Driving enterprise-wide intelligence allows employees to access timely, accurate and trusted information, which can then be used both to improve decision-making and identify potential growth areas.
So says David McWilliam, manager of business intelligence (BI) and performance management (PM), at IBM SA. He points out that access to the right information at the right time also increases response time, allowing organisations to respond far quicker to change. “Together, these benefits add up to a powerful competitive advantage.”
According to an IBM Cognos ROI Evaluation Report from Nucleus Research, released earlier this year, BI and PM can increase productivity by up to 20%, if successfully implemented.
However, further research conducted by Computerworld indicates that many organisations find successful implementation to be challenging, McWilliam says. “As a result, they fail to achieve the full benefits the technology offers, or to use the information these tools provide to its full potential.”
According to McWilliam, some of the key challenges common to enterprises all over the world include a lack of cohesive strategy and organisation, ad hoc and disparate solutions that do not integrate, and lack of a strong business case to support BI and PM. “Another thing is culture that does not embrace such technology.”
Mapping the process
This vital stage will help to define the top business objectives of the organisation, the technological capability required, what information is needed where and by whom, and what requirements are necessary to support business and technology strategy in order for the information to be delivered, accurate and trusted, he adds.
“Next, it is necessary to build a business case to demonstrate objectives, outline business efficiencies and quantify potential return on investment,” he advises. This step is also vital to highlight core IT efficiencies such as agility, performance and scalability, McWilliam points out.
According to him, a business case helps to quantify and qualify the business value of a current deployment, as well as highlight existing technology that can be harnessed for any new initiative, and what new technology may be needed.
Once these issues have been dealt with, a supportive culture must be developed, and organisational politics navigated. By ensuring executive buy-in, informing and educating stakeholders, and adopting a change management plan to help make the transition, a successful BI and PM implementation can be guaranteed, McWilliam says.
“Internal organisation is the next important phase for success,” he advises. The creation of a BI competency centre, a PM competency centre, an information management competency centre, or a centre of excellence can assist with the creation of standardised processes.
Finally, a platform to deliver enterprise-wide BI and PM needs to be provided so information can be accessed in a timely manner by those who need it for decision-making, he says.
“The platform should deliver accurate information to ensure that this data can be trusted to be consistent and complete, and should offer the right capability to the right users while at the same time be scalable for future growth.”
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