Introduction to the business intelligence strategy
You wake up one morning and decide that your company needs a business intelligence strategy. You are worried about missing the BI party. Alternatively, you may be having a party of your own that appears to be getting out of control!
So, what is a business intelligence strategy?
The three pillars of a business intelligence strategy
Three pillars support the BI strategy. For each pillar is a tangible strategy with concrete tasks and objectives. The BI strategy joins the three pillars, which when executed in coordination, steadily increase the BI capability of the organisation.
Firstly, we must decide how we are going to identify and prioritise opportunities for BI in the organisation. The Process Improvement Strategy articles will provide this direction.
Secondly, we need to harness the data assets of the organisation. The Data Strategy articles address the need to raise the availability of data so that it can be utilised for the benefit of everyone.
Finally, we must build a technology infrastructure to support the implementation of the process improvement and data availability strategies. The Technology Strategy articles provides support for this objective.
It is in the early stages of a BI program that we are most vulnerable to making costly decisions, taking the wrong path, or placing too much emphasis on a particular methodology, technology, or vendor. The three pillars guide these early steps providing a reference point for each one of your BI projects. As the momentum and knowledge of BI grows within the organisation, you will form your own procedures and best practices, building on these generic foundations.
The three pillars of a business intelligence strategy