Chapter 2: Goals of Deploying BusinessObjects

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Overview

Whether you are first implementing BusinessObjects or expanding an existing implementation, it's important to be clear about the goals of your deployment. BusinessObjects is often implemented as part of an IT effort or as part of a specific business initiative. The goals of these two different groups can be quite different. The goals may be driven by the following:

• IT to reduce infrastructure costs, limit custom report development, or replace a legacy reporting system

• A business unit to provide access to data to manage and measure the day-to-day business activities

• The corporation as part of a larger business performance management initiative, as a strategic tool that provides competitive advantage

The goals of different stakeholders may collide and impede progress or merge to make the implementation more successful. You may start out on the implementation with one set of goals only to discover a more important goal as you proceed. In some cases, good scope management will help the project stay on track. In other cases, recognize that business intelligence is not as exact as other technology projects and requires a degree of flexibility. Focusing on the goals of the project will help minimize the risk that the technology and latest product innovations become all-consuming.

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