Where does the data come from?
The data is extracted from your different IT Applications, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, logbooks, reports, or any combination thereof. Any IT Applications including Enterprise solutions can create a data dump at the meta-layer level. We use Extraction, Transform and Load(ETL) tools for Data Extraction and loading into the CompreViewTM. We can work with manual systems like logbooks or journals as well as running our ETL processes. Custom build queries using ETL tools then transfer data on auto mode for daily uploads.
Even if our data is available, it is not accurate. Our resources will need to spend a lot of time in collecting data. In these tough economic times, we have other priorities.
We do most of the work, but we need one IT resource from your end during the set-up phase to help extract data. Our product has in-built features that ask for validating duplicate data entries. Data anomalies or inconsistency are easily identified since the entire data stream of your business end-to-end is displayed. We meet different functional heads with well-prepared questions to validate data using minimal time from them. Once the data set-up time is complete (typically 6-12 weeks after data extraction), you are easily able to identify your risks and opportunities to achieve better returns. "Improving margins and driving productivity programs is important in all times even more so in these difficult times". Together, we establish a business wide continuous improvement quality program that drives efficiency and provides accelerated ROI.
But our data is incomplete. Some of it exists in excel spreadsheets and journals.
We work with the data that you use today whether it is in manual or digital forms. We organize the data for you and then explore further possibilities of improving or assimilating data.
I have never been huge fan of business intelligence applications that occupy that fuzzy boundary between high-end databases and data mining. The financial return on this sort of IT investment is extremely difficult to quantify.
Traditional data mining tools, as they exist today, make it difficult to quantify their benefits. Our solutions expose the opportunities and risks that our clients face. As an example, products X & Y are manufactured on the same machine. A sales manager in China can get additional sales of Product X if he is allowed to drop prices by 4%. The sales manager in the US can increase sales of Product Y by 4% with a 1% price drop. CompreViewTM helps to provide quantified options to pursue to help boost your profitability.
At the end of the set-up period, which lasts up to max 12 weeks from initial data gathering, our clients can answer the question, “how much money are they leaving on the table?” Awareness of the opportunities establishes the first step towards improvements. The results are measurable and help establish processes to control the performance measure for our clients. We have testimonials from our clients who have been able to quantify their benefits.
Can you customize the application to meet our specific needs?
BRG has built a flexible solution that makes it easy to customize to its clients’ requirements. BRG has considered this aspect during its design phase and is able to provide customizable solutions without taking months and years to implement. Our set-up phase is among the shortest in the industry.
You have mentioned some differentiators above that your services provide. What is that one single differentiator that will make us want you as a BI provider over your competitors?
Our fundamental belief that seeing all your business data end-to-end across your value stream gets faster returns. No other BI player today has offerings similar to ours. Our products help you to take proactive decisions that are measurable, balanced and cross-functional. What will you prefer? Seeing the days’ receivables by material or service as you schedule the "resource or analyzing the data" after the event to find ways by which you can achieve better cash flows? We have countless examples like this where decisions have ramifications upstream whenever interdependencies exist.
Market players that talk about data visualization deliver graphical ways to help you understand historical performance to better prepare the future. This view is also needed. We also deliver historical data that can be presented graphically but our uniqueness lies in bringing data at the right time to help your team take the right decision for a more predictive and profitable future.
Do we need to license the CompreViewTM as a SaaS application? Our data is sensitive. We need to keep it in-house.
We offer our product as a SaaS application and can also license the product for an in-house installation. We prefer the SaaS route. The single biggest reason is that we can connect our evidence-based market dynamics and competitive benchmarking for a 360-degree comprehensive view of your value chain from the Markets to Inputs or Fruits-to-the RootsSM. In addition, with our hosted services, there is no hardware to buy, no support personnel needed and no maintenance cost. Upgrades are easy to install and do not create work stoppages at your end.
What about data security?
Data security is achieved with a multi-tiered approach. Hardware is secured with a state-of-the-art facility at a world-class data centre. Backup power, temperature monitoring and other emergency systems ensure data availability around the clock. Firewall and intrusion detection technologies ensure our servers are not vulnerable to external attacks.
User security is managed using VPN connectivity. BRG personnel will not have any facility to copy/write the data onto external storage devices. Access to public domain email systems are blocked. All data accesses will be logged in audit trails. Role Based Access Control (RBAC) policies are diligently implemented. Regular employee trainings on information security are conducted to enforce the discipline.
Clients will connect to the server using HTTPS only and all communication between client and server will be encrypted with 128 bit SSL. Best-in-class disaster recovery procedures are in place to recover data in unexpected eventualities. Our IT practices are ISO27001 standards compliant.
Do you have an evaluation copy that I can download for conducting trials?
Data preparation is needed to set up the application. We can run a pilot to show the benefits. You can also view the demo of the CompreViewTM on our website.
What is the BRG role after the setup phase is completed?
Providing daily uploads, upgrading technology and creating new features, maintenance, generating reports on a periodic basis, identifying opportunities for margin improvements, and customizing to meet your needs are some of the activities that we perform. We also conduct secondary market research by scanning multiple databases to collect market & competitive intelligence to provide an end-to-end view from the Markets to the Inputs. On a regular basis, we connect the external and internal intelligence and play a significant role in helping you to forecast better. Our objective throughout is to help you get more proactive and provide accelerated returns.
Do you provide 24/7 customer service?
We are investing in providing a 24/7 customer support team. This team will be operational starting April 2009. Meanwhile, we will provide emergency contact numbers to reach. We will respond within 2 hours of receiving your call.
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