London-listed Dimension Data and e-business intelligence (e-BI) systems provider Business Objects have forged a partnership which they say will have a significant impact on the South African segment of a global business intelligence market expected to top $6 billion in revenues by 2004.
GartnerGroup says that business intelligence (BI) technology allows companies to digest and analyse massive volumes of information to maintain and build upon existing customer relationships, and make sound business decisions.
The agreement will see Dimension Data incorporate the entire Business Objects suite of products - which enable organisations to access, analyse, and share information in intranet, extranet, and e-business environments - into its product range.
Dimension Data entered this market some years ago, and has played a leading role in South Africa in implementing BI solutions in a number of corporations. Business Objects has helped thousands of worldwide organisations use their corporate data and deploy e-BI to increase competitiveness and maximise profit.
Michael Botha, general manager: business intelligence, Dimension Data, believes the South African market place shows "immense" potential and will grow significantly in the next three to five years.
"Business intelligence is vital in e-business, and a major growth area," says Botha. "Together with customer management, e-commerce, e-marketplaces and supply chain integration, it is one of our key focus points."
Business Objects MD Gary Lawrence, whose company is looking to boost already impressive 40% year-on-year growth in South Africa, believes the country is "ripe for an e-BI revolution" as the existing ERP base in local organisations has laid an ideal foundation for the rapid rollout of BI solutions.
According to GartnerGroup, The business intelligence (BI) market in Europe has quietly sustained 27 percent growth in Europe and is forecast to grow steadily presenting a 1.7 billion-market opportunity in Europe by 2003. (* footnote)
Lawrence says the competitive edge in modern business lies in understanding what information you actually have in your database, where it is, and then creating links between the data and the people who want to understand it.
"This is where e-BI shines," says Lawrence. "You can use techniques like creating a portal where business users can log in and be presented with categories of information, such as sales results. They can then go into that category, look at predefined reports, or do their own analysis. You have to make sure users can physically get to the data in any way they want - via a PC, a wireless device or a laptop."
Business Objects` systems enable organisations to use information to deliver new services and build stronger relationships with customers, partners and suppliers via the web. e-BI can also improve the performance of an e-business by providing reporting and analysis against ever-expanding volumes of transactions and profile data collected on the Internet.
Lawrence says Didata is the "perfect example" of the type of organisation Business Objects looks towards to add genuine value to customers. "In recognising Dimension Data`s strategy to expand within the i-Commerce arena, we envisage working together globally, not only in South Africa, for the medium term" he said.
Founded in 1990, Business Objects has more than 12 000 customers in more than 80 countries around the globe. In 2000, Business Objects revenues were more than $348 million.
*(Source: European Business Intelligence Market and Forecast: A Quiet Storm. Update: 31 August 1999, by Bindi Bhullar, Gartner.)
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Business Objects is the world`s leading provider of e-business intelligence (e-BI) solutions. The company coined the term e-business intelligence in 1998 to describe the intersection of business intelligence and the internet. Using e-business intelligence, organizations can access, analyze, and share information in intranet, extranet, and e-business environments. In intranets, the company`s products provide employees with information to make better business decisions, and are used in environments ranging from workgroups of 20 users to enterprise deployments exceeding 20,000. In the extranet environment, the company is pioneering the use of e-BI in applications that allow organizations to build stronger relationships by linking customers, partners, and suppliers via the internet. In addition, the company`s products can improve the performance of an e-business by providing reporting and analysis against the ever- expanding amount of transaction and profile data that is collected each day throughout the world wide web.
About Dimension Data
Dimension Data is a leading global network and i-Commerce services Group. Listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), the company has the global reach and expertise to provide a comprehensive range of round-the-clock network services and interactive commerce solutions to global enterprises, telecommunications service providers and new economy companies.
Operating in over 30 countries on six continents, the Dimension Data Group is one of the largest independent network and i-Commerce services businesses in the world, offering customers truly integrated, global solutions. The Group is divided into the Network Services and Interactive Commerce (i-Commerce) divisions.
Dimension Data was founded in 1983 as a specialist supplier of networking technology and services, and has expanded rapidly through consistent organic growth, mergers, acquisitions and strategic joint ventures.