Who Needs Bi

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easure Measure GroupWhoNeeds BI?

Business and IT Management, in companies o all shapesand sizes, are acing this question. Is Business Intelligence(BI) something we need to take on board? Is it critical, or

can we get by without it?

Are we too small to play in this league? Are we too large to even need BI?

What are we really asking here?

It is a complex question and one which leads in to

several other questions. Making the determina-

tion as to whether or not your company is going tobenet rom BI is achieved by examining several

actors surrounding your business environment,

nature o business, types and volumes o data you

retain, uture growth and improve-

ment plans, and more.

A key actor is your corporate

strategy or handling a wide variety o

business drivers such as, competitive

positioning, marketing, public rela-

tions, expansion dynamics, together

with a myriad o questions regarding

your companys eorts to improve its

overall protability and success.

To what stage has your organization evolved?

Is it a relative newcomer, well established or even

a long-standing household name?

What is your organizations business process

maturity and what is its IT maturity? A oundation

or BI is a supply o high-quality data, regardless o

the extent o historical data available (BI is about

pressing orward not just delving into the past) .An assortment o actors are to be examined

to arrive at the answer to our question, all o which

will reveal pointers to the viability and necessity o

BI or you and your company. These

pointers may act as guidelines o

your decision to go with BI now, set

a start date in the uture or just deer

the whole enterprise to a later time.

More contributing actors you

are almost certain to be wanting to

explore, revolve around the burning

issue o ROI. You may have heard o

cases where, larger, budget-rich cor

porations have invested huge sums in Data Ware

housing projects, to see them zzle out to nothing

or all well short o expectations. Even i it becomes

a critical initiative or your organization, the ven

ture into BI should be very careully considered. It

BI is aboutpressing

forward notjust delvinginto the past

The ollowing areas will be explored in more detail in order to answer the burning

question, Who Needs BI?

Size and evolution o organization.

Availability o appropriate and usable data.Competitive challenges.

Opportunities to improve status and protability.

Business and IT readiness to adopt.

Availability o technology and skilled resources.

The impact o a uture without BI.


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is almost paramount that your eorts should start

out very ocused, with minimal outlay, to provethat it works or your people and that you have the

people to make it work.

Sometimes the all at once approach is justiable

and necessary. One very large banking client de-

pended on its BI initiative to achieve compliance

with the Basel II Accord. However, there are many

reasons why most enterprises will make the great-

est long-term gain rom a gradual implementation

o BI, and this is especially true or any organiza-

tion that has yet to understand BIs demands, com-

plexities and benets.

We are about to explore the areas that will

help you make the right decision or your company.Firstly, however, we need to briey state what is

meant by the term Business Intelligence.

A Brie Description o BI

With the advent o low-cost storage hardware and

the automation o data capture, we are now at a

point where the volumes o data being held across

organizations is growing exponentially. We hear o

the data explosion that has arrived unannounced

and unexpectedly on our doorstep. Most corpo-

rate (and government) data repositories now con-

tain ar more recorded data than can be looked at

or used by the people in those groups.

This is where BI steps in. Pouring over vast

amounts o business records, even when summa-

rized, may not always be an economic and ruitul

exercise. Remembering that most o this data is justtransactional recordor business entitydata (such as

Customer, Vendor, Employee, etc.). Our conven-

tional means o looking at data typically only a

produce statistical view. Further, we have to put

in place a programmed report or each o these

(usually xed) views. Obtaining more and dierentreports become the thorny issue o an IT requesto

some sort, that creates back-log, wait times and an

uncomortable demand on IT resources.

BI has grown into a technology set that over-

comes the fxed nature o conventional reporting.

BI takes the elementary data, repackages it into

ormats that allow dynamic selection o content

(or analyses) and provide the means whereby reaand actionable inorma

tion can be extracted

rom the masses o

stored data. BI is gener

ated such that questions

about your business

that have not yet even

been asked or imagined

can be answered im

mediately. Insights into

your operation become

available, that them

selves spawn the next set o questions and thenthe next.

True intelligence in the BI denition is the ca

pability to get much more than statistics, in count

less dierent ways and to have the answers ready

beore the question is asked. A orward-looking or

ganization wants to be sel-examining and to ac

cess critical perormance, predictive and compara

tive insights that can enable optimal and inormed

decision making. It can turn to BI as the vehicle to

next generation computing.

Explore Your Situation

Many actors will contribute to the conclusion as

to whether an organization should or should not

consider an initiative to implement BI. Let us now

explore the areas o strongest inuence.

The ollowing set o comparisons illustrate the

pros and cons o a BI initiative or a small organ

zation. This chart, and those that ollow with the

same ormat, use a row or each aspect o the bus

ness or organization, with the let columns (red)

showing the end o the scale least likely to avor B

and the right columns (green) showing the mosavorable. Think o the red and green as being the

lower and upper end o a scale. Much o the time

the organization under scrutiny will lie somewhere

along the scale between the two extremes.

