Metadata is a broad term referring to information about data. Its purpose is to provide us with an easily understandable context for the information we use. It answers questions we’re likely to ask about any source of data, such as where it comes from, how it’s generated, and when it was created. In data analytics, metadata comes in three main types: Read more
This year at the Gartner BI & Analytics Summit in Grapevine, Texas, Ironside’s own Greg Bonnette delivered a presentation that got his audience questioning just what it is that makes a good dashboard. During his talk, Why Your Dashboard Sucks, Greg used the all-too-familiar staple of BI development as a gateway into a much wider discussion of design thinking and its applications in a business analytics setting. Read more
“Design thinking is about believing we can make a difference and having an intentional process in order to get to new, relevant solutions that create positive impact.”
– IDEO
It is not a magic bullet. It is not the only approach to problem solving. Instead, design thinking is simply another tool in our toolbox that helps us keep the user front of mind and practice empathy throughout the entire development process. Read more
Ironside’s Crystal Meyers was featured in Vol. 19, No. 4 of TDWI’s Business Intelligence Journal. Her points are particularly relevant as business analytics begins a more pronounced shift toward a bimodal model in 2016.
Reprinted with permission of 1105 Media, Inc. As published in TDWI’s Business Intelligence Journal. Read more
Data discovery tools and techniques represent the largest change to traditional business intelligence in the last decade. Instead of being a replacement for enterprise reporting, however, data discovery is a new approach that augments the old methods. Understanding when to use each and how they work together are key elements in implementing a strategy for bimodal analytics. Read more
One thing all conferences have in common is that they’re overwhelming. There’s more to learn, see, and do than any one person can handle. Narrowing all those options down to what matters most for your role is tricky at best and frustrating at worst, especially when it comes to a multidisciplinary, multi-technology event like the Gartner BI & Analytics Summit. Some of our top experts and clients will be giving presentations at the Grapevine, TX Gartner Summit this March. This got us thinking: how can we use our experience to help other attendees get the most out of the event? Read more
Even though we’re already blazing full speed ahead into 2016, it’s always important to take a minute to look back at the past year and recognize the high points that made it special. In addition to being named a Boston Business Journal Pacesetter for the second time, making the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for the third time, and receiving IBM’s 2015 Business Intelligence Partner of the Year award, we’ve produced several valuable and popular pieces of thought leadership to enrich the analytics community. Here are the top 5 articles 2015 saw us release. We hope you find them useful as you start your journey into the new year. Read more
Are your reports an asset or a liability? It’s an important question, but it’s one that many compensation administrators typically see as secondary as they put on and take off the many hats they wear on a daily basis. It’s time we started reevaluating that assumption. Of course, the number one priority with incentive compensation management (ICM) is paying commissions correctly and on time, but a strong reporting strategy tied to that process can make a huge difference in terms of building employee trust and increasing productivity. Read more
Selling financial services effectively requires a highly motivated, deeply knowledgeable team that can keep up with all the shifting recommendations, regulations, and investment options endemic to the industry. In this kind of a chaotic atmosphere where priorities change by the minute, it’s crucial to know with certainty that your sales organization is not only taking action to secure new customers but is also targeting that action and optimizing it to have the largest impact possible. One of the top mutual fund and financial services groups in the world engaged with Ironside to put this kind of transparency in place and establish strong sales performance management (SPM) strategies that would drive effective actions from the executive level down to the individual field reps. Read more
Last week at IBM Insight, Ironside was presented with IBM’s Business Intelligence Partner of the Year award for 2015. The press release below provides more details on the award and what it means for us.
Lexington, MA (October 24, 2015) – This week at the IBM Insight conference, Ironside had the honor of being name Business Intelligence Partner of the Year for 2015. The award recognizes the IBM Business Partner that has delivered exceptional solutions using IBM products and services in the BI space this year. Read more
Ironside is a data, analytics, and AI consulting and technology implementation company. We work with clients to understand their business objectives and day-to-day challenges, then employ our deep expertise in data strategy, architecture and engineering, integration, business intelligence, AI, and generative AI. We create technical solutions and practical approaches designed to drive smarter, data-driven decisions across a company and help it move further and faster toward its business goals.