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Thursday, November 3, 2011

Integrating DRM with HFM

Based on a request from a blogger below are a few steps to integrate HFM and DRM.

Oracle EPMA Templates: 
Download the EPM Application Templates for Hyperion Data Relationship Management from the Oracle website. http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/data-relationship-management/downloads/index.html

Customize the templates as advised based on the Dimensions/ Hierarchies/ Properties defined/ customized in your instance of HFM.

Populating HFM data into DRM:

Note that the templates create the DRM Metadata elements and you will need to create Import profiles in DRM to populate the data from HFM to DRM. The import file will need to be delimited based on the DRM defined format (with defined [hier], [relation] sections etc.)

Feedback loop into HFM/ Writing DRM data back to HFM:

The EPMA template creates DRM Export profiles for the HFM Accounts and Entity Dimensions. You will need to configure additional Dimensions that need to be exported back to HFM from DRM.

Use EPMA to import data exported from DRM into ADS specific file formats into HFM. This is not a XML import to HFM. Alternately using Interface tables (component of EPMA) you can map the DRM exports to write to the Interface tables and integrate with HFM accordingly.

Hope that helps.

-Geeta

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

DRM_DB Metadata Repository Model v 11.1.2.1.103

Disclaimer: Oracle recommends that DRM administrators / users should not change content in the Underlying metadata tables.

Below is a reverse engineered DRM_DB data model (DRM metadata repository). Understanding the model from a high level is very useful for any DRM administrator. In a following post I will explain the function of certain key tables.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

Analytical Master Data Management: Buzzwords EPM, DRM, BI

Oracle Hyperion Data Relationship Management (DRM) is being used widely as an Enterprise – Analytical Master Data Management tool. Oracle DRM is a part of the Oracle EPM Middleware and is a completely separate installation.

By separating out the Install of Oracle DRM with other Core EPM product sets Oracle has reached out to several customers in the BI space. DRM’s hierarchy management capabilities are being leveraged by several organizations to master their BI- Analytics data.

I would like to re-iterate the important relationship between BI and Analytical MDM below:

• Business Intelligence systems are designed to help enterprises understand their operations, customer, finances, product performance, trends and other key business measurements.

• Poor BI reporting is attributed to inconsistent, poor data quality of operational information feeding the analytic reports. (oftentimes this refers to the Dimensions in the BI environment, being inconsistent, duplicates – different named unique entries in the operational systems for the same entity etc)

• In order to fix poor quality Analytic reports, the key is to fix the source-poor quality data under the applications that run the business(operational sources). This is master data.

• Solutions that focus on managing dimensions data are called Analytical MDM. They master shared entities such as financial data hierarchies and GLs between multiple Data Warehouses and BI systems across domains in an organization. Analytical MDM is the glue that ties analytical systems to what is happening on the operational side of the business.

• This is where Oracle’s leading Analytical MDM tool – Data Relationship Management fits in.

DRM is a data-agnostic tool, meaning that it will work with any sort of reference data (customer, product, asset, billing etc), from any source system. Information from source systems needs to be imported into DRM in a predefined format using DRM operations.

DRM generates unique Identifiers for each key entity value and is can also be designed to maintain master attributes for each entity value. The export operations in DRM allows DRM to publish the Mastered hierarchy information via flat file exports or to a external RDBMS tables. Consuming systems like BI/Reports can subscribe to these tables. HAL offers other means of linking DRM data to other Fusion products (I need to research integration of DRM with HAL further, will address this in another article)

It is very important to note the unique offerings of DRM.

• Unlike Operation MDM tools where algorithms are applied to do ranking, matching and linking to determine the golden master records, DRM maintains the golden records that has been imported/entered into the tool. Data cleansing is typically done prior to importing data into DRM.

• DRM offers tools for data governance like Versioning, traceability, audit-ability, compare, validations, controlled access to Master data based on role based user profiling/ security

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Upgrading from DRM 11.1.2.0.1 to 11.1.2.1

Steps for the upgrade:

  1. Assumption : That there exists a successful 11.1.2.0.1 installation.
  2. Software downloaded for the 11.1.2.1 upgrade (on edelivery.oracle.com)
  3. Backup the DRM Repository database for the 11.1.2.0.1 version
  4. Un-install DRM 11.1.2.0.1 (This does not drop the DRM Metadata repository, or the DRM Console database settings)
  5. Un-zip and Run the setup to install 11.1.2.1
  6. Ensure that the application configuration and database connection information are still correct as the in 11.1.2.0.1.
  7. IMPORTANT NOTE: Since this is an upgrade to a newer version, the following action is mandatory to update the metadata tables to reflect the new features and functionality of the Oracle tool
    • Open the DRM Console 11.1.2.1
    • Under Applications, click on Apply updates (This process will apply updates to the current application)
   Note: Oracle DRM 11.1.2 was not supported on Windows Server 2008. However 11.1.2.1 is, it is the recommended OS base for a DRM install. Ensure that a 64bit OS is used on either 11.1.2 or 11.1.2.1. Even if the memory is bumped up to 64GB its a gotcha if the product is used on a 32bit OS, not all the memory is utilized ~50% or less of the memory will be utilized.