Prove that itworks for your

people and thatyou have the

people to makeit work


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Organization Size and Evolution

The panels state eachextreme o a view ormeasure o a givenscenario that is rele-vant to the discussion.

Try to gauge your or-ganization along eacho these scales.

It would not be correct to rule out those organi-

zations that are small or in their inancy. In act a

edgling company is in a good position to lay the

oundations or BI, beore the opportunity to re-

tain valuable analytical data passes by.

I it is possible to start capturing useul BI

source data right rom the outset, there will be

benets that long established corporations do not

enjoy. Companies with a long history oten meet

with hurdles to their BI implementations in the

orm omissing data or disjoint data, due to system

conversions with incomplete data migration or

substantial data architecture changes.The type o challenge aced by small or young

organizations range rom lack o unding, time and

resources to other pressing priorities that are more

closely involved with survival as a new player in an

established market.

The challenge o survival during those rs

years o entering into an existing marketplace are

oten sufcient distraction or an overworked man

agement so that sophisticated analysis o business

data hardly seems to make it onto the radar screen

However, the neglect o data retention and deve

opment o analytic capabilities must not become

a habit that endures beyond ormation and into

the mature years o operation. As start-up woes

melt into distant memory and it becomes more

imperative to engage and deeat competition, intelligence rom accumulated data denitely starts

to play a critical role.

Not ready tound suitabletechnology

Already have, or canprocure appropriatesotware

Organization not yetable to utilize BI Businessindividuals

ready to

leverage BI

capabilities

Currentinitiatives

would benetrom advanced,

dynamicanalysis o data

Currentimprovementgoals are notrelated to datausage

Systems wellestablished

Computerapplications notyet stable

Overwhelmed with challengesrelating to startup.

Can accommodate BIinitiative schedule

BI notexpected tocontribute tocurrent goals

BI seenas clearadvantageto gainingoothold


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Availability o Appropriate and Usable Data

This investigation will determine i the organiza-

tion owns data that is both the right type or BI and

in the right condition or BI. The very act that data

is inormation means that it is unlikely that there

could be no useul analytical content embodied

in the data generated within an organization. Pro-

vided that there is relatively high volume, consis-

tent and accessible data, there is almost certainly

an opportunity or the introduction o BI.

The types o data that are likely to be useul

or analysis will vary by organization but generally

includes transactions (sales purchases, etc.), busi-

ness events (marketing programs, services used orprovided, targets, thresholds or limits reached or

exceeded, and many more.

Such data is usually ound in the companys

relational databases and is recorded as a mix o

gures (nancial amounts, quantities, time per

ods, scores, estimates and various other values)

and descriptive elements (codes, classiers, text

descriptions, etc.). These two groups o attributes

(quantitative and classiying) are the types o data

central to the core unctions o BI where they are

reerred to as acts (or measures) and dimensions

respectively.

The availability o well-populated tables o

clean data is what enables a BI initiative.

The more consistent the data is, the better the

results. I application upgrades and replacementshave been requent and/or radical, there may be

discontinuity in the historic data, oten a challenge

to the BI designer.

No data isduplicated,or isconsistentwhereduplicationdoes exist

The same datais represented(duplicated) inmany dierent

systems andhas little

consistency

Data existsbut contentis o verylow quality(poorlyvalidated)

Data hasbeen

checked orvalidity andconsistency

Currentapplicationsdo not produceor retain datasuitable or use

in analysis

Good analytical data is producedand retained (see sidebar)

v

Applicationshave a high level

o mandatorypopulated data

Many dataelements have notbeen populated


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Competitive Challenges

Some organizations are not placed in a competi-

tive marketplace or operate under strict regulation.

I an operation need not, or can not

seek to improve its scal perormance

or quality o service in any way, it will

have less justication or the introduc-

tion o BI.

One international client enjoyed an

almost unilateral monopoly and, al-

though investing enormously in

world-class marketing, concerned it-

sel largely with internal issues in the

absence o a need to compete externally. For themajority o organizations, competing or market

share and protability are the core business drivers.

Every manager knows that there is a thin line be

tween protable growth and many less desirable

outcomes. Depending on the bus

ness, there can be many parameters

requiring careul adjustment in orde

to achieve optimum perormance.

Business analytics can help make

those choices more prudently and

generate eedback to aid in assessing

their eectiveness. This is the reason

dtre o Business Intelligence. The

direction a company takes is based

on the decisions o its leadership. Managementmakes those decisions based on available inorma

tion. BI makes or better, more timely inormation.

