Another possible area of confusion is with the analytics title because analytics means different things to different people.
Firstly, Gartner recognises Insight as part of the Analytics vale chain, which is precisely what EXALEAD offers.
Click. Then explain that all systems have there own reporting and much of the BI world is focussed in this already
Click. Then explain how EXLALEAD and the other DS brands sit on the Analytics Value Escalator Scale offering insight and foresight.
Click. Further explain that IDC also recognises the term PLM-Analytics and that it’s a growing market
Make the point here that Corporate Governance changed forever following various high profile fraud cases.
Transparency, good corporate governance and ethics are now required of all business.
Click, a quick scan of the subject always highlights the importance of using real, quality, up-to-date information with decision making processes because senior executive are responsible and can be held accountable for what goes on in their companies. You need access to all the information not just some a selected subset of data to achieve this. You need real insight to make good, supportably, ethical business decisions.
Is this relevant to the motor industry for example?
Click. Completely. Even the best engineering and manufacturing companies will, form time to time, face serious challenges to their businesses.
Consider Takata, the airbag specialist manufacturer, for example. It currently has an issue with airbags deploying when they should not, which has effected many manufacturers and car models. Faced with a challenge of this magnitude, you need to gather all the information you can as quickly as you can to truly understand the repercussions , causes, business value, solutions etc. You need to draw teams of people together across many disciplines: legal, engineering, finance etc. and to achieve this (or even avoid it) you must have access to all relevant information. You must have insight.
Click. The quicker you act, the more control you can exert. This incident, for example, divided Takata’s share value by more than half.
Click. Let’s also look at the GM and Toyota. All automotive, aerospace, hi tech, consume goods etc. companies face massive challenges when things go wrong, even the very best.
In 2010, Toyota was the worlds #1 automotive manufacturer. Following the Accelerator episode, it dropped to #4 by 2011.
To mange, mitigate or even avoid these situations, you need world-class PLM and world class PLM-Analytics and insight
This slide is designed to give some very succinct definitions and to answer some very basic questions about PLM Analytics
So..have we sold it…yes….JLY and Pratt
Then…Related stuff to link to the next slide
The story of PLM and therefore, the need for PLM Analytics closely follows increasing product complexity, so it’s worth taking a closer look at this subject (taking an automotive example).
The Ford Capri was an aspirational car of the period (way back in 1974). Probably similar to today’s BMW 3 series.
At the time (as now) Ford was somewhat of a leader in this sector because it offered choice and a range within each model to suit every pocket.
Consider also that this was way before the time of PCs and that even mini computers where rare (Digital didn’t release the VAX series until the late 1997 for example) and so the BOM would have been on paper or maybe on a mainframe. Also, consider that while some choice was offered, a GXL interior was a GXL interior. You didn’t get to choose colours and optional extras. So 10 models = 10 BOMS with as many share components as possible.
So how is this different to today?
Click. Now let’s take a look at the equipment available on most premium spec cars of today.
Pick on a few points of interest to make the point
Make the point that many vendors now offer millions of unique configuration options for cars and aeroplanes.
Highlight the fact that the intel 8080, the predecessor of the 8086 PC chip, wasn’t available until 1974 with the 8086 following 3 years later. Then point out that IBM didn’t offer the first recognisable PC until 1981 – so there would have been very little access to CAD, structural and fluid analysis, simulations etc.
On the last bullet, make the point that it doesn’t just offer value to senior managers but it is good to remember that it has to if you want to make an enterprise sale.
Explain the nature of data complexity in real-world successful companies because they all have to growing and changing (and are the subject of or are involved in M&A activity).
Click. The fact that many large manufacturing and engineering companies will have multiple content management, BI and ERP systems isn’t so unusual and we often see multiple and home-grown PLM systems too. This should be seen as a sign of health or a pulse, because companies that don’t have this type of data landscape probably aren’t pushing forward and adapting to change.
This is all good for EXALEAD….
So, where do we sit against classic BI? This can be a cause of confusion for all and it is important to clearly state the differences.
Click, for example, customers may ask why we aren’t on the all important Gartner Magic Quadrant. A fair question.
Note: You will inevitably compete against a range of BI and reporting products, many of which the customer will already own.
Additionally, customer IT departments will have already spent years trying to perfect data-warehouses, master data management, n tier architectures and messaging backbones to build IT nirvana – As a result, their thinking will be somewhat narrow and they will be suspicious of a good idea like EXALEAD (especially when it wasn’t their idea!).
For these reasons, it is essential to re-introduce the importance of unstructured content an all its forms, as per the slide.
It is often pointless attempting to suggest that EXALEAD doesn’t need a data warehouse because gaining control of data is of great value for other reasons. However, data warehouses are really weak when you bring content back into the picture.
So… The first point to make here is that, in making a decision with engineering, you need to consider all the information, not just some of the data.
Read the Sherlock Holmes Quote to make this point.
How can you make a decision about air bag testing procedures, for example, without first considering the design spec, the amil trail, the customer feedback and even the 3D assets? The answer is that you can’t!
Click. Briefly explain how EXALEAD uses it’s advance semantic processing to drive value and structure out of unstructured content so that it can be related to all other relevant material.
It is also critical to point out that BI really come from a different place.
It tends to sit upon a pre-cleansed data warehouse on highly structure data.
You have to know the questions you want to ask of the data before you start and it can be timely to add features and integrate your design.
EXALEAD also has the capability to work with highly structured data but also enables access to all the other related information so that you can answer new questions and see relationships.
A good way to summaries this is to ask the question “is finding a KPI the end of the journey or the start of another?
Actually, when the red light flashes, you need to start asking question and seeing information in it’s correct, related context.
While we aren’t attempting to sell the CloudView platform as such, it is still worth mentioning that it offer a great deal.
It offers everything form connectors, though analysis and result manipulation to rapid deployment UIs. Unlike most other platforms in its class, it also offers comprehensive management and configuration UIs, making it very fast to implement, vastly reducing time to value and cost of ownership.