture the business and technical requirements for a business intelligence solution architecture.
........................................................................................................................................................ 4
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 4
Lesson 1: Overview of Business Intelligence ......................................................................................... 5
Describe the purpose and nature of a BI solution. .......................................................................... 5
Discussion: Considerations for Defining Business Intelligence ......................................................... 6
Concept: Define Business Intelligence and Business Intelligence solutions. ................................. 6
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 6
Discussion questions ................................................................................................................... 7
Business Intelligence Solution Users .................................................................................................. 8
Fact: Identify the users of a BI solution. ......................................................................................... 8
Introduction................................................................................................................................. 8
Business users ............................................................................................................................. 9
Applications ................................................................................................................................ 9
Overview of Common Business Intelligence Terms......................................................................... 10
Fact: Identify key BI terminology................................................................................................. 10
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 10
ETL ........................................................................................................................................... 11
Data warehouse ......................................................................................................................... 11
Data mart................................................................................................................................... 11
OLAP ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Data mining............................................................................................................................... 11
Dashboards................................................................................................................................ 12
Scorecards ................................................................................................................................. 12
Reporting................................................................................................................................... 12
Traditional Business Intelligence Solutions...................................................................................... 13
Fact: Describe the traditional approach to BI................................................................................ 13
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 13
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 2

Facilities and capabilities .......................................................................................................... 13

Contemporary Business Intelligence Solutions................................................................................. 17
Concept: Describe the contemporary approach to BI. .................................................................. 17
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 17
Additional facilities and capabilities ......................................................................................... 17
Common Business Intelligence Philosophies .................................................................................. 19
Fact: Describe common BI philosophies. ..................................................................................... 19
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 19
Top-down design....................................................................................................................... 20
Bottom-up design...................................................................................................................... 20
Microsoft Business Intelligence Vision ............................................................................................ 21
Fact: Describe Microsoft’s BI vision. ........................................................................................... 21
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 21
Increased access to BI ............................................................................................................... 21
Unified Dimensional Model...................................................................................................... 22
Open server architecture ........................................................................................................... 22
Lesson 2: Overview of Business Intelligence Architecture .................................................................. 23
Identify the main components of a comprehensive BI architecture. ............................................. 23
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 23
Components and Processes in a Business Intelligence Architecture................................................. 24
Concept: Describe the components and processes in a BI architecture. ....................................... 24
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 24
Back end.................................................................................................................................... 25
Front end ................................................................................................................................... 25
Front-End Architecture ..................................................................................................................... 28
Fact: Describe the front-end components and processes of a BI solution architecture. ................ 28
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 28
Client applications and interfaces ............................................................................................. 29
Back-End Architecture...................................................................................................................... 30
Fact: Describe the back-end components and processes of a BI solution architecture. ................ 30
Microsoft Technologies for Business Intelligence............................................................................ 32
Fact: Describe Microsoft technologies for a BI solution. ............................................................. 32
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 3

Introduction............................................................................................................................... 32
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 ..................................................................................................... 32
Microsoft Office Excel and Office Web Components .............................................................. 33
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server.......................................................................................... 33
Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager ........................................................................ 33
Other Microsoft Technologies .......................................................................................................... 34
Fact: Describe the other Microsoft tools and technologies that you can use in a BI solution....... 34
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 34
Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004........................................................................ 35
Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 ........................................................................................ 35
BizTalk Server 2006 ................................................................................................................. 35
Host Integration Server 2004 .................................................................................................... 35
Lab: Identifying Business Intelligence Solution Requirements ............................................................ 36
Time estimated: 60 minutes ...................................................................................................... 36
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 36
Preparation ................................................................................................................................ 37
Exercise 1: Determining Business Requirements ............................................................................. 38
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 38
Scenario..................................................................................................................................... 38
Determining business requirements .......................................................................................... 38
Questions................................................................................................................................... 39
Exercise 2: Designing a High Level Architecture ............................................................................ 41
Introduction............................................................................................................................... 41
Designing a high level architecture........................................................................................... 41
Questions................................................................................................................................... 41
Turning off the virtual machine ................................................................................................ 41
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 4

Module objective
After completing this module, you will be able to:

Capture the business and technical requirements for a business intelligence solution architecture.
Instructor note
This module contains references to external sources of further information. You can find links to all
referenced resources on the student CD. Because these external sites are beyond Microsoft control,
you should test all links prior to teaching this module.

Introduction
When designing a business intelligence (BI) solution, the first step is to understand the business
requirements and goals, the user requirements, and the technical requirements. You can then define
and agree the overall scope and architecture of the proposed BI solution before going on to develop
the detailed design for each area of the solution.
In this module, you will learn about the capabilities that a modern BI solution can offer. You will then
learn about the components of the back end and front end of a BI solution, so that you can design and
develop appropriate BI solutions for organizations.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 5

Lesson 1: Overview of Business Intelligence

Lesson objective
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Describe the purpose and nature of a BI solution.