CompetitiveChallenge... the

Raison detreof BusinessIntelligence

The entity isa member osome largergroup thatmanages allaspects ocompetitivematters

Dealing withcompetition

is a criticalunction

requiringall possible

assistance

Competition is erceand those equipped

with the best tools aremore likely to survive

Theorganization

is in a non-competitive

situation with

no incentivesto improve

Innovationis able toourishwithbenets orthose whopursue it

Theenvironment

is highlyregulated

and withoutlatitude or

improvement

A monopoly existsthat obviatesthe need orcompetition

Free marketorces aboundand competition

is rieDestiny is

controlled locallywith autonomy

rom any higherauthority

The organizationtakes alldirectives roma higher levelo ownership orcontrol


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Opportunities to Improve Status and Proftability

As with any demanding and signicant venture, BI

demands attention and consumes resource. It is

not going to be a viable exercise i there is neither

the need or capability in the organization to seek

some kind o improvement.

BI does not come under the heading o non-

discretionary, so an ulterior motive must exist or

its adoption. Many large and successul corpora-

tions will embark upon a BI initiative as much with

their public image in mind as the need to do bet-

ter in their eld. This is all part o the competitive

mind-set and is justiable in o itsel.

There are many kinds o organizations: notall are prot motivated and not all are concerned

with competitive achievement.

Business Intelligence is about leveraging a

knowledge, extracted rom oceans o data, that

would be otherwise undetected. Unless there is

something to be gained rom the exercise, it would

be a pointless waste o resources.

Organizations whose charter is not concerned

with prot, perormance or public image have less

incentive to pursue BI. However, those engaged in

trade or service delivery or those having set stan

dards to attain can benet rom employing the

tools o BI to better enable astute decision making

and optimized operational parameters.

Even statutory and regulatory compliance arepotential beneciaries o a BI initiative.

The organizationis not under

scrutiny romthe outside

world (Public,Investors, Media

or Regulators)

Public imageis importantrequiring thatthe organizationis seen to beprogressive andquality-conscious

Serious impact willbe elt rom alling

behind in the useo eective tools

Efciencyimprovementsare not relevant

or possible

Prot must besustained in order tocontinue in operation

The organizationis not bound toor in existence togenerate prot

Due toregulationor otherconstraint, nolatitude orimprovementexists

Theorganizationhas reedom

and selgovernanceto shape its

own destiny


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Business and IT Readiness to Adopt

Development o BI solutions ollows a well dened

path and can be successul i given the right tools

and resources. However, BI is somewhat o a para-

digm shit rom conventional applications and can

not be achieved simply by re-assigning designers

and developers with conventional systems expe-

rience. This is certainly the highest risk actor and

most requent cause o ailure in the case o BI ini-

tiatives. Our experiences bear out this act. More

than 50% o clients have called or support ater an

internal attempt has run aground.

This should be no surprise as the challenges

can be difcult and the techniques are obscureto the uninitiated. BI is dierent, just as object

oriented techniques were dierent and the inner

workings will not be immediately obvious even to

a seasoned development team and leadership.

A key component o BI is the Dimensiona

Model (as opposed to the amiliar Relationa

Model). The Data Warehouse is the repository o

the dimensionally modeled data and this is why

a transormation process is required beore data

can be loaded into it.

Once data have been correctly transormed

and then urther processed or use in Analytic tools

it is necessary or the Business users to be initiated

into the use o tools that acilitate the comprehen

sive exploration o the BI capability.

Willing andcapable managersand individualcontributorsare available toparticipate in a BIinitiative

The businesscommunity

has noresourcecapacity

available tointroduce BI

Businessmanagers or

individualcontributors

have not beeninormed o

the benets orexistence o BI

Businessmembershaveknowledgeor even priorexperience

o BI usageand benets

People areeager andwaiting orBI acilitiesknowing theywill bringcertain benet

The businesscan not be

convinced othe benets o

data analysisand other BI

eatures

IT is inormed,prepared andenergized to launchthe BI initiative

IT is still in needo enlightenmentas to the processand technologiesto be embraced

Leadership iscommitted to

sponsor, und anddrive BI success

IT is over-stretchedin terms o

resource andbudget or ully

committed toother priorities


8/10



Availability o Technology and Skilled Resources

The area we are about to discuss is that in which

most mistakes are witnessed. In spite o the num-

ber o hurdles to be overcome in a BI initiative, the

pitall that seems to trap most IT managements is

the issue oappropriate resources.

Business applications o all shapes and sizes

have been developed successully by practitioners

with conventional development experience. This

is not going to work with Data Warehousing and

Dimensional Analysis. Inexperienced developers,

even with one or two weeks o dedicated special-

ist training, have no way to handle the very dier-

ent challenge o BI.Multiple client experiences have shown this

to be true. Most o the situations we have en-

countered exhibited the remnants o a ailed and

abandoned attempt. Even the largest o BI projects

staed with excellent people, have oundered due

to the lack o experience. This is one type o proj

ect that is dierent rom the conventional business

application.

