Are you ready for BI? Test the waters first.

I noticed that a lot of the work we have done over the past few years has not necessarily been with a BI platform, such as BusinessObjectsd Edge. For sure Edge offers a whack of functionality for a great price, but in reality, especially in the SMB space, not everyone can afford it. Here are a few ways you can do Business Intelligence without buying a platform:

• Leverage the power of your database engine - most SMBs, somewhere in their business are using a SQL database of some sort. (If it happens to be Microsoft SQL, you're in great shape!) With a modest amount of technical skill, it is possible to use that platform to bring shape to your information. Some of our clients have created data mats using SQL, and we've helped some create multi-company consolidations. Are they as comprehensive and robust as they would be with a sophisticated ETL (Extract-Transform-Load) tool? No, but they're pretty darn reliable, and the cost of deploying and maintaining them was really quite modest - especially when you think of the value achieve.
  


• Use the Force! - I mean, "Use the Power"... of the technologies you already own. Let's face it - we both know you're going to use Excel. It's hard to deny it is a great tool for manipulating data, and with lots of ERP systems providing export abilities, it can be quite easy to get to raw data. Keep in mind when working with Excel that you are now disconnected from the data source, and this is where errors start to occur!!! I'm not saying don't do it, but do it with the knowledge that there is risk involved here.
  


• Let's be Crystal clear! - When we talk about the technologies you already have, I'm thinking you may/probably already have at least one license for Crystal Reports Designer. Now Crystal is not an end-user tool, and does require some understanding of data structures and links. But Crystal is by far the best tool I can think of for designing great-looking reports. And if you give people access to the Crystal Reports Viewer, they can review a report created for them, whether they're on a PC or Mac.
  


• Online Tools - While we're talking about Crystal Reports, did you know you can get a FREE five user start access to crystalreports.com? So with one person creating reports, five others can login securely and view them in a Browser. And like I said - it's FREE! It's one of the best ways I can think of to start testing the waters of Business Intelligence. Use it to gauge your readiness.
  

Hopefully that helps give you some ideas about how to move slowly towards integrating Business Intelligence into your operations. When computerized accounting systems first started to become available, many businesses were reluctant to jump on board because of the large up-front investment. Some tested spreadsheet programs (remember SuperCalc?), using it as an alternative, or as a way of getting some experience. The same kind of path is available for Business Intelligence. And I believe that in the next few years, Business Intelligence can have as profound an impact on your business as computerized accounting did ten or fifteen years ago.

Regards,

Jim

What else can Business Intelligence Do?

A lot of time, when I'm discuss Business Intelligence with people, we end up talking about the really standard things that can be done - Operational reporting, Ad Hoc analysis, a bit of dashboarding... stuff like that. What I have come to realize is that, in many cases, the power and utility of a Business Intelligence platform is realized when you use it for the 'not so standard' business applications. Let's discuss a couple of examples.

One of our clients (an equipment rental company) found that staff were having problems keeping track of the many shipping jobs they had on the go throughout the day. New orders would constantly be coming in, and the packers/shippers were trying to keep on top of what orders had to go out, and in what priority. What did we do? We created a small tracking dashboard, updated every minute, that showed the sequence of orders still to be picked/packed. The board was visible for all packers to see, all day long, and it immediately brought focus to the shipping department, significantly reducing the number of late deliveries. Result? Happy staff and equally important happy customers!

As another example, a client of ours runs a fairly high volume distribution business, with several staff entering lots of orders througout the day. There are several components that are very active in the business, and it is crucial for staff to monitor the level on hand at any time, to avoid promising shipment of an out-of-stock item. The staff could certainly navigate through the order entry system while on the phone with the customer, but for each item this would take about 10-15 seconds, and about 8 mouse-clicks each. Solution - we created a simple report that automatically refreshes every 15 seconds containing stock levels for the critical items. Now the order taker can open the report while on the phone, and see the status of all the critical items immediately. Impact - a significant reduction in time on the phone, and much improved customer service.

