SMARTS (IBM Cognos)

Analytical business performance management system, quality evaluations of services and monitoring of budgets on the basis of Cognos PowerPlay

SMARTS creates analytical systems for business performance management, quality evaluations of services and monitoring of budgets on the basis of Cognos PowerPlay.

"At a huge number of report forms it becomes more difficult to select information necessary for decision making. For managers it is important not just to see month under report digits, and to compare them to the last periods, to add different calculations, to detail, generalize, filter data"

Vladimir Golovastikov Head of department of an ACS of SMARTS

The SMARTS company is the largest regional mobile operator in Russia. Now SMARTS provides services in 16 regions of the country for more than 2 million subscribers.

Working at one of the most highly competitive markets, having a branched organization structure, constantly developing a communication network of the company it is necessary to analyze a set of indicators for the purpose of reduction of production costs, increase in degree of a customer loyalty and the most effective business.

Versatile tasks are relevant for SMARTS:

• Analysis and control of expenditure budgets and income;
• Analysis and control of execution of projects of construction of GSM networks;
• Analysis of business indicators (in total more than 100);
• Analysis of figures of merit of work of GSM networks.

Before project implementation there was a problem with preparation of a huge number of report forms. Besides, there was no tool using which analysts and managers could obtain independently necessary information and carry out contrastive analysis of indicators.

Actually within the created system two large problems were solved: data analysis of a system of scheduling and preparation and distribution of the summary analytical reporting.

Within the project also the problem of data integration from primary sources for the purpose of their postprocessing is implemented.

Choice of the platform

Key requirements to the created systems were:

• Ease of use business users;
• Opportunity for work through web - the interface;
• The powerful functionality which is completely covering analytical requirements of a wide range of users.

It is natural that at the same time high information processing rate had to be provided.

Having analyzed the standing tasks, the management of department of an ACS came to a conclusion that the technology of online analytical processing of data, OLAP using a dedicated server of a multidimensional database in the best way will be suitable for their solution.

"We considered several systems from Oracle, MS and Cognos", - the initiator of the project Vladimir Golovastikov, the head of department of an ACS noted. "Actually only Cognos PowerPlay combined in itself actually a management system for multidimensional cubes, instruments of their design and loading with the means used in work as the end user. Substantially influenced presence at PowerPlay of the client for work through web, broad functionality and the localized interface the choice".

SMARTS finally decided on the platform after participation in the training provided by BI Partner company.

Choice of architecture

Information infrastructure of SMARTS is rather difficult. All information, necessary for solving of tasks of the project, gathers different information systems, several data storage formats are used: A DB of Oracle of a billing system, MS SQL as base for MS ProjectServer and a source for accumulation of different indicators, Lotus Domino for information processing about work of networks, 1C and the tables MS Excel for maintaining budgets.

Considering need of reduction of the reference books given to a single system and impossibility of storage of historical information for operational databases, the data warehouse (MS SQL) which became a uniform source of information for the cubes intended for information analysis was created. Information on execution of budgets comes to the corresponding cubes directly from primary sources.

Architecture of an analytical system of SMARTS

High speed of analytical data processing is provided with use of a multidimensional data model.

Multidimensional models and analytical reporting

Within the project four multidimensional models were developed, each of which corresponds to one of the tasks solved by a system: business performance management, control of expenditure budgets and arrivals, monitoring of construction of networks, analysis of service quality. To each model there corresponds Cognos PowerPlay cube for work with which it is possible to use PowerPlay in the version for Windows or the "thin" client. In addition to actually cubes tens of report forms among which such as are developed: "Cost structure of branch on communication services", "Cost dynamics on communication services of branch", Marginal profit, "Structure of marketing costs", "Structure of planned revenue from communication services", "Number of subscribers", "Number of base stations", "Cash flow", "Variance analysis from the plan", "Analysis of load of network", etc.

The reports created within the project meet the requirements for content and quality of information representation for the analysis

Access to ready document templates is provided via the uniform analytical portal that simplifies work of users.

Cognos PowerPlay focused on business users allows managers and analysts of financial, commercial and technical departments in compliance with security profiles independently to select the analyzed indicators (revenue, traffic volume, connection/outflow, costs for marketing, implementation of prepaid-of cards, remunerations to dealers, market indicators, etc.), to set limits of the analysis, to carry out calculations and to perform a set of other functions with tabular and graphic data views.

Planning and project management on development of network

As schedule system and project management of construction of networks in all regions in SMARTS MS ProjectServer is used. Work with this system is conducted through web - the browser that allowed to implement it on the scale of all company.

The multidimensional cube constructed within the project, contains information from the MS ProjectServer database. Users of schedule system and project management were hit in hands the convenient tool for the analysis of development of network and preparation of the analytical reporting under data on projects. Data entry in MS ProjectServer

System scale

All software necessary for system operation is set in head enterprise and is serviced by department of an ACS. Access is possible as from heads and specialists of head enterprise, and from heads and specialists of all regional enterprises (about 20). 90% of users work via the web interface.

The main users of a system are financial, commercial and technical departments of SMARTS. Access to budget items is provided to all participants of process of budgeting according to their profiles of security.

In the near future the department of an ACS is going to prepare a cube and reports of Cognos PowerPlay for the top management of the company which will contain only the aggregated indicators on all activities.

A system will develop further and to cover new tasks.

Success factors

Project organization and accomplishment of the majority of works were performed by department of an ACS which not only was engaged in implementation of a system, but also, well understanding business needs of the company and a problem of future users of a system, performed problem definition.

According to Vladimir Golovastikov, the department of an ACS of SMARTS proceeded from common interests of the enterprise. Consolidation of concerned parties in achievement of the global purpose helped to implement the project in corporate scale.

For design of models specialists of operating units actively were attracted. It helped to lay the strong foundation for a system and to avoid errors at early stages. Close interaction with business users allowed to avoid also problems at a system implementation stage. Managers and specialists foreknew that they will have a new analytical tool and were ready to use it.

"It is very important not to be afraid of changes in ideology of work with this. You should not hold usual Excel only because it is mastered by users", - Vladimir Golovastikov noted. "We just showed them modern tools of the business analysis, explained what they will get advantages of their use, together estimated a prize and it yielded positive result: future users began actively us to help".

Value of the project for SMARTS

Implementation of an analytical system allowed SMARTS to increase the speed and accuracy of information processing considerably. In addition to obvious advantages from an opportunity to quickly obtain necessary information and to analyze it for the purpose of quality improvement of management at all levels, a system allowed to accelerate a number of business processes of the company and to make work of departments of more effective.

"Advantages which a BI system on the basis of Cognos gives us are really very considerable. We are ready to share experience with the companies planning implementation of similar solutions"

Vladimir Golovastikov