This document discusses how business data can be transformed and analyzed to produce useful business intelligence insights. It provides an overview of common data sources, challenges in analyzing complex data, and how data transformation platforms like FME can be used to connect, clean, prepare, and visualize data in formats like HTML, PDF, Tableau, Power BI, QlikMaps and more to generate metrics, KPIs and dashboards. Specific use cases discussed include visualizing sales performance with QlikMaps, tracking passenger flow at airports with indoor mapping in QlikMaps, and managing SLA compliance for construction projects using BIM data validation and Tableau dashboards.

1. Spinning
Web and Business Data
into Gold

2. The good news:
It’s easier than ever to
collect and store data.
• Smartphones
• Web & mobile apps
• POS systems
• CRMs
• SCM
• ERP
• Etc.

3. The bad news:
This data must be tamed!

4. Turning Frogs
into Princes
• Business Intelligence (BI)
• Analytics
• Extract meaning from complex data
• Produce KPIs and Metrics
• Build a web page, publish a PDF or feed a
‘Dashboard’ with content

6. Step 1: Connect to the data
Transformers
● HTTPCaller
● HTMLExtractor
● S3 Transformers
● DatabaseJoiner
● DropboxConnector
● OneDriveConnector
● BoxConnector
● GoogleDriveConnector
● AutodeskA360Connector
Database Formats
● Oracle
● MS SQL Server
● PostgreSQL / PostGIS
● IBM Cloudant
● Teradata
● Netezza
● SQLite / Geopackage
● Azure / documentDB
● Elasticsearch
Web Formats
● ArcGISOnline
● Salesforce
● Socrata
● Google Sheets
● MongoDB
● Amazon DynamoDB
● HTML Table Reader
● IBM dashDB
● Planet

7. Step 2: Clean it up
Keep the good. Filter out the bad. Clean up the ugly.

8. Prepare the metrics
StatisticsCalculator
RCaller
AttributePivoter
AttributeManager

9. Step 3: Make it
presentable

10. Build HTML & PDF Visualizations
Geocoder (new)
ChartGenerator
HTMLReportGenerator
PDFPageFormatter

11. Visualization
Sorcery

12. Leaders in
Visualization
 QlikMaps (new in FME 2017)
 Tableau (new on all platforms)
 Microsoft Power BI and
others: Write to a format
supported by that
application
Source: Gartner

13. BI Applications:
Tableau

14. BI Applications: PowerBI

15. Built-inVisualizationApps

16. Built-inVisualizationApps

17. HumbleExcel

18. Business Intelligence:
Making decisions by turning data
into meaningful information.

19. Business Intelligence:
Making decisions by turning data
into meaningful information.

20. QlikMaps
● By Analytics8, a big data & analytics consulting firm
specializing in business intelligence.
○ Qlik: business intelligence.
○ QlikMaps: geospatial business intelligence.
● Adds the value of location, spatial features, web map
services, and search functionality to Qlik.

21. 3 Common QlikMaps Use Cases
● Visualizing and managing sales
performance.
● SLA (service level agreements)
compliance.
● Movement of goods, services,
and people.

22. Challenge: Analyse Passenger
Flow at the Airport
● Track and improve passenger flow.
● Increase passenger satisfaction.
● Gain insight into commercial opportunities for
retailers.

23. QlikMaps for Indoor Mapping

24. QlikMaps for Indoor Mapping

25. Challenge: Manage SLA for
major construction project
● Contractors and architects supplying BIM data
● Need to maintain consistency and quality
● Need to limit validation costs and resulting costly
construction mistakes

26. IFC
(but used the Revit
Reader!)
Important schema
elements
BIM data validation workflow
Validate content
and export data
values

27. ● Valid Component types e.g. Ramp, Escalator
● Correct work package number
● Valid level number e.g. Level 5 is not valid in a 3 storey
building!
● Valid syntax for IDs e.g. AB_01
Regex check: ^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z][_][0-9][0-9]
BIM Compliance

28. 1) Validate a folder full of IFC files
2) Produce report & load Tableau dashboard
3) Extract metrics & issue compliance report to contractor
4) Reduce effort & construction cost
Before After

29. Resources
● Validate, Cleanse & Enrich
1spatial.com/data-quality
● Tableau resources
safe.com/tableau
● HTML transformers blog
fme.ly/html
● FME + web blog
fme.ly/web
● Data quality checklist
fme.ly/quality
● FME + QlikMaps tutorial
fme.ly/qlikmaps