The Business Intelligence Revolution Are you using your data to drive the outcome you want? By Jonathan Shaver
Everybody’s talking about Business Intelligence (BI). So what is it, and how can it help you? In short, BI is using existing data to drive a desirable future outcome. Savvy BI programs know: a) What significant data to capture b) How to warehouse the data c) Which specific figures to access d) How to effectively access them… …to guide their activities toward a desired outcome. Let’s break that down even further, starting with the most important point first, which is, in this case, the end. Stephen Covey has said that one of the habits of highly effective people is that they “start with the end in mind.” A highly effective plan for business is no different. What is it that you want your organization to do? Where do you want to end up? What outcome are you looking for? Once you have a clear picture of your destination, survey your data. (It is important to note that all quality decision making begins and ends with quality data. Without accurate and meaningful data, it is virtually impossible to make quality business decisions. Thus, without sufficient data, it is highly likely that, at times, your company is making poor business decisions.) 26
may-june 2011 | www.PARCELindustry.com
What information have you kept? What should you be keeping? How can you analyze that information to help you predict whether or not you’ll reach your goals and objectives? Anybody can get you “the numbers.” Running reports is not challenging. BI is not reporting. It isn’t even “fancy” reporting. BI is knowing specifically which numbers to run and how to use them to create a trajectory toward your goal. The key to a successful BI initiative is tangible results. Here are a couple of examples of BI applications that many of us have encountered: 3 Netflix patterns the movies a member has rented and targets them with “Movies You’ll Love”
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Amazon.com suggests “other items that a customer may want to consider” after making a purchase
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Facebook tailors its ads to individual accounts based on age, gender and other individual factors
The profiling of your historical purchasing into a pattern that in turn presents you with new purchasing opportunities targeting your preferences is standard practice in E-Commerce shopping. The ability to track if you did purchase the preferences