1.

ROLE OF MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

Source:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140901121616-

270946654-role-impact-and-importance-of-mis
The role of the MIS in an organization can be compared to the role of heart
in the body. The information is the blood and MIS is the heart. In the body
the heart plays the role of supplying pure blood to all the elements of the
body including the brain. The heart work faster and supplies more blood
when needed. It regulates and controls the incoming impure blood,
processed it and sends it to the destination in the quantity needed. It
fulfills the needs of blood supply to human body in normal course and also
in crisis.
The MIS plays exactly the same role in the organization. The system
ensures that an appropriate data is collected from the various sources,
processed and send further to all the needy destinations. The system is
expected to fulfill the information needs of an individual, a group of
individuals, the management functionaries: the managers and top
management.
Here are some of the important roles of the MIS:
i. The MIS satisfies the diverse needs through variety of systems such as
query system, analysis system, modeling system and decision support
system.
ii. The MIS helps in strategic planning, management control, operational
control and transaction processing. The MIS helps in the clerical personal
in the transaction processing and answers the queries on the data
pertaining to the transaction, the status of a particular record and
reference on a variety of documents.
iii. The MIS helps the junior management personnel by providing the
operational data for planning, scheduling and control , and helps them
further in decision-making at the operation level to correct an out of
control situation.
iv. The MIS helps the middle management in short term planning, target
setting and controlling the business functions. It is supported by the use of
the management tools of planning and control.
v. The MIS helps the top level management in goal setting, strategic
planning and evolving the business plans and their implementation.
vi. The MIS plays the role of information generation, communication,
problem identification and helps in the process of decision-making. The

MIS, therefore, plays a vital role in the management, administration and

operation of an organization.

Summary:
1.

The MIS helps the junior management personnel by providing the

operational data for planning, scheduling and control , and helps them
further in decision-making at the operation level to correct an out of
control situation.

2.

The MIS helps in strategic planning, management

operational control and transaction processing.

3.

The MIS helps the middle management in short term planning,

target setting and controlling the business functions.

control,

2. IMPORTANCE OF MIS
Source:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140901121616-270946654role-impact-and-importance-of-mis
It goes without saying that all managerial functions are performed through
decision-making; for taking rational decision, timely and reliable
information is essential and is procured through a logical and well
structured method of information collecting, processing and disseminating
to decision makers. Such a method in the field of management is widely
known as MIS. In todays world of ever increasing complexities of business
as well as business organization, in order to service and grow , must have
a properly planned, analyzed, designed and maintained MIS so that it
provides timely, reliable and useful information to enable the
management to take speedy and rational decisions.
MIS has assumed all the more important role in todays environment
because a manager has to take decisions under two main challenges:
First, because of the liberalization and globalization, in which
organizations are required to compete not locally but globally, a manager
has to take quick decisions, otherwise his business will be taken away by
his competitors. This has further enhanced the necessity for such a
system.

Second, in this information age wherein information is doubling up every

two or three years, a manager has to process a large voluminous data;
failing which he may end up taking a strong decision that may prove to be
very costly to the company.
In such a situation managers must be equipped with some tools or a
system, which can assist them in their challenging role of decisionmaking. It is because of the above cited reasons, that today MIS is
considered to be of permanent importance, sometimes regarded as the
name centre of an organization. Such system assist decision makers in
organizations by providing information at various stages of decision
making and thus greatly help the organizations to achieve their
predetermined goals and objectives. On the other hand, the MIS which is
not adequately planned for analyzed, designed, implemented or is poorly
maintained may provide developed inaccurate, irrelevant or obsolete
information which may prove fatal for the organization. In other words,
organizations today just cannot survive and grow without properly
planned, designed, implemented and maintained MIS. It has been well
understood that MIS enables even small organizations to more than offset
the economies of scale enjoyed by their bigger competitors and thus helps
in providing a competitive edge over other organizations.
Summary:
1.

In todays world of ever increasing complexities of business as well

as business organization, in order to service and grow , must have a
properly planned, analyzed, designed and maintained MIS so that it
provides timely, reliable and useful information to enable the
management to take speedy and rational decisions.

2.

It goes without saying that all managerial functions are performed

through decision-making; for taking rational decision, timely and
reliable information is essential and is procured through a logical and
well structured method of information collecting, processing and
disseminating to decision makers.

3.

On the other hand, the MIS which is not adequately planned for
analyzed, designed, implemented or is poorly maintained may provide
developed inaccurate, irrelevant or obsolete information which may
prove fatal for the organization.

4.

Such system assist decision makers in organizations by providing

information at various stages of decision making and thus greatly help
the organizations to achieve their predetermined goals and objectives.

3. IMPACT OF THE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

Source:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140901121616-270946654role-impact-and-importance-of-mis

MIS plays a very important role in the organization; it creates an impact

on the organizations functions, performance and productivity.
The impact of MIS on the functions is in its management with a good MIS
supports the management of marketing, finance, production and
personnel becomes more efficient. The tracking and monitoring of the
functional targets becomes easy. The functional managers are informed
about the progress, achievements and shortfalls in the activity and the
targets. The manager is kept alert by providing certain information
indicating and probable trends in the various aspects of business. This
helps in forecasting and long-term perspective planning. The managers
attention is bought to a situation which is expected in nature, inducing
him to take an action or a decision in the matter. Disciplined information
reporting system creates structure database and a knowledge base for all
the people in the organization. The information is available in such a form
that it can be used straight away by blending and analysis, saving the
managers valuable time.
The MIS creates another impact in the organization which relates to the
understanding of the business itself. The MIS begins with the definition of
data, entity and its attributes. It uses a dictionary of data, entity and
attributes, respectively, designed for information generation in the
organization. Since all the information systems use the dictionary, there is
common understanding of terms and terminology in the organization
bringing clarity in the communication and a similar understanding of an
event in the organization.
The MIS calls for a systematization of the business operations for an
effective system design. This leads to streaming of the operations which
complicates the system design. It improves the administration of the
business by bringing a discipline in its operations as everybody is required

to follow and use systems and procedures. This process brings a high
degree of professionalism in the business operations.
The goals and objectives of the MIS are the products of business goals and
objectives. It helps indirectly to pull the entire organization in one
direction towards the corporate goals and objectives by providing the
relevant information to the organization.
A well designed system with a focus on the manager makes an impact on
the managerial efficiency. The fund of information motivates an
enlightened manager to use a variety of tools of the management. It helps
him to resort to such exercises as experimentation and modeling. The use
of computers enables him to use the tools and techniques which are
impossible to use manually. The ready-made packages make this task
simple. The impact is on the managerial ability to perform. It improves
decision-making ability considerably high.
Since, the MIS work on the basic system such as transaction processing
and database, the drudgery of the clerical work is transferred to the
computerized system, relieving the human mind for better work. It will be
observed that lot of manpower is engaged in this activity in the
organization. Seventy (70) percent of the time is spent in recording,
searching, processing and communicating. This MIS has a direct impact on
this overhead. It creates information based working culture in the
organization.
Summary:
1.

Disciplined information reporting system creates structure database

and a knowledge base for all the people in the organization.

2.

Since all the information systems use the dictionary, there is

common understanding of terms and terminology in the organization
bringing clarity in the communication and a similar understanding of
an event in the organization.

3.