Other requirements for a clean installation of Oracle DRM Fusion edition: 

  1. Application Server: Windows Server 2003 R2. (For non-production environments the Oracle DRM server can also be successfully installed on Vista, XP, Windows 7)
  2. IIS 6 or IIS 7 is installed and running. 
  3. ASP.Net 2 and Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5  (Note: Ensure that SP1 has been installed and IIS is configured to use ASP.Net 2.)
  4. A relational database for the DRM Metadata tables. (Oracle documentation indicates DRM is supporte d on Oracle and SQL Server RDBMS). These tutorials are demonstrated on a Oracle 11g repository.
  5. Ensure that Oracle 11g(run as admin)Client has been installed on the App-Server and configured with appropriate TNSNAMES.ORA entries. Note: Typically in a live environment, the Database resides on a seperate server and not on the App-server. (For a local personal installation, the database and DRM can be installed on the same machine and a TNSNAMES.ORA entry is not necessary in this case)
  6. Ensure that the connection between the DRM application server and database has been validated using the same credentials
  7. A Windows User has been created having credentials to:
    • Edit registry settings
    • Read and write to the local file system
    • Launch processes
    • Run as a service
For the purpose of these tutorials, the Oracle DRM Fusion edition is installed based on Internal authentication. External authentication requires Shared Services and will be out of scope

For additional information please refer to the Oracle® Hyperion Data Relationship Management, Fusion Edition Installation guide.
http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17236_01/nav/portal_1.htm

Oracle DRM - Key arenas


1. Upgrading from DRM 11.1.2.0.1 to 11.1.2.1 - what to expect.
2. Analytical Master Data Management: Buzzwords EPM, DRM, BI

3. Basics concepts of DRM.
4. Hierarchy management, Balanced vs. Ragged Hierarchies.
5. DRM Errors, that lack proper documentation in 11.1.2
6. Node attributes
7. Derived attributes and formulas
8. Sourcing data, Import process
9. Action Scripts (Automator)
10. Validations
11. Batch and config scripts
12. Export profiles, exports for external subscribing systems
13. Role based user management
14. Migration utility


Monday, February 28, 2011

History of Oracle DRM

The latest version of DRM is Oracle - Hyperion Data Relationship Management 11.1.2.X as part of the Fusion edition of the Oracle EPM module.

The history of Oracle DRM goes way back to a company called Razza Solutions pre-1995. The company marketed a product called Razza Dimension Server (Razza DS), and had about thirty Fortune 500 as customers. In January, 2005, Hyperion acquired the company with Razza’s 15-person staff became Hyperion employees. Since Hyperion’s acquisition, the product was marketed as Hyperion Master Data Management (MDM) Server. Razza was integrated as part of Hyperion’s System 9 Business Intelligence Platform.

The value proposition with Razza’s product was an unique way to model business reality as required by LOB's and executives to measure business performance. It provided a single point of control on the complex and dynamic business rules and data such as products, organizational, channel and impacts of mergers and acquisitions.

2005 – Hyperion acquires Razza Solutions (Master Data Management)
2006 – Hyperion acquires UpStream (Financial Data Quality Management)
2007 – Hyperion acquires Decisioneering (Crystal Ball)
2007 – Oracle Corporation announces agreement to acquire Hyperion for USD3.3 Billion.

Oracle-Data Relationship Management

The Oracle Data Relationship Management solution enables organizations to synchronize
information from varied sources into a single central location,to get an accurate, consistent 360-degree view of enterprise data.

Data Relationship Management (DRM) is a combination of applications and technologies that consolidates, cleans, and augments this corporate master data, and synchronizes it with all applications, business processes, and analytical tools.


Key Use Cases
1.Complex Chart of Accounts Issues
•Special rules, number schemes, requirements
•Difficulty in making updates and changes
2.Multiple ERP, GL or EPM instances
•Adds, updates and deletes of accounts, entities and cost centers have to be manually replicated across multiple systems
3.Rapid Change
•Mergers and acquisitions
•System consolidation and alignment
4.Compliance & Audit
•Fully automated, closed-loop change process
•Analyze, assess, track and audit changes
5.Complex Dimension Management
•Alternate hierarchies to address enterprise BI and financial reporting objectives
•Shared maintenance structure with distinct uses across LOBs, regions, & business units
6.General Purpose MDM / Reference Data Management
•Map transaction codes with reference assets (e.g., products, processes, activities)
•General purpose master data management (e.g., contracts, assets, etc.)