Business intelligence (BI), analytics, and data capabilities sit at the core of all successful, Hyper-Decisive® organizations. They embed data and analytics in strategic initiatives, driving transformation (to digital), innovation (new product development), and financial management (enterprise performance management—EPM). In addition, they always look for ways to bolster these capabilities to apply data and analytics more broadly and consistently throughout the organization. Data leaders who guide their organizations in actively applying BI to strategic business processes—and not merely deliver traditional “reporting” and routine management—generate the greatest value and most frequently attain the highest levels of BI success. This requires monitoring and actively driving the right balance of investments as determined by a Hyper-Decisiveness strategy, and aligned to strategic plans to build and extend coordinated data and analytics capabilities throughout an organization.
Our data show these ideals increasingly align with investment strategies, for which data and analytics capabilities, digital transformation initiatives, product development processes, and performance management show the most increases. Additional key investment areas include customer-facing initiatives (customer acquisition and retention), business growth and expansion, and workforce / skills recruitment and development.
Successful data leaders analyze their organizations’ planned areas of investment for the next year, and identify where budgets are increasing, decreasing, or staying constant. For the top investment areas, they then determine the degree to which BI initiatives connect to and support these areas. Combined with an overall perspective on the suitability of data and analytics capabilities across their organizations, data leaders can determine where opportunities exist to increase or re-align investments and the focus of BI initiatives to maximize value delivered.
Organizations that work to optimize and align strategic investments with where and how they apply data and analytics capabilities more likely will generate positive business outcomes. Although this may involve refocusing BI efforts on strategic areas of high investment, it also may create opportunities to jumpstart value in areas where investment is lacking or non-existent, and the application of BI can fundamentally transform those areas into value centers. By engaging business leaders to build understanding and excitement about the role of BI in these areas—primarily product development, digital transformation, and performance management, but other key investment areas as well—the organization can create powerful synergies.
Data leaders must drive their actions based on strategic business investment areas and generating value in support of them. Any discussion, technology, or resources not applied from that perspective represent risky and suboptimal allocations. Through engagement of executive leaders and functional leaders, data leaders and their teams can begin to make progress on this goal of optimizing and aligning investments. Careful development of detailed plans for reshaping investments and introducing (or expanding) BI involvement in active investment areas represents the first step. By planning ahead for future budgeting and investment cycles, the organization can ensure BI initiatives will remain aligned for greatest strategic value.
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