Introduction
Increasingly, organizations recognize that BI solutions are essential if they are to remain competitive.
In the past, BI solutions primarily provided reports for managers and analysis facilities for a small
group of well-trained analysts using specialized vendor or industry-specific solutions. Modern BI
solutions additionally target all information workers, giving them consolidated, up-to-date information
so that they can make the best decisions.
In this lesson, you will identify the potential users of a BI solution in an organization and review
common BI terms and concepts. You will also examine how traditional BI solutions have evolved and
what the options are today. Lastly, you will look at the key drivers behind Microsoft’s vision and
products for BI.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 6

Discussion: Considerations for Defining Business Intelligence

Concept: Define Business Intelligence and Business Intelligence solutions.

Instructor note
Make sure that students appreciate that business intelligence (BI) is more than just online analytical
processing (OLAP). Point out that the three main areas in a BI solution are integration, analysis, and
reporting. The discussion covers BI functionality in general rather than specific products. However,
you should be aware that students might mention specific vendors’ products such as Hyperion,
Essbase, Cognos, AlphaBlox and others.

Use this discussion to understand the level of knowledge that students have, so that you can better
address the needs of the students and the class as a whole.

Most students should be familiar with data warehouses, OLAP solutions, reporting solutions, and
ETL, but some students might not be familiar with data mining. If students are not familiar with data
mining, spend some time describing the main functionality provided by a data mining solution and the
scenarios in which data mining is commonly used. For more information about data mining, see Data
Mining Concepts in SQL Server Books Online.

This discussion should take approximately 10 minutes.

Introduction
In this discussion, you will share your knowledge and understanding of BI solutions. The intention is
to achieve a broad consensus of what constitutes a BI solution and what major components it includes.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 7

Discussion questions
Q What is BI?
A Answers will vary, but should focus on the analysis of business data across the
organization to understand current business performance and make informed business
decisions. The information provided by the BI solution should be targeted, and should
have the appropriate level of detail and presentation format for the target user group.
Q What is a BI solution?
A Answers will vary, but may include:
• Components, such as:
• Business data sources
• Data warehouses and data marts
• OLAP cubes
• Analysis-focused client applications
• Reports
• Processes, such as:
• Extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL)
• Data scrubbing
• Cube processing
• Data mining
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 8

Business Intelligence Solution Users

Fact: Identify the users of a BI solution.

Instructor note
Ask students about the BI systems that they have worked with or built in the past, and, specifically,
who were the users and how did their requirements differ.

Introduction
Historically, BI solutions have been industry-specific, and expensive, and were often of benefit to only
the largest organizations. However, with new, more cost-effective BI-related technology, the benefits
of BI solutions are no longer limited to a particular type or size of business. BI solutions are effective
for regional, national, and international organizations in any commercial market sector (not just retail),
as well as non-commercial organizations, government agencies, intelligence organizations, and the
armed forces.

Regardless of the organization, a BI solution should focus on business users, not technical IT users,
for example:
• Executives and management
• Analysts and planners
• Information workers
• Business applications
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 9

Business users
BI is no longer the domain only of managers and highly trained business analysts and specialists. In
the increasingly competitive business environment, for an organization to remain competitive, an
effective BI solution should assist business information workers, at all levels in the organization, to
make better decisions more quickly.
A BI solution provides a consistent, consolidated, and accurate insight into all aspects of an
organization—its sales, customers, manufacturing, suppliers, distribution, competitors, marketing,
human resources, and finance—and other corporate information. This insight drives core
improvements in efficiency, which enables the organization to improve productivity, provide better
customer service and support, enable more accurate planning, and increase the business agility of the
organization.
It is important that business users know how the organization’s BI solution and its associated tools are
applicable to their specific job roles.
Applications
In addition to being used by employees in an organization, BI functionality can be used directly by
line of business applications. Examples include automated data mining solutions, such as the
prediction engines of retail Web sites, or systems to identify fraudulent credit card transactions.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 10

Overview of Common Business Intelligence Terms

Fact: Identify key BI terminology.

Instructor note
Determine the terms with which students are already familiar. Ask students to discuss the differences
between the terms and why the terms are important. Be prepared to discuss other terms that may arise.

Ensure that students understand the principles and construction of OLAP cubes: dimensions,
measures, aggregations, slice and dice, and drillup and drilldown.

Some of the points in this discussion may overlap with those in the discussion at the start of this
lesson.

