A good place to start

[innovator]

I know it costs money, but if you have access to it, then I recommend using Gartner research to both:

• Discover and understand best practices
• Read about case studies
• Get access to a range of practical toolkits

Gartner has a dedicated business intelligence server called 'Gartner For IT Leaders'. I'm not crazy about the title as I am primarily a business person, not IT, but the content is well worth it. You can get it here.

[Steve Hitchman]

My experience of Gartner is that their material and approachs are always about 18 months out of date.

I have found the TDWI to be a very good source for material and guidance. And they are cheaper !!

There is now and Australia chapter run by Paul Ormand-James at MBF that meets every quarter.

[innovator]

Good points. Here is Paul's local TDWI site:

TDWI Australia

and the main TDWI in the US.

I do like the TDWI, and Paul's local initiative is one I support (and try to attend). My only (minor) criticism is that TDWI in the US does get swamped a bit with 'vendor friendly' material. Perservere through, and there is a lot of good stuff.

[admin]

I hear that this is a very useful conference to attend (if you can get someone to pay):


TDWI World Conference | Las Vegas, NV | February 22–27, 2009

For more information about the TDWI World Conference in Las Vegas, visit: www.tdwi.org/lasvegas2009.

More details on the calendar here.

[BI Tragic]

Has anyone used this?

Businesses may now be able to meet the challenge of evaluating vendors and their products and making choices based on an understanding of how well the offerings meet their needs. Ventana Research has introduced its 2009 Value Index for Business Intelligence, the second of a new category of quantified, research-based Indexes.

The Index is claimed to provide a specific thermometer reading with a series of component metrics for a technology buyer to consider. Organizations can use the Value Index by determining their priorities and then consulting the Index to determine which vendors best meet those needs.

The Value Index methodology, as the press release adds, used to produce the Value Index for Business Intelligence evaluates in detail aspects of product functionality and suitability-to-task as well as the effectiveness of vendor support for the buying process and customer assurance.

The 2009 Value Index for Business Intelligence indicates that the company delivering the highest value on an overall weighted evaluation basis is Information Builders, which earned the 'Hot Vendor' rating, followed by IBM Cognos Software, Infor, Softscape and arcplan, all of which earned the 'Warm' rating. Drilling down, the Value Index evaluation of product functionality using the Ventana Research Business Intelligence methodology identified (in order) Information Builders, Infor,IBM Cognos Software, Actuate, Symphony-Metreo, Microsoft and arcplan as Hot Vendors in this category.

"We are proud to unveil the next in our ongoing series of Ventana Research Indexes," said Mark Smith, CEO and executive vice president of Ventana Research.

This new research-based undertaking is neither sponsored nor influenced by technology vendors and is conducted in pursuit of Ventana Research's mission to provide value to business and IT through benchmark assessment, workshops and advisory services."

[admin]

Here is some more information on it:

From Intelligent Enterprise Magazine:

Information Builders Tops Ventana's 'Value Index' For BI Vendors

Information Builders topped the list of seven vendors that agreed to participate in the study with a value index of 93%, followed by IBM Cognos Software, Infor, Softscape, Arcplan, Actuate, Symphony-Metreo, Microsoft and InetSoft, respectively.


By Antone Gonsalves
June 29, 2009
Ventana Research has released its 2009 Value Index for business intelligence software that listed Information Builders as the leading vendor in all seven categories used in evaluating a variety of products.

Information Builders topped the list of seven vendors that agreed to participate in the study with a value index of 93%. The remaining vendors and their index scores were IBM Cognos Software, 81.3%; Infor, 80%; Softscape, 80%; Arcplan, 77.2%; Actuate, 73.1%; Symphony-Metreo, 70.6%; Microsoft, 70.3% and InetSoft, 64.6%.

The seven categories included five that were product-related: adaptability, manageability, reliability, usability and functionality; and two that were customer-focused: total cost of ownership and return on investment, and validation.

The usability category examined how much work the vendor had put into the human interface aspects of the software. In this area, Information Builders was followed by Infor, IBM Cognos and Softscape.

Manageability judged the products' ability to meet business and IT needs for installation, deployment and administration. Ventana also considered security in terms of user access and data, and also considered the extent to which the software supported auditing and compliance. In this area, information Builders was trailed by Infor, Softscape and Arcplan.

The reliability category involved the products' ability to deliver the required performance and scalability. The top suppliers in order were Information Builders, Arcplan, Softscape, Acutate and IBM Cognos software.

The capability of products was judged by the fit between the capabilities of the product and the needs of various players within the business, from executives to line managers. Following Information Builders were Infor, IBM Cognos Software, Actuate, Symphony-Metreo, Microsoft and Arcplan.

Adatability was evaluated based on product design to ensure configuration and customization to meet the needs of business. The evaluation included criteria on how configurable the product technology was to be able to interface with business and IT, to what extent it could be customized, and whether it supported user interface technologies and systems used by particular lines of business. The top vendors, in order, were Information Builders, Arcplan and IBM Cognos Software.

In judging validation, Ventana assessed the vendor's commitment to the market segment and its products along with the breadth of its communication of relevant information. In this category, Information Builders was followed by Softscape, Infor and IBM Cognos Software.