As a final example, another client (also in distribution) was requested by one of their vendors, to provide sales volume and location information, so that they could together determine effectiveness of marketing and sales efforts. By leveraging their BI platform, the client was able to create a monthly report with all the required information, delivered automatically to the vendor. Not only that - they have been able to develop similar relationships with several other vendors, and have turned the information into a 'for-fee' offering. Essentially their BI platform has created its own direct revenue stream!

These are just a couple of examples of where BI pays off. I hear lots of people talking about "Time to value" and "Return on Investment", and these are certainly critical to effectively making decisions and leading a business. My point is that these aren't the only criteria. Sometimes the benefit of a BI system is not immediately apparent. And sometimes it comes from areas you least expect.

Regards,

Jim

Is BI really for the masses?

I've read quite a few articles over the last year or two that talk about how Business Intelligence should be pervasive throughout a business. The theory is that more information will make anyone better at doing their job. Yet adoption rates for Business Intelligence are currently hovering around 12-15%.

So is it true? Does everyone need BI? Must it be used by everyone throughout your organization. Contrary to many of my peers, I think not!

Rolling out BI is not cheap, and in terms of cost justification, you need to take a look at who inside your business is going to be able to achieve the greatest return from use of the technology. That means that your CFO who needs a comprehensive view of the finiancial position of your business would certainly derive great benefit from having quick access to information that would otherwise be time-consuming and difficult to collect. Similarly, your VP Sales who is mandated to ensure customers are profitable would benefit from being able to keep her team focused on key accounts and products. But an order entry clerk? What's the benefit there? Or more importantly, what is the incremental benefit derived, and how does it compare to the cost of deploying the technology?

I love BI - It allows business aspects that have never been explored previously to be exposed and leveraged for great benefit. It allows companies to make information a real business asset, and to use it for successful business outcomes. But I don't buy into the idea that BI is (at this point, anyway) a business imperative for all your employees. And I suggest you don't buy into that idea either. Instead, make sure your investment in Business Intelligence is targeted at high-value projects and processes, and make them most effective. Think Quality, not quantity.

Is Technology an Expense or an Asset?

In your business, do you look at technology purchases as an expense? Or are they considered instead as an investment in a corporate asset? Regardless of the business you are in, how you look at the tools and equipment you use can have a profound impact on your willingness to embrace innovation. Similarly, your staff should always be considered an asset. Make sure to let them know that.

The History of Business Intelligence

I recently came across this video, and thought I should share it. It's a great overview of what Business Intelligence is... and has some humour to it, too. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1y5jBESLPE

Too much information!

I was doing a little reading across various websites earlier today, and was astounded by the multitude of methods and formats available for receiving BI. It could be 'pushed' to me via email or browser link; 'pulled' by me from a website or netsork folder; it could be dropped on my desktop; it could be available on a Blackberry, iPhone, or other mobile device... And then there were so many ways for it to be viewed! Dashboards, reports, analytics, charts, maps...

With all these methods to receive information, I sometimes wonder what we did before we had them!

And then I pause and think about how many of these I need. How many of them can I act on?

The point here isn't to suggest that all of these various avenues to get information aren't relevant. As someone whose livelihood is predicated on the value of good information (for me and for my clients), I absolutely believe that good information is imperative to business success.

But there's a big difference between having twenty tools streaming information to me, cluttering my mind with minute details that are interesting but irrelevant as compared to having one or two pieces of high-value, timely information on which I can act.

To me, this is something like what Stephen Covey was talking about when he explained his Time Management Matrix - comparing the Urgency of things to their Importance. I'll call mine the Importance/Actionability Matrix! :)

Too many people believe that more information is better, when in reality ACTIONABLE information is better!

What's your take on this?

Great Video (Sorry, not BI-related!)

Okay, so I know this isn't really a BI related entry, but I was very impressed with the video in the attached link for the Eat Real, Eat Local campaign. It was done by Hellman's (the mayonnaise people), and sent to me by a friend.