Introduction
Organizations typically use two broad types of business systems:
• Operational systems, also known as online transaction processing (OLTP) systems, which run
the business, for example, an order-entry system or stock-control system.
• Decision-support systems that extract useful information from operational data to enable
well-informed business decisions to be made.
Some businesses use a single business system for both purposes. Generally, this approach is not
optimal for the following reasons:
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 11

• OLTP data is normalized in operational systems is normalized to reduce duplication, and

requires complex queries to generate analytical data.
• OLTP is optimized for insert and update operations as well as queries, and is not normally
heavily indexed. This lack of indexes reduces the potential performance of queries to retrieve
analytical data.
The objective of a BI solution for an organization is to provide a broad enterprise-wide decision
support capability and range of tools for users that is easy to use and that provides well-organized,
relevant information to the various user groups. This information must usually be based on the data in
the operational OLTP data sources, but is generally extracted into the BI solution and optimized for
decision support
ETL
The data held in operational systems is application specific, so the structure and format of the data is
not directly comparable or compatible with the structure of the BI data warehouse. The main role of
the extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) component in a data warehouse system is to extract
the data from these separate systems, cleanse and harmonize it, and then incorporate it into the central
database of the data warehouse.
Data warehouse
A data warehouse is a centralized repository of consistent data. Each operational system in an
organization contains data that describes a specific view or aspect of the business. A data warehouse is
a relational database that provides an overall integrated view of the business by consolidating and
aligning the data from operational systems and other non-operational data sources. A data warehouse
holds a separate copy of the data so that data analysis, data mining, and reporting activities do not
interfere with core operational functions. In most cases, the data in the data warehouse is
denormalized to improve query performance.
Because operational data is constantly changing and growing, the data warehouse requires regular
updates so that the business information remains current for its users.
Data mart
A data mart is a subject-oriented or departmental repository, for example, focused around marketing
or accounting. Some organizations might us departmental data marts instead of a central data
warehouse, or in some cases the data marts might be aggregated together to forma the central data
warehouse (on conversely, the data marts might consist of subsets of the organization’s analytical data
extracted from the data warehouse.
OLAP
The most common kind of analysis is multidimensional data analysis, which is also referred to as
online analytical processing (OLAP). In a multidimensional analysis solution, you arrange data in an
OLAP cube structure in aggregations of business measures, intersected by various dimensions of the
business. For example, you could create a multidimensional analysis solution that enables users to
view sales totals by product, order date, customer, and store.
Data mining
Data mining solutions use mathematical algorithms to analyze data and generate trends and
predictions based on statistics and patterns in the data. A data mining solution consists of one or more
data mining model in which a particular data mining algorithm has been applied to a representative set
of business data to identify trends, clusters, or statistical relationships between key data items. The
data model can then be used to predict business measures for similar data. For example, you could use
a data mining model to analyze past purchases made by customers, and then use the model to suggest
products that an individual customer is likely to buy, based on purchases made by customers with a
similar demographic profile.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 12

Dashboards
Dashboards, in a BI context, provide a way to view the current performance metrics of an
organization—the key performance indicators (KPIs). A dashboard is hosted in a Web portal to
provide simple access through a browser. A dashboard usually provides a level of drilldown. For
example, if the profit metric of an organization shows that profits are lower than those of the previous
year, by using drilldown, you can immediately identify the underperforming areas.
Scorecards
Scorecards, like dashboards, identify how an organization is performing. The difference is that the
strategic performance goals of an organization are disseminated, top-down, through the organization,
to managers and their staff. In this way, if all individuals and managers meet their allocated
performance goals, the organization meets its overall performance goals. Individuals and managers
monitor their performance through the scorecard interface.
Reporting
Many business users in an organization do not require the analysis capability of OLAP, but they do
want reports. Reports can range in sophistication from standard fixed reports to reports that offer a
level of drillthrough, as well as customization through report parameters. In addition to authoring
facilities, a reporting system typically enables business users to subscribe to automatically receive the
most up-to-date version of these reports.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 13

Traditional Business Intelligence Solutions

Fact: Describe the traditional approach to BI.

Instructor note
Point out that the traditional approach to BI has many limitations; it provides data that is often out of
date and does not support modern business requirements well.

Introduction
Traditional BI solutions offer core BI functionality; this includes data analysis and basic reporting.
However, these traditional solutions lack the additional sophistication that is increasingly required by
organizations. Additionally, they also often have long development cycles and can be difficult to
implement or to change after deployment
Facilities and capabilities
A traditional BI solution includes the following core BI components:
• Relational data warehouse that stores the BI data.
• ETL subsystem that extracts the data from the various operational systems.
• OLAP cubes to analyze business data through drilldown and slice and dice.
• Reports to present information that is contained in the data warehouse or cubes.
When traditional BI solutions were designed, real-time access to decision-support data was not
important. Typically, the propagation delay introduced between the operational systems and the
warehouse, and then between the data warehouse and the cubes in the multidimensional database can
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 14

be considerable. However, today, an increasing number of organizations want the option to

incorporate near-real-time access data into their BI solutions.
Traditional BI solutions often do not offer data mining or performance-management applications, and
provide only basic reporting facilities.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 15
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Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 17

Contemporary Business Intelligence Solutions

Concept: Describe the contemporary approach to BI.

Instructor note
Encourage students to discuss the implications of the differences between a contemporary approach to
BI and a traditional approach. Ask students to consider how contemporary requirements influence IT
processes and planning. Also, encourage them to discuss the range of ways in which BI can be used in
any kind of business and to identify ones that they are familiar with.

