Not long ago, SA was playing catch-up with the international business intelligence (BI) market. In recent years, however, the local market has not only closed this gap, but in certain areas set the trend in terms of BI innovation and maturity.
This is the view of Jaco Kachelhoffer, BI unit manager at Southpaw Solutions. Southpaw Solutions is a nominee in the 'Best practice in data visualisation and presentation' category in the inaugural ITWeb BI Excellence Awards.
The awards will run alongside the ITWeb BI Summit, being held at The Forum, in Bryanston, from 23 to 25 February. The awards are dedicated to promoting excellence in business intelligence in SA, and are open to end-user organisations which feel they have a BI success story deserving recognition.
“We have managed to take the knowledge of international companies, improve on the thinking, and turn it into local success stories,” says Kachelhoffer. “The awards not only demonstrate specific BI ability and maturity, but provide a platform for ideas to spread and the industry to network.”
Peter Oeschger, CTO at Knowledge Factory, believes SA's history of apartheid and subsequent economic sanctions have promoted a culture of creativity and innovation. Competing at this level will raise the bar locally, he adds. “Some really big IT success stories have come out of SA, like Mark Shuttleworth's Thawt and K2.”
Knowledge Factory has been nominated in the 'Best practice in information reporting and analysis' category. Other categories include the award for 'Best BI implementation to enhance CRM', the 'Individual award for BI champion', and the 'Grand Prix award for overall excellence in BI'.
The nominees to date include: South African Revenue Service, First National Bank, Metropolitan Life, Unison Communications, Engen Oil, Knowledge Factory, and Southpaw Solutions. Entries are still open, and organisations are encouraged to nominate their projects. Entries close on 29 January.
“Through interaction with others and sharing of successes, we can accelerate local BI along the maturity roadmap. This is not only beneficial for individuals, but for the local industry as a whole,” concludes Kachelhoffer.
For more information and to nominate your entry, please click here.
Share