ITWeb calls on all companies and individuals to submit their nominations for innovative business intelligence (BI) projects that have made a strategic difference to their business.
The entry deadline for the ITWeb BI Excellence and Innovation Awards is 31 January. The awards recognise the most pioneering BI projects in SA, and will be handed over during the annual BI Summit, on 28 February.
Barry Devlin, founder and principal analyst at 9sight Consulting, is one of the judges of the BI Awards. He says a successful BI project must begin with the aim to solve a real business problem.
Devlin explains that he will be looking for evidence of good planning and solid direction in a BI project. “It could be a year-long or three-month plan, as it will depend on the size of the problem and the size of the company.
“One of the challenges we saw in last year's awards was that it was not obvious as to why a particular vendor was chosen to provide a solution. I believe this kind of information could be interesting to businesses.”
According to Devlin, there needs to be a balance between technology and an organisational approach to BI. “Sometimes there is a maniacal focus on the technology with a lot of new tools, yet the organisational side is neglected.
“Lastly, what's important is novelty. We have to be careful to not be dismissive of the smaller companies because, even if they are doing something as simple as using existing technology, but are using it in a new way, with a new twist, this could be seen as something very novel.”
Last year's winner, petroleum company Engen, was awarded for its project portfolio management BI strategy, deployed across its sub-Saharan African distribution network.
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) was last year's runner-up. SARS was recognised for its enterprise data warehouse and BI capabilities that improved cost savings and return on investment. The project helped to speed up its taxpayer services, as well as enforcement, risk and strategic services.
For more information on the ITWeb BI Excellence and Innovation Awards, click here.
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