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September 12, 2006
Google Style Access to Hyperion
We announced support for Googles OneBox, providing Google style access to not only BI, but also the business performance management (BPM) applications. The easy bit of the initiative is the Google interface itself. Its whats under the hood that counts. Just Search style access to reports and plans and other BI/BPM components doesnt bring much.
Imagine you are search for Revenue for Product Group X. This will most likely create a long list of results, with many indistinguishable definitions of revenue and many different hierarchies that potentially make up Product Group X.
Traditionally the BI world has responded with trying to come to a single definition, but as I reason in The Myth of the One Version of the Truth most of these exercises are misguided. There is a reason why there are so many versions of the truth. The more a term is connected with the core of the business, the more definitions of it will be around. What we need to do is make sure the relevant versions of the truth are connected through a single context of the truth, an understanding in which part of the value chain, which definition is needed. Flat text search in reports and metadata wont do much good. Management information that needs to provide insight is very high on context.
An engine is needed that understands this context, or at least guides the user through the various possibilities. Just listing a number of reports will only confuse people. And then another thing. What happens if Total Revenue (or any other search term) doesnt give back any direct results in existing reports, as it is only implied as the last number under the line? That would be a poor user experience. Search needs to be able to understand business rules as well, and in the case there are no relevant reports, directly bring up an ad hoc query that has all the known elements filled in already.
There is more to Search style access to BI than keyword search. Google and Hyperion understand that very well. Both companies have worked on making sure the user doesnt necessarily gets what he asked for, but what the user was looking for. Semantics? Perhaps. But a world of difference.
Posted by Frank Buytenkijk at September 12, 2006 5:23 PM