It helps indirectly to pull the entire organization in one direction

towards the corporate goals and objectives by providing the relevant
information to the organization.

4.

The MIS creates another impact in the organization which relates to

the understanding of the business itself.

5.

It uses a dictionary of data, entity and attributes, respectively,

designed for information generation in the organization.

6.

MIS plays a very important role in the organization; it creates an

impact on the organizations functions, performance and productivity.

7.

The manager is kept alert by providing certain information

indicating and probable trends in the various aspects of business.

4. What is importance of information system in business?

Source: https://eternalsunshineoftheismind.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/6reasons-why-information-systems-are-important-to-business/
1) Operational Excellence businesses can constantly improve their
efficiency of their operations in order to achieve higher profitability. They
can do this by constantly having the correct amount of stock in store so
consumers can always get want they want.
2) New product services and business models I.S systems play a major
role for businesses in creating new products and services. New business
models can be created and these can describe how a company produce,
create and sell there products.
3) Customer and Supplier intimacy the better services a company
provides its consumers with more likely they are too come back to them
and as result the more they will buy off the supplier therefore creating a
good relationship with both parties.
4) Improved decision making I.S systems make it possibly for managers
to use real time data when making a decision to therefore make better
decisions and not have to waste time looking for information.
5) Competitive advantage if companies achieve any of these 6 reasons
to use I.S they will generally create a competitive advantage over their
rivals.
6) Day to Day survival business invest in these systems to make their
jobs as easy as possibly. an example is Citibank introduced the first ATM
machine to make it easier for customers to access their money and to cut
down queues in their banks.

Summary:
1.

New product services and business models I.S systems play a

major role for businesses in creating new products and services.

2.

Customer and Supplier intimacy the better services a company

provides its consumers with more likely they are too come back to
them and as result the more they will buy off the supplier therefore
creating a good relationship with both parties.

3.

Improved decision making I.S systems make it possibly for

managers to use real time data when making a decision to therefore
make better decisions and not have to waste time looking for
information.

4.

New business models can be created and these can describe how a
company produce, create and sell there products.

5. Implementation of information systems

Source:

http://www.porterwright.com/implementation-of-information-

systems-practice-areas1/
Taking advantage of todays information technology opportunities and
meeting related legal obligations usually requires enlisting the help of
technology professionals and legal counsel. Our attorneys work
proactively with clients in evaluating the legal issues associated with
implementing technology solutions before, during and after the
implementation. Clients seek our advice about regulatory requirements
during the procurement process for information technology services, and
we help them to negotiate risk-allocation, remedies and insurance clauses
in contracts. We can assist in developing comprehensive information
technology acquisition strategies, including development of standard
forms of agreements for use with information technology vendors.
Specific areas include:
ERP Implementations
Hardware acquisition and financing agreements
Systems integration agreements
Disaster recovery agreements
Representative experience:

We advised a publicly traded retail client on its technology

contracts, including a state-of-the-art ERP (Enterprise Resource
Planning) system that involved multiple software vendors, six separate
negotiations with Oracle and negotiations with SAS.
We developed a comprehensive information technology acquisition
strategy for a large health care provider network, including
development of a baseline information technology agreement for use
with information technology vendors.
We have advised several clients regarding multiple contracts for the
automation of centralized distribution warehouses, including software,
hardware, equipment and consulting services contracts. The
implementations were extremely important to these businesses, since
they served to direct all products nationwide to their retail or endcustomer locations.
We assisted a client with its multiple location network in developing
and implementing its new information security platform for the entire
network including developing internal privacy policies, negotiating
network security agreements and technology contracts, reviewing and
revising employee policies and procedures, and negotiating vendor
contracts and related agreements.
Summary:
1.

Specific areas include: ERP Implementations Hardware acquisition

and financing agreements Systems integration agreements Disaster
recovery agreements Representative experience: We advised a publicly
traded retail client on its technology contracts, including a state-of-theart ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system that involved multiple
software vendors, six separate negotiations with Oracle and
negotiations with SAS.

2.

We assisted a client with its multiple location network in developing

and implementing its new information security platform for the entire
network including developing internal privacy policies, negotiating
network security agreements and technology contracts, reviewing and
revising employee policies and procedures, and negotiating vendor
contracts and related agreements.

6. Business Intelligence Trends for 2016

Source:

http://in.pcmag.com/cloud-services/98328/feature/10-business-

intelligence-trends-for-2016
BY ROB MARVIN
DE. 11, 2015, 9 P.M.

Heading into 2016, the business intelligence (BI) landscape is one

very much in flux. Big Data, cloud services, predictive analytics, and
data science are continually innovating spaces that each feed into BI,
constantly changing the role it plays within enterprises and a growing
number of small to midsize businesses (SMBs).
This past year saw a big shift toward businesses leveraging selfservice analytics data. Rita Sallam, a Research Vice President at
Gartner who focuses on BI and analytics, said self-service data
preparation will become an increasingly important component of a
pervasive modern BI platform deployment, be it through embedded
tools or geared toward improving data governance.
"2016 is the year of modern BI and analytics [BI&A] platform," said
Sallam. "The BI&A market is in the final stages of a multiyear shift
from IT-led, system-of-record reporting to pervasive, business-led,
self-service analytics. Organizations will continue to transition to
easy-to-use, fast, agile, and trusted modern BI&A platforms deployed
across the enterprise to create business value from deeper insights
into diverse data sources."
What the Analysts Predict
Aside from even greater momentum behind self-service BI, Sallam
also predicted a combination of analytics tools, data, and algorithms
available through analytics marketplaces will play a core part in
improving deployment time and data insights while compensating for
the scarcity of data science skills. Sallam also sees bigger tech
companies driving an uptick in cloud-based BI.
"Interest in cloud BI deployments for new projects will finally increase
due to shift in data gravity, perception of value, as well as the

entrance of major players such as Microsoft and Amazon," said

Sallam. "Until now, cloud adoption has mostly been limited to
organizations with most of their data in the cloud and/or to lines of
business."
IDC's Dan Vesset agreed, projecting 2016 spending on cloud-based BI
technology will grow 4.5x faster than spending for on-premises
solutions. Vesset, IDC's Program Vice President for Business Analytics
and Big Data, also projects that spending on self-service visual
discovery and data preparation tools will grow 2.5x faster in 2016
than traditional IT-controlled tools, and said it will necessitate a
fundamental IT culture change.
"Responding to the demand for self-service BI technology will
necessitate a reassessment of current centralized IT practices," said
Vesset. "IT will need to recognize the full range of different [BI&A]
needs and ensure that the full technology stack or services are
available to address the self-service needs of user group.
Summary:
1.

Organizations will continue to transition to easy-to-use, fast, agile,

and trusted modern BI&A platforms deployed across the enterprise to
create business value from deeper insights into diverse data sources."
What the Analysts Predict Aside from even greater momentum behind
self-service BI, Sallam also predicted a combination of analytics tools,
data, and algorithms available through analytics marketplaces will play
a core part in improving deployment time and data insights while
compensating for the scarcity of data science skills.

2.

Vesset, IDC's Program Vice President for Business Analytics and Big
Data, also projects that spending on self-service visual discovery and
data preparation tools will grow 2.5x faster in 2016 than traditional ITcontrolled tools, and said it will necessitate a fundamental IT culture
change.

3.

