The BIg Discrepancy

By Mark Brousseau

Despite the wide range of skills and technology available to support business intelligence and performance management, many organizations still struggle to deliver success in this area, John van Decker, research vice president at Gartner said today during a keynote presentation at the Gartner Business Intelligence Summit 2009 in Washington, D.C.

“For years, organizations have been saying that business intelligence is a high initiative, but the business areas have not seen the value,” van Decker told the standing-room only crowd. “We don’t want to downplay that many organizations have had great success with business intelligence and performance management. We want to point out that there is an opportunity here.”

Kurt Schlegal, also a research vice president at Gartner, and co-presenter of the keynote address, said there are five key reasons for this discrepancy:

... No IT/ business partnership
... No link to corporate strategy
... No connection to the process
... No governance or too much
... No skills

Van Decker warned attendees that simply buying more business intelligence technology is not always the answer. The answer has to center around business process management and how organizations leverage technology to improve the business process. “Many companies have tried hard to establish architectural standards for business intelligence strategy, but in many cases, they are trying to retrofit business intelligence strategy where they had already bought tools. That is difficult. To drive the business case is to drive business intelligence strategy forward.”

In spite of the cost-cutting necessitated by the recession, van Decker said organizations also must ensure their competitive position. And business intelligence can help. “Unfortunately, organizations are being forced to cut head count,” van Decker said. “But organizations can’t take an axe to cost-cutting. They need to be more strategic and more surgical. Business intelligence needs to be a top strategic initiative, well supported and well funded.”

Mounting regulations will also force organizations to take a harder look at business intelligence initiatives. “You need to do it internally, but you will be forced to do it externally [in response to anticipated new regulations],” van Decker said. “It is good to be ahead of the game.”

Schlegal concluded: “Now, more than ever, we need business intelligence. We need systems that bring information together.”

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