As the business landscape becomes increasingly complex, managers not only want to, but need to know more about their business, their customers and their competitors to compete effectively. With continuous market uncertainties such as fluctuating economies and inflation rates (to mention but a few), it is becoming increasingly difficult to forecast business risks, vulnerabilities and prosperity with segmented information. It is only 'good quality' information that can guide a business in its strategy.
As such, businesses have begun to realise the need for decisions grounded in well substantiated information. Where previously businesses worried about the size of their information data warehouse, today it is not about quantity but rather quality. Managers are now looking at the value of the information gathered so they can take advantage of the windows of business opportunities that present themselves to aid sustainability. Consequently, businesses are not only interested in data or information; they are searching for valuable intelligence on which to base key strategic decisions.
Thus, managers have begun to stop and ask the question: where is the value in our business information? Consequently, and rightly so, they have begun to search for a way to measure Return on Investment (ROI) and continually drive business value adds from their Business Intelligence (BI) solution. While in essence it is the strong business drive and vision that should justify the BI investment, it is important that the organisation as a whole acknowledge the solution as an information enabler, able to add value to any area of the business if used correctly. And while the hard, measurable benefits such as the financial ones are certainly important, the intangible or strategic benefits have also become critical to business performance.
Whether it is the ability to see and react to trends, identify and address inefficiencies, provide a means for setting standards and checking performance or deliver historically based predictions of the future, BI has become essential to drive business opportunities, performance and as such indirectly, ROI. While the ROI in such cases are often difficult to quantify, it is important that organisations take into account such capabilities that are presented as often it can be the smallest details that result in the greatest rewards.
Furthermore, as one solution does not fit all organisations, it is important to choose the right BI solution - one that is able to drive the vision of the organisation, add value to the departments that need it and ultimately achieve desired ROI. BI results should then be benchmarked against such expectations and opportunities presented through the solution need to be assessed to ensure that the solution is not only being fully utilised, but also certify that the BI solution is providing many opportunities for bottom-line impact.
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