Rita Sallam, a Research Vice President at Gartner who focuses on BI

and analytics, said self-service data preparation will become an
increasingly important component of a pervasive modern BI platform
deployment, be it through embedded tools or geared toward improving
data governance.

7. Business Intelligence Has Evolved Into Simplified and Accessible

Platforms
Source:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2015/12/10/business-

intelligence-has-evolved-into-simplified-and-accessible-platforms/
Businesses have been accumulating data for ages. Data is used to drive
the decision-making process, and helps optimize workflows, marketing,
product delivery, and customer relationship management. High-end
computing has made data analysis more accessible, although it has not
always been an elegant and efficient affair.
Much of the data-driven activities in the 1960s and 1970s dealt with
statistical analysis. In the 1980s, data mining and knowledge discovery
was all the rage. By the mid 1990s and early 2000s, businesses started
crunching bigger amounts of data, and the usage of the term data
science first came into wide usage.
Data science continues to evolve, and we are fortunate to live in an era
that has fostered advancements in architecture that enable businesses to
accomplish complex analysis with the simplicity of self-service platforms.
For example, advancements in data processing capabilities can
significantly enhance the performance of data analytics platforms, to the
extent that data crunching no longer has to be particularly costly terms of
time and resources.
Data warehousing is not enough
One inherent problem with data science for businesses is the complexity
of running BI stacks. Traditionally, these meant separate systems for
storing, manipulating, querying and visualizing data, particularly when
many disparate or diverse data sources are involved. These scenarios
would often require building a data warehouse, which in turn would often
turn into a considerable time and money sink as organizations struggled
to maintain the DW alongside all the additional systems used to prepare
and visualize the data.
The focus of next-generation business intelligence tools is therefore in
reducing the complexity needed for businesses to make more sense out of
the mountains of data they are likely to be sitting on. Here we can
highlight two business intelligence platforms that simplify data science,

such that businesses of all scales from startup to enterprise can leverage
the power of BI in making better data-driven decisions.
Sisense: Simplifying BI for Complex Data
Gradually replacing the traditional BI model were currently accustomed to
is the single-stack model embodied by Sisense, a data analytics solutions
provider that focuses on simplifying BI for businesses. Sisense puts the
entire data processing chain into a single streamlined process akin to
designing a simple flowchart, with an accessible drag-and-drop interface.
Through its algorithm, data processing is done efficiently, and drastically
shortening the data preparation stage by eliminating the need to create
indexes or aggregations in advance.

Birst Ranked as a Leader in Cloud Business Intelligence Platforms 2015

Report by Independent Research Firm
Source:http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Birst+Ranked+as+a
+Leader+in+Cloud+Business+Intelligence+Platforms+2015+Report+by
+Independent+Research+Firm/11148537.html
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/11/15 -- Birst, the global leader
in Cloud BI and Analytics for the Enterprise, today announced that it has
been positioned as a leader in "The Forrester Wave": Cloud Business
Intelligence Platforms, Q4 2015."
Birst received among the highest or second highest scores in 13 of the 16
criteria Forrester used to evaluate cloud business intelligence (BI) platform
vendors, in the categories of "Current Offering," "Strategy," and "Market
Presence." The criteria for which Birst received the highest scores included
"Cloud delivery," "Commitment (tied)," "Data access and integration
(tied)," "IT-enabled self-service (tied)," "Security and compliance,"
"Technical architecture," and "Vision and strategy."
The complete Forrester Cloud BI Wave report is available here.
According to the Forrester report, "Birst leads with an enterprise-grade
cloud BI solution that supports hybrid scenarios. From the start, Birst has
focused on providing a full-stack BI platform that meets enterprise-grade
BI requirements while at the same time supporting agility and business
user self-service.
"With its 'networked BI' capability, Birst comes close to the ideal of a
'single version of the truth' with one corporatewide semantic layer," the
report said. "The solution supports centralized governance while allowing

business units and individuals freedom via the use of 'virtual spaces.' Via
the same governance layer, Birst also offers the ability to live-query onpremises data stores."
Introduced in September 2015, Networked BI leverages Birst's modern,
multi-tenant cloud architecture that enables companies to tap into the
power of their data, whether in the cloud or on-premises. This "networked
effect" creates an interwoven data fabric that delivers business-user selfservice while avoiding analytical silos, resulting in faster and more trusted
decision-making.
In its evaluation of Birst, the report also notes that, "Its 'open client
interface' allows customers to use alternative front ends, such as Excel or
Tableau. It supports offline capabilities on mobile devices, and an
appliance is available for deployment within corporate data centers. The
solution is also attractive to ISVs and enterprises that want to embed BI
capabilities in web portals and business applications."
Jay Larson, Birst CEO, said, "We believe our position as a leader in The
Forrester Wave" for Cloud Business Intelligence Platforms results from our
pioneering work to create a next-generation, cloud-architected BI
platform. Birst empowers user-led decentralized business units while at
the same time supporting the enterprise requirements of centralized BI/IT
teams. Our unique ability to deliver speed, agility, and ease-of-use,
without compromising data governance and scalability, is redefining the
way companies think about BI. The legacy BI platforms are in rapid decline
because there is a better way to do analytics today, and that better way is
Birst."
Tweet this: News: @forrester positions @BirstBI as a Leader in The
Forrester Wave for Cloud Business Intelligence Platforms 2015 Report
http://bit.ly/1ly59yR
About Birst Birst is the global leader in Cloud Business Intelligence (BI)
and Analytics for the Enterprise. Birst's Networked BI platform redefines
the way BI is delivered and consumed, eliminating analytical silos to
dramatically improve the speed, alignment and economics of BI across the
enterprise. Built on top of Birst's next-generation, multi-tenant cloud
architecture, Networked BI enables centralized and decentralized BI
applications to be transparently connected via a shared analytical data
fabric, delivering local execution with global governance. Today, Birst
serves thousands of organizations across the globe by making trusted
enterprise business data a part of everyday operational decision making.
Learn more at www.birst.com and join the conversation @BirstBI.
Summary:
1.

Birst Ranked as a Leader in Cloud Business Intelligence Platforms

2015 Report by Independent Research Firm Source: SAN FRANCISCO,
CA -- (Marketwired) -- 12/11/15 -- Birst, the global leader in Cloud BI
and Analytics for the Enterprise, today announced that it has been

positioned as a leader in "The Forrester Wave": Cloud Business

Intelligence Platforms, Q4 2015." Birst received among the highest or
second highest scores in 13 of the 16 criteria Forrester used to
evaluate cloud business intelligence (BI) platform vendors, in the
categories of "Current Offering," "Strategy," and "Market Presence."
The criteria for which Birst received the highest scores included "Cloud
delivery," "Commitment (tied)," "Data access and integration (tied),"
"IT-enabled self-service (tied)," "Security and compliance," "Technical
architecture," and "Vision and strategy." The complete Forrester Cloud
BI Wave report is available here.

