The Web has familiarised us with the concept of high-speed information delivery the way we want it, when we want it. However, in the corporate arena this concept has been around for some time. Known as business intelligence (BI), it is an IT solution as well as a business methodology.
In this column, I would like to remove the myth surrounding the term BI and tie it in with the access, analyse, report and share concept.
BI means allowing users to view and manipulate the information they need to drive the business.
Vivek Thomas, Guest columnist, ITWeb
Well, what is BI? Ask most people this and they will come up with terms like data warehousing, data mining, query and reporting, online analytical processing (OLAP), statistical analysis or ad-hoc querying. In other words, BI is seen as a set of technologies.
On the surface, this may seem quite reasonable, but in fact it is symptomatic of a major trend that permeates the entire BI industry. Vendors have hijacked the ideals of BI to promote their own particular technologies and users are being taken in by the deception. For example, when I am not writing this column I sometimes get prospective customers who call me up to say: "I need an OLAP tool." Often, they have no idea why they want OLAP or what they want to do with it. They have succumbed to the marketing hype and want to climb aboard the technological bandwagon.
My own definition of BI is a very simple one and it makes no reference to technology. BI means allowing users to view and manipulate the information they need to drive the business.
A BI system which incorporates manageability, predefined reports, fast and easy access to data, report sharing, and a good front-end reporting and analysis tool is a primary factor in the success of any solution because it enables the concepts behind access, analyse, report and share.
Every enterprise information management challenge centres around these four concepts. In this context we can see that companies have common challenges:
- Access: Getting the data they need regardless of the source.
- Analyse: Making the data more useful with all the tools at one`s disposal.
- Report: Presenting the information required.
- Share: Distributing the information, thereby enhancing business performance.
So, it is with an appreciation for the reader`s healthy scepticism that this column shall, over the coming weeks, examine BI, not only from an academic point of view, but rather with an eye toward the practical, achievable business benefits of successfully deployed or practised BI techniques.
That is, what lessons have we learned from our experiences on the front-line? And how can a company incorporate this knowledge into its own efforts at implementing and using BI? Future editions of this column will address a number of BI-related issues such as:
- BI and the Web: We cannot say enough about this as it affects the way companies deal with their customers as well as internal business processes particularly when it comes to the sharing of information.
- Architecture: As noted above, BI solutions need to be scalable.
- BI: Ease of use and openness.
Other topics of interest may include a look at the factors driving the BI demands of companies. In my experience, these may be summed up as one or more of the following: the desire to improve decision-making processes, to speed up the decision-making process, increase revenue, enhance customer service, and create new business opportunities.
Readers can submit questions to me relating to BI theory and practice. I will endeavour to answer these queries in a question and answer format in the weeks to come. Some of the conversations may be edited and published on ITWeb.
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