Introduction
Traditional BI solutions primarily target a limited set of executives, managers, and analysts, who make
strategic or tactical decisions. Real-time (or low-latency) access to BI data offers all information
workers the option to use operational BI to make decisions based on up to date information. All
employees need to make decisions, and the availability of timely and targeted information enables
employees to improve productivity and have more confidence in their business decisions.
Additional facilities and capabilities
A contemporary BI solution offers a superset of the features provided by traditional solutions.
Enhancements include:
• Low-latency. Contemporary solutions can use a number of techniques to ensure that the data
in the BI system is kept up to date with the operational systems. This can be achieved by
building the OLAP cubes directly from the OLTP data sources instead of an intermediary data
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 18

warehouse, or by using notifications to keep cached cube data synchronized with the
underlying database.
• Key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs provide an easy way to compare business metrics
with stated goals at a glance.
• Integration with existing user applications. User interface (UI) components, such as
scorecards and dashboards, can embed critical business performance information into
standard UIs such as Web portals and desktop applications.
• Flexible reporting. Contemporary solutions provide increased flexibility in report formatting
and delivery, and often enable users to create their own reports, rather than use predefined
reports.
• Data mining. Data mining uses a number of statistical and mathematical algorithms to
identify patterns and trends in data, from which to make predictions and business forecasts.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 19

Common Business Intelligence Philosophies

Fact: Describe common BI philosophies.

Instructor note
Ask students which type of philosophy (if any) they have used. Encourage students to discuss the
implications of the different approaches to BI for the design and implementation of solutions.

You should be familiar with the Inmon’s Corporate Information Factory (CIF), and be prepared to
explain its components if necessary, and Kimball’s data warehouse approach. For more information,
see The Corporate Information Factory by Bill Inmon (Wiley, 2001) and The Data Warehouse
Toolkit: The Complete Guide to Dimensional Modeling by Ralph Kimball and Margy Ross (Wiley,
2002.)

Introduction
There are two overall design philosophies for developing an organization-wide BI solution:
• The top-down, or holistic approach, requires a full set of the organization’s BI requirements
to be captured. These requirements identify the data that is needed from the back-end
operational sources to enable a full design of the data warehouse.
• The bottom-up approach enables a BI solution to be incrementally developed and deployed,
as a series of data marts, when additional business requirements are identified and
incorporated.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 20

Top-down design
Because the top-down approach considers all BI requirements at the start of the design process, the
design can deliver a fully integrated, organization-wide BI solution. There will still be design changes
to the data warehouse and back-end systems as the organization evolves, for example, as new external
data sources are identified to enhance or enrich existing data, or the organization expands into new
business areas and adds new operational systems.
The disadvantage of the top-down approach is that there might be a long lead time. Associated with
the lead time, there is an initial investment that is necessary before the BI solution can be deployed.
Bill Inmon, in his Corporate Information Factory (CIF) approach to BI development adopts the top-
down approach.

For more information

For more information about the Corporate Information Factory approach to BI development, see The
Corporate Information Factory by Bill Inmon (Wiley, 2001.)
Bottom-up design
The bottom-up approach enables an initial BI solution to be deployed quickly and then incrementally
enhanced and extended as required until it covers the organization’s full BI requirement.
The disadvantage is that each update must be consolidated into the existing BI solution. For this
approach to work effectively, it is important to centrally control and coordinate development to
prevent inconsistencies.
Initially, compared with the top-down approach, the bottom-up design costs less, although the BI
solution is initially less extensive. However, this cost advantage is lost as you add more business
processes and their BI requirements.
The bottom-up approach is the one sanctioned by Ralph Kimball in his data warehouse approach to BI
development.

For more information

For more information about the Data Warehouse approach to BI development, see The Data
Warehouse Toolkit: The Complete Guide to Dimensional Modeling by Ralph Kimball and Margy
Ross (Wiley, 2002.)
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 21

Microsoft Business Intelligence Vision

Fact: Describe Microsoft’s BI vision.

Instructor note
Focus on the key ideals of the Microsoft vision for BI: consistent analytical data across the enterprise,
and all users in the organization empowered by the BI solution. The specific products and platform
components are discussed later in this module.

Introduction
At the center of the Microsoft BI vision are its goals to:
• Make BI available to the all organizations and users that can benefit from it.
• Facilitate superior solutions by unifying the relational and multidimensional models.
• Encourage extensibility through an open server architecture that embraces open standards
such as XML Web services.
Increased access to BI
In the past, powerful BI solutions have only been available to large organizations with sufficient
budget and technical expertise, and have only been of use to specialist analysis users. Microsoft’s BI
platform widens the audience for BI solutions in the following ways:
• Pricing and licensing models are attractive to organizations of all sizes.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 22

