Business intelligence (BI) is essential for business growth and competitive advantage, yet reaping benefits from BI requires more than implementing the technology that enables it. In fact, deploying the technology is the easiest part of any BI initiative, according to many analysts. Getting the personnel and processes portions right are much more challenging. As such, organizations must addresses personnel and processes as key facets of their BI strategy if they want to be successful. Moreover, BI strategies should be broken down even further to address ownership and continual improvement as well.
Having access to the right management information alone isn’t enough – you also need to use the right BI tools. In the information age, soloprenuers are required to organise, capture data and information from internal and external sources. A top-level BI person will typically be responsible for setting the tone on information gathering in a corperate environment. This information will then be disseminated to parties responsible for using it to benefit the organisation. In most organizations, tasks and activities relate to individual projects. This helps provide a focused approach when working in these environments. The BI person will often work with the company’s computer system and software in order to maximize information gathered by the company. This system is a primary tool for collecting data, creating performance metrics, presenting information for short- and long-term projects and other tasks under that intelligence person.
Word of advice: Organizations that place BI in the hands of business users have greater success rates than those who confine BI within IT. In a corpaerate environment, This may mean embedding BI within lines of business or having BI operations report to the chief digital officer or chief customer officer. Although the complexities of early BI technologies put IT in charge of many BI programs, today’s tools are more intuitive, allowing solopreneurs to go straight into the hands of business users who can run the queries that matter to them. Similarly, the speed at which users need access to data and insights derived from BI has increased dramatically in recent years. Today’s business users often need actionable information in real time and cannot wait for IT to generate reports. As such, IT ownership can be an impediment, rather than enabler, of BI success.
Although the business should own BI initiatives, IT must remain an active partner in monitoring and evaluating use of BI systems. Rather than putting up roadblocks, monitor what they’re doing, what data sources they’re accessing, what tools they are using and how they are using them. Solopreneurs running smaller organisations do not often have the resources or personnel for BI management. However, these solopreneurs can hire an external management consultant who can provide these services. Even businesses who do not have personnel with a background in intelligence management can also hire an outside consultant. These consultants can also train the company’s personnel on how to gather and disseminate information. Having business intelligence and information gathering assures the organisation that little to no important facts or data go unnoticed. This can result in a significant change to the organizational structure or corporate culture.
