BusinessObjects 6.5: tailored for Teradata

by Daniel Tynan

When it comes to data analysis, few relationships are more vital than the one between the data warehouse where information is stored and the business intelligence tools that make such data useful. So when BusinessObjects 6.5 debuted in June, it arrived with a secret ingredient: the ideas and insight of Teradata's biggest customers. Version 6.5 is the first BusinessObjects application truly optimized to work with the Teradata Warehouse.

Janet Wood

"Business intelligence is all about getting data out of the warehouse and into the hands of business people," says Janet Wood, vice president of alliances and OEM at BusinessObjects.

The company's software spares less-tech-savvy managers from the task of mastering the intricacies of Structured Query Language (SQL) syntax. Instead, users build queries by dragging objects around onscreen.

"Our product is particularly strong at supporting unpredictable requests for information, while the Teradata Warehouse is particularly good at supporting that kind of analysis," says Senior Director of Product Management Frank Prabel.

He explains, "Say you're a retail marketing manager and you're running a test campaign in two stores promoting a particular brand over a limited period of time. You want to see how effective your campaign was. That's not the type of information you'd normally see in a weekly sales report. But by using BusinessObjects, you can build a query by selecting objects representing the store, product category, time period and so on.

"BusinessObjects translates this query into SQL, sends it to the Teradata engine and then returns the answer directly to you."

This capability is a powerful business tool. Still, Prabel knew his company's software could do a better job of working with the Teradata Warehouse. So, in early 2003, he helped to create a Teradata advisory group of 25 data warehousing experts from telecommunication, transportation and other keystone industries.

The group met once a month via conference call to discuss concerns and exchange ideas. The group's suggestions created better synergy between BusinessObjects and the Teradata Warehouse. Version 6.5 is the first to implement ideas generated by the group, Prabel notes.

Optimization means Teradata does more of the "heavy lifting"-deep data analysis-so BusinessObjects can return results more quickly, explains Mark Howell, Teradata vice president of alliances. "Optimization increases the overall performance of BusinessObjects and the data warehouse together."

Improvements like this are vital to longterm partnerships. "We view partnerships like the one we have with BusinessObjects as very serious relationships,"Howell says. "It's more like a marriage."

Wood agrees. "We are excited about this ongoing alliance with Teradata, especially as it is based on bringing together complementary solutions focused on customer performance requirements. This partnership has resulted in a series of successful customer engagements, including a deployment at AT&T Wireless that not only is dramatically cutting query times, but also increasing user satisfaction."

Sounds like a marriage made in heaven. T

Daniel Tynan is a technojournalist living in North Carolina.

© Teradata Magazine-September 2004