8. Hootsuite ties into Microsoft's Dynamics CRM to turn likes into leads
Source
:
http://www.cio.com/article/3005663/softwareproductivity/hootsuite-ties-into-microsofts-dynamics-crm-to-turn-likes-intoleads.html
COMMENTS
More companies are turning to social media as a way to communicate
with their customers, and Hootsuite is working with Microsoft to make that
even easier through an integration with the company's products.
The social media management platform, which offers companies a variety
of tools to better work with their social media presence across services
including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, on Tuesday announced new
ways to connect to Dynamics CRM Online, SharePoint and Yammer.
First off, users will be able to identify leads, opportunities and cases from
social media posts in Hootsuite and then put them directly into Dynamics
where they can be acted on by a sales or customer service team. Users
can also attach social data to a customer's record inside Dynamics so that
it's possible to have a fuller (if creepier) picture of who a company is
selling to.
Integrating Dynamics with Hootsuite is an important move for Microsoft.
The smaller company already has an integration with Salesforce, which
Dynamics is competing with in the CRM market. That integration should
also help companies that use Microsoft's customer management tool,
since customers are increasingly taking to social media to discuss their
experiences with companies.
Hootsuite's connection with SharePoint lets users save social media posts
from networks like Twitter and Facebook to public and team Sites. Users
will also be able to bring up content from SharePoint in Hootsuite's
dashboard, alongside other social feeds.

People who use Microsoft's Yammer social network to connect with other
people in their company can now view content from and post directly to it
from the Hootsuite dashboard. They can also share posts from other social
networks to Yammer from Hootsuite's dashboard to pull in outside content
for discussion among co-workers.
These features should give people who manage social media accounts for
a company that's tightly integrated with Microsoft's services a single place
to go in order to work with other people inside their organization. This isn't
the first time Hootsuite has integrated with collaboration tools. Companies
can also connect the social media service with applications including
Google Drive, Box and HipChat.
Summary:
1.

The social media management platform, which offers companies a

variety of tools to better work with their social media presence across
services including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, on Tuesday
announced new ways to connect to Dynamics CRM Online, SharePoint
and Yammer.

2.

First off, users will be able to identify leads, opportunities and cases
from social media posts in Hootsuite and then put them directly into
Dynamics where they can be acted on by a sales or customer service
team.

3.

People who use Microsoft's Yammer social network to connect with

other people in their company can now view content from and post
directly to it from the Hootsuite dashboard.

4.

COMMENTSMore companies are turning to social media as a way to

communicate with their customers, and Hootsuite is working with
Microsoft to make that even easier through an integration with the
company's products.

5.

These features should give people who manage social media

accounts for a company that's tightly integrated with Microsoft's
services a single place to go in order to work with other people inside
their organization.

6.

Hootsuite's connection with SharePoint lets users save social media

posts from networks like Twitter and Facebook to public and team Sites.

7.

That integration should also help companies that use Microsoft's

customer management tool, since customers are increasingly taking to
social media to discuss their experiences with companies.

9. CRM Market in China 2016-2020

Information contained on this page is provided by an independent thirdparty content provider. WorldNow and this Station make no warranties or
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comments about this page please contact pressreleases@worldnow.com.
SOURCE:http://www.cbs8.com/story/30717174/crm-market-in-china-20162020
CRM Market in China - Industry Analysis 2016-2020
LONDON, Dec. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Covering: A far-reaching analysis
of the CRM market in China and segmentation by application (customer
service, sales, and marketing), by deployment model (on-premise and
cloud-based), and by end-user (government organizations, BFSI, consumer
goods and retail, and others). The top vendors analyzed in the report are
Aplicor, IBM, Infor, Microsoft, Oracle, salesforce.com, and SAP. It also
includes a SWOT analysis of promising vendors such as 800App CRM,
Kingdee,
Neusoft,
and
Yonyou.
An
overview
of
the
CRM
market
in
China
Technavios market research analysts expect the customer relationship
management (CRM) market in China to grow at a CAGR of more than 17%
during the forecast period. The CRM has expanded rapidly and succeeded
in transforming the deployment of CRM software from capital expenditure
to
pay-per-use
models.
In accordance with Technavios latest report, the demand for SaaS is high,
which represented more than 45% of total CRM software sold globally in
2015. Increased use of cloud-based computing is one of the major factors
driving the growth of the CRM market. The demand for cloud-based
computing market in China is increasing at a fast rate and this demand is
from organizations of all sizes looking for easy-to-deploy alternatives with
advanced technologies to replace older systems. As a result, the
increasing implementation of cloud-based CRMs will drive the overall CRM
market in China and other emerging regions of APAC.
Segmentation
Customer
Sales
Marketing

of

the

CRM

market in
service

China

by

application

With a remarkable share of close to 42%, the customer service software

segment has the highest share in the CRM market in China, and this
segment is considered the backbone of CRM operations and is expected to
be
a
consistent
driver
through
2020.
End-user

segmentation

of

the

CRM

market

in

China

Government
BFSI
Consumer
Others

organizations
goods

and

retail

The adoption of the CRM software is expected to increase in enterprise

verticals during the forecast period, with the government sector being the
largest user of CRM solutions. Government agencies are paying keen
attention on social media and have an active presence in social channels
such
as
Facebook
and
Twitter.
Competitive
landscape
and
key
vendors
The CRM market in China is witnessing a stiff competition due to the influx
of new vendors and large enterprise software vendors that provide
products
specific
to
the
local
market.
Top
vendors
Aplicor
IBM
Infor
Microsoft
Oracle
salesforce.com
SAP

in

Promising
800App
Kingdee
Neusoft
Yonyou

in

vendors

this

the

market

CRM
market
CRM

are

in

China

Other prominent vendors included in this report are Amdocs, AsiaInfoLinkage, Avidian, NetSuite, Sage Group, Shanghai Bokesoft Information,
Xiaoshouyi, and XTools.
Summary
1.

Top vendors in this market are - Aplicor IBM Infor Microsoft Oracle
salesforce.com SAP Promising vendors in the CRM market in China 800App CRM Kingdee Neusoft Yonyou Other prominent vendors
included in this report are Amdocs, AsiaInfo-Linkage, Avidian, NetSuite,
Sage Group, Shanghai Bokesoft Information, Xiaoshouyi, and XTools.

2.

End-user segmentation of the CRM market in China Government

organizations BFSI Consumer goods and retail Others The adoption of
the CRM software is expected to increase in enterprise verticals during
the forecast period, with the government sector being the largest user
of CRM solutions.

3.

10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Covering: A far-reaching analysis of the

CRM market in China and segmentation by application (customer
service, sales, and marketing), by deployment model (on-premise and
cloud-based), and by end-user (government organizations, BFSI,
consumer goods and retail, and others).

4.

Segmentation of the CRM market in China by application Customer

service Sales Marketing With a remarkable share of close to 42%, the
customer service software segment has the highest share in the CRM
market in China, and this segment is considered the backbone of CRM
operations and is expected to be a consistent driver through 2020.

5.

Competitive landscape and key vendors The CRM market in China is

witnessing a stiff competition due to the influx of new vendors and
large enterprise software vendors that provide products specific to the
local market.

10.

