Analysing data is one of the core functions of many business professionals, especially in finance, where financial planning and analysis (FP&A) is one of the more fun and interesting duties of the job. As markets and business practices have evolved and the volume and variety of data has grown, the complexity of business analysis has also increased — leading the way to multidimensional analysis.
Why multidimensional? Because the business world isn’t flat — two-dimensional — like the rows and columns on a spreadsheet. It’s multidimensional, so it takes multidimensional analysis to examine performance in all of its complexity, particularly when analysing year-end results and planning for the year ahead. That often means working with very large data cubes, sometimes containing billions of data points, to represent products, customers, and the multitude of variables that define a business.
Customers and competitors on every continent
Paradoxically enough, one of the reasons that multidimensional analysis is so essential is that in some ways, to borrow the metaphor of author Thomas Friedman, the business world actually is flat. Friedman’s famous best-seller on globalisation, The World Is Flat, described how the world’s economy has evolved into a far more level playing field for commerce than it had been in decades past. Businesses today can find customers — and competitors — on virtually every continent. And every insight gleaned from in-depth analysis could reveal a performance gap or a competitive advantage that is key to a major market opportunity.
In this environment, analysts need the best possible techniques and tools. That’s why we’d like you to know about a free webinar we’re presenting on Friday, May 17th, at 11:00 a.m.
Multidimensional analysis: user and vendor perspectives
In this webinar we will explain:
- How examining large, historical, and future-oriented data sets gives you practical insights to help you meet performance targets, seize opportunities to grow business, and address the inevitable setbacks with agility
- Why analysing data in its full multidimensional complexity provides a deeper understanding of the causes and effects of business results
- How a personalised “sandbox” environment lets users compare best-case, worst-case, and most-likely-case scenarios, and model alternative courses of action
- How the “hierarchies” capability (an IBM Planning Analytics exclusive) enables analysts to perform more granular analysis by using “attributes” to model variables such as products, customers, regions, and sales channels in real time
- As the complexity of analysis has increased, so have the rewards. So please join us to learn how modern planning solutions drive smarter, data-driven decision making and enable organisations to wring more value from their planning and analysis processes.
We look forward to you joining us.
Webinar: Budgeting, Forecasting & Planning in 2019 – May 17th – 11am
(Register now and even if you can’t attend we will send you the recording!)
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