I like the video for two reasons: first, it does a great job of educating viewers (without lecturing) about the origin of our 'fresh' food supply. Some of the statistics are quite staggering, and really give reason to approach shopping from a different perspective,

The second reason that I like the video is that it does a fantastic job of softly and respectfully promoting a bit of national pride. It doesn't suggest that produce originating in other countries is bad; rather it just advocates for the benefits of buying locally.

After viewing the video, I went to the site, and noticed that in response to the actions of people viewing the video, Hellman's has made donations of $35,000 to the Evergreen fund.

So the customer wins by receiving good, empowering information, the environment wins through receipt of the donation, and of course, Hellman's wins through an excellent PR piece. Sounds like the perfect deal.

Bad Marketing

My father-in-law passed away just over a year ago. It was a sad event for all of us, but he had been ill for some time, and though we miss him a lot, it was not unexpected.

What does that have to do with marketing?

Recently, my now-widowed mother-in-law received a couple of marketing letters directed to my father-in-law. The first piece was from Bell Canada, and it said, almost verbatim, "Where is (my father-in-law's name) today?" We had moved my mother-in-law to a different provider when she moved into a new appartment.

Another letter recently arrived from a State Farm insurance agent, that read: "It's easy to figure out that you want home and auto insurance that fit how you live."

Now I'm not a marketer. I don't claim to have great knowledge in this area, or expertise in finding new prospects for my own business. But would this not be a great example of how companies waste millions of dollars on sending out marketing materials to people that aren't their prospects. And to make it a double-whammy, they have now alienated someone (actually several people) who were upset by their correspondences - all because they were using an out-of-date mailing list!

I wonder what Seth Godin would think of this?

There's a reason it's called Business Intelligence

Yesterday, I was part of a presentation to a mid-sized finance company with some big information problems. We (Dynamic Intelligence) had been asked to provide knowledge related to the BusinessObjects platform, while the company we were partnering with was focused on the back-end systems. In the room were various participants from the prospect including a VP and a couple of directors.

Anyway, the presentation began, and we discussed the many challenges and problems the client was currently facing that could be resolved by deploying a Business Intelligence solution - how there could be a vast saving in terms of staff-time looking for information, how having the right information could prevent bad decisions, etc. The prospect seemed to get it, and was understanding the business value.

Then, the coordinator brought up a slide showing the project timeline and phases. This is where (I think) it went off track.

Although our discussions to this point had been about the business value of the project, the slide seemed to reference all the 'neat' technical things that would be done for the project - Documenting data sources, defining mappings, blah, blah, blah...

What happened to the business? For me, looking at it, it seemed to say, 'Yeah, we know you've got some business problems to solve, so we're going to put in some really cool technology to fix it. We'll let your users know when we've got it done.'

So what's the issue?

Business Intelligence is about solving BUSINESS problems! The initiative should start with business users, be championed by business users, and it should be focused on having a thorough understanding of the business requirements before making it a technology project.

If you let technical resources drive a project/product to the user community, you end up with something that resembles Microsoft Bob or Sony Betamax.

As a footnote, I think the prospect understood the business value, and was going to ensure the project had the right team behind it. For my part, I learned not to let someone steer the ship I'm on, unless I really trust them! :)

Seth's Godin's Blog - Bear Shaving

Seth Godin's Blog posts are great! Yesterday's post, "Bear Shaving," is one of my favourites so far.

In a nutshell, Seth's point is that too often people choose to deal with the symptom of a problem without ever addressing the root cause. The example Seth uses is shaving polar bears in response to global warming - an extreme but entirely ineffective response.

Something that Seth doesn't mention is an equally ineffective but so very common occurrence - responding to a crisis with an appropriate reaction, but when the response is too late to be effective. Think about, for example, removing an appendix after it has ruptured. Or apologizing to a customer for a customer service glitch, after they have switched to another provider.

The point is - make sure your response is appropriate to the situation, but also make sure you respond while it is still relevant.

What's it all about, anyway?

How do you define Business Intelligence?

