Enterprise Decision Management - a Weblog

Live from InterACT - What do bankers worry about in the current crisis?

(Posted by guest blogger, James Taylor) Fair Isaac recently worked with TowerGroup, a well known analyst firm in financial services, to survey 108 executives at the top 50 U.S. banks and credit card issuers. The press release is here and...

Live from InterACT - Bernhard Nann's Keynote

(Posted by guest blogger, James Taylor) Back to this blog for a session on Fair Isaac's product road map presented by Bernhard Nann, Fair Isaac's CTO. Fair Isaac is in the middle of a major evolution in their decision management...

Live from InterACT - Mark Greene's Keynote

(Posted by guest blogger, James Taylor) As Mark is the CEO of Fair Isaac I thought I would blog this one over on this blog rather than on the Smart (enough) Systems blog where the rest are going to be....

BEA on Event Driven Architecture Sounds a lot like EDM

Yesterday BEA Systems released a white paper summarizing their findings of a customer study regarding Business Process Management (BPM). The paper is titled “The State of the BPM Market – Business and IT: Solving Process Problems Together.” BEA also culled through numerous analyst and other industry expert insights to narrow in on the key trends driving adoption of BPM related technologies. There were two especially notable items in the report that show an Enterprise Decision Management (EDM) approach to operational decision automation, connection and improvement is becoming an increasingly mainstream concept – even if the term EDM isn’t the label.

EDM Helps Minimize Trade Offs Between Application Maintenance and Strategic Initiatives – So Says Forrester Research

While Enterprise Decision Management (EDM) is not called out specifically in Forrester Research’s January 28 report, “The State Of Enterprise Software Adoption: 2007 To 2008,” it describes issues top of mind among technology executives addressable with EDM technologies, such as Business Rules Management Systems (BRMSs). The report is based on results of a survey of 1,017 IT decision-makers in North American- and European-based enterprises.

Using EDM to make your ATMs into a sales channel

(Posted by guest blogger, James Taylor) My friends over at the Analytical Engine had an interesting post this week - ATM Machines As A Sales Channel. Their focus was on pre-approved offers and the possibility of loading them onto the...

Some thoughts on BI and analytics in retail banking

(Posted by guest blogger, James Taylor) Late last year the folks at Datamonitor published Business Intelligence in Retail Banking (Review Report). I finally got to read it today and it is, overall, a very interesting paper and I recommend it...

Banks need more than workflow

(Posted by guest blogger, James Taylor) I was pointed to a new site this week - Gonzo Banker - and in particular to this article on Workflow: The Killer App. While I enjoyed the article, I do think that the...

Vaguely Shameless Commerce: Sign Up for InterACT - The Smarter Decisions Conference

If it seems as though your world is spinning faster, you’re not alone. Credit managers and insurers throughout Europe and around the globe face rising levels of uncertainty, increasing regulations and higher levels of demand from consumers. The risks are...

Gartner’s 2008 Predictions Include Bright Future for Enterprise Decision Management

Gartner recently issued two “Predicts: 2008” reports highlighting their expectations for Enterprise Architecture and the Business Process Management Suites (BPMS) Market. Both recognize noteworthy and highly complementary trends reflecting the value of Enterprise Decision Management (EDM), particularly Business Rules Management Systems (BRMSs) supporting EDM principles.

Progressive Financial Services Firms Demonstrate the Value of Predictive Analytics; Decision Services Offer a Path for Others to Follow

Yesterday an article I wrote about Decision Services appeared in the online edition of DM Review’s December 2007 issue ("Decision Services: Pragmatic Real-Time Analytics"). In it, I describe how Decision Services, by providing a framework for managing both business rules and analytics, can pave the way toward adopting predictive analytics.

