Tool Domain Writing Initiative

Tool Domain will have for each category, the details around:

• Features and evaluation factors (technical, functional, administrative, architectural, deployment and commercial).
• Context and relevance of these features (why a feature is important..)
• We will neither be naming vendors or products nor will we rate them. The tool domain will have a super-list of tool selection and application features, and one can pick and choose as per their context.

Detailed Content Bbreak-down of the sections

Overall Tool and Vendor Evaluation Framework

• Vendor Profile Evaluation
• Vendor Delivery Capability Evaluation
• Vendor’s Technical Capability Evaluation
• Vendors Support and Maintenance Capability Evaluation
• Commercial and Contractual Evaluation

Data Quality Tools

• Data Searching & Cleansing Tools
• Data Monitoring Tools
• Data Profiling Tools
• Data Augmentation and Enrichment tools

Meta Data Management Tools

• Meta Data repository
• Meta Data Integration

Data Integration (including ETL Tools)

• Data Federation Tools
• ETL Tools
• Real-Time data Integration Tools
• Data-Integration Tool Suites
• Content Integration Tools

Data Warehouse DBMS Servers

• DBMS Strengths
• OS Strength
• Administration & Server Management Tool-set
• Overall Platform (hardware+OS+DBMS+Tools..)

OLAP Servers

• DBMS & Architecture**
• Scalability & Performance**
• Administration, Security & Tuning**
• Analysis Services Functional

Enterprise Reporting Tools (Currently we have placed two chapters..They will be expanded soon)

• Technical Features**
• Functional Features**

Data Analytics Tools

• Data Analysis Features (within Data Analytics tools or using OLAP based functions)
• User navigation and Ease of Use
• Configuration & Administration

Performance Reporting and Management tools

• CPM Suites
• Dash-Board & Scorecard Tools
• Strategic Planning Tools

Data Mining Tools

• Platform Scalability and Management
• Data Access and availability
• Data Sampling and readiness for mining
• Mining Algorithms and Models
• Data Presentation and Visualization

Corporate Performance Management Tools

• Budgeting Planning & Forecasting
• Profitability Modeling and Optimization
• Financial Consolidation
• Statutory and Financial Reporting

End-to-end Business Intelligence engines

• User Interface Layer
• Web and Application Development Services
• Platform Services (Security, Scheduling, Alerting, Caching, Auditing, Collaboration, Publishing & Distribution..)
• Data Services (Metadata, ODB, XML & Native Drivers..)
• Management Tools

Business Intelligence & Performance Management Applications

These sections give the typical features of the packaged software related to these applications, which will help people to evaluate these packages. These sections do not provide the functional domain expertise (which will be in the functional management)

• Financial Management (Activity based Costing, Budgeting and Forecasting, Corporate Performance Management Suites)
• Sales Management (Channel Optimization, Sales Force Managemnet, Database Marketing..)
• Marketing Management (Competititve Intelligence..)
• Order Delivery and Fulfillment (Demand Planning
• Risk and Compliance management (Fraud Detection..)
• Product Management (Pricing Optimization..)
• Web Management (Web Analytics..)