| Understanding Business Intelligence – Part 3 |
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In this article, we will go over the main elements you will need to have in place in order to establish a Business Intelligence (BI) attitude in your organization.
The main elements are technology, people and organization culture. Technology
No matter the size of the company, BI software will enable you to do sophisticated analyses that were only available to big corporations a few years ago.Technology is the most significant enabler of business intelligence.
The trend in technology has made this possible.Considering just the ones mentioned here will explain why this has happened: Processing Power
Today’s desktop computers deliver more power than huge computers just a decade ago.Business intelligence has been impacted with this power from two perspectives: First, low cost servers and distributed desktop computing power allows BI technology to do millions of calculations very quickly.And second, this computing power allows the new visualization technology to present information in a much easier (graphical) way, through colorful monitors and projectors. Data Volumes
Data storage capacity has increased exponentially over the last decade and prices have been constant if not lower.Modern systems now store an incredible amount of transaction details.This information is now available for BI systems to massage and make available to users for BI analysis.The rule of thumb is that the greater the quantity of data, the more accurate and certain the analysis and conclusions will be. Bottom line is the cost of storing vast amounts of data has become insignificant compared to the benefits of better analysis. Network Technologies
The growth of the Internet, the extensive adoption of Web browsers and the modern software with user-friendly interfaces have enabled organizations to virtually connect every member to some type of BI information.In the past, only a few select department analysts had access to this type of information generally by crunching numbers in a spreadsheet, but today almost every manager and employee who needs to know what is happening in his part of the business can have access to BI information. Standardization
Today users can purchase software from a number of companies and easily install it into their computers and have a high degree of confidence that the software will work.This interoperability is made possible because of standards.These standards have notoriously improved in areas like data access, especially to relational and multidimensional databases that support BI systems. BI Software
The BI software industry barely existed 15 years ago.Now many large software companies are offering full suites of BI products, including tools for extraction, transforming and loading data (ETL), and all at a fraction of the cost of the legacy, mostly mainframe-based decision support systems that appeared in the 80’s. People
One way in which organizations can improve the quality of their decisions is by having the right people making decisions.By the right people we generally mean a manager that is in the field and close to the customer rather than an analyst with vast and rich data but little experience in dealing with real world issues.The trend in recent years has been to provide "business intelligence for the masses".
Knowledge is not provided by any technology but is created by people.People are the ones that persuade others to see the world in a new way.
Today's BI technologies can manipulate and analyze vast amounts of data, but no amount of raw data will replace experimentation and thinking.Information systems report what's going on, but gaining insight into why this is happening requires understanding and some intuition about what motivates people and organizations.This is done only by people.
People are an essential element of business intelligence.
Business intelligence systems serve managers in almost the same way that navigation instruments serve a pilot: they both provide feedback information about the reality.
Your organization's ability to grow and your personal success in senior roles depend, at least in part, on having satisfactory BI technologies and an outstanding ability to handle business intelligence. Organization Culture
The extent to which the BI attitude is successful in an organization depends in part on the organization culture.One of the most important steps an organization can take to encourage the BI attitude is to measure the performance of the organization against a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). It ends up being a critical decision to publish what the company thinks are the most important indicators. By measuring these indicators and taking action based on the performance of these indicators, the organization is doing nothing more than using the BI cycle.
BI can be the source of many improvements to an organization, from minor operational improvements in efficiencies to innovative new strategies.
Finally, a BI attitude is not simply something you write into a business plan, talk about it in company meetings and then expect to happen. A BI attitude has to be backed by actions. |
| Don’t Let This Happen To You – Safeguard Your Data |
| Facts About Data Loss
Most businesses today have considered the risk of data loss, but few have adequately protected their data.
- 34% of companies fail to test their tape backups, and of those that do, 77% have found tape backup failures. (A)
- 93% of companies that lost their data for 10 days or more due to disaster filed for bankruptcy within one year of the disaster. (B)
- 50% of businesses without their data for the same time period filed for bankruptcy immediately. (B)
*Statistics: (A) The Gartner Group (B) National Archives & Records Administration If you think this can’t happen to you, please think again.For recent examples, we have included some articles below: JP Morgan Loses Clients’ Data JP Morgan Chase has alerted thousands of its Chicago-area millionaire clients, that it cannot locate a computer tape containing their account information and Social Security numbers.
May 01, 2007
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL | JP Morgan Chase has alerted thousands of its Chicago-area millionaire clients, as well as some of its own employees, that it cannot locate a computer tape containing their account information and Social Security numbers.
The tape, which was in a locked container, was being... continued.
Computer technician accidentally wipes out info on Alaska Department of Revenue $38 billion fundPerhaps you know that sinking feeling when a single keystroke accidentally destroys hours of work.