Role of Information Technology in Agriculture

Source: http://www.sundaytimes.lk/090906/It/it01.html
By Ainsley Wirekoon

Information Technology (IT) has long been viewed as having great

potential for improving decision making in agriculture. IT has connected
the world globally and is now changing our life style and social
consciousness dynamically. In all phases of the agricultural industry,
information technologies are vital to the management and success of a
business. Agriculture has also been greatly influenced by IT.
Information Technology is rapidly becoming more and more visible in
society and agriculture. IT refers to how we use information, how we
compute information, and how we communicate information to people.
People must have computer and information technology. To participate
and make informed decisions in the agricultural industry a person must
have ability to gather, process, and manipulate data.
The Internet is a standing topic in newspapers and on television, and the
number of users doubles every year. People who use information
technology creatively are pioneering careers in agriculture today. Jobs in
today's agricultural workforce require greater use of technological skills
than ever before.
IT supports new methods for precision agriculture like computerized farm
machinery that applies for fertilizers and pesticides. Farm animals are fed

and monitored by electronic sensors and identification systems. Selling or

buying online began to become popular in the world. However, it's most
important role remains communication, and the Internet has provided us
with an ideal opportunity to do so. One such communication tool is the
Web Site, which simply replaces the newspaper as a communication tool.
Presently,
almost
every
company
has
its
own
web
site
The following are specific ways information technologies being applied
through
agricultural
education:

Basic Internet Applications

PowerPoint Presentations

Global Position-ing Systems (GPS)

E-Commerce

Preservice
Teacher
Education:
4Applications in Teaching Methods - Anyone who will be involved in
teaching, whether in a formal setting like the public schools or in an
informal setting like an extension workshop, needs to know how to
incorporate information technology into their daily teaching.
4 Student Teaching - In some instances, it can be difficult to visit student
teachers. With fewer faculties available to supervise interns and added
responsibilities, sometimes supervision needs to be done in an
alternative way.
Professional
Development:
4Alternative Certification Programs - In many countries, there is a
shortage of teachers. These "beginning" teachers have no training in
program planning or teaching methods, yet countries are willing to place
them in classroom situations.
4 Graduate Education - Many teachers want to earn higher degrees, but
have difficulty in finding the time to complete degrees. With the wide
array of information technologies available, teachers can complete
courses from the convenience of their office or home and never have to
set
foot
on
campus
again.
4Technical Updates - Individuals who need to get updated about technical
information in agriculture can easily look at information if it is placed on a
web-site.
In order to take the real status of agricultural production and marketing,
there is an urgent need to develop the following items:
4Farmers' crop database must be managed. The database includes the

kinds of crops, the size of cultivated area, time of harvest and yield.
Farmers or the extension personnel transmit those data via the Internet
to a database server.
4Crops
information
service
system
should
be
created.
There are many ways in which Information Technology can be used to
exchange the information rather effectively through communication like
information kiosks which provide not only the basic services like email,
helps in education, health services, Agriculture and Irrigation, online
trading, community services etc., expert systems which helps in
determining marketing alternatives and optimal strategies for producers,
integrated crop management systems for different crops.
The use of IT in agribusiness in some countries is quite advanced. The
situation in Sri Lanka is quite different, with low levels of computer
literacy and usage in the farm sector, with technology transfer 'across the
last mile' remaining the weakest link in the Sri Lanka. But farmers often
go to great efforts to obtain better information, and much attention is
being given by the Government and NGOs to the development of wireless
networks, tele centers and other methods for promoting IT access and
knowledge diffusion in the rural sector in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, IT is
likely to become increasingly important in innovation diffusion in
agriculture, in both developed countries and in developing economies
such as Sri Lanka. In implementing policies to this end, Sri Lanka must
give due attention to the complex interactions between the many players
to the role of tacit knowledge and social actors, and to the low level of
the IT literacy in the rural sector.
Lack of information at the proper time causes a huge loss to farmers. This
gap in communication may be bridged by information technology.
Information of the required quality always has the potential of improving
efficiency in all spheres of agriculture.
In the context of rice processing industry the potential of information
technology can be assessed broadly under two heads: (a) as a tool for
direct contribution to rice milling productivity and (b) as an indirect tool
for empowering millers to take informed and quality decisions which will
have positive impact on the way rice processing and allied activities are
conducted.
The techniques of remote sensing using satellite technologies,
geographical information systems, and agronomy and soil sciences are
used to increase the rice output. This approach is capital intensive and
useful where large tracts of land are involved.
The use of IT in agriculture has grown rapidly in the past few years. It is
increasingly being used to help managers make better decisions.
However, IT and the problem facing decision makers are constantly

changing. Thus, future information systems for research purposes will be

significantly different than current systems because of these changes. IT
has been one of the most aspired fields in today's world. Integrating IT
with agriculture will help any country to regulate its overall economy and
trade. The different Information Technologies like Expert System in
Decision Support System and Remote Sensing have brought revolution in
world agriculture.

Summary:
1.

Presently, almost every company has its own web site The following
are specific ways information technologies being applied through
agricultural education: Basic Internet Applications PowerPoint
Presentations Global Position-ing Systems (GPS) E-Commerce
Preservice Teacher Education: 4Applications in Teaching Methods Anyone who will be involved in teaching, whether in a formal setting
like the public schools or in an informal setting like an extension
workshop, needs to know how to incorporate information technology
into their daily teaching.

2.

There are many ways in which Information Technology can be used

to exchange the information rather effectively through communication
like information kiosks which provide not only the basic services like
email, helps in education, health services, Agriculture and Irrigation,
online trading, community services etc., expert systems which helps in
determining marketing alternatives and optimal strategies for
producers, integrated crop management systems for different crops.

11.

Information Technology in Schools

Source: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind04/c1/c1s7.htm

New IT Forms and Uses

Some studies have found that although most teachers now use
computers in their classrooms, they often use them for drill-and-practice
exercises rather than for more sophisticated tasks and projects such as
multimedia projects and teaching from Internet-based curricula (NCES
2000c). However, new forms of IT are introduced into the classroom each
year. Distance education (in which time, location, or both separate the
instructor and students) and online learning (also known as electronically

delivered learning or e-learning) have begun to change the landscape of

education, especially at the secondary level. Distance education courses
are delivered to remote locations via synchronous (real time) or
asynchronous means of instruction, and include written correspondence,
text, graphics, audio- and videotape, CD-ROM, online learning, audioand videoconferencing, interactive TV, and facsimile (Kaplan-Leiserson
2000).
E-learning covers a broad set of applications and processes, including
Web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual classrooms, virtual
high schools, and digital collaboration.[*] It includes the delivery of
content via the Internet, an intranet, audio- and videotape, satellite
broadcast, interactive TV, or CD-ROM. Twelve states have established
fully operational online or virtual high school programs for academic year
2001, and five other states have programs in development. Wellestablished virtual high schools in Florida and Utah have student
enrollments in the thousands (Clark 2001). Twenty-five states allow for
the creation of virtual, or cyber, charter schools, and 32 states have
various e-learning initiatives underway, according to a new survey of
state IT coordinators (Editorial Projects in Education 2002). These
programs and policy changes make online education available to many
more students. For example, e-learning may give students in small, rural,
or less affluent high schools access to specialized courses such as AP
courses. A recent report estimates that 40,000 to 50,000 K12 students
enrolled in an online course during academic year 2001 (Clark 2001).
Currently, most of these students are high school students, but
momentum to serve elementary and middle school pupils is building.
Popular innovative technologies that use a range of multimedia
applications include digital white boards, videodisk, CD-ROM, and Webbased digital imaging. These technologies facilitate visualization and
simulations in mathematics and science. In some cases, these
technologies supplement other forms of instruction, whereas in others,
they provide the basis for distance learning applications that do not
include live instruction (Clark 2001; and Thompson, Ganzglass, and
Simon 2001). Potential uses span the spectrum from embellishments
within a traditional lecture to instruction that is completely Internetbased.
A virtual high school is a state-approved and/or regionally accredited
school offering secondary courses through distance learning methods
that include Internet-based delivery (Clark 2000).
Summary:
1.

