Business intelligence (to quote from the lyrics of the Eagles' hit of the '70s) "this could be heaven or this could be Hell." Our story of Business Intelligence at the Hotel California below is a fun illustration of this.
Checking in at the Hotel California
Three friends check in at the legendary Hotel California. After paying $100 each for the $300 "master's chamber" suite, they go up to their room. The manager suddenly remembers that a special rate of $250 applies and gives the "night man" $50 to return to the guests. On the way, the night man realizes that $50 is difficult to share amongst three, so he pockets $20 and returns only $10 to each guest.
The Conundrum
Each of the three friends paid $90 ($100 less $10 refund) which is a total of $270. Add to this the $20 the night man pocketed, which is now a total of only $290. In order to reconcile the total back to the original $300, where is the missing $10?
CALUMO - Making Insights Transparent
The problem is caused by confusing what should be added or subtracted to balance this equation. Here are two correct ways of looking at or explaining this conundrum:
The manager has $250 and the "night man" has $20. Added together, this is equal to the $270 paid by the three friends. Add to this the $30 returned to the friends and we are able to reconcile back to the original total of $300.
Alternatively, the three friends originally paid $300, less $10 each friend received back, which is equal to the $270 paid. Of this, the "night man" kept $20, leaving $250 which is the price of the room.
At CALUMO we think the missing $10 is a great example of how important it is to transparently link data and business rules and to bring simplicity to any solution. Business Intelligence is all too often presented as over complicated and expensive. With CALUMO, an integrated, unified approach to business intelligence, reporting, analytics, planning etc, an organization can gain great insights and make better decisions throughout the enterprise.
About CALUMO
The CALUMO Group (www.calumo.com) is a leading provider of Performance Management solutions for enterprise-wide reporting planning and Business Intelligence. Since 1998 the group has successfully delivered solutions to a wide range of enterprises from SME's to some of the largest listed companies and government organisations. These solutions provide quantifiable and valuable business insight, offering a single platform from which to integrate Corporate, Financial and Operational performance and objectives.
The Group is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner in Business intelligence (achieving full competency in both Platform and Performance Management Specializations), Data Management Solutions and ISV/Software Solutions.