Got BI? Now Become Data Driven

Participate in enough BI groups and you’ll see one question come up time and again: Why do so many BI systems fail?  A lot of time it’s not failure in development but in implementation.  Let’s face it, too often these systems get built but not used.  For years I’ve written on how a key to usage is making sure that your BI system enables some new business process.

Well, a recent client in New York has a great approach to ensuring that his new BI system gets used.  This senior manager has a set of subordinates reporting to him.  He’s a very data-savvy guy and wants his folks to be data driven, rather than flying by the seats of their pants.

So, when his new BI system became available he sat down with his managers and required each of them to pick two charts that they would review with him at their monthly meetings.  Charts, of course, are built around key metrics and dimensions.  Thus, in order to optimize their performance, his folks must keep their eyes on these metrics.

With this approach, this manager is showing that he fully supports the BI system while pushing the cultural changes necessary to be data driven and make sure his organization gets the ROI it expects.

Do you believe in being data driven?  Do you believe in your BI system?  Prove it!  Don’t passively hope that your folks will use your new BI toys.  Require them to make BI a key part of how work gets done.

Want to kick around some ideas?  Drop me a line at btaub@dataspace.com.

— Ben

Dataspace Profiled in “New” Newspaper

Last month Ann Arbor’s long established newspaper, the Ann Arbor News, shut down.  But, it was replaced with a web / twice weekly hard copy publication.  Little did I know that Dataspace would be one of the first companies profiled in the new business section.  To see what they have to say, click here.

I, also, wanted to add a little ‘subjective’, business intelligence quiz here.  The answer is really open to interpretation so it will be interesting to see what people think.  The question is: What was the first business intelligence tool?  Why?

Feel free to add your opinion as a comment.

Thanks for following us!

– Ben