Distance education courses are delivered to remote locations via

synchronous (real time) or asynchronous means of instruction, and
include written correspondence, text, graphics, audio- and videotape,

CD-ROM, online learning, audio- and videoconferencing, interactive TV,

and facsimile (Kaplan-Leiserson 2000).
2.

E-learning covers a broad set of applications and processes,

including Web-based learning, computer-based learning, virtual
classrooms, virtual high schools, and digital collaboration.It includes
the delivery of content via the Internet, an intranet, audio- and
videotape, satellite broadcast, interactive TV, or CD-ROM.

3.

A virtual high school is a state-approved and/or regionally accredited

school offering secondary courses through distance learning methods
that include Internet-based delivery (Clark 2000).

4.

In some cases, these technologies supplement other forms of

instruction, whereas in others, they provide the basis for distance
learning applications that do not include live instruction.

12. Enterprise Reporting

Source: http://www.informationbuilders.com/enterprise-reporting
A true enterprise reporting solution delivers information to all who need it,
not just executives and analysts.
Enterprise reporting is a popular business intelligence (BI) discipline that
extends reporting and analysis capabilities beyond the scope of IT staff,
business analysts, and power users. With enterprise reporting, anyone
who impacts a business - executives, managers, analysts, and frontline
workers - have immediate access to the vital information they need to
most productively perform their jobs. Many companies have even
extended their enterprise reporting environments outside their firewall, to
enable customers, suppliers, and other external business partners to
access and analyze critical information.
An enterprise reporting initiative is a huge undertaking, because different
user groups need different information in different formats. Therefore, the
business intelligence platform chosen to facilitate enterprise reporting
must be able to scale to a large number of users without impacting
performance, and offer a wide array of capabilities - ad hoc reporting,
dynamic distribution of reports and other BI content, financial reporting,
and flexible output formatting - to support the broadest range of strategic,
operational, and analytical reporting needs.
When selecting an enterprise reporting platform, organizations should look
for the following features and functionality:

Broad data access, so any information in any source, including realtime transactional systems, relational data warehouses, cubes, and any

ERP or legacy application, can be leveraged to support decision-making

activities
Unparalleled scalability, so the environment can be rolled out to
hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of users
Maximum usability, so even non-technical business users can easily
retrieve and interact with enterprise data, without extensive training
Flexible access, so users can view information via their device of
choice - PC, laptop, smartphone, or tablet
The WebFOCUS business intelligence platform from Information Builders is
a powerful enterprise reporting solution that allows organizations to
leverage any data asset, transform it into useful information, and deliver it
in an actionable format to a large, distributed base of users. Built on a
robust architecture, WebFOCUS boasts industry leading scalability,
combined with innovative features - for example, self-optimizing servers
complete with load balancing - to dramatically reduce total cost of
ownership (TCO) while ensuring peak performance at all times.
WebFOCUS is also powerful and feature-rich. It offers capabilities to
address virtually any reporting and analysis need, such as a BI Portal for
content management and distribution, guided ad hoc, dynamic
distribution of reports and dashboards, financial reporting, and the ability
to generate reports in countless formats - HTML, Microsoft Excel, Adobe
PDF, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Active Technology reports, for interacting
with data, even while disconnected.
Summary:
1.

When selecting an enterprise reporting platform, organizations

should look for the following features and functionality: Broad data
access, so any information in any source, including real-time
transactional systems, relational data warehouses, cubes, and any ERP
or legacy application, can be leveraged to support decision-making
activities Unparalleled scalability, so the environment can be rolled
out to hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of users
Maximum usability, so even non-technical business users can easily
retrieve and interact with enterprise data, without extensive training
Flexible access, so users can view information via their device of choice
- PC, laptop, smartphone, or tablet The WebFOCUS business
intelligence platform from Information Builders is a powerful enterprise
reporting solution that allows organizations to leverage any data asset,
transform it into useful information, and deliver it in an actionable
format to a large, distributed base of users.

13 Data Analytics Startup Realbox Wants to Become Google Analytics for

Offline Businesses

Source:

http://www.iamwire.com/2015/12/data-analytics-startup-realbox-

helps-offline-businesses-generate-revenue/128209
Shares
177
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0
Offline business owners are deprived of the user level intelligence and
business analytics that online companies easily get due to technology. In
order to empower offline stores with a tool that can help them gain more
insights about their business, Realbox came into being.
Delhi-based data analytics startup, Realbox was founded in March 2015 by
Saurabh Moody, Preksha Kaparwan and Arjun Sudhanshu. The startup
helps offline businesses generate more revenue by marketing to their
existing consumer base and sending them personalized marketing deals.
With data analytics and business intelligence they can get into focused
customer targeting and track conversion to increase sales.
Its product Pulse is like Google Analytics for offline businesses. It analyses
and presents business summary right on users mobile phone. It can be
used by multiple partners in real time, so user know exactly whats going
on in their store or restaurant. If you have multiple stores, you can have
the luxury of seeing your business overview and store by store
performance measured against your chosen KPIs (Key Performance
Indicators), the startup says.

Realbox with Pulse Dashboard brings offline business to mobile at zero

cost of infrastructure and provides a complete business analysis. For
instance, for a hospitality firm or even a restaurant, it helps the owners in
running orders & tables for restaurants, real time sales, food cost analysis,
inventory management, category drill down report and historical analysis.
Pulse is a B2B pay per license service available for Android and iOS
platforms.
Traction and Growth
Realbox is already providing its analytical solution to over a 100 stores of
brands like PVR, Azure Hospitality, Zostel, Joost, and talks with few others
is in process.
The company has been bootstrapped so far. However, it may soon be
raising funds to grow its team and impact. Commenting on the how the
company generates revenues, Preksha added, We levy a basic setup fee
and then on a recurring fee of Rs.2000 per month. Pulse can be used by
multiple partner and for multiple stores, a small additional amount is
charged for each license per store.
The startup plans to tie up with players of movie theaters, hotel chains
and retail brands.

Sharing the challenges faced by the startup, Preksha told iamwire, We

are getting good response from market, so we are concentrating on hiring
quality team members and training them to be able to help us scale up.
So far we we are working on word of mouth but at the same time we are
preparing our sales team for the market as it gets difficult for them to get
in touch with business owners directly.
Market Opportunity and Competition
Fishbowl in US and Capillary in India are two of its competitors. A number
of startups are existing in the market which are offering new age POS
systems to replace the conventional POS machines. Realbox intends to be
an add on to the legacy machines all over the country.

Summary:
1.

If you have multiple stores, you can have the luxury of seeing your
business overview and store by store performance measured against
your chosen KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), the startup says.

2.

So far we we are working on word of mouth but at the same time we

are preparing our sales team for the market as it gets difficult for them
to get in touch with business owners directly. Market Opportunity and
Competition Fishbowl in US and Capillary in India are two of its
competitors.

3.

Pulse can be used by multiple partner and for multiple stores, a

small additional amount is charged for each license per store. The
startup plans to tie up with players of movie theaters, hotel chains and
retail brands.