• Organizations that use Microsoft® SQL Server™ already have the core BI server-side
components and infrastructure that is necessary to implement a BI solution.
• BI functionality will continue to be integrated into Microsoft Office technology, making it
easier for users to integrate BI functionality into the productivity tools they use every day.
Unified Dimensional Model
The multidimensional model, unlike the relational model, organizes data in a way that focuses on the
business rather than the system. However, the relational model is still an efficient and easily managed
solution for storing data.
The Unified Dimensional Model (UDM), introduced in Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005, combines the
advantages of the multidimensional model with key advantages from the relational model. The effect
is that a cube based on the UDM has superior features and flexibility. Some of the characteristics of
the relational model that are incorporated into the UDM are:
• Attribute-based dimensions are used to make every column in a dimension table a hierarchy
by which measures can be aggregated.
• Data warehouse schema support is no longer limited to star or snowflake schemas.
• Improved real-time (or low-latency) OLAP support for operational business intelligence is
achieved by automatically detecting changes in source data and either updating the cube data
directly or through a proactive cache that balances latency and performance characteristics.
Open server architecture
SQL Server exposes its OLAP, data mining, and reporting components programmatically through
Web services. For example, OLAP and data mining functionality is exposed through the XML for
Analysis (XMLA) standards-based protocol. Over 20 leading BI software vendors, including
Microsoft, Hyperion, and SAS, support XMLA. Standards encourage third-party vendors to build
applications for the Microsoft BI platform. Also, with Web services you can develop thin client
applications with a zero footprint. This makes the Microsoft BI platform readily accessible from any
operating system and by using any language.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 23

Lesson 2: Overview of Business Intelligence Architecture

Lesson objective
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

Identify the main components of a comprehensive BI architecture.

Introduction
Microsoft offers all the core BI components, as well as the infrastructure technologies, required to
build comprehensive BI solutions that can meet the requirements of organizations of all sizes.
Independent software vendors also offer a range of products designed to complement and enhance a
Microsoft BI solution.
In this lesson, you will examine both the back-end and the front-end components that make up a
typical BI solution, and you will look at how the components interact. You will then learn how these
components map to Microsoft BI technologies, so that you can design and develop BI solutions based
around Microsoft products.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 24

Components and Processes in a Business Intelligence Architecture

Concept: Describe the components and processes in a BI architecture.

Instructor note
Use an analogy, such as a restaurant, to explain the difference between the front-end and back-end
aspects of the BI solution. The experience of diners in the restaurant is different from that of
employees in the kitchen, but both a kitchen and a dining area are required. Point out that the purpose
of all the activity in the kitchen is to meet the needs of the diners, in the same way that the back-end
components and processes of a BI solution provide the front-end services that the business users
require. The key point is that the back end is invisible to the users—they do not really care what goes
on there. The front end is everything that is exposed to the user. From the perspective of the users, the
front end is the BI solution.

Introduction
The diagram provides a broad overview of the components that typically make up an organization’s
BI architecture. The specific design and implementation details will depend on the requirements of the
business and the users. For example, if access to specific information is required in real time, the
implementation must provide this. Even if real-time access is not an initial requirement, it may be
sensible to ensure that the design and implementation can support it if required in the future.
Most raw data comes from the operational systems, but is often augmented or enriched from external
data sources, for example, mailing lists and credit and competitor information that is purchased from
third-party vendors.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 25

Back end
The back-end components of a BI solution are:
• An ETL service to process data from data sources and then write it into the data warehouse
store.
• The data warehouse relational database store that holds the consolidated version of the
organization’s data and associated metadata.
Front end
The front-end components of a BI solution are:
• The data delivery services, such as data analysis, reporting, and performance management.
These services typically use the data warehouse as their data source.
• The client interface of a delivery service. In addition to PC clients and Web browsers, other
client devices, such as PDAs or Web service client applications can be supported.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 26
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 27
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 28

Front-End Architecture

Fact: Describe the front-end components and processes of a BI solution architecture.

Introduction
In addition to the tools and applications that are used by business users, tools are also required by
administrators to manage the BI solution components and by developers to create the business
solution elements, such as OLAP cubes and business reports.
OLAP service
At the heart of a BI solution, an OLAP service (or engine) represents source data in a
multidimensional model. The resulting OLAP cubes present data in a way that is far more intuitive to
a user than that of a relational schema model. With the right tools, users can thoroughly analyze the
cube information.
Another key advantage of an OLAP cube is that queries against aggregated data execute much faster
than queries against relational database tables. The cube drillup and drilldown operations use
preaggregated values, so aggregations for cell values do not need to be calculated.
The obvious data source on which to build OLAP cubes is the data warehouse relational data store.
However, an OLAP cube could also use a data mart or even directly connect to an OLTP database.
Data mining service
The data mining service detects data patterns to predict future outcomes. Depending on the type of
prediction that is being sought, an appropriate algorithm is used with a typical set of data to train a
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 29