It’s OK to “ignore the man behind the (predictive analytics) curtain” with EDM

The title of this post includes a quote from the film, “The Wizard of Oz,” when Dorothy’s dog Toto draws back a curtain revealing the “real” wizard (a man) pulling levers and pushing buttons to illuminate a frightening hologram of a smoky and not too nice false wizard. The jig is up, and the wizard is exposed for what he is, just a man. If only the same could be said of the experts driving data mining and predictive analytic software in today’s leading companies.

While Forrester Envisions Consolidation for the 3 "Bs", it's Happening for Apps and BI Vendors

Cognos and Microstrategy are the two remaining independent Business Intelligence (BI) software giants following today’s news that SAP was purchasing Business Objects. Speculation was building online last week that a deal was in the works and in fact for much of this year since Oracle purchased Hyperion, such rumors have been the case.

Insightful Hindsight on Forrester's 3 “Bs” Points to Need for EDM

While reading recent news in the Process Management section of Intelligent Enterprise today, I noticed a September 27, 2007 post by Sandy Kemsley titled “Forrester: Why BI, BPM and Rules Technologies Will Converge.” Sandy was part of a panel discussion at Forrester Research’s Technology Leadership Forum (Sept. 24-27) focused, in part, on the contents of a Forrester report issued to coincide with the event. I previously blogged about that report, titled “The Dynamic Business Applications Imperative,” by John Rymer and Connie Moore.

Decision Management at the Heart of Future Enterprise Applications, so Says Forrester Research

Respected technology prognosticators John Rymer and Connie Moore of Forrester Research just published a new paper titled, “The Dynamic Business Application Imperative” (September 24, 2007, For CIOs). Rymer and Moore envision a new generation of enterprise application that some IT organizations today are cobbling together in order to meet ever changing business, technical and marketplace requirements.

The Three Dimensions of Intelligent Business Processes

Today I read a September 21 Gartner Research note by Gareth Herschel titled, “The Role of Analytics in Adding Value to Business Processes.” As someone expert in analytics more so than Business Process Management (BPM) and Business Rules Management (BRMS), Gareth raises some important points to remember when discussing the role of analytics in business processes.

8 ways to improve captive finance with EDM

Dave Wright had a question for me about the role of EDM in captive finance organizations - that is a finance organization owned by and associated with a particular manufacturer. Dave works for such a company for a large agriculture/construction/landscape...

Better Bank Branches with EDM

Another interesting McKinsey Quarterly today on Bank branches that meet customer needs. Part of it's summary is that "banks should put utility before appearances, favor lower-budget tactical adjustments, and use branch formats to manage customer visits actively". This last point...

McKinsey research of better IT management for banks points to EDM

The McKinsey Quarterly just published Better IT management for banks (subscription required). A nice little summary of some research into the IT operations of banks around the world. The report concludes that, rather than traditional IT concerns such as scale...

Use Cases and Requirements - a response

Scott Sehlhorst, with whom I am presenting at Business Rules Forum this year, just posted Use Case Example With Business Rules. In the post Scott identifies 4 opportunities, in an ATM withdrawal use case, to find decisions and I thought...

EDM Idol: Calling for Entries to the Card Awards

Fair Isaac is sponsoring the "security and anti-fraud category" at the 2008 UK & Ireland Card Awards. Download a copy of the "Call for Entries".

EDM-Enabled Web Self Service Better be Top of Mind for Financial Services Firms

On June 25 (2007), I saw this news posting on DM Review’s website – “IBM and KANA Study Shows Untapped Potential for US Financial Services Web Sites to Better Serve Clients,” and was intrigued to see to what extent Enterprise Decision Management (EDM) concepts were mentioned. It’s been a long time now that web-based customer service capabilities have been promoted as a timelier, lower cost method of maintaining and growing customer relationships than other options, but what is interesting is that the study, titled "Service Done Right: Why Great Online Customer Service Matters More than Ever," shows cultural and generational factors driving many financial institutions to take web based customer service much more seriously.

Meeting Customer Needs Online

I saw this article - U.S. Banks Not Meeting Customer Needs Online, According to Brulant Study - and it made me think about previous posts on the blog that might help some of these banks do exactly that - meet...

