'DW is the core on which rests the BI'

Even as the economy moves to the verge of exiting a prolonged slowdown, businesses are still a bit wary of making new IT investments and strategic investments like data warehousing (DW) and business intelligence (BI). But given the success rate and proven results, such investments are a bitter pill that businesses need to swallow if they are to remain competitive and customer-focused.
Rajarshi Sengupta, executive director at PwC India, is a veteran in the field of DW. He was earlier with PwC USA. In an interview with Dataquest, he talks about the latest trends in the DW industry and how businesses leverage BI for maximum advantage. 

l What is the scope of BI and data warehousing in Indian enterprises? 

We have seen renewed interest in BI and data warehousing in the last two years. One visible trend is that organizations that went in for ERP and SCM applications in the 1997-98 timeframe have reached a level of maturity and are now looking at how huge data gathered by their transactional systems can be leveraged. If we take a look at industry verticals driving BI and DW, the biggest drivers are telecom and FMCG. Most of the mobile and some fixed-line operators have adopted DW–using it for looking up customer usage analysis, customer segmentation and promotional campaigns, even optimizing call routing. In FMCG, there is particular interest in sorting out secondary sales and distribution logistics, inventory, and finance. 

Rajarshi Sengupta

executive director at PwC India

Opening up to BI and DW now in India, the most prominent are banking and insurance. Over the last one year or so, we have seen many banks and particularly private insurance companies adopt DW solutions in a big way. Retail is another key driving industry for
DW.

l What are the key distinguishing factors between BI and
DW? 

Broadly, BI can be expanded to include relationship management systems, campaign management systems, performance management systems and so on. For example, SAP’s BI solution architecture puts data warehousing or business warehousing at its core. We view DW as a core information infrastructure that needs to be in place before a company can go ahead and implement a BI solution. At the heart of a market intelligent enterprise is a data warehouse or a business warehouse that is the seed for information to other value-added applications, such as CRM, strategic enterprise management, and campaign management. 

l We know many companies have gone ahead and implemented DW solutions. But are they taking the next step and implementing BI solutions too? 

PwC has done BI implementations for many clients in different industries. For example, we have done work in telecom for many mobile telecom operators in areas of DW and data mining. We have clients in retail industry and also in hospitality industry–some of the top hotel companies in India have done marketing oriented data warehousing. A number of FMCG companies including some of the largest ones in India are doing it, as are some media companies. 

l What are the typical steps involved in a DW implementation?

First, the company should determine the content of the data warehouse. One also needs to understand that it is ultimately the business rules and processes that guide and shape the content of the data warehouse. Second, one needs to get the right data. The third step is to identify one particular area where you want your DW effort to concentrate. Take a look at RoI that you have been able to achieve by focusing your DW initiative on one particular area, and only then expand the solution further. 

l What are the possible stumbling blocks to a successful DW implementation?

Unless you have a transactional system, and technically speaking, there is a schema of transactional system in place, one should never try to get into a DW solution. If the schema itself is not stable and keeps on changing, the DW solution would be in a constant state of flux with ever-changing and unreliable data. 

RISHI SETH in New Delhi