Business Intelligence Software at Sysco Essay Example

of extraction, the companies can retrieval of data from different sources. Then it’s much easy for the executives to choose the useful information to use for the decision making. Data mining is another important capability of BI. It can analyze the large pools of historical data, looking for correlations, trends, and patterns. In a word, BI system can effectively help alleviate the problem that there is too much original information to use.

2.Which types of problems will it not address? BI software, especially like Business Objects, is a very advanced way to analyze and use information to help executives make right decision. But the BI software is only good at manage and analyze the information, not at information collection. For some company that has the good way to collect information, the BI software is very useful and effective. But for some company that have problem to collect the information, the BI software have limited effect to help the decision maker.

3.Can the system provide Sysco with a competitive advantage? Sysco is a huge company that had 420,000. It is a highly decentralized business composed of over 100 operating companies. And Sysco have prefect database that contain huge information about whole company and customers. With the huge amount of information, the executives are very hard to use those data. The executives need a tool to help them manage and analyze the information, and then they can make the right decision from the information.

The best tool is BI system. BI system is the professional tool for information management. BI’s capabilities include Dashboards, Extraction, Data mining, Predefined reports, Ad hoc querying and reporting, Predictive analytics, Event notification

and Distribution, so the BI system can improve the information efficiency to a high level. If the Sysco use the BI system to manage their database, the database will play a bigger role in the company and help the company supply better serve to the customers.

4.What implementation challenges should Twila Day expect and how should she proceed? The biggest challenge Twila Day faced is which software modules should be chosen. There are three options. One option is to purchase the minimum number of licenses and software components. This option would provide a good start, but Sysco would probably need to buy more licenses at a higher price within six months. The second option is to provide broader access to the business intelligence information throughout Sysco .

This option would cover Sysco for the next 9–12 months, but the company would probably need to license additional software in about a year. The third option was to take advantage of the volume discount that Business Objects would provide if Sysco licensed all of the software now that it planned to use in the next two years. The first option’s total charge is 2,535,880 dollars, the second option’s charge is 3,074,980 dollars and the third option’s charge is 3,401,020 dollars. How to choose the software module is a big challenge for Twila Day. The first one cost least in the beginning but may cost more subsequently.

The third one cost most at the beginning and it provide a discount and no more charge later on but buying too much license may be a waste of money. So the most important thing Day should pay attendance to be to predict

how many licenses the company will use in the future. The best way for Day to solve this problem is survey what demand the company exactly wants. And the answer of the two questions that the Business Objects give to Sysco can also help her do the right prediction and then choose the appropriate module.

In the end, I’m still worry about one problem the safety of information’s secrecy. The original data of each company contain huge information ranging from customer Information to business secret. If companies use the BI software to manage their data, how can they protect their secret? The BI software need and can easily get all the information of the company.