Measuring, presenting and optimising the benefits of Business Intelligence activities

26^th August 2009 | Category: BI 

Planned BI activities are typically caught between cost-effectiveness and the difficulty of presenting their benefit. After all, to be honest, the proof can be seen only after the end of the project, when the BI solution has been in use for some time.

One Swiss logistics company was faced with the question of demonstrating the benefits. The objective was to find out whether and how a widely deployed management information system was actually used, and what point in its life-cycle the application (or parts of it) had reached – and, ideally, to do this at any time. With the help of this kind of information, it is possible not only to compare the investment costs for a BI project with the actual benefits, thus demonstrating the added value, but also to better forecast planned investments in future enhancements.

Brightcon is growing

16^th July 2009 | Category: About us

Brightcon is pleased to welcome Kai Schlecker, a Senior Consultant with vast experience in the area of the design, development and operation of management information systems and so-called Composite Applications, as both a consultant and a user.

“Management information systems can succeed in creating added value only when both the line department and IT do their homework – knowledge and sustainability of the management process on the one side, efficient data management on the other. Assistance and guidance by a competent consulting partner as a facilitator and enabler are of central importance here, to reconcile the two worlds in such a way that they can work towards a common goal. And this goal is not the cutover to operation, but rather user satisfaction, TCO of the MIS in operation, and operational stability – all of them goals that provide benefits after completion of the project. I have come to know and appreciate Brightcon as a consulting firm that takes a global view of Business Intelligence, and has a team of consultants with years of cross-sector practice in national and international BI projects.”

Strategic sourcing of BI services: What to watch out for

08^th June 2009 | Category: BI

Strategic partnerships with BI suppliers are the fashion – and not just because of cost considerations. Experience shows that care must be taken both in the process of identifying the suitable sourcing model and in the details of the individual partnerships. The following steps must be taken to reach the desired goals:
Step 1 – Determination of the current status: The decision on whether and how to enter into a strategic partnership should be preceded by a well-founded status analysis. The results of this must be twofold: firstly, a statement on the maturity of the existing BI organisation and processes; secondly, a binding statement on the company-wide BI plans and the objectives of the partnership.
Step 2 – Identification of the sourcing opportunities: Depending on the maturity of the existing BI organisation and processes, a suitable cooperation model can then be defined, hybrid solutions being typical of actual practice (see chart).

Develop dormant ROI potential through BI

30^th April 2009 | Category: BI 

Repositioning of BI: In times of crisis, budget cuts and stops on expenditure open up the way for the alignment of BI activities on ROI aspects.

In times of economic decline, Business Intelligence (BI) is usually also subjected to budget cuts and even stop on expenditure. After all, BI is often equated with IT, and is therefore seen first and foremost as a cost factor. But this attitude is the beginning of the end of the realisation of the ROI potential. If we take a look at the BI added-value chain, then potential of BI becomes apparent:

Analytic CRM –
Customer Relationship Management meets Business Intelligence

9^th April 2009 | Category: CRM meets BI

You will surely have heard answers like these when talking to your colleagues and employees from the sales or service departments about the value of their customers.