data mining model. Each member of the training set contains the input values and the output value.
Once trained, you can use the model with similar data, but this time the model predicts the output
value. For example, you could use a data mining model to identify the customers that are most likely
to respond to a product promotion. Based on the results of the data mining model, the organization can
optimize its mailing list.
Reporting service
The typical reporting service enables report specialists to design and publish reports that users can
then access, typically through a portal. The service may also offer a subscription facility so that users
can subscribe to a report. For example, users might subscribe to receive a report every day at a set
time. Typical delivery options include receiving a report by email or depositing it in a shared folder. A
reporting service may offer reports in various formats, for example, HTML, Excel, and PDF.
Client applications and interfaces
The interfaces that are used by business users to interact with the BI solution include:
• Analysis applications that enable thorough interactive analysis of data by fully exploiting the
powerful slice, dice, drillup, and drilldown capabilities of OLAP cubes. Microsoft Office
Excel® is a commonly used client tool for analyzing OLAP cubes.
• Reports that present a set of data from an OLAP cube or relational database in an easy-to-
understand format. For example, a report might present Internet sales detail in a table and
summary information in a chart, and the user can enter parameters to select the product
categories and financial quarter to include. The reporting service generates the reports
centrally, and users access the reports through a browser directly from a report server or from
within the Web portal of the organization.
• Dashboards and scorecards that users can use to monitor performance. As with reports, you
typically access dashboards and scorecards through a Web portal.
• Data mining applications that use algorithms to identify trends and make predictions.
• Custom applications. For example, a custom data mining application might suggest additional
products that a user might want to purchase on an e-commerce Web site.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 30

Back-End Architecture

Fact: Describe the back-end components and processes of a BI solution architecture.

Instructor note
Encourage students to discuss how each of the back-end components contributes to the provision of BI
services and data processing support. Ask students what experiences they have with each of these
components.

Introduction
At the center of the BI back end is the data warehouse. The warehouse is a relational database that can
store a large amount of data that is optimized for read access. The logic that is defined and
incorporated into the ETL processes determines how to populate the data warehouse to provide a
consistent enterprise-wide data store.
For all server components, the technical considerations must include security, availability,
performance, and scalability.

Extraction process
The extraction process copies the records from the various data sources to a staging area for
processing. In addition to identifying the data that is required, you must ensure that the extraction is
done in such a way, and at such times, that it does not affect the running of the operational systems.
Transformation process
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 31

The transformation process applies the business rules that are defined for the data. The operations
include:
• Filtering: to remove records.
• Summarizing: to total a set of records.
• Merging: for example, to merge customer records from different sources that contain some
non-overlapping information.
• Transposing: for example, to change descriptions (or values) provided by various input data
sources into the standard descriptions used in the data warehouse.
• Performing calculations: such as mathematical operations to produce derived values, for
example, converting monetary values in records from one currency to another.
Cleansing process
The cleansing process ensures that the data input for the data warehouse meets the predefined quality.
For example, customer address records that have missing or incorrect fields may not meet the required
criteria. The cleansing process attempts to correct quality violations; records that cannot be corrected
are rejected. Once cleansed, the data is loaded into the data warehouse.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 32

Microsoft Technologies for Business Intelligence

Fact: Describe Microsoft technologies for a BI solution.

Instructor note
Encourage students to discuss how each of the components contributes to the provision of BI services
and data processing support. Ask students what experiences they have with each of the components.

There is a lot of information in this topic, therefore it is important that you are able to summarize the
functionality and benefits of each component.

For more information about the Microsoft Business Intelligence platform, see the Microsoft Business
Intelligence Product Guide on the Microsoft Web site.

Introduction
The Microsoft BI server platform is based on SQL Server. Microsoft also offers end-user tools for
analysis, creating scorecards, and reporting. In addition, various tools are available from independent
software vendors.
Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Microsoft’s BI server platform uses the following SQL Server services:
• Relational engine: used by the data warehouse store.
• SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS): redesigned in SQL Server 2005, this provides
extensive ETL functionality.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 33

• SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS): provides comprehensive OLAP cubes and data mining
functions.
• SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS): provides a full report design, deployment, and
delivery service. In SQL Server 2005 there is a facility for report designers to create report
models that business users can use as the basis from which to create and publish ad hoc
reports that include intuitive drillthrough capability.
Microsoft Office Excel and Office Web Components
The powerful and familiar data analysis capabilities provided by PivotTable® and PivotChart® reports
in Excel enable business users to analyze (slice and dice, drill up, and drill down) and graphically
display data from Analysis Services OLAP cubes.
You can publish PivotTables and PivotCharts as interactive Web pages and access them through
Internet Explorer®. Internet Explorer transparently uses Office Web Components (OWC). OWC is
included with Microsoft Office. To use OWC, Office does not need to be installed on the client
machine; a license is required only for interactive access.
Through OWC, you can add full Excel functionality to a custom Windows client application.
Alternatively, because OWC exposes a complete object-programming model, developers can just
incorporate selected Excel functions within a program.
Additionally, the new server-side Excel capability in Office 2007 enables centralized access to
spreadsheets from any browser.
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server
You can use Microsoft Office SharePoint Server to create a central portal that users can use to access
reports and other BI data. Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 allows users to collaborate on
Excel spreadsheets containing BI data, and integrate data from a number of business data stores by
compiling a business data catalog. SharePoint Server 2007 also enables users to create dashboards that
display KPIs.
Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager
Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 is a comprehensive server-based business
performance scorecard and dashboard management application with which business users can build,
manage, and use their scorecards. Business Scorecard Manager can integrate information from a
variety of sources, including databases and enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions. By using
Analysis Services as a source, this adds powerful analysis capability. KPIs are displayed with
associated contextual reports, charts, and analysis tools, within a Microsoft SharePoint® portal.