For the last few years, I've been working with businesses across North America, as part of Business Intelligence (BI) projects and deployments. And yet I have always struggled to concisely explain just what BI is. But I think I'm getting close.

Business Intelligence is a great addition to the technology lexicon - it makes those of us involved in setting up this stuff feel like we're doing something new and revolutionary! But the simple truth is that Business Intelligence isn't really new; it's really just about something we chose to ignore.

Anyone can make a decision. But to make a good decision, we really want/need information. GOOD information. Timely, relevant information. And that's what BI is all about. Information.

So when someone asks me what I do, from now on my answer is going to be that I solve information problems. It doesn't sound so pretentious, and I think it's pretty accurate.

Tools, Tools, Tools

Tools, Tools, Tools

As part of my business, I spend a good amount (too much?) time looking at the comments made by various companies about the need for business intelligence, and all the fantastic new products they have come up with: tools for dealing with 'unstructured data'; search-like query tools; semantic-layer tools... tools, tools, tools.

The thing that struck me is that these software tools are essentially just like the tools of a carpenter or plumber. Without the skill of someone trained to use them, they are at best inanimate lumps, and at worst, they're the keys to a misguided car, careening towards a cliff!!

So the point for today is that a tool is a tool. A wrench is a wrench, and software is software. It is the skill of the person using the tool that brings benefit to you.

(Oh, and don't call me to come fix your plumbing!)

SMBs need BI, too!

BI is not just for big companies!

Over the last six or seven years, I've been involved in providing and implementing Business Intelligence technologies to clients in small businesses. Sometimes, we didn't call it 'BI', but in most cases it really was.

In recent years, many vendors have come forward to talk about having BI 'solutions' (uuggh - I hate that term) for SMBs, but the problem is that they tend to forget the 'S' in SMB. What about the business that doesn't do $300M p.a. in sales?

The reality is that those (not so) small businesses, can definitely reap great benefits from a well thought-out BI implementation. The key is in finding a good place to create value.

Example #1: One of our clients is a distributor of Pet Foods to retailers across Eastern Canada. Their products are sold to independents, large chains, and to several buying groups. They have a team of salespeople, and seem to have order-entry staff working constantly.

The Problem: With such a diverse sales channel, how can you effectively monitor sales for allocation to the appropriate salesrep? Also, with a significant opportunity to receive Vendor rebates based on product and Geo performance, how can you create valid reports to support claims?

How did we solve this? Well, not suprisingly for a business of this size in this market, we didn't build a comprehensive Enterprise Data Warehouse. We didn't implement costly ETL technology platforms, nor did we develop a model requiring dedicated staff FTE resources.

Before recommending a large-scale project of dubious value and return, we took some time to understand both the client's business and the value that could be realized from automating this manual process - how much time was going into doing this manually? How many days per month? We worked with them to determine the repercussions of 'hiccups' in processing - what would be the implications downtime for the system? And we collaborated with them in finding the best balance between budget, timeliness, and fault-tolerance.

In the end, we implement a collection of easily maintained, highly reliable SQL transformation jobs, in conjunction with BusinessObjects Crystal Reports Server. Total cost to the client? Well, let's just say that over the past four years, they have saved the cost of implementing and maintaining this system several times over. They can consistently recover rebates from their vendors. And in addition, they now have a reliable sales information repository!!!

So how does this relate to my initial point, about BI for SMBs? Quite simply, it is not always a matter of considering a large scale project, spanning all aspects of a business, in order to achieve value from Business Intelligence. Implementing BI definitely has a cost, as does any technology. But the issue is to find appropriate ways to offset that cost by generating business value. At some later date, I will no doubt reference the intangible value of Business Intelligence. But for now, let's remember that it is quite possible to justify BI in any size of business.

You don't need to be a global giant to find an ROI.

What is the real pay-off from implementing Business Intelligence in a SME?

