 |
Visible's Enhanced Business Template Model Can Save Companies Time and Money in Building Data Warehouses, Corporate Portals, and Other Strategic Information Systems |
WALTHAM, MA (2000) -- Visible Systems Corporation (Visible) announces the newest version of its Business Template Model, which enables companies to more cost-effectively develop high-quality data warehouses, corporate portals, executive information systems, and decision support systems. The enhanced product provides a ready-made template of "universal" business data objects and processes that companies can customize to suit the information needs of their organizations. By not having to develop these objects themselves, companies can shave months off the process of building an enterprise information architecture. The Business Template Model also results in much higher-quality strategic information systems than methods that attempt to blend operational data without ensuring consistent enterprise data and process definitions.
Visible Vice President Alan Perkins said: "Too many companies today take a 'silver bullet' approach to developing data warehouses. As a result, they spend too much time and money and are dissatisfied with the results, because the strategic enterprise view is missing."
"The most common silver bullet is dumping operational data into a shiny new repository," explained Perkins. "This is like storing a company's old and new parts in a single physical warehouse and then trying to sift through them to find exactly what you're looking for. The other common approach is to build a 'magic window' -- that is, a GUI interface -- into operational systems to extract data for pretty reports. But the result is the same: you end up with jewels and junk in the same bucket, and it's hard to find the information you truly need for decision support."
"Our Business Template Model helps companies do the hard, upfront work of defining a workable enterprise information architecture. We provide a fully normalized, high-quality model of all the common business objects and processes an organization could possibly need. The company then customizes this model, or template, to suit its particular terminology and business structure by defining data and processes at all corporate levels. As a result, companies eliminate the 'junk factor' in their enterprise systems. This top-down approach helps companies transform data into useful, timely, accurate corporate information."
How The Business Template Model Works
The enhanced Business Template Model combines a proven methodology and a powerful software tool that comprises over 300 universal business processes linking the data and business objects that support them. The Business Template Model assumes that all business organizations perform a common set of functions, such as marketing, sales, purchasing, and production; that each function performs many of the same activities (contact management, document management, budgeting, accounting, hiring, etc.); and that these activities use similar data.
A company using Business Template Model would customize the functions, activities, and data to conform to its enterprise and operational business requirements. First, the company, guided by Visible's skills-transfer consultants, conducts top-down joint application development sessions with executives to determine a vision for the enterprise information architecture. Similar sessions are then held with operational groups. During the process, definitions of key data, business rules, and processes are defined. For example, the company might always refer to customers as "clients" and define "clients" as having certain characteristics, so the template would be modified accordingly. Then, whenever decision support information was sought on "clients" -- such as the growth in the number of new clients during the past quarter -- executives could be certain the information was accurate and all-inclusive and would be presented using readily recognizable terminology.
Visible's Business Template Model is normalized to "fifth business normal form," which means that it is truly relational and can capture business rules. It has evolved into its present version through years of accumulated experience in building enterprise architectures. Because the Business Template Model is object-based, it can drive component development and reuse.
Each Business Template is priced separately and costs less than one-fifth the cost of many similar industry-specific solutions. Skills-transfer training to help make the most effective use of the Business Template Model is an additional cost. However, if a client contracts with Visible to provide skills and/or technology transfer services, the price of the Business Templates is reduced.
The Business Template Model software is deployed using our Visible Advantage Enterprise Engineering tool, which is also priced separately. The Visible Business Template Model is available immediately. Special government pricing for Visible's products and services is available.
About Visible Systems Corporation
Visible Systems Corporation ( http://www.visiblesystemscorp.com ), headquartered in Framingham, MA, is a leader in Enterprise Engineering tools, training, and consulting. Visible now has almost 100,000 users of its products worldwide and a product line ranging from low-cost to medium-priced and full-featured software engineering tools.
The company's products include Visible Advantage, an enterprise architecture tool for complex, cross-functional enterprise-class development; Visible Analyst, a data, process, and object modeling tool for developing enterprise applications; Razor, a world-class, industrial-strength configuration management and problem/issue tracking tool; and the Visible Business Template Model, which provides a fast-start approach to creating a quality data architecture and warehouse.
Visible's training and education services are focused on helping client personnel develop mastery of the company's products using business-driven, model-based, object-oriented approaches. The company also offers interactive computer-based training (CBT) courses on application development and software project management. Facilitation and consulting services range from periodic to full-time support of client software engineering projects.
A more detailed introduction is available in the Visible White Paper: "Visible Business Template Model -- An Introduction."
A description of Visible's methods and tools for successfully developing and managing enterprise information can be found in other white papers describing Visible Solutions:
Visible Solutions, Visible Success Stories, Visible Viewpoints, and other Visible white papers are available from our web site ( http://www.visiblesystemscorp.com ).
For additional information concerning the Visible Business Template Model please contact:
John Nash
Vice President
(508) 628-1510
john.nash@visiblesystemscorp.com |
###
©2010 Visible Systems Corporation. All rights reserved. |
