Quest Q and A Winter 2009 : Page 23
GivinG Business intelliGence the Business By Rick Beers, Quest Contributor Business intelligence is one of Quest’s recent hot topics, and it has already received sufficient attention to extend the focus into January, culminating in the delivery of a research whitepaper on the topic. activities thus far have included a workshop held at circuit (a Quest-hosted, novemBer regional conference in washington, d.c.) and the first round of the online Business intelligence shootout conducted earlier this month. Bi is a hot topic right now, and for good reason. But something doesn’t line up… 2009 marked the fourth consecutive year in which Business intelligence was the top investment priority in gartner’s annual survey of 1,500 cios worldwide. and yet, as accenture recently observed from recent research, 40 percent of major corporate decisions are based upon gut feel. furthermore, a recent study by iBm revealed that two thirds of managers still “…rely upon error prone manual processes when it comes to dealing with data.” and research from gartner has found that most companies still fail to link Bi to the “last mile” of business decision making, which results in Bi investment going to waste. what’s going on? one cannot question the degree of innovation under way; the software industry is advancing Bi capabilities beyond the rudimentary data warehouses that began the explosion in Bi capabilities fifteen years ago. it’s been truly remarkable. and yet, Business user adoption rates, a key Bi metric, have been flat, or even declining. for all of our success in advancing Bi capabilities, their impact on business decision making continues to disappoint. in truth, this is not unusual, nor is it a serious concern; it is rather a call to action. our experience repeatedly shows that the pace of technology adoption normally lags the pace of innovation. to paraphrase a centuries-old observation: Our capability to create machines exceeds our ability to use them wisely. Business Process Transformative BI Technology Application this article’s underlying theme is that Bi’s maturity will depend on our ability to put it in the context of the business; that Bi will be universally viewed as successful once information is provided seamlessly to users in form, context and frequency. Bi’s focus must extend beyond its underlying technologies and applications into the way in which they are used. to do so it needs a third element: the Business perspective. and we’ve been here before. the early days of erp (from 1990-2005), now being referenced as “erp i,” focused primarily on the capabilities themselves (underlying technologies, modules and applications), much to the dismay of many of us who wanted to see more of a business process focus. But in retrospect, the “heavy lifting” had to occur first. Basic foundations had to be built before attributes like configurability and agility could be realized. only recently has focus shifted to the architecting of erp around business processes and even the Business model itself. ERP I had to precede ERP II. so what is the state of the evolution of Business intelligence systems today, from the perspective of the users? what is the voice of the customer? (originally a six sigma reference, voc is now being used increasingly in an i.t. context.) from a Business user perspective, how has Bi evolved and where is it heading? and what value can user groups play in enhancing the business perspective of Bi? 23
Giving Business Intelligence The Business
Rick Beers
Business Intelligence is one of Quest’s recent hot topics, and it has already received sufficient attention to extend the focus into January, culminating in the delivery of a research whitepaper on the topic. Activities thus far have included a workshop held at Circuit (a Quest-hosted, November regional conference in Washington, D.C.) and the first round of the online Business Intelligence Shootout conducted earlier this month. BI is a hot topic right now, and for good reason. But something doesn’t line up…
2009 marked the fourth consecutive year in which Business Intelligence was the top investment priority in Gartner’s annual survey of 1,500 CIOs worldwide. And yet, as Accenture recently observed from recent research, 40 percent of major corporate decisions are based upon gut feel. Furthermore, a recent study by IBM revealed that two thirds of managers still “…rely upon error prone manual processes when it comes to dealing with data.” And research from Gartner has found that most companies still fail to link BI to the “last mile” of business decision making, which results in BI investment going to waste. What’s going on? One cannot question the degree of innovation under way; the software industry is advancing BI capabilities beyond the rudimentary Data Warehouses that began the explosion in BI capabilities fifteen years ago. It’s been truly remarkable. And yet, Business User Adoption Rates, a key BI metric, have been flat, or even declining. For all of our success in advancing BI capabilities, their impact on business decision making continues to disappoint.
In truth, this is not unusual, nor is it a serious concern; it is rather a call to action. Our experience repeatedly shows that the pace of technology adoption normally lags the pace of innovation. To paraphrase a centuries-old observation: Our capability to create machines exceeds our ability to use them wisely.
