Is Business intelligence about tools and technologies? Or is it more than that? More about the organization and how people think about the process and the data? I think that latter is more important.
Unfortunately, companies throw money and technology and think the problem is solved. It is hardly ever so. What is crucial in BI projects is to understand your own business. The day you understand your own business and how and, more importantly, WHY it works or should work.. then you will be able to create a BI system that is worth the money. So, here are a few things to ask before any BI Initiative:
1. What business are we in? It is not enough to talk in a current or a narrow manner. You cannot say, well, I am computer manufacturing company. That's what many of the giants in the PC era thought. Now they are no more there. Even Apple. Until, Steve Jobs came back and re-asserted that they were in the business of selling cool looking and user friendly technology which could be very useful. It is an important question.
2. Where do I want to go? Apple gave the music technology. It could have given something else.. and even that would have been in a very cool avatar. Just like iPhone became. So, at some point in their iPod journey, they would have asked this question - where do we go from here? The cool looking/user friendly technology objective can be applied anywhere. Look for what is the greatest use for your strength?
3. How do you know where you are going? You may be driving the most efficient car with great mileage and superb electronics etc, but if you are the wrong road - going East instead of West while trying to reach the Silicon Valley, well.. the chances are your efficiency would not help you! Therefore, be efficient. But above all know where you are going! Therefore, make sure what creates value.... shareholder value. So you do the right things!
4. Follow your organization's culture No one culture is right or wrong. It just is. Some cultures are very decentralized and that is how they have succeeded. BP, Microsoft etc are such examples. They are very democratized. Each BU and geo has tremendous authority and make appropriate decisions. Now, in that kind of situation, if you mandate a single, centralized system, then it goes against the grain of the way the decisions are made. You cannot create a system for an environment that does not exist! Yes, you may need centralized data.. but BI is NOT about just aggregating data. It is about using data in a way that you can make decisions. So, make sure your environment is in sync with your organization culture.
5. BI is not just about knowing but also about telling Yes, you need the data, information and metrics to make your decisions. Great! But it is also about telling people what needs to be done! Therefore, context and priorities are an equally big thing! if you cannot contextualize data its of no use.
What do you think of these? Do you think that BI initiatives need to be thought out properly before technology is thrown at it?
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