4.

Realbox with Pulse Dashboard brings offline business to mobile at

zero cost of infrastructure and provides a complete business analysis.

5.

For instance, for a hospitality firm or even a restaurant, it helps the

owners in running orders & tables for restaurants, real time sales, food
cost analysis, inventory management, category drill down report and
historical analysis.

6.

Sharing the challenges faced by the startup, Preksha told iamwire,

We are getting good response from market, so we are concentrating
on hiring quality team members and training them to be able to help
us scale up.

7.

In order to empower offline stores with a tool that can help them
gain more insights about their business, Realbox came into being.

8.

Offline business owners are deprived of the user level intelligence

and business analytics that online companies easily get due to
technology.

9.

Delhi-based data analytics startup, Realbox was founded in March

2015 by Saurabh Moody, Preksha Kaparwan and Arjun Sudhanshu.

14. Tintri to Apply Predictive Analytics to Storage

Figuring out exactly what any application needed in terms of storage
capacity over the long haul was historically more art than science. The
trouble was that given the high margin for error, a lot of organizations
routinely overprovisioned the amount of storage they required. After all,
its generally less of a sin to spend too much on storage than it is to see
application performance suddenly drop for one unexplained reason or
another.
As of this week, however, Tintri says it is looking to take the guesswork
out of storage capacity management on its arrays via the preview of a
predictive analytics application the company will make available next
year.
Tintri this week also expanded the number of virtual machines it can
integrate with via support for Citrix XenServer, while adding an entrylevel, all-Flash array to its portfolio of storage arrays.
Chuck Dubuque, senior director of product marketing at Tintri, says that
because Tintri is tightly integrated with all the virtual machine platforms it
supports, the visibility that Tintri Analytics will provide into the overall
environment will be much greater than any standalone predictive
analytics application. Tintri already supports VMware vSphere, Microsoft
Hyper-V, Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and OpenStack, all of which
Tintri arrays are designed to be able to support concurrently.
Thats significant, says Dubuque, because its clear that there are now
more heterogeneous virtual machine environments than ever trying to
access multiple classes of persistent storage mechanisms.
In fact, with the latest release of the Tintri operating system, Tintri is now
also adding support for VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes (VVols) as well as
support for SyncVM File-level restore, WMI Path Encryption, snapshot
enhancements, and PowerShell cmdLets in Microsoft Hyper-V
environments.

As storage continues to evolve, its clear that the days when storage
administrators spent their time manually optimizing the storage of data
are coming to a close. Now well see increased reliance on analytics and
automation to handle those tasks. That doesnt necessarily mean there
wont be a need for storage administrators going forward. But it does
mean that not only will the amount of data that storage administrators will
be expected to manage increase, so too will the accuracy in terms of
determining the exact amount of storage resources any application needs
regardless of what it happens to be running on at any given time.
Summary:
1.

As of this week, however, Tintri says it is looking to take the

guesswork out of storage capacity management on its arrays via the
preview of a predictive analytics application the company will make
available next year.

2.

Tintri this week also expanded the number of virtual machines it can
integrate with via support for Citrix XenServer, while adding an entrylevel, all-Flash array to its portfolio of storage arrays.

3.

Chuck Dubuque, senior director of product marketing at Tintri, says

that because Tintri is tightly integrated with all the virtual machine
platforms it supports, the visibility that Tintri Analytics will provide into
the overall environment will be much greater than any standalone
predictive analytics application.

4.

In fact, with the latest release of the Tintri operating system, Tintri is
now also adding support for VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes (VVols)
as well as support for SyncVM File-level restore, WMI Path Encryption,
snapshot enhancements, and PowerShell cmdLets in Microsoft Hyper-V
environments.

5.

But it does mean that not only will the amount of data that storage
administrators will be expected to manage increase, so too will the
accuracy in terms of determining the exact amount of storage
resources any application needs regardless of what it happens to be
running on at any given time.

6.

Thats significant, says Dubuque, because its clear that there are
now more heterogeneous virtual machine environments than ever
trying to access multiple classes of persistent storage mechanisms.

15. Enterprise Data Quality

Source: http://www.informationbuilders.com/enterprise-data-quality

A good enterprise data quality solution can detect data quality issues
before they impact production systems.
Enterprise data quality is a critical, yet elusive goal for many organizations
today. In order to ensure enterprise data quality, companies must develop
comprehensive rules, policies, and procedures to eliminate errors,
mistakes, duplication, and inconsistencies in their back-end systems and
sources. They must also implement cutting-edge technology tools to
facilitate the ongoing execution and enforcement of those guidelines.
Companies of all sizes, across all industries, are struggling to achieve and
maintain enterprise data quality.
Lack of an effective enterprise data quality program can have a
tremendous negative impact across a business. One single piece of invalid
or "dirty" data can create countless problems, wreaking havoc as it flows
during the course of business processes, permeating many different
information sources. For example, an incorrect client address in a CRM
application can waste significant amounts of time and money, affecting
everything from order delivery and invoicing, to customer support, field
service, and marketing and promotions. Or, a missing part number in a
materials management system can hinder the efficiency of purchasing
and procurement activities, and eat away at sales and profits by slowing
down manufacturing processes.
People also play an important role in an enterprise data quality initiative.
Because it is a widespread and ongoing effort, a successful enterprise
data quality strategy absolutely must have sponsorship and support at the
executive level. IT staff, as well as the business people who actually
consume and use the data in question, must also be very closely involved
throughout the process. Additionally, data stewards must also be
designated, so those who will be held accountable for preserving data
integrity are fully aware of their responsibilities.
But perhaps the most important component of an enterprise data quality
initiative is the technology tools that drive the strategy forward. The right
solution will offer a wide array of capabilities - from data profiling,
validation, and cleansing through enrichment and data governance - to
make information as timely and trusted as possible. The solution must
also have broad information reach, with the ability to uncover and rectify
invalid or incorrect information in any system, database, application,
document, or message. It's also extremely useful to address the issue of
enterprise data quality in real-time - preventing bad data from ever
entering your corporate information systems. As they say, an ounce of
prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Only Information Builders provides the robust, end to end real-time or

near real-time data quality management capabilities organizations need
to take a proactive approach to achieving and preserving company-wide
data integrity. Unlike other data quality tools on the market today, which
simply find and correct dirty information, Information Builders iWay Data
Quality Suite is designed to take data quality management one step
further, dynamically blocking bad information before it ever makes its way
into enterprise systems.
Summary:
1.

Unlike other data quality tools on the market today, which simply
find and correct dirty information, Information Builders iWay Data
Quality Suite is designed to take data quality management one step
further, dynamically blocking bad information before it ever makes its
way into enterprise systems.

2.

In order to ensure enterprise data quality, companies must develop

comprehensive rules, policies, and procedures to eliminate errors,
mistakes, duplication, and inconsistencies in their back-end systems
and sources.

3.

It's also extremely useful to address the issue of enterprise data

quality in real-time - preventing bad data from ever entering your
corporate information systems.

4.

Only Information Builders provides the robust, end to end real-time

or near real-time data quality management capabilities organizations
need to take a proactive approach to achieving and preserving
company-wide data integrity.

5.

Because it is a widespread and ongoing effort, a successful

enterprise data quality strategy absolutely must have sponsorship and
support at the executive level.