April 20, 2007
JUNEAU, Alaska: Perhaps you know that sinking feeling when a single keystroke accidentally destroys hours of work. Now imagine wiping out a disk drive containing information for an account worth $38 billion.
That is what happened to a computer technician reformatting a disk drive at the... continued.
Secretary of State Recovers Thousands of 'Active' Fulton County Voter Registration CardsVoters' personal information exposed investigation initiated immediately
April 11, 2007
Atlanta, GA (April 11, 2007) - Secretary of State Karen Handel today initiated an investigation regarding the disposal of approximately 75,000 voter registration application cards. The investigation will be led by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), in conjunction with the Fulton County Solicitor General's... continued.
Pension data loss could put DCH employees, retirees at riskThe social security numbers and other personal identification data of 6,000 DCH Health System employees.
April 05, 2007
TUSCALOOSA | The social security numbers and other personal identification data of 6,000 DCH Health System employees are missing raising concerns about the possibility of identity theft.
An encrypted disc and hardcopy documents containing the personal identification information were lost by a... continued.
Hospital Being Sued Over Stolen Medical RecordsProvidence Health System now faces charges that it was negligent in securing patient files when some 365,000 medical records were stolen.
February 02, 2006
Providence Health System based in Oregon now faces charges that it was negligent in securing patient files when some 365,000 medical records were taken when a hospital employee's car - which contained the files - was stolen. Portland resistant Laurie Paul filed a suit earlier this week to force the health system... continued.
Your business isn't safe if your data is unprotected
CoreVault Secure™ is a fully automated backup and recovery service designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses. CoreVault Secure™ online service completely eliminates the hassle and unreliability of tape backups. With our online service you can backup your critical data to our secure, offsite location and secondary vault over 120 miles away and never have to worry about the security of your data again. |
Howdy, partner!
By: Greg Enright, Computer World Canada
It used to be that business could be carried out effectively and efficiently simply by keeping the process contained within your company’s own four walls. Today, however, with highly complex IT systems having assumed such a large role in the carrying out of that business, outside partners with specific areas of expertise are often brought in to ensure no part of the process goes awry.
The practice of partnering, however, is a fine art not to be taken lightly by those engaging in it. This is no off-the-shelf process — to do it right, and to reap the benefits that synching up is supposed to bring to a business, care must be taken to ensure the fit will be a good one with a company’s culture, corporate philosophy and mode of operations.
The first question a company’s executives must ask themselves before going down this path, according to University of Waterloo PhD student Rakinder Sembhi, is why do we want to partner in the first place? To Sembhi, the answer is usually associated with two primary motivations: to outsource and to do something never before carried out by one’s own outfit.
“I outsource because I have a non-strategic function and I want to reduce cost or risk, so I give that to someone else. I do this not because it’s too difficult but because it’s not strategic and I can probably get it done cheaper and potentially more reliably by giving it to someone else,” he says.
Strategic partnering, Sembhi adds, is often carried out when a company needs outside expertise that it has never possessed. If I have a new system that needs to be implemented, my organization may not have expertise in the technology or processes that it takes to get it implemented. In that case, I’m looking for more of a strategic partner, someone who has done it before and has the people and tools to get it done.”
Once the decision to partner is made, firms must ensure that expectations are clearly mapped out before anything gets off the ground. Decision makers must be realistic about what can and can’t be carried out, Sembhi says. Advertisement
“If you know you are not going to be able to deliver something, that needs to be communicated early, and if you have risks or issues, they have to be communicated early or else you’re going to be in that situation where you’ve burned through $10 million and you’re still not where you need to be.”
Another important factor is making sure the right people are in place to do the job effectively, Sembhi adds. “
One of the key things is to look for people who have been on both sides of the fence in other places and have done [the particular type of work] well. Because this whole concept of vendor relationship management is such a people-intensive process, you’re only as good as the people you bring in. Someone who has that personality — the ability to get along with other people — those people can excel in these types of situations.”
According to Michael Sheppard, another University of Waterloo PhD student who has extensive experience as a consultant and project manager in the IT industry, the art of partnering is today taken much more seriously than it was 10 or 15 years ago.
“I’m sensing that there is a lot more thought going into it, in terms of the cost-benefit analysis about doing it in-house or outsourcing,” Sheppard says. “I’ve seen a lot more thought in these areas and more at the upper levels, because IT has become less of a backroom matter. The amount of money and risk is enormous.”
Sheppard believes the practice of partnering will only grow in importance.
“My sense is that the expectations of software are becoming greater and the tolerance for software failures are becoming less,” he says. “It becomes more difficult to serve your internal clients, therefore, without resorting to partner relationships.”
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