e right data, or, more accurately, the right information about what is going on within the business. Capturing data and transforming it into information is a key need of IICs today. Typically, a first stage capability is to use the standard reporting features of each individual OSS package. This can provide meaningful reporting and analysis, can lack the enterprise view. There are several needs for business intelligence within the enterprise, such as: a) Operational Metrics. The use of real /time information about orders and troubles to gauge the performance of the enterprise at any point in time. Metrics are typically presented via an executive dashboard. b) Marketing Data. The typical "data warehouse" of historical data about the customer, products and revenue that can be used for marketing analysis, planning and product management. c) SLA and Network Performance Metrics. An analysis of network and service performance against individual contracts to gauge performance under SLAs. d) Customized CRM. Customer and operational data used to personalize the customer experience at various contact points. CRM applications can leverage data to drive business rules and personalization algorithms. These data applications must be integrated to create an enterprise-wide view of information. Events can be siphoned from key points from within applications to create enterprise level-data. This data can be used to determine the time between an alarm being detected, a trouble ticket being issued and a customer being notified, or between when an order is issued and billed. This event data can be captured, transformed, and stored into a data warehouse or mart and then made available across the enterprise. A great example is an executive dashboard, which allows account executives to view how well their customers' orders are being filled and troubles repaired in near Chapter 6 - Integrating the OSS Platform real time. One factor to remember is that the data involved is constantly flowing, making real time collection and processing a 