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Business Intelligence, Key Performance
Indicators (KPI) and Performance Measurement Systems
Business Intelligence (BI) is a
business management term which refers to applications
and technologies which are used to gather, provide access
to, and analyze data and information about their company
operations. Business Intelligence systems can help companies
have a more comprehensive knowledge of the factors affecting
their business, such as metrics on sales, production,
internal operations, and they can help companies to make
better Business Decisions.
Rationale for using BI
Business Intelligence applications
and technologies can enable organizations to make more
informed business decisions, and they may give a company
a competitive advantage. For example, a company could
use business intelligence applications or technologies
to extrapolate information from indicators in the external
environment and forecast the future trends in their sector.
Business intelligence is used to improve the timeliness
and quality of information and enable managers to better
understand the position of their firm in comparison to
its competitors.
Business intelligence applications and technologies can
help companies analyze the following: changing trends in
market share, changes in customer behavior and spending
patterns, customers' preferences, company capabilities
and market conditions. Business intelligence can be used
to help analysts and managers determine which adjustments
are most likely to affect trends.
BI systems can help companies develop consistent and "data-based" business
decisions, producing better results than basing decisions
on "guesswork". In addition, business intelligence
applications can enhance communication among departments,
coordinate activities, and enable companies to respond
more quickly to changes (e.g. in financial conditions,
customer preferences, supply chain operations, etc.). When
a BI system is well-designed and properly integrated into
a company's processes and decision-making process, it may
be able to improve a company's performance. Having access
to timely and accurate information is an important resource
for a company, which can expedite decision-making and improve
customers' experience.
In the competitive customer-service sector, companies need
to have accurate, up-to-date information on customer preferences,
so that the company can quickly adapt to their changing
demands. Business Intelligence enables companies to gather
information on the trends in the marketplace and come up
with innovative products or services in anticipation of
customer's changing demands. Business Intelligence applications
can also help managers to be better informed about actions
that a company's competitors are taking. As well, BI can
help companies share selected strategic information with
Business Partners. For example, some businesses use BI
systems to share information with their suppliers (e.g.
inventory levels, performance metrics, and other supply
chain data).
BI systems can also be designed to provide managers with
information on the state of economic trends or marketplace
factors, or to provide managers with in depth knowledge
about the internal operations of a business.
BI Technologies
For the BI technology system to
work effectively, companies address the need to have
a secure computer system which can specify different
levels of user access to the “data warehouse”,
depending on whether the user is a junior staffer, manager,
or executive. As well, a BI system needs to have sufficient
data capacity, a plan for how long data will be stored
(data retention). Analysts also need to set benchmark
and performance targets for the system.
Business Intelligence analysts have developed software
tools to gather and analyze large quantities of unstructured
data, such as production metrics, sales statistics, attendance
reports, and customer attrition figures. Each BI vendor
typically develops Business Intelligence systems differently,
to suit the demands of different sectors (e.g. retail companies,
financial services companies, etc.).
Business Intelligence software and applications includes
a range of tools. Some BI applications are used to analyze
performance, projects, or internal operations, such as
AQL - Associative Query Logic; Scorecarding; Business Activity
Monitoring; Business Performance Management and Performance
Measurement; Business Planning; Business Process Re-engineering;
Competitive Analysis; User/End-user Query and Reporting;
Enterprise Management Systems; Executive Information Systems
(EIS); Supply Chain Management / Demand Chain Management;
and Finance and Budgeting tools.
Other BI applications are used to store and analyze data,
such as Data Mining (DM), Data Farming, and Data Warehouses;
Decision Support Systems (DSS) and Forecasting; Document
Warehouses and Document Management; Knowledge Management;
Mapping, Information Visualization, and Dashboarding; Management
Information Systems (MIS); Geographic Information Systems
(GIS); Trend Analysis; Software as a service (SaaS), Business
Intelligence offerings (On Demand) - similar to traditional
BI solutions but software is hosted for customers by a
provider; Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) and Multidimensional
Analysis; sometimes called "Analytics" (based
on the "hypercube" or "cube"); Real-time
Business Intelligence; Statistics and Technical Data Analysis;
Web Mining, Text Mining and Systems Intelligence.
Other BI applications are used to analyze or manage the "human" side
of businesses such as Customer Relationship Management
(CRM), Marketing Tools, Human Resources applications and
Web Personalization.
Thejes Consultants have the following
Business Intelligence systems development and implementation
experience:
$1.5 Million project using a phased
approach to developing and implementing a corporate
Performance Measurement and Reporting System (PMRS)
at AT&T Canada. Led a complex sub-project to
create an innovative costing model working with a
leading edge specialist, to assign network assets
and operating costs to AT&T Canada products.
Implemented Activity Based Costing
at AT&T Canada, and provided detailed activity
costs and value analysis to support Business Process
Transformation efforts.
Developed a Performance Measurement
Reporting (PMR) system supporting Sales and Service
Manager Compensation for 175 Retail Banking Branches
nation wide at National Trust.
