| The quest for Business Intelligence (BI) continues as | | | | product, may need two radically different systems in |
| companies try to find the perfect balance between | | | | order for them to reach peak profitability. If the two |
| maximizing revenue and minimizing expenses. IT | | | | organizations have diametric infrastructure or process |
| departments attempt to increase revenue by | | | | weaknesses, a solution that addresses the first |
| preventing service interruptions and improving business | | | | company's needs may not meet the second's. |
| functionality, while minimizing the operating costs | | | | Therefore, my goal is to arm people undertaking BI |
| associated with maintaining both the IT staff and | | | | initiatives, more specifically, monitoring, with information |
| systems. The idea that BI monitoring will help achieve | | | | that will help them determine what to look for in a |
| this much sought after Utopian balance has become | | | | product, solution, company, and/or consultant. |
| generally accepted. Just as vital as understanding the | | | | Below is a brief list of questions that once adequately |
| need for Business Intelligence, is the ability to determine | | | | addressed, will help enable companies avoid the |
| a BI solution that meets ones needs. | | | | all-too-common failures of many BI implementations. |
| One of the most common forms of Business | | | | - Is the solution tailored to your needs or is it "Out of |
| Intelligence for IT departments is systems monitoring. | | | | the Box?" |
| Whether it be network, application, or process | | | | - What is your desired goal or what do you hope to |
| monitoring, their purpose is to provide a more efficient | | | | gain? |
| and economical way for a business to reduce the | | | | - Does everyone involved in this BI Project have a |
| expense of system outages, which in turn increases | | | | "Business Focus?" |
| revenue. However, many BI implementations fail at | | | | - How useful is the reporting and monitoring compared |
| achieving that result and in some cases, will cause | | | | to the decision makers needs? |
| increased expenses in training or staff. It is even | | | | - Does the BI solution allow for adaptability for |
| estimated that approximately 60 percent of Business | | | | changing market needs? |
| Intelligence projects end in abandonment for one | | | | - Are the reprint and Monitoring functions |
| reason or another. | | | | understandable by the Decision Maker/Management |
| One Company in particular, spent close to a million | | | | team or is it only useful to the IT department? |
| dollars for a giant wall of monitors that display all of | | | | - How relevant is the information being displayed |
| their critical system data. The idea was to increase | | | | - Is the "Big Picture" or overall goal being taken into |
| efficiency but in reality, no one uses it. Since an | | | | account by every process or product? |
| employee can get the specific information they need | | | | - Are there any Faulty Assumptions being made by |
| to perform their immediate task on their personal PC, | | | | the BI team? |
| the montage of video screens are no more useful to | | | | - Is "Up-to-date" information available when needed? |
| productivity than a piece of art. However, had they | | | | While failing to implement BI initiatives can prevent |
| purchased the artwork, they may have had something | | | | companies from reaching their full potential, choosing |
| to show for their million dollar investment. | | | | an inadequate solution can be quite costly. There are |
| The purpose of this article series is not to provide an | | | | many variables that come into play when determining |
| exhaustive guide to developing a Business Intelligence | | | | what is needed in a BI product or service. Therefore, it |
| system. After all, a BI implementation for two | | | | would be prudent for one to complete some due |
| companies who offer the exact same service or | | | | diligence before deciding upon any monitoring solution. |