IBM TM1 consulting projects are not typical IT projects. In fact, they require knowledge and experience in 3 areas. Your IBM TM1 consulting firm must have strong business acumen, understanding of data and an effective program management methodology. Although, not all consulting companies can cover all three of these critical areas.
1. Business Acumen is critical for IBM TM1 consulting success
IBM TM1 is a very powerful business modeling tool. The models that you develop must continuously seek to align an organization’s operations and direction with its strategic business goals. As a result, consulting is not just a technology implementation but the mapping of your business process into technical requirements.
The best of these consulting firms have resources with experience running and managing these business process. They have worked in your shoes and understand the best practices of model design to make sure you are getting the most out of your investment
2. Understanding of data is critical
Finding a firm that understands how to work with data and setup data for consumption by business users is critical. Without a doubt, the way your data is organized in the TM1 model is important. Make sure it can be used to make decisions and enable the business process you are trying to improve.
The main goal of most analytics projects is to enable fast and easy access to data for decision making. Indeed, understanding of how data should be structured and made visible to business users is critical for the overall success of the project and your analytics goals. A poorly designed data model can lead to poor user engagement and adoption.
When your users realize that they have access to all the data they need in one platform, the ROI of your project will increase with user adoption. We see this happen with our top customers like Bostik. Learn more about how quick access to data has transformed how they think about and make decisions with their data.
3. A proven methodology
An effective and proven IBM TM1 consulting methodology minimizes the risk of your project. In fact, finding a consulting firm that has a project methodology will maximize the return on investment (ROI) for each of your individual projects. A the same time, they will ensure your program strategy and vision remain on track and keep you in the driver’s seat.
Unfortunately, some consulting companies will prefer to do “turn-key” projects. For instance, they will build your TM1 models off-site and help you implement the final product. You should look for a consulting firm that will involve you throughout the project. That way, you can be sure you learn the model development process and can support the model on your own after implementation.
Select the right consulting company
Get your project off to the right start by selecting a firm that has business acumen, data expertise and project leadership capabilities. All three areas should be used to evaluate a potential IBM TM1 consulting firm for you to partner with.