Shameless Commerce: Calling the Sub-Continent

EDM software market is estimated to be about $ 20 billion worldwide and growing at 10-12 percent annually.

Live from EBRC - Business Rules Approach Applied

Next EBRC session is Business Rules Approach Applied with Alcedo Coenen, formerly of ING. He was talking about knowledge analysis and how it can contribute to process optimization. Within banks, and other organizations, there is much to be gained from...

What do people do with analytics?

Interesting little poll over on KD Nuggets today - readers were asked where they had applied data mining in the last 12 months. The top 5 were: CRM (26.1% of respondents) Banking (23.9%) Direct Marketing/ Fundraising (20.3%) Science (18.8%) Fraud...

Using EDM to respond to trends in Financial Services

Guillermo Kopp over at Tower Group wrote this piece - Top 10 Trends in Financial Services: New Approaches in a Changing World (subscription required). It is an interesting paper, though I hope he will write some follow-up pieces as there...

Being customer-centric means being decision-centric

Nice post over on the Forrester Marketing blog today - Being Customer-Centric Is Hard. But, C'mon, It's Not THAT Hard! in which Elena makes some good points. However: Rather than saying "enough with the automated systems already", why not make...

Shameless commerce: Smart (Enough) Systems

As some of you know by now I have been working, with Neil Raden, on a new book. As the files shipped to the printers yesterday, I thought I would take the opportunity to shamelessly plug the book here on...

Analytics for the Repo Man

(Posted by Guest Blogger, and someone who's never yet spoken with someone from a collections agency - at least not as a "client" - Ian Turvill.) We all know that analytics are used extensively in financial services, and particularly in...

Wells Fargo's Home Page Uses EDM

(Posted by Guest Blogger, and Amateur Webmaster, Ian Turvill.) James recently posted on the value of applying predictive analytics and the broader Enterprise Decision Management concept to the design of corporate home pages. As prescient as ever, James entry was...

Live from InterACT: Rules-Based Product and Pricing Engine (Everbank)

I am attending InterACT San Francisco 2007 this week and blogging live (or nearly live) from the sessions. This session is "Rules-Based Product and Pricing Engine (Everbank)" presented by EverBank and their implementation partner ValueMomentum. The project was consolidation of...

Live from InterACT: How to Calculate Your Decision Yield

(Posted by Guest Blogger, Ian Turvill. Given that I have so far posted nothing, and James has been posting like a madman, he pointed out to me last night that I was lagging dramatically behind. So here's a small step...

Live from InterACT: Continuous Pricing. A Case Study in Captive Optimization

I am attending InterACT San Francisco 2007 this week and blogging live (or nearly live) from the sessions. This session is "Continuous Pricing. A Case Study in Captive Optimization" from Dell Financial Services. DFS is (or soon will be) a...

Decisions Podcast #17, InterACT San Francisco Preview: Brad Jolson, Fair Isaac, "Predicting Bankruptcy using Transaction Analytics"

(Posted by the Guest Blogger, and Host of the "Decisions" Podcast, Ian Turvill.) InterACT, the Smarter Decisions Conference, is coming! One of the most promising areas in analytics involves using transaction-level data to improve decisions. Transaction analytics are already a...

Decisions Podcast #16, InterACT San Francisco Preview: Susie Upton, WestPac Banking Corporation, "The Impact of Customer-Level Scoring Throughout the Lifecycle"

(Posted by the Guest Blogger, and Don LaFontaine Devotee, Ian Turvill.) InterACT, the Smarter Decisions Conference, is coming! One of the areas many financial services companies are exploring is customer-level management. There are a host of benefits to be gained...

Using EDM to deliver Relationship-Based Pricing

Mary Pilecki at Forrester just published Turning Pricing Optimization Into Relationship-Based Pricing (subscription required) about using pricing optimization as part of a financial services institution's relationship strategy. The summary of the document says: Consumers are beginning to look at their...