Finally, TCO/RIO was based on the value vendors delivered with their products. The top vendors, in order, were Information Builders, IBM Cognos Software, Actuate and Softscape.

And here is the blurb from Ventana itself:

Ventana Research Releases New Research-Based Indexes with Authoritative Metrics To Guide Technology Buyers and Suppliers
Trailblazing approach to using research to index business and technology will change the face of the analyst and market research industry

PLEASANTON, Calif.- June 05, 2009 - Ventana Research today introduces its Indexes, a new category of research that will help business and IT organizations cope with the challenge of evaluating vendors and their products along with assessing the maturity of an individual organization to the Indexes. The Ventana Research Indexes, impartial guides based on in-depth research, will make it easier for companies to improve both their efficiency and their effectiveness, understand what can be done to maximize the value of technology investments and to determine the level of competency and maturity in the use of critical business technology.

Ventana research today introduces:
• The Value Index, which evaluates aspects of the utility of business applications, tools and systems and the supportiveness of their vendors.
• The Benchmark Index family, which uses research baselines to measure and index the competency and maturity levels of organizations.

These new Ventana Research Indexes provide research-based metrics that will enable organizations to assess the value of existing and future technologies, systems and tools for business and IT in a simple and easy-to-use manner. The Indexes now make it possible to begin to benchmark how well a company is meeting its specific people, process, information and technology requirements and to easily develop the appropriate evaluation list. The Indexes are based on research across all vertical industries and size of organizations and provide metrics relevant to all companies.

The Value Index is the result of more than a decade of analysis of technology suppliers' products and how well they satisfy specific business and IT needs. The methodology used to produce the Value Index evaluates in detail aspects of product functionality and suitability-to-task as well as the effectiveness of vendor support for the buying process and customer assurance. The Index represents the value a vendor's offers and relevant aspects of its products and services, using both a clear and accessible graphic representation in thermometer form and a precise numerical index. Those earning the highest Hot Vendor classification are those that Ventana Research certifies best represent buyer value based on a thorough evaluation and audit of vendor and products - that is, based on research and verifiable facts. The Value Index is not just a selection of "cool" products, and rather than merely representing a vendor on a four-quadrant chart, the Index provides a specific thermometer reading with a series of component metrics for a technology buyer to consider. The first Value Index, to be released shortly, evaluates technology that can be used by business and IT for Performance Management.

The Benchmark Index family is the product of more than eight years of methodology development. It is based on the extensive work Ventana Research has done benchmarking thousands of organizations on key business and IT topics to establish baselines for organization success and failure. The Benchmark Index relies on a rigorous methodology to evaluate people, process, information and technology practices in a specific business technology area. Complementing the Benchmark Index, the Maturity Index uses the baselines established by research to measure the competence of organizations across the people, process, information and technology dimensions by industry and size. By applying the Maturity Index, an organization can rapidly determine how to maximize its performance, enhancing not just its efficiency but its effectiveness achieving its business objectives. And for organizations that want to measure their competency compared to their industry peers, Ventana Research introduces the Vertical Industry Indexes for more than two dozen categories. Research has already been completed on the first Benchmark Index, on Integrated Business Planning.

"Ironically, the technology analyst industry is stuck in the past, all too often relying on opinions built from minimal points of validation and a serious lack of facts," said Mark Smith, CEO and executive vice president of Ventana Research. "As a result, in too many instances the analysts cannot give useful guidance to business and IT organizations or to technology suppliers. In our view, the analyst industry has become stove-piped and misguided - focusing exclusively on IT organizations and narrowly defined technology categories. Its fails to do any direct research on how business uses technology and consequently has diminished its credibility. As well, industry analyst firms have built walls around their research and information to prevent a thorough discussion on the relevance of their efforts - efforts that today represent only a small fraction of the buyers and influencers of technology. These new Ventana Research Indexes will transform the industry, establishing a new level of value in the use of research for business and IT."

To learn more about the Value Index, please visit http://www.ventanaresearch.com/valueindex and to learn more about Benchmark Index, please visit http://www.ventanaresearch.com/benchmarkindex. These new research-based undertakings are not sponsored or influenced by technology vendors and is conducted to provide value to business and IT through benchmark assessment, workshops and advisory services. Ventana Research's goal is to guide organizations to be efficient in their use of technology investments for business and IT.

About Ventana Research
Ventana Research is the leading benchmark research and advisory services firm. We provide expert guidance to help organizations manage and optimize performance - to become not only more efficient but more effective. Our unparalleled insights and best practices guidance are based on our rigorous research-based benchmarking indexes of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions worldwide. The combination we offer of benchmark research, rigorous market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver business and technology education and expertise to our clients where and when needed. The Ventana Research Indexes - the Value Index and the Benchmark Index family -have redefined the research industry by providing accessible, easy-to-use research-based business and technology guidance to businesses. Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst coverage in the industry; more than 2.5 million business and IT professionals through our community of 85,000 professionals and network of media and association partners around the world benefit from Ventana Research's insights. Ventana Research focuses on business and technology trends and best practices that maximize organizations' potential to perform while reducing the time, cost and risk and still achieve optimal outcomes. To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations use of information and technology through benchmark research, market indexes, education and advisory services, and also where to find us on Facebook or LinkedIn or how to follow us on Twitter or BusinessWeek's BusinessExchange, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.