6.

But perhaps the most important component of an enterprise data

quality initiative is the technology tools that drive the strategy forward.

7.

A good enterprise data quality solution can detect data quality

issues before they impact production systems.

8.

Lack of an effective enterprise data quality program can have a

tremendous negative impact across a business.

16. Data Demands: Are management information systems a help or a

hindrance?
Source: http://schoolsweek.co.uk/coping-with-the-demands-of-data/

Management information systems (MIS) were introduced in the 1980s to

save teachers time. But as the government demands to know more about
each child, teachers say data entry has become burdensome and a source
of stress. MIS providers, meanwhile, say its not data, but poor pupil
behaviour thats taking its toll. In the second of her series focusing on
technology in schools, Jess Staufenberg looks at the true cost of the data
revolution
Whats invisible to most school visitors but is heaving away in the
background? Answer: data. In fact, schools are some of the most data-rich
buildings in a community with information whirring away on cranky
servers, processing everything from pupil grades to family background, all
of it increasingly used to assess student and school performance.
We are in a data revolution, one multi-academy chief executive said last
year. But what does that mean?
The toolbox into which this data is poured is called a management
information system, or MIS for short. These vast databases chronicle
school activity, pupil backgrounds and national targets before translating
them into easy reports.
The largest database model that schools can purchase is Capita SIMS,
used by an astonishing 83 per cent of UK schools, bar Scotland. Its
penetration is a product of its history. Originally created by Bedfordshire
teacher Phil Neal in the 1980s, it was later snapped up by FTSE100 private
company Capita in 1994. SIMS short for schools information
management system was originally created by Neal to save the time he
spent as a teacher producing pupil reports. By gathering all the
information on each child into one system, his reports could be generated
automatically and so saved its creator, then subsequent customers, hours
of writing. Nothing like it had existed before.
But teachers are now reporting that the time needed to enter the data
into these systems is growing burdensome. Previously, school data was
just the addresses, phone numbers, and safeguarding information of
pupils. Over the past ten years, more of school life has begun to count as
data and updates are occurring more often.
Tom Edwards, a sixth-form college teacher from London, said that while
Capita SIMS helps him to find certain kinds of information quickly such
as whether a student is in school the time needed to enter weekly test
scores, termly grades and lateness is eating into the more pressing task of
lesson preparation.
I dont know what the union guidelines are, but we are having to put in
too much data entry, he said. You cant turn up to a lesson and stand

there unprepared, but at least all your data entry is done. So its that bit
that slides.
James Weatherill, founder of another MIS provider, Arbor Education,
agrees: Teachers are having to enter more and more data, because the
government wants more insight, so the problem is going to exacerbate.
Its causing a lot of workload issues.
Yet the pull within SIMS is to look at the collection of data in a more
microscopic scale in real-time, in the classroom, as things happen.
Neal, who has remained as company director, plans to change the
software package so schools are more able and likely to do so, with the
choice to use SIMS for purely administrative purposes gradually phased
out.

But he is adamant the shift will reduce teacher stress, as it will tackle the
biggest cause of headaches: poor pupil behaviour.
I do wonder if some of the issues in terms of bureaucracy complaints are
because its tough being a teacher. There is an element of unaspirational
parents who dont instill into their children the value of education Its
behaviour thats the issue, he says.
The new SIMS app therefore focuses on microdata: what time a pupil
arrives to a lesson, how well they behave in each class, and the quality of
their classroom effort all entered in real time during the lesson by
teachers with tablets who tap behaviour or praise points beside a childs
name. The information is then fed straight into a central dashboard
where senior leadership can see it.
This newest version of SIMS is used by Jayne Mullane, headteacher of
Mersey Vale Primary School near Manchester. She checks her dashboard
of information on student progress and hour-by-hour incidents up to 20
times a day.
It gives me a view I didnt have before. My homepage on my PC is set up
so that I can instantly see if any children get comments about behaviour
or work. And thats really powerful, because I can go into the classroom
and say I noticed you did some really good work.
Data is not just being collected in classrooms, but may soon be handed
over to the children themselves. Graham Cooper, head of product strategy
at Capita SIMS, wants to increase the gameification of data. The kids
can get their 50 behaviour points, their no-lates, the 95 per cent
attendance rate, he says. This idea is still in the pipeline, but parents are
already able to access rolling information on their child via a SIMS app.

Jayne Mullane
More than 1,000 schools also use Capitas text alerts telling parents of late
arrivals and playground incidents. Schools, however, are still nervous
about this, Neal says, as inaccurately entered data can land them in hot
water.
Indeed, at Mersey Vale, Mullane holds specific staff meetings just to
ensure the information gets properly entered.
The workload implications are therefore a balance. Its not necessarily a
problem if microdata collection proves to be an effective method of
keeping control in the classroom. Nor if using these new tools remains
merely a matter of teacher choice.
Yet these are now being called into question by Neals plans to make the
collection of microdata more difficult to avoid. He would like the
dashboard used by Mullane of her own volition to be compulsory
viewing. Unless headteachers know what these systems can do, he says,
they are not adequately reducing burdens on their teachers.
We have a dashboard that you can customise, and we made the mistake
of making that optional; not enough schools realise its there, he says.
In the future Im going to force it on them, so when they bring it up its all
in front of their eyes.
If school leaders are encouraged to feel they should be using these parts
of the dashboard, the onus is likely to fall on the classroom teacher to
begin to record information during lessons to fill up the charts. Workload
may increase, and autonomy reduced.
Schools can, of course, move to other MIS providers who are chomping at
the bit to take some of SIMS market share but most are reluctant to
move away from products they know well. This stickiness has meant
competitors have struggled to break into the market with brand new
solutions.
Tony Draper, president of the National Association of Head Teachers, says
that such data systems could reduce the complexity of behaviour to boxticking or a game.
The minutiae is just not there. Good behaviour is not about ticking a box.
Its about the values and procedures in place inside that classroom. With
parents its about human interaction, talking to them, to find out whats
going on in the life of that child. To him, it is not behaviour that is the
cause of teacher exhaustion, but an over-emphasis on standards

according to a narrow set of measures. Software like this, when too

prescriptive, worsens the feeling that individual schools do not enjoy
enough freedom. We dont want that.
The data revolution therefore started with a system designed to save
time and could, in Neals version of events continue to do that well
resolving behaviour and bureaucracy woes as it turns. Or, if others are to
be believed, the revolution has come full circle with data now a significant
drain on teacher time.
Summary:
1.

Tom Edwards, a sixth-form college teacher from London, said that while Capita
SIMS helps him to find certain kinds of information quickly such as whether a
student is in school the time needed to enter weekly test scores, termly grades
and lateness is eating into the more pressing task of lesson preparation.

2.

SIMS short for schools information management system was originally

created by Neal to save the time he spent as a teacher producing pupil reports.

3.

In the future Im going to force it on them, so when they bring it up its all in
front of their eyes. If school leaders are encouraged to feel they should be using
these parts of the dashboard, the onus is likely to fall on the classroom teacher to
begin to record information during lessons to fill up the charts.

4.

The new SIMS app therefore focuses on microdata: what time a pupil arrives
to a lesson, how well they behave in each class, and the quality of their
classroom effort all entered in real time during the lesson by teachers with
tablets who tap behaviour or praise points beside a childs name.