Business Intelligence - Time to get back to basics

Business Intelligence (BI) is not a new term and has been around for many decades, however business owners are still finding it difficult to make informed decisions. In todays fast paced digital ecosystems the path to insight may be overwhelming. What adds further confusion is new principles like, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Predictive Analytics. 

OQLIS recently had the honour of being a display sponsor at the annual ITWeb Business Intelligence and Analytics Summit 2018, the three day conference brought together industry leaders in BI, ML and AI. This gave us the opportunity to engage directly with prospective customers and some of our existing customers. 

The common consensus is that the industry is grappling with focus within their data journey, with the ever-growing complexity of different data sources and business requirements, deriving value and an effective return on investment is ever more illusive.

Through our experience we found that in order to achieve BI success you have to approach new projects and requirements in a systematic (Step by Step) way, which we call “back to basics” this can be achieved by:

1. Know this is going to be a bumpy ride, so brace yourself…
2. Get buy in from the business, find a sponsor who is willing to back you and has your back (financially and on an exco level).
3. Business Intelligence is business initiative and not only technology discussion.
4. Have the right skills or outsource to a partner that does.
5. Build a roadmap that addresses areas in the business that has the greatest requirement (this can change with time).
6. Ensure the data or data source is clean, the project will be undermined if no one agrees on the outputs.
7. Standardise on terminology and Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s).
8. Find the right tool that meets your objectives 
9. Be systematical in your approach, “Rome was not built in a day”

Enjoy the ride and know there are companies like OQLIS that can simplify the journey!!

Get hold of us on [email protected] and well show you how to find insight at the speed of your business!