Informatica with HR + FIN

[JAY1800]

Hello techies
We have just implemented Peoplesoft HRMS 8.8 and Financials 8.4. We have huge legacy data(nearly 20 Years) as well as data related to different modules related to HR and financials. We want to get rid of this data as well as the applications, cause most of the processes now are implemented in Peoplesoft.
Our management have decided to implement Data warehouse and for ETL we have purchased Informatica 6.1. I just wanted to get some insights about the concept in general.

1) What kind of data related to HRMS and Financials we can have in these datamarts/DW?

2) What kind of design patterns we need to follow to implement this DW sucessfully. We plan to have BI tools next year for complex reporting.

3) What kind of problems we can face during the entire implementation?

I would really appreciate if someone could shed light on this topics.

Jay

 

[blom0344]

The biggest problem you will probably face is the very low succes-rate of enterprise wide datawarehouse implementation.
Technically, the sky is the limit. INFA 6.1 will probably deliver everything you'll ever need. Data-storage is no issue anymore, so you will be able to store all you want.

Some recommendations:

- Take lots of time to get good idea what end-users want to report on.
- Make sure that when you buy an expensive BI tool this will become the standard for reporting. You will be surprised about the need for people to add some more data from personal files , having your DW data ending up in endless Excel files again.
- If management allows go for a scaled down pilot, get some test-licenses on various BI tools and EVALUATE before you buy definitive type. SHOW in early phase how it will look like.

- End users will never see the ETL process, so you'll have that covered with INFA 6.1 (top of the bill), so phocus on what they will experience. Ultimately the succes of your project will depend on whether people will experience it as an improvement in terms of efficiency and functionality

- If possible do some scouting, try to get access to other organizations through vendors and get first hand information about the pitfalls experienced by others.

- Read up on the Kimball vs Inmon strategies for setting up things

T. Blom
Information analyst
tbl@shimano-eu.com