Robert Farris, Hitachi Consulting Vice President for Environmental Sustainability solutions, has more than 23 years of information technology and consulting experience. He has served both in consulting organizations with Andersen Consulting, Navigator Systems and Hitachi Consulting, and in industry organizations with Bankers Trust and American Power Conversion. Farris has specialized in working with his clients to develop and execute the strategy for an enterprise BI program, specifically defining and implementing the team organization, architectures, technologies, methodologies and internal processes. He applies these experiences to help his clients address business issues related to sustainability. Farris is a graduate from Purdue University with a bachelor of science in industrial management and a minor in computer science. He may be contacted at rfarris@hitachiconsulting.com.

10 Sustainability Predictions for 2011
February 23, 2011 A look at how last year's predictions match reality and new predictions for 2011

Revisiting the Sustainable Supply Chain
November 11, 2010 In order to look at your full environmental footprint, you need to gather and integrate internal data about your products,...

Information Requirements for Energy Efficiency Programs
September 9, 2010 One area in which I have seen interest is how to make information about energy usage actionable in a near real-time basis....

Why Sustainability?
July 8, 2010 The core concepts of environmental sustainability are now recognized as imperative to the success of businesses in every...

Green IT’s Increasing Importance to Business Leadership
May 13, 2010 Four actions IT leaders can take to cut energy use and related expenses

The Dark Underbelly of Our Shiny, Clean Technology
March 11, 2010 Green IT is increasingly important to business leadership

The Surprise Inside: Making Your Supply Chain More Sustainable
January 13, 2010 In order to understand the full lifecycle environmental impact and cost related to your supply chain, you will need to gather...

U.S. Government, Wal-Mart and You
November 9, 2009 Can you see the impact of new U.S. government and Wal-Mart initiatives on your company or customers? If not yet, I suspect you...

Energy Intelligence
September 9, 2009 Given that companies spend on average between 7 and 12 percent of their annual budgets on energy – a focus on reducing...

Testing 2, 3, 4
April 8, 2009 Part 2 examines how to address and overcome those challenges as well as how to maximize the success of UAT

Testing 1, 2, 3
February 11, 2009 Guidelines to properly plan and execute user acceptance testing on BI projects, Part 1

Think Globally, Measure Locally, Part 2: Building a Sustainability Scorecard
December 10, 2008 A sustainability scorecard can become a focal point for aligning the most important stakeholders in your company around your...

Think Globally, Measure Locally
October 8, 2008 Now is the time to start sustainability and cost-reduction initiatives, because changes are underway in the market and in...

Getting Started on Your Enterprise Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing Journey
August 27, 2008 Here are a few more things to consider before getting started or going too far down the path of developing an enterprise...

Technologies to Take Your Enterprise-Wide BI and DW Program to the Next Level
June 11, 2008 This column addresses the role of technologies that can take enterprise BI/DW architecture to the next level.

The Role of Packaged BI Applications in Delivering Enterprise-Wide BI and DW
April 10, 2008 This column explores addressing the role of packaged BI applications in an enterprise BI/DW architecture.

Technologies Provide the Means to Deliver Enterprise-Wide BI and DW
February 7, 2008 This column explores the key considerations of the Architecture focus area.

Data is at the Heart of Enterprise-Wide BI and DW, Part 4
December 13, 2007 In my series focused on the need for businesses to get serious about their approach to developing enterprise business...

Data is at the Heart of Enterprise-Wide BI and DW, Part 3
October 11, 2007

Data is at the Heart of Enterprise-Wide BI and DW, Part 2
August 9, 2007

Data is at the Heart of Enterprise-Wide BI and DW
June 15, 2007

BI Applications Deliver on the Promise of Enterprise-Wide BI and DW
April 12, 2007

Using Metrics to Measure Corporate Performance as Part of an Enterprise-Wide BI and DW Program
February 8, 2007 Decide what you want to measure and then focus on the metrics.

Processes for Effective Execution of an Enterprise-Wide Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing Program
December 7, 2006

Effective Execution of a BI/DW Program
December 6, 2006 Processes help businesses be more efficient, effective and consistently deliver quality solutions

Organizing for an Enterprise-Wide BI and DW Capability
October 12, 2006

Develop an Enterprise-Wide BI and DW Strategy
September 26, 2006 Strategy a key consideration in successful BI program

Enterprise-Wide BI and Data Warehouse Capability
June 20, 2006 Primary drivers and suggested actions to build an effective business intelligence and data warehouse capability

Making the Case for an Enterprise-Wide BI and DW Capability
June 8, 2006