Beore engaging a consultancy to deliver you

BI, enquire extensively and conclusively into the

experience o the sta members being allocated

to your project. I the vendor does not have expe

rienced personnel to dedicate to your BI initiative

your success may be jeopardized. Measure Groups

mission is to help you succeed with BI. Study the

available material and make use o the tools andtemplates on oer. You will not only save time and

budget but will have a much greater likelihood o

achieving success, guaranteed.

Well brieedmanagementunderstand that BItechnologies aretoo complex orinexperienced stato implement

Managers expectthat sending

developers onBI training issufcient to

prepare them or asuccessul project

Modern server technologies,database system, net-workeddesktop computers are allstandard

The company isnot equipped with

suitable computingacilities and

sotware tools toimplement BI

There is aperception that BI

is an all-or-nothingundertaking

requiring a massiveproject team or

huge externalspending

Inormed managersare aware success ismore likely rom asmall venture intoBI with subsequenteorts based onvaluable learningexperiences

Managementbases BI invest-ment decisionssolely on inor-

mation rom ven-dor salesmen

Managementresearched BIextensively beoremaking largebudget decisions

Managementcommissioned an

analysis o data archi-

tecture and prelimi-

nary data proling

beore deciding on a

ull BI development

Managementis unaware oactors thatinuence thesuccess o BIand expecttechnical teamsto overcomeany obstacles

IT is poisedto launch aBI initiativeand deploydevelopers

without prior

BI experience

Practitionerswithactual BIexperienceare in

house orobtainable


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The Impact o a Future Without Business Intelligence

A nal way to determine Who Needs BI? is to en-

visage the organization going orward without it,

perhaps in an environment where the competition

has BI.

Even the largest and most successul enter-

prises still have their problems and challenges. In

act the larger the company, oten, the larger the

problem. BI is a tool to help overcome some o to-

days business problems and also a acility to help

manage into the uture. It thereore makes sense

to think that a uture without BI will be less ef-

cient than one with it.

Beyond efciency, there is the over-archingissue o competitiveness. No entity in a competi-

tive arena wants to be lacking a benet or advan-

tage that the opposition has. In the nal analysis,

the possession o BI capabilities will likely be man

dated purely in order to avoid being overtaken by

the competition.

It is possible to think o BI as another tool in

the corporate arsenal, just like advertising, sales

discounts or promotions. Or compare it with mar

ket research and quality assurance. There was a

time when each o these business components did

not exist but it is hard to imagine surviving with

out them anymore. BI is an advancement over the

standard IT applications o today but tomorrow it

will be common-place. There is probably going to

be a time when your organization employs BI sothe question becomes more o a when and how

rather than a go or no go.

Deerring BI is anoption as a rapid

catch-up operationis highly easible

I the competitiongets ahead with BI,it will be difcultcatch up or regainthe lead

Being innovative isa desired aspect ocorporate culture

Staidconservatismgenerallyrestrains dynamicorward thinking

Externalopinion isthat theentity ocuson coreobjectivesand not BIinvestment

The publicand investorimage o theorganization

expectsit to be

progressive

You are an earlyadopter withno desire to belet behind ontechnologicaladvancements

The organizationcan choose

to wait ratherthan seek early

advantage rominnovations


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The fnal answer - who needs BI?

A review o the scales represented by the pan-

els on the previous pages and positioning your

own organization somewhere between each ex-

treme, will render an overall picture o the pros

and cons (or or and against) proposition o BI in

that organization.

I you wish to reach a more empirical conclu-

sion with these assessments, try applying a numer-

ical score to each panel. Treat the negative state-

ment (associated with icons o stop, red light

etc.) as scoring a negative 10 (minus 10). Treat the

positive statement (associated with icons o green

light, success, etc.) as scoring a positive 10 (plus10).

Then add up the scores given each panel to

produce a zero-adjusted overall score. A posi-

tive total will give an overall indication that BI is

needed in the organization and a negative tota

will indicate the converse. Something at, or nea

zero would be a close call and require careul con

sideration as to the viability o a BI initiative at this

time.

The panel below illustrated how this scoring

may be applied to each scale o measure discussed

previously.

The additional Measure Group booklet en

titled What exactly is BI? should be reerenced

in conjunction with this one. You can be sure that

the second great era o commercial computing ispowered by the concepts that dene Business In

telligence and that the uture will see a time when

virtually all eligible organizations depend on BI.

Innovationis able toourishwithbenets orthose whopursue it

Theenvironment

is highlyregulated

and withoutlatitude or

improvement

0 10-10 2-2 4-8 6-6 8-4

Who Needs Bi

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