For more information

For more information about Business Scorecard Manager 2005, see “Microsoft Office Business
Scorecard Manager 2005” on the Microsoft Office Online Web site.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 34

Other Microsoft Technologies

Fact: Describe the other Microsoft tools and technologies that you can use in a BI solution.
Instructor note
Determine to what degree students are familiar with the technologies on the slide and their particular
capabilities. Recommend ways of filling any knowledge gaps, such as suggested books and Web site
references.

Ask students to identify how, in their organizations, they could use these technologies to improve their
solution.

You should be familiar with these technologies to a reasonable degree. There is a lot of information in
this topic, therefore it is important that you are able to position and summarize the purpose and
benefits of each component.

Introduction
In addition to SQL Server 2005 and SharePoint technologies, there are a range of other server
technologies that are used to support a Microsoft BI solution.
Windows Server 2003
Because of the potentially huge amount of data and large number of users that may use SQL Server
and its BI components, it is important to consider the following scalability guidelines for the Windows
Server 2003 operating system on which SQL Server is installed:
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 35

• Use more powerful server hardware in conjunction with the appropriate edition of Microsoft
Windows® 2003. The edition of Windows 2003 determines the type of processor (32-bit or
64-bit), the maximum number of processors (up to 32), and the maximum memory (up to 64
gigabytes) that the server can support. Windows Server 2003 64 bit editions access large
amounts of RAM more efficiently, without the need for address windowing extensions
(AWE), which can positively impact a BI solutions (for example by reducing cube processing
times.)
• Distribute SQL Server BI platform components, and component elements, across servers. For
example, through remote cube partitioning, you can partition cubes across multiple servers.
• Use Network Load Balancing (NLB) to scale out and distribute incoming requests across a
number of identical servers, for example, to distribute analysis and reporting requests across a
group of Analysis Service instances and report servers. Because a request can go to any
server, all servers must hold identical data. Changes made to any server must be available, or
replicate to, the other servers.
You should also consider SQL Server availability. Availability solutions use either NLB or a
Windows server cluster.
All servers in a Windows server cluster share the same data through a share storage system. Because
there is a single copy of the data, no synchronization is required between servers. The hardware
requirement that is associated with the shared storage means that cluster servers must be certified for
use in a Windows server cluster.

For more information

For more information about Networking Load Balancing and server clusters, see Technical Overview
of Clustering in Windows Server 2003 on the Microsoft Web site.
Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004
Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004 is an advanced stateful packet-layer and
application-layer inspection firewall. It also includes a virtual private network (VPN) component that
offers secure access to intranet information for remote users and Web sites, and a Web-caching
component to improve performance for users when accessing external Web sites. In a BI solution,
Internet Security and Acceleration Server can be used to implement secure subnets in the network
topology of the BI solution, and to provide security for communication between BI components across
the Internet.
Microsoft Operations Manager 2005
Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 is an event-management and performance-management
tool for Windows Server–based systems. In addition to recording events, MOM 2005 can proactively
resolve issues. Reports can be exported to Reporting Services and published. In a BI solution, MOM
can be used to monitor the system health of the BI infrastructure, and to help maintain an effective
operational environment for all BI services.
BizTalk Server 2006
Microsoft BizTalk® Server 2006 provides the coordination, or orchestration, layer that connects
isolated business processes and services within and between organizations to deliver integrated end-
to-end business solutions. In a BI solution, BizTalk Server can be used to connect the BI solution to
line of business systems and processes.
Host Integration Server 2004
Microsoft Host Integration Server 2004 integrates IBM host applications, data sources, messaging,
and security systems with the Microsoft Windows Server System platform. In a BI solution, Host
Integration Server can be used to integrate data from legacy data stores into the ETL process.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 36

Lab: Identifying Business Intelligence Solution Requirements

Time estimated: 60 minutes

Instructor note
This lab has two exercises. Students should complete this lab in groups of two or three, although they
can also complete it individually. You should review the answers at the end of each exercise with the
students. There are no right or wrong answers; students can make different assumptions.

In Exercise 1, the students will examine several interviews and an overview of the existing business
process flow that is used by the sales and marketing division of Adventure Works. Based on this
information, students will create a vision and scope document for the proposed business intelligence
(BI) solution. Students should spend approximately 30 minutes on this exercise.

In Exercise 2, the students will use the vision and scope document in conjunction with information
about the various data sources that are available within the organization to create a high level BI
solution architecture. This exercise requires students to use Microsoft Office Visio®. If students are
unfamiliar with Visio, point out that a basic guide to the product is provided in the D:\Labfiles\Starter
folder. Students can use any of the available shapes in Visio to design their control flow solutions.
Students should spend approximately 30 minutes on this exercise.

