Companies that don`t have a strategic business intelligence (BI) initiative in place run the risk of being overtaken by those with the foresight to realise that competitiveness can only be increased by extrapolating maximum value from the information overload the business world is currently experiencing.
This is the view of George Smalberger, sales and marketing director of Ovations, provider of enterprise content management, business process management, enterprise application integration and business intelligence solutions.
"Following the Internet and e-commerce explosion of the last few years, companies have been inundated with a proliferation of systems and data influx, the likes of which has never been seen before," he declares. "Additionally, despite more and more input and output channels and an ever-widening customer base, companies are increasingly having to cut costs while maximising their IT investments in order to gain or maintain their competitive-edge.
"This trend shows no sign of abating, as customers and stakeholders increasingly expect to do business at their own convenience. Striving to meet their expectations is not easy, mainly because most corporate systems were implemented too long ago and are struggling to adapt to the demands of the new e-enabled economy."
While most companies accept that change is inevitable, Gaier says the ability to do so successfully and cost-effectively is what separates the leaders from the rest. Risk remains the all-important inhibiting factor.
"One of the key ingredients to meeting the challenges of the information age is obtaining an accurate picture of the current situation within the business," he explains. "Only by gaining a deep insight into current business processes and by being able to measure their efficiency can a stable foothold be gained for the leap forward.
"Data that resides everywhere in many disparate forms and lacks context is meaningless. Additionally, irrelevant data consumes valuable resources, while data hidden within the dark confines of antiquated systems does not serve any business purpose. The data must be transformed into useful information, on which humans rely to make informed decisions. Without the correct tools to do so, however, the organisation`s efforts will be futile."
"The transformation begins with the appointment of an expert BI solution provider, whose highly skilled consultants can assist the business with its strategy information and place it on the right path forward," Gaier continues. "BI enables decision-makers to manage by exception, stay informed with alerts, and drill into data to examine the root cause of business conditions. Using BI solutions comprising enterprise software designed to track, understand and manage information, companies can implement better business processes, resulting in improved process efficiency, employee productivity, service delivery and customer satisfaction.
"By increasing productivity, optimising business processes, and improving implementation turnaround, the organisation not only looks and operates differently, but customers have an entirely different perception of the enterprise. Thus the business experience is transformed so everyone feels the difference," Gaier concludes.
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Ovations is a leading provider of enterprise content management, business process management, enterprise application integration and business intelligence solutions. The company continues to break new ground using the latest available technology, products and skills.
Ovations has a proven track record in successful implementation and therefore adds real economic value to its enterprise customers.
Ovations specialises in business solutions and makes use of software technology developed by the world`s leading manufacturers including Business Objects, OvaFlo and FileNet.
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