Since
its inception, the idea behind Business Intelligence (BI) was to
provide quick access to quality data so that business executives
could take action to minimize the errors or capture an opportunity.
However in reality, the data was although properly rendered but right
context remained missing. This brought up the ground reality that to
capture right information, the mechanism has to be designed
correctly.
When
we talk of BI we should differentiate it by two aspects :
- The first is the business aspect of BI — the need to get the most value out of information. This need hasn’t really changed in over years but increasing complexity has made it harder to deliver.
- The second is the IT aspect of BI — what technology is precisely able to cater the business needs.
Your
should be aware of the following :-
- Make sure your data is scrubbed and current, or the analytics will always deliver irrelevant intelligence.
- Data to be converted into information, keeping in view, the presentation of that information. It should be configured to render a comprehensive view of the situation at a glance.
- Need identification and your idea behind getting those information must be clear to you.
In
old days it was called Decision support system which, with time
matured and became Business Intelligence & Business Analytics. It
has gone further to the level where it has not just remained
technology driven but became business oriented and actionable.
I
still remember when I was in a manufacturing ERP company and I was
explained by the Managing director of that company about the “PADTA
system”, used in old days, which was nothing but a business at a
glance report at the end of the day. Just a small slip explaining the
cost, profit and end result of the business for an organization. I
realized that the need of BI and its uses were already in place but
it just got matured and became technology driven.
At
the end of the day, nobody cares what this stuff is called. If you’re
a business owner then what matters is to work out the best way to
gather the information opportunity in your organization, and putting
in place appropriate technology to meet that business need on which
you will be able to take decisions.