Introduction
In this lab, you will define the vision and scope statements to position a proposed business intelligence
(BI) solution for Adventure Works. You will base the vision and scope primarily on interviews that
have already taken place with stakeholders and a description of the existing business process flow
used within the sales and marketing area. You will discuss your results with the group.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 37

Preparation
Ensure that the virtual machine 2794-MIA-SQL-01 is running. Also, ensure that you have logged on
to the computer. To log on to the computer, use the following credentials:
• User name: Student
• Password: Pa$$w0rd
Tip
For best results, adjust the screen resolution of the virtual machine to at least 1024 x 768 pixels and
switch the virtual machine to full screen mode.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 38

Exercise 1: Determining Business Requirements

Introduction
In this exercise, you will review several interview transcripts, some sample reports, and an overview
of the existing business process flow used by the sales and marketing division of Adventure Works, to
develop a vision and scope document for a proposed BI solution.
Scenario
Adventure Works manufactures and sells metal and composite bicycles, as well as components and
accessories, to North American, European and Asian commercial markets, both over the Internet and
through retail outlets.
Although the company has been tracking sales for a number of years by directly accessing its online
transaction processing (OLTP) database, this approach is now recognized to have severe limitations.
The goal of the senior management is that information workers at every level of the organization
should be able to use, and capitalize on, all the data sources within the organization, including the
OLTP data. By using this consolidated corporate data, information workers should be able to perform
interactive analysis through well understood and readily available client applications, such as
Microsoft® Office Excel®. This data will also be the basis for all business reporting.
You are the consultant system architect for the newly formed BI design team at Adventure Works.
Your initial task is to develop a vision and scope document to encapsulate the proposed BI initiative.
An important source of information for your task is transcripts of interviews with the following
stakeholders:
• VP Sales
• Sales Manager—Retail Division
• Sales Manager—Internet Division
• Marketing Director
• Production Control Manager
• IT Manager

Determining business requirements

Summary Specifications
1. Review the interview transcripts, the • The file Interviews.doc is in the
associated reports, and the description D:\Labfiles\Starter folder. This file
of the sales business process flow. contains interviews with the major
2. Identify the business and technical stakeholders in the project.
requirements for the solution, based on • The file SaleBusinessProcessFlow.doc
the information provided. is in the D:\Labfiles\Starter folder. This
3. Add the appropriate content to the file contains an overview of the sales
vision and scope template document. and marketing business process.
4. Discuss your conclusions with other • The file SampleReports.xls and
students. ExecutiveReportSample.xls are in the
D:\Labfiles\Starter folder. The first file
contains two sample worksheet reports
used by reseller sales managers, and
the second file contains a single report
used by executives.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 39

• The file VisionAndScope.doc is in the

D:\Labfiles\Starter folder. This file
contains a template for your answers.

Questions
Q In addition to interviewing employees and reviewing existing systems, what other techniques
could you use to gather business requirements for a BI solution?
A Answers will vary, but might include shadowing users as they perform their daily tasks,
or spending some time working in various departments to understand the business and
its processes. Other approaches include questionnaires and focus group meetings.
Q What would be the benefits of doing your own interview rather than reading the answers to an
interview that someone else has performed?
A Answers will vary. Obvious benefits include the ability to ask follow-up questions or
clarify statements. Additionally, you can design your own interview questions and plan
the interview process to suit your own particular scenario.
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 40
Module 1: Introduction to Business Intelligence Architecture 41

Exercise 2: Designing a High Level Architecture

Introduction
In this exercise, you will produce a solution architecture diagram to complement the vision and scope
document that you created in Exercise 1.

Designing a high level architecture

Summary Specifications
1. Review the vision and scope document • The file DataSources.doc is in the
created in Exercise 1, and examine the D:\Labfiles\Starter folder. This file lists
list of available data sources provided. the available data sources.
2. If necessary, review the interview • For more information about using
transcripts, the associated reports, and Visio, refer to Getting Started with
the description of the sales business Visio.doc in the D:\Labfiles\Starter
process flow provided in Exercise 1. folder.
3. Identify the components of the high
level BI solution architecture to satisfy
all identified requirements.
4. Create a diagram for your proposed BI
solution architecture in Microsoft
Office Visio®.
5. Discuss your solution with the other
students.

Questions
Q Why is a high-level pass important in planning a BI solution?
A Answers will vary, but usually cover the following areas:
• A degree of abstraction is useful so that the architect does not get overly absorbed in the
fine detail. It is important to have a clear view of the entire BI project to facilitate the
best choices of technologies and solution implementations.
• High level analysis can often use similar information from other BI projects as models,
and this helps to reduce planning and development time.
Q Why do you need to distinguish between front-of-house and back-of-house component
requirements?
A They have significantly different roles to play in providing the solution. Users and
stakeholders are different, and the technologies that are involved are different in many
cases.
Turning off the virtual machine
When you have completed the lab, turn off the virtual machine and discard the undo disks.