This article’s underlying theme is that BI’s maturity will depend on our ability to put it in the context of the business; that BI will be universally viewed as successful once information is provided seamlessly to users in form, context and frequency. BI’s focus must extend beyond its underlying technologies and applications into the way in which they are used. To do so it needs a third element: the Business perspective.
And we’ve been here before. The early days of ERP (from 1990-2005), now being referenced as “ERP I,” focused primarily on the capabilities themselves (underlying technologies, modules and applications), much to the dismay of many of us who wanted to see more of a business process focus. But in retrospect, the “heavy lifting” had to occur first. Basic foundations had to be built before attributes like configurability and agility could be realized. Only recently has focus shifted to the architecting of ERP around business processes and even the Business Model itself. ERP I had to precede ERP II.
So what is the state of the evolution of Business Intelligence systems today, from the perspective of the users? What is the Voice of the Customer? (Originally a Six Sigma reference, VOC is now being used increasingly in an I.T. context.) From a Business User perspective, how has BI evolved and where is it heading? And what value can User Groups play in enhancing the business perspective of BI?
Finally, what role can User Groups play in enhancing the business perspective of BI? Mid-way through Quest’s recent focus on BI, discussion topics are emerging around the need for focus on the use of BI capabilities in addition to the traditional focus on the capabilities themselves. How can Quest meet this challenge in service to its community?
The Voice of the Customer
I recently had an opportunity to discuss this stream of consciousness while at Circuit, the regional event I mentioned before, with Robert Robinson, the President of the Quest-affiliated Business Intelligence Special Interest Group.
RB: OK Robert, from what you’re hearing, is there a difference in perception of BI between I.T. and Business Users?
Robert: There is a definite difference in how these two sides see the world, and of course how they see BI. The difference between the two comes from their training, career paths and points of view, and has a tangible effect on how each sees (and values) the other. While they still have differing points of view, there is a real sense of cooperation developing. This has come from an appreciation that has developed between these two groups, as well as the rise of hybrid “Business-
I. T.” staff who have working knowledge of both disciplines and the trust of both groups. Still, this appreciation does not mean that both groups are (or ever will be) of a like mind. The Gartner study exposed what most already knew; there is a difference in the priorities of I.T. and functional staff (and water is wet, the sky is blue…).
RB: So how about the I.T. view?
Robert: Talking with seasoned I.T. staff gives a sense that they feel they are noticed by the general community on only two occasions: when things go really good, or when things go really bad. They see the concept of BI as something in the “really good” category, but they realize that it can go “really bad” if:
• The BI tool chosen is the wrong one for the job
• Expectations of what the tools will deliver are overstated (or they under deliver)
• Data quality is not up to the standard of the tool
• Users do not find the new tools easy to use, or do not allow access to data that they need (it is all about them, after all)
• The business process does not yield the data necessary to allow the BI tool to deliver the promised data
RB: And how about the Business User view?
Robert: The functional community comes to the BI table usually after hearing about the latest tool, seeing a demo at a user conference or finding out about the new whiz bang implement from someone at another company. Oftentimes, end users do not have an appreciation for the work that is necessary to connect a front end tool to their back end ERP system, or just what it takes to build and maintain a data warehouse. This is not to denigrate the end user; it is not in their job description to have that knowledge. This staff does know what they have put into the system, and would like to find ways to get the data from the “big box” to their “little box.”
RB: Thinking about the evolution of BI capabilities, do you see continued progress?
Robert: The set of BI tools and technologies that are emerging are a revelation; I joke (only halfheartedly) that if I had the one front-end tool my company uses now way back when, I would have stayed on the accounting side. When I discuss the capabilities of BI tools with “power users” on the functional side, I hear excitement as they describe all of the things they can do, all of the different ways that data can be sliced, diced, parboiled and pan fried, and how it can be Done, comparatively, in a fraction of the time they spend delivering information that is nowhere near as accurate or deep.
There is a little apprehension (that I mentioned earlier), but by and large these power users see more opportunity than challenge in these tools, and are willing to work to assuage the fears and get the executive buy-in necessary to make a go of implementing BI.
RB: Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest challenge facing the BI industry?
