Chapter 10.  Working with the Data Warehouse and Reporting

In this chapter, we will walk you through the various options of using the Service Manager Data Warehouse to gain insight into the data stored in the Service Manager database. We will specifically cover using reporting and advanced analytics with the following tasks:

  • Viewing SCSM reports
  • Creating favorite and linked reports
  • Understanding the Service Manager Data Warehouse data mart
  • Creating reports with Report Builder
  • Configuring report permissions
  • Delivering reports automatically using report subscriptions
  • Analyzing data with Microsoft Excel
  • Using the Analysis Library to publish Excel reports

Introduction

Service Manager periodically transfers data that is stored in the operational database to the Service Manager Data Warehouse databases through a process called Extract Transform and Load (ETL). The processes required for keeping the data in the Data Warehouse in sync with the operational database are controlled by the Service Manager Data Warehouse Management Server role.

Introduction

The ETL process is started on a scheduled interval. The first step is the extract workflow, which reads new data from the operational database and writes it to the DWStagingAndConfig database. The raw data is then picked up by the transform workflow, which does any reformatting required for bringing the data into the final format optimized for reporting prior to storing it in the DWRepository database. The load workflow then transfers the data to the DWDataMart database where it can be used for reporting.

The reasons for transferring data to the databases of the Service Manager Data Warehouse are the following:

  • Offload data from the Service Manager operational database to improve performance.
  • Provide a long-term storage of historical data stored in Service Manager.
  • Optimize and provide data for reporting.

The DWDataMart database is the database used for all reporting needs. In addition, Service Manager comes with a set of predefined OLAP cubes to facilitate advanced analysis of data. An OLAP cube is a multi-dimensional data structure that is optimized for aggregating and analyzing large amounts of data while also allowing access to the most granular information. The SCSM Data Warehouse leverages Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services to provide OLAP cubes to end users.

With both the DWDataMart database and the OLAP cubes, Service Manager provides powerful means for creating simple reports as well as gaining advanced insight into the data by analyzing it from multiple perspectives.

Within this chapter we will provide recipes to work with common reporting tools that allow you to access and analyze data stored in the DWDataMart database and the OLAP cubes.

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