Adopting best practices can help organisations disseminate valuable data, new survey reveals

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2007-11-30 08:40

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Hong Kong--(뉴스와이어)--Only 15% apply best practices; 48% cite data silos as the key obstacle

Eighty percent of respondents to an online survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit say that a business intelligence strategy would significantly improve their company’s ability to react quickly to market changes and improve customer service. But only 15% can claim their company has adopted best practices in this area, according to Business Intelligence: Putting enterprise data to work, a research study from the Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by Oracle. In contrast, 41% of respondents say their companies “aim to adopt best practices”, and another 36% report that “business intelligence remains a challenge”. The survey polled 114 senior executives of various industries and company sizes from around the globe on their experiences and opinions relating to their business intelligence strategies.

When asked what they consider their company’s biggest challenge with regard to business intelligence, 48% of respondents cited that “data resides in disparate systems”. “Clearly, data silos are still a significant stumbling block to making business intelligence work for most companies,” says Debra D’Agostino, senior technology editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit. “As a result, data cannot be effectively shared across the organisation so that action can be taken in a timely manner.”

Additional key findings of the survey include:

· Data access and accuracy pose significant challenges. While 70% of executives have access to business intelligence data, only about half of front-line and middle managers do. And though 84% of senior managers are “pro-actively provided with business data”, the figure drops to 54% for middle managers. Only 22% of respondents said that all employees are given business data. Meanwhile, 41% of respondents cite incomplete or error-prone data as their biggest challenge with regard to business intelligence.

· Employees resist adopting newer technologies to analyse data. When asked from what sources respondents typically receive business information, business intelligence software comes in last, at a mere 13%. Roughly 46% of respondents say they have BI tools in their organisation, but their employees lack the proper training to use them. Another 30% say they hesitate to give BI tools to employees for fear they will misinterpret the data.

· Companies often exclude the CIO from the decision-making process. Only 22% of respondents say their chief information officer (CIO) is responsible for their business intelligence strategy; most often it is the chief operating officer, or other line-of-business managers who determine a firm’s BI strategy.

To achieve greater success with business intelligence, the report concludes, companies need to revisit their strategies and adopt the following practices:

· Clean their corporate data. Reliable, accurate information is the foundation of any business intelligence strategy.

· Leverage technology. If employees are trained to use business intelligence tools, they would extract greater value from data stores.

· Consult the IT department. Respondents whose companies follow the best practices are more likely to have a CIO in charge of their business intelligence strategy.

· Disseminate data to the right people. Good information is useless unless it is given to the people who can use it.

About the survey

The research is based on a global survey of 114 senior executives from various industries and companies with annual revenues ranging from less than $500 million to as much as $20 billion. The survey was conducted in August 2007.

About the Economist Intelligence Unit

The Economist Intelligence Unit is the business information arm of The Economist Group, publisher of The Economist. Through our global network of more than 650 analysts and experts, we continuously assess and forecast political, economic and business conditions in nearly 200 countries. As the world’s leading provider of country intelligence, we help executives make better business decisions by providing timely, reliable and impartial analysis on worldwide market trends and business strategies. More information about the Economist Intelligence Unit can be found at www.eiu.com.

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