Business Intelligence Strategies for the CIOThis article originally appeared on the BeyeNETWORK
Traditional business intelligence solutions have focused on the strategic needs of the executive and the analytical needs of the power user. Operational business intelligence is a focused capability to enable a culture of accountability,
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Hannah Smalltree, Editorial Director
providing all employees with access to
information, and the opportunity to make informed decisions. A successful implementation
organizes strategic, analytical and operational initiatives for corporate objectives. As a
result, operational business
intelligencehas the potential to improve efficiencies, reduce the time to identify improvement
opportunities and provide enough insight to take action.
It’s all about “time to discovery.”
Operational business intelligence implementations facilitate proactive analysis for the general audience. It is one thing for the CFO to look back at quarter-over-quarter reports to realize that profits are down, because of lost revenue from a single business unit. For line managers and employees within that business unit, access to the same information during their daily workflow can provide insights that would prevent an issue before it has an enterprise impact. Through instantaneous access to accurate information in analytical formats, employees at all levels can improve decision-making, customer satisfaction and bottom-line results.
Imagine that you’re running errands on a typical Sunday afternoon. While racing in and out of stores, you remember that you need milk for your cereal tomorrow. You quickly bolt into a grocery store to buy what you need. As you’re checking out, the cashier identifies (from a quick glance at your purchase history) that your favorite wine is on sale and offers to get you a bottle. Through instantaneous access to real-time information, the cashier was able to assess your purchase history, cross-reference the weekly promotions and make the perfect suggestion. You appreciate this and go home to enjoy a glass of wine. As a result, the store has higher sales, better customer satisfaction and stronger buyer loyalty.
So, how can this become possible? Nearly every grocery chain has a customer loyalty card. Because of this, they can track your purchase history. Mining this information for trends can be performed without labor intensive analysis. Providing this information to the right person (i.e. the cashier) at the right time (i.e. when you’re in the store) is the key.
Now that we know our objective, there are a few issues to consider. These issues include:
- Data Integration: Define the relationships and processes for integrating the disparate data sources.
- Security: Identify the information security requirements.
- Scalability: Plan a scalable deployment to meet both current and future demands.
- Work Flow: Integrate an intuitive interface into the user’s work processes.
Like most initiatives, knowing what must be done and maintaining a clear objective is crucial for success. There are many nuances to consider between integration, security, scalability and work flow. While sometimes challenging and complex to implement, investing in operational business intelligence can facilitate a cultural change, providing a means for accountability throughout the organization. Employees at all levels will have the necessary information, presented in a meaningful way to assess a situation and make informed decisions.
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