We are about to roll out a campaign to increase usage of the Sunrise financial data warehouse and at the same time address some of the reporting initiatives that came out of Rick's offsite in Galveston.  The goals of this effort are:

To promote usage of the financial data warehouse by both accounting and operational personnel, with the goal of training additional users as well as increasing the number of times our users access the warehouse. 

To identify and develop "best practices" reports and guidelines for accessing information in both the R/3 system and the data warehouse and to educate users as to the best solution for each reporting need.

To integrate the use of data warehouse reporting with existing SAP capabilities to relieve pressure on the SAP transaction system during peak periods.

As part of the data warehouse usage campaign, we will use various methods to most effectively reach the greatest number of users.  Those methods may include road shows and demos, articles in newsletters and on websites, and more individualized measures such as BU specific workshops and floor help sessions where data warehouse personnel are available to answer questions and help users become more comfortable using the data warehouse.  We want to tailor our campaign to each business unit's differing needs.

As we talk with the users in each group we believe we can gather information about best practices reports that are available and help to share this knowledge enterprise-wide.

In order to achieve these objectives prior to year end, we need your commitment and assistance.  You have been identified as your group's representative (BU advocate) to assist in accomplishing these goals.  Your responsibilities will be:

To assist in setting a strategic direction for improved reporting in each business unit through training, communication, new report development and knowledge sharing.

To provide assistance in the development and implementation of overall communications and training plans for each business unit to effectively reach the widest audience, including evaluation and recommendation of methods to encourage participation.  

To provide input into the development of a forum for knowledge sharing among the business units to encourage more effective use of all available reporting tools and to share "best practices" reports.

We expect there will be two meetings per month, and you will be our contact in setting up sessions for your group to communicate information such as best practices and guidelines as to which tools are most effective for which reporting needs.  We will also be asking you to review the listing of essential reports, key metrics and information needs that we have compiled from the Sunrise interviews last November and from the ISC's back-office review, to update this information in preparing the list of best practices reports. 

To thank you for your participation in this process, the Sunrise team will assist each of you in developing a new Business Objects report of your choice - best case, one that would replace a manual spreadsheet or otherwise help your group retrieve and report on data more effectively.

The successful completion of this campaign should result in more effective use of all available reporting tools and promote the development of a core user base to drive future development and improvements in the reporting area.  You as a BU advocate are a critical component to the success of this effort.  Here's the team:

	EA - Susan Helton, Director
	EES Wholesale - Mary Lynn Ruffer, Sr Director
	EEL - Michael Lyons, Sr Director
	EGM - Jeff Smith, Director
	EIM - Rainier Cockrell, Manager
	ENW - Allison Millan, Manager
	EBS - Paula Harris, Manager
	EES - Dana Lee, Director
	ETS - Jennifer Lev, Manager
	EGAS - Joanne Tran, Manager
	EEOS - Blake Walker, Manager
	Corp Acctg - Karen Choyce, Director
	EGF - Trisha Shannon, Director
	Corp Planning - Steve Schwarzbach, Director
	Corp Tax - Glenn Kobes, Director
	Corp HR - Terrie Wheeler, Director
	GSS - Bob Johansen, Director

Our introductory workshop will take place on October 31 from 10am-12noon in the 50th floor board room to formally begin this process (before close hits again).  This first meeting will focus on your perceptions as to why people in your group aren't using the data warehouse, and we will formulate action plans to address these issues.  Let me know if this time will not work for you.

If you have any questions, please give me a call at 33260.  Thanks for your help and support.

Jan