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- #10 KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY PDF HOW TO#
- #10 KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY PDF FULL#
Consider all business intelligence components. More complex enterprises may benefit from customization, although you may still want to consider beginning with an industry-standard model as a template or a set of guides (such as typical facts, dimensions and so on). Do watch for extensibility and hierarchy flexibility. In general you may benefit from an out-of-the-box, industry-specific data model if you have a more homogeneous IT environment - such as one ERP, one CRM system. Decide whether to buy or build the analytical data model. Understanding who will use BI and for what purposes can show the type of information needed and its frequency, and help guide BI decision making. They need data within their own set of applications to execute the enormous numbers of transactions. Operational users are the front-line employees, such as call centre staff. Tactical users make many decisions a week, and use both aggregate and detail-level information, and likely need updated information daily. Strategic users make few decisions, but each one can have a profound effect - for example, should we close operations in Europe and open them in China. The three broad classes of business intelligence users are strategic, tactical and operational. Before even considering which vendors to choose, you must resolve this issue.
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You can save space with an abstract definition layer, but this is difficult to design, as is any metadata repository. Traditional data warehousing means duplicating data, which means bringing in operations systems in real time will be next to impossible. Something else to consider is whether to build and maintain a physical data warehouse or go with the virtual, so-called "semantic" layers to link operational systems. Many organizations begin with an isolated data mart, since it's quick and cheap, but consider that this tactic means additional silos will need to be created as additional data storage needs arise, which can grow out of control within a few years.
#10 KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY PDF FULL#
Evelson cautions against underestimating this phase, and points out that a full "BI diagnostic" from Accenture contains 1500 questions against 325 best practices and 75 subject areas. Both IT and the business should be involved. You should analyze the current business intelligence stack and processes and organizational structures surrounding current BI implementations. Secondly, start small and choose only 10 to 20 key performance indicators and create standards and governance with them in mind.
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At this stage, IT's participation should be limited to running the project management office and taking ownership of compliance and business standards and policies. To combat this problem, get subject matter expertise throughout lines of business from front-, middle- and back-office staff.
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For example, finance and sales may define "gross margin" differently, which means that numbers will not match - in effect, negating the value of automation. And lack of agreement is a widespread problem in companies today. Without common definitions, a BI implementation cannot succeed. This sponsor should govern the implementation with a documented business case and be responsible for changes in scope.
#10 KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE STRATEGY PDF HOW TO#
Instead, BI should be sponsored by an executive who has bottom-line responsibility has a broad picture of the enterprise objectives, strategy and goals and knows how to translate the company mission into key performance indicators that will support that mission. Business intelligence implementations should absolutely not be sponsored by anyone in IT, says Evelson. Choose a C-level sponsor (who's not the CIO).
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