Gartner Says Treat Business Intelligence Programmes as Cultural Transformation, not Just Another IT Project

SOURCE:  Gartner

CIOs must ensure that business intelligence (BI) programs are treated as a cultural transformation of the business, instead of as an IT project, according to Gartner, Inc.

Speaking ahead of the company’s fifth annual Business Intelligence and Information Management Summit in Sydney in February, Gartner research vice president  Patrick Meehan said BI was no longer about information for managers, but information for everyone. Leading organisations are using components of BI, such as decision modelling and support, to ensure all workers, managers and executives can make the right decisions in a given business situation.

“Traditionally, BI has been used for performance reporting from historical data, and as a planning and forecasting tool for a relatively small number of people in an organisation that relies on historical data to plan ahead,” said Mr Meehan. “Modelling future scenarios permits examination of new business models, new market opportunities and new products, and creates a culture of opportunity. In this way, workers not only see the future, but often create it.”

Mr. Meehan said using information to provide intelligent insight to improve business performance was a major challenge, and CIOs could provide leadership by developing a cross-enterprise perspective of information and processes supported by technology.

Gartner has highlighted three initiatives that use BI to create intelligent businesses:

1. Focus BI Efforts on Delivering the Right Information to the Right People

Apply a business process orientation to BI that connects horizontally across functional areas and outwardly to partners, customers and partners. To keep strategy execution on track, BI must address all staff and management levels in the organisation.

2. Change the Mind-Set from More Information to Answering the Right Questions

Champion the value of decision impact. Ultimately, a relentless focus on a very limited set of burning business questions will guide users toward BI-enabled decisions that have maximum impact on business strategies and goals.

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