There is a paradigm shift in the market in terms of business intelligence (BI) software, with innovations challenging the conventions that have stunted growth in the BI landscape.
This is according to Robert Fleming, VP for international marketing at Qlik, a provider of business intelligence and visualisation software. Fleming delivered the keynote speech at the Visualise Your World conference in Midrand this week.
According to Fleming, in some respects, the way many organisation think of BI hasn't really changed, but there are inventions set to transform the market.
"When we talk about inventions, it's about trampling myths and conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is the body of ideas generally accepted or widely held to be true by experts or the public, but are unexamined," said Fleming.
He pointed out the field of BI has its own conventional wisdom and myths that hold organisations back. There is a need for companies to think about BI differently, and change these myths to enable progress, added Fleming.
There is a myth that's been around since the beginning of BI, which is that only decision-making managers need business intelligence tools, said Fleming. Traditionally, BI tools have been put in the hands of managers; but for organisations to have a holistic view of their data, employees must access information that will enable better decision-making.
Also speaking at the event, Jeannine Boot, marketing director Benelux, Eastern Europe, Russia, Middle East and Africa at Qlik, said self-service is a growing trend changing the BI landscape. Organisations are adopting collaborative tools to empower employees to get insights that will guide their decision-making.
Businesses should stop thinking good reporting is good BI, said Fleming. "There is a difference between knowing the name of something and knowing something," he added.
Fleming pointed out organisations get lots of reports which are not looked at, and there is little value in reports alone because it is very difficult to integrate the information. What businesses needs are BI tools that can help them make sense of the reports ? get a clearer picture to make good decisions.
Another myth Fleming said should be dispelled is that faster in-memory intelligence fixes adoption problems. He believes fast in-memory software is important, but speed alone is not enough.
BI software should not just be fast, but must be usable and easily adopted by the masses, stated Fleming, adding BI software providers should put BI in the hands of users who want to go the self-service route.
According to Fleming, organisations believe better access to data equals better decision-making, and what companies need is more visuals to help people get data. However, he believes having access to the data is not enough ? to gain insight, employees must use that data and interact with it.
For organisations to derive intelligence from their data and become successful, they need to be critical and challenge the norms, concluded Fleming.
Share