How Strategic Is Your BI Solution?
In the late 90’s all of the buzz talk was around ERP, and understandably so. A lot of the buzz I hear today is about Business Intelligence (BI).
There are probably a variety of reasons for this.
Chief among them, in my experience, is the notion that ERP was pervasive in the 90’s because of the need to replace antiquated accounting systems to solve an imminent Y2K problem. BI, on the other hand, is pervasive because everyone now has an ERP type solution and they want more. But what does “more” mean?
One of the great differences that I have talked about in the past is the need to take an ERP transaction-based system that reports historical information and turn that into useful, quantifiable information so you can plan the future and make real-world decisions. For the first time, I have found an article that clear puts a correlation to the two views.
In his article entitled 6 Habits of True Strategic Thinkers author Paul J.H. Schoemaker describes characteristics and traits of executives who would like to spend more time focused on strategic thinking rather than then day-to-day activities of their organization. Interestingly enough, these characteristics are the very same traits that separate an accounting solution that reports history from a solid BI solution that allows you to make perceptive decisions about your business. These traits include:
- Anticipate
- Think Critically
- Interpret
- Decide
- Align
- Learn
You can read the full article over at Inc. online.
I encourage you to do so at the behest of two questions you should aks yourself:
- Are you a strategic leader?
- Do your systems provide the information (not merely data) and knowledge that allow you to be a strategic leader?
If the answer to either of these is no, it may be time for a change.
If you’re interested in BI fundamentals and how we look at BI implementations and their value, don’t miss our whitepaper, MIPRO’s Business Intelligence Manifesto: Six Requirements for an Effective BI Deployment. And naturally, if you have questions, want to tell me I’m wrong, or just go over what you’ve been kicking around in terms of BI lately, don’t be afraid to drop me an email.
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More links:
MIPRO Consulting main website.
