Business Intelligence isn’t dead.
It simply isn’t sufficient. Sophisticated tools are not sufficient. Hiring a team of brilliant data analysts isn’t sufficient.
Every business can quickly buy tools and put together a team of data analysts. There isn't a sustainable business advantage in the way business intelligence and data analytics are used today.
"The biggest barriers companies face in extracting value from data and analytics are organizational; many struggle to incorporate data-driven insights into day-to-day business problems."
from The Age of Analytics: Competing in a Data-Driven World by McKinsey Global Institute
What is a sustainable advantage is the ability of an organization to use information. Supporting the resolution of tough business decisions that involve complex trade-offs. Bringing awareness of subtle changes that could indicate future disruption.
Data has become something that overwhelms and disengages employees. Too many emails. Too many dashboards with too many complex visualizations. But information can be used to engage employees. Engaging them with challenging business decisions that don't depend on hours spent gathering, integrating and verifying data. It can bring issues to their attention directly without requiring them to spend hours monitoring routine transactions.
We've gotten good at using information to measure performance against budgets and forecasts. Very good at illustrating aspects of our business performance that we already know. But we are leaving a lot of business value on the table. The status quo of business intelligence simply isn't sufficient going forward.
Engaging an organization with information requires adding some new interrelated capabilities:
An ability to find information that is more than just a search engine Presenting information in the overall knowledge graph of the organization. Allowing employees to accurately fit the information to their mental models.
Confidence that we are using the information properly. That we understand the context. That we can see the quality stamp that says this data has been tested and verified. The elimination of endless discussions about data quality and what is or is not included.
Sharing not just tables or visualizations with our co-workers but all of the factors that are pertinent to a business decision. Allowing discussions to focus on the decision trade-offs with facts in hand about the past and solid predictions about the future.
Building these capabilities requires not just new technology (graph databases, relationship visualizations, automated tests etc.) but education and change management so that employees see the benefits of a new way of using information.
Adding these new capabilities makes business intelligence more than just sufficient. It makes it a competitive advantage.