Many organizations put themselves in an absurd position: every one of their work processes is computerized and they hold systems of every kind, such as ERP, CRM, budget control and others supporting every aspect of the organization’s activity, and yet the question arises: “Does the company’s executive management actually enjoy all this treasure of information that accumulates in the organization day after day, and is it generating added value from all the IT investment made so far? ” In most organizations the answer we get is negative, or partial and uncertain.
It is true that computerization helps manage processes more properly, creates efficient and reliable information flow between different units in the organization, and that information systems are meant to make it possible to issue invoices and to stock raw materials correctly and on time, and on that basis alone the need for them and the investment in them is already proven.
But is that the whole of the benefit that can be drawn from them?
Research conducted by Vanson Bourne among CIOs shows that while 88% of organizations count information as a strategic asset of the organization, in practice only one organization in twenty has embedded the information it holds so that it is available across the full length and breadth of the organization’s information systems.
And so only organizations that understand that the real asset is the information held inside and outside the organization, and that know how to draw genuine benefit from it, break out of fixed thinking and reach impressive results.
Focus and Improvement – One Picture for the Company’s Executives
How do the organization’s executives align on one clear direction and one set of steps?
Business Intelligence (BI) is a business strategy that includes tools and methods for collecting, integrating and analyzing operational data and information on various business components and processes. BI has become widespread and is talked about more and more. This is not a fashion but a tool whose necessity to the organization grows more critical by the day.
Different departments use different tools and measure “success” in different terms, so it is fair to assume there will be no agreement inside the organization on what counts as success. On top of that, the same data is duplicated across several systems and every data consumer defines and changes it as it sees fit. Duplicate meanings and terms emerge, and with them the potential for error grows.
A BI project, in essence, brings into the organization a mechanism for managing all of its information in a way that lets business users make better use of it and lets IT manage it better. Among the deliverables of a BI project are an enterprise glossary of terms and the management of rules governing information and business processes. As a result, the organization can achieve the following:
· Creating a single picture of the organization’s position.
· Greater confidence in decision-making processes.
· Better information quality and better use of it along the length and breadth of the organization.
Like any implementation tool , BI demands professional expertise and proven experience, particularly given how strongly it affects the organization’s activity. It is therefore critically important to combine the technological implementation with business and strategic thinking, which is what allows maximum benefit to be extracted and delivers a strategic, operational and organizational breakthrough.
There are several ways to realize enterprise information through BI tools:
- A metrics and targets system – constant, consistent measurement aimed at achieving the organization’s business goals.
- Operational BI – collecting information from various sources, including external ones, and presenting a real-time picture.
- Data Discovery – analyzing information according to immediate and changing needs.
- Mobile & Collaboration – mobility and the ability to run a discussion and share screens as part of the existing systems’ capabilities. This significantly increases the visibility of information to decision-makers and the ability to distribute and publish information across the organization.
Realizing Information as a Strategic Asset, with the Potential to Transform the Business
By introducing a BI system, or by deepening its implementation, you can reach several levels of strategic advantage from information:
- Producing a single reliable picture of the organization’s position and neutralizing information islands, duplicated and unreliable data created by different units inside the same organization. Part of this move is creating a single shared business language.
- Implementing the business strategy across every layer of the organization, by linking the organization’s top-level metrics to the metrics defined for headquarters units and operating units.
- Shortening the time to collect, analyze and decide – creating consistent, systematic processes of analysis and decision-making in order to generate more value from the information already held.
- Identifying business opportunities and trends through analysis of the information the organization owns. BI-based marketing makes it possible to analyze customers, trends and needs and to build the right communication channels with the customer.
Many organizations have already rolled out BI systems, but the implementation is partial, still does not exploit the business potential of the information available to them, and brings the organization only partial value.
Organizations that have not adopted BI out of a fear of entering a field that suits large companies, on the assumption that it is an expensive and complicated business, are mistaken.
Today’s BI market offers new, advanced tools that are simple and fast to implement, with a single tool covering ETL, reports, charts, analytics, alerts and a dashboard. The information arrives quickly, clearly and in different formats for every user from the CEO down. Development time for such a tool is 80% shorter than for traditional BI tools, and its implementation success rate is above the average for the field.
By Orly Libertovsky, a specialist in BI