Robert: The biggest challenge facing BI is, honestly, defining the beast itself. I always use the “elephant” analogy when describing BI, because the concept itself can be overwhelming. More to the point, trying to define BI can be like stationing several blindfolded people at different points around the elephant, and asking them to describe it. Everyone has their own frame of reference, so they often define BI in the terms that have most meaning to them individually, and maybe not always to the benefit of their company.
Additionally, the discussions about BI from these differing frames of reference can introduce a level of “noise” (unsubstantiated truth) about BI. For example, someone sees “this company is doing X, Y, and Z with BI, so I should be able to install it and produce exactly the same results in my company.” The noise can lead to misconceptions. If companies look to an array of flashy dashboards and pie charts as the sole definition of Business Intelligence, they are likely to be disappointed. If they do not realize that Business Intelligence is a discipline as well as an amalgam of technology, they will build the most beautiful front end in the world, but it will be worthless, because what lies underneath the glossy front end is old, incomplete or even fully incorrect data. If they do not “right size” expectations based on budget and staff infrastructure, they may buy more of a BI solution than they need, or can support.
RB: And finally, the biggest opportunity?
The biggest opportunity is the transformative effect that timely, accurate, integrated data can have on an enterprise.
Timely data can make companies more agile, more responsive to business trends, both positive and negative.
Accurate data is expected, but the lack of accurate data can make people doubt their information, adding unnecessary redundancies, slowing the distribution of the data, making the company less responsive (or “proactionary”). The integration of data breaks down silos, and tears down paper kingdoms. There is no longer “Accounting’s data” or “Sales Department’s data”; there is just one source of the truth, and the efforts of all departments are to build that precious storehouse of data.
BI Evolution: The Business View
This interview with Robert pushed me further towards the business view of BI. Certainly the Tools, the technologies and applications that make up the BI Platform are vitally important, and continued focus on them within the User Group community will continue to yield benefits for customers. But the Business Perspective is largely untapped as a focus area; it holds huge potential. To illustrate, let’s take a different look at BI evolution from a business use viewpoint.
As stated earlier, we’ve traditionally viewed BI from a Tools perspective; BI has grown exponentially in importance from the simple Data Warehousing days 15 years ago to the sophisticated BI Platforms in use today. And as focus begins to shift from OLAP to true in-memory operational data (OLTP ) embedded in second-generational, transactional Platforms such as Fusion and WebSphere, toolsets will evolve again. We could even wonder if our very definition of ‘Data Warehousing’ is about to change. But that’s a different discussion…
So, how has all that impacted decision making itself? How has the innovation in Tools translated into innovation in their use? This question is explored in the illustration below, which proposes that BI Evolution from a Business Perspective has progressed through three levels:
• Level 1: Reactive
• Level 2: Predictive
• Level 3: Intuitive
Capabilities
• Reports
• Queries
• Scorecards
Business Value
• Performance Management
• Operational Reporting
Capabilities
Information that is presented when it is needed and in the context of the user or process
• Contextual Information
• Embedded Information
Business Value
• Business Process Guidance
• Seamless Decision Making
Capabilities
• Analytics
• Alerts
• Dashboards
Business Value
• Process Management
• Diagnosis & Analytics
It’s important to note that this evolution does not imply the singular ideal is the ‘Intuitive’ level. Each level is needed; the degree to which depends upon the organization. There are three key considerations in determining the optimal level:
• Each level exists for a different reason and has different business value
• Innovation will continue for each level
• Capabilities are only just emerging at the Intuitive level now
The point of all this is that there are choices. It is a business decision of where to invest, and I.T. has the responsibility of presenting the choices in business terms, and the illustration above does just that.
So what’s next?
So far, this article has examined the progress of Business Intelligence systems, some user viewpoints and presented a framework for viewing BI from a business perspective. There’s a lot to like about the future of BI. Innovation is continuing and probably accelerating. But translating that innovation into true business value will require us to increasingly focus on the business perspective. There is universal agreement that in most organizations, BI still feels too much like an I.T. Project.
For it to go to the next level, where decision making is fact-based and not dependent upon gut feel, where organizational bias no longer has impact (Level 4: Transformative?), business needs to be truly engaged. That must be our goal, and Quest is devoting a significant amount of energy to education in this regard. More activity is planned through the end of January, including the whitepaper focused on this very topic.
There’ll be one heck of a story to tell at COLABORATE 10.
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