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Chapter 8
SAP is not the only ERP provider with in-memory capability. In February 2012,
Oracle released its in-memory solution for business analytics called Exalytics. Both SAP’s
and Oracle’s in-memory solutions are designed to analyze what is now being termed
“big data.” Big data refers to the enormous amount of data that is now available for BI use
from all the available sources, including ERP systems, Web sites, corporate databases,
scientific research, Twitter, and other social networking applications. Big data needs fast
computing to be usable, and in-memory computing allows for rapid processing. New chips
designs, such as chips made from carbon rather than silicon, may be the answer to
creating even faster machines. Computing’s processing is moving towards memory and
away from the processor, according to experts in the field such as John E. Kelly, the head
of IBM research. Big data is generating a lot of interest and investments from large
222 companies. The total investment in big data technology is in the billions of dollars, which
includes investments by many companies other than SAP and Oracle, including IBM,
Microsoft, and Hewlett-Packard.
Many feel that BI and its capabilities are strategic assets to an organization that can
be used to enhance future growth and viability, and some experts now say that companies
should be hiring a chief data officer who can link the data with the computing power and
the strategy of the organization.
According to Gartner Research, in 2011, only 30 percent of employees in
organizations with BI tools were actually using them. This low rate of use is due to the
fact that BI software is often difficult to use and slow to perform, and the data is
sometimes of limited relevance for end users. Gartner anticipates that as BI tools
become easier to use, organizations with BI capabilities will have about 50 percent of
their workers using the software by the year 2015. Worldwide revenue in the business
intelligence, analytic applications, and performance management software market rose
16 percent to $12.2 billion in 2011 from $10.5 billion in 2010, according to a report
from Gartner. SAP was the market leader in BI and analytics with a 24 percent market
share. The report also showed that BI analytics was the top technology priority for CIOs
in 2012.

ANOTHER LOOK

Recovery.gov
Even the federal government is getting into the BI arena. As part of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (also known as the “Recovery Act”),
the Recovery.gov Web site was created to serve as “the U.S. government’s official
website that provides easy access to data related to Recovery Act spending and allows
for the reporting of potential fraud, waste, and abuse.” With an interactive, user-friendly
interface and a set of highly interactive BI tools, the site allows the average citizen to
easily review the various destinations for tax dollars spent under the Recovery Act. The
site’s BI tools let users review preexisting charts and graphs or create their own. Filters
are available for the data, and the results can be emailed or exported. Figure 8-3 shows a
sample output of the top 10 states by funds awarded from the Recovery Act of 2009, as
an example of a BI query.
(continued)

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