Johannesburg, 29 Jun 2009
Business intelligence (BI) adoption rates may be on the rise, but they are still relatively low, and the language disconnect between business and IT remains a primary barrier.
According to an overview of a Datamonitor Group report of March 2008: “Within the next two years, the BI market will expand due to a sustained investment drive indicated by an increasing number of enterprises planning to invest in BI continuously over the coming two years. The survey reveals that the BI market is becoming deeper, with more enterprises planning to expand their BI solution portfolio.”
However, that said: Microsoft recently stated that it is moving its BI capabilities from PerformancePoint to SharePoint in an attempt to increase BI adoption rates, and cited the fact that traditional BI tools have 25% adoption rates.
Language still divides IT and business people and is a major contributor to poor BI adoption. An example of this was the comments to be heard in most presentations, even from some large local organisations, at the ITWeb BI Conference. Some suggested it and others stated it plainly. Businesspeople don't care about what type of database is used or what technologies go into delivering the solution to their problem. They're also not about to learn. Their primary concern is the business and not the IT that makes it possible or speeds it up or makes it more efficient. IT is a business service provider and IT people must learn to speak to their customers.
According to a Gartner statement, a BI competency centre is core to BI success: "The BI competency centre's role is to champion the BI technologies and define standards, as well as the business alignment, project prioritisation, management and skills issues associated with significant BI projects."
BI competency centres consist of cross-functional teams as part of a formal and permanent organisational structure. They define tasks, roles, responsibilities and processes that support and promote BI use and adoption. A BetterManagement.com survey found that organisations with a BI competency centre gain a number of benefits, chiefly:
* 74% increased BI use
* 48% improved user satisfaction
BI competency centres are crucial hubs that support an organisation's BI strategy, ensuring central control, a strong organisational champion, a multidisciplinary skills resource and a centre of understanding.
Getting back to the Datamonitor survey overview: "The survey indicates that the SME sector will emerge as the principal driver of market growth. As the SME segment of the market requires a different procurement and deployment approach, go-to-market strategies and channel partnerships may gain importance."
Smaller organisations typically cannot afford the investment BI competency centres require and will lean more heavily on experienced consultants and partners to align the technology with their business needs.
Primarily, they will lean on consultants to engage business people using the correct language - business speak - to drive acceptance and understanding and ensure proper support. In many cases, consultants will also provide technical expertise throughout the process and be responsible for communicating progress and success to business people.
IT will promote better BI adoption only by breaking down the barriers between the technology and business users.
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