First, notice that I didn't say "Business Intelligence Solution." Too many companies (us included, sometimes) talk about providing solutions to their clients, as if to say, "Here, Mr. Smith. Take this - it's the solution to all your problems." The reality is that BI is a business approach; it's a mentality that says, there is value in all of that data I collect to help me pay taxes, and I'm going to start using it. To talk about a BI solution as if it is a comprehensive way of resolving all business issues is foolhardy.

So back to the original question - what's the value of implementing BI?

In my experience working with small and mid-sized businesses, I have become convinced that the real value of Business Intelligence lies not in the possibility of implementing a 'closed loop' automated decision making process; it is not (at least not always) in delivering personalized dashboards to all employees across the organization. The most significant benefit, whether we're dealing with operation reports, Balanced Scorecards, or something in between, lies in the fundamental ability to access information faster and easier, to support decision-making by people.

What does this mean? Well to me, it means that before going down the path of implementing any particular Business Intelligence technology, it is critical to have a sound grasp of what information is not readily available, and how that is impacting your business.

Let's look at an example - A salesperson is reviewing their client list, to determine how to focus efforts. Should the focus be on the clients that are high volume, profitable customers? Well, you should certainly make efforts to keep those clients happy, yes, but probably not too much action is required. How about the clients who purchase the occasional product, and cause no problems but also generate little profit. Probably not a candidate for much attention. But how about the client who purchases a modest amount of low margin product, and always seems to have delivery or other problems - how about them? That's definitely somewhere for the saleperson to focus. Why? Because we should be working on either a) Helping our customer understand the value and benefit of the other products; b) finding out the root cause of, and resolving, the delivery/service issues to make the client happy, or c) 'firing' the client, to focus efforts on better business relationships.

So here's the next question - could a software product automate the process of closing customer accounts? Well, yes, it is possible. But would you want it to? I can tell you that if I was ever on the end of an automated email saying my account was being closed, I might be a tad upset!!!

The software should help identify the accounts falling within a set of pre-defined conditions, to draw them to the attention of the salesperson. The salesperson then should have all of the appropriate information to connect with the customer, to see if the business relationship can be made more successful FOR BOTH PARTIES. Maybe the customer's concerns are valid, and this is an opportunity to improve service that helps all customers. Maybe the customer never realized the value offered by other products or services, and the salesperson can educate them. And maybe, sometimes, closing the account is just the right thing to do.

The point I'm trying to make here is that the Business Intelligence tool should provide purely objective information (sales, margin, errors, complaints) in a way that it can then be effectively used by the salesperson to make a subjective decision. Decision-making does not happen in a vacuum, and much to the chagrin of some of my peers, we need to recognize the intangible value of a human perspective. Putting blind faith into ANY technology systems without appropriate human monitoring is a recipe for disaster.

This from a guy who believes in the value of Business Intelligence for all businesses!!! :)

Questions, questions and more questions

Sometimes I think that writing this blog is just an opportunity for me to ask questions. But then again, if you don't ask questions, you don't get answers!

I've recently been pondering the potential of introducing an Open Source Business Intelligence offering into the solutions we provide to clients. Obviously there are pros and cons. It would definitely be a cheaper option for initial software outlay (at least I think so). But would it really be a good option?

As a partner with a large BI vendor, I'd say we get to see the cream of the crop when dealing with fantastically capable tools, with extremely rich functionality and visual appeal. We also have an opportunity to leverage brand recognition of our vendor when it comes to marketing and sales (though sometimes this can also be a hinderance).

So what to do? Introduce the low-cost albeit lower functioning Open Source alternative, or focus on the higher pricetag but very compelling offering from the big vendor? Well for the time being, I think we'll stick with the one vendor option. Though the cost up front is higher, in most cases clients like dealing with a name they at least recognize. I expect that will change as time goes by and companies become more comfortable with the concept of BI in their businesses. But for now, we'll continue to be a single-source provider. For now...

What this is about...

A lot of large software vendors are promoting themselves as providing Business Intelligence solutions appropriate for SMBs, but here's my issue - while the solutions are generally functionally and financially appropriate for the upper end of this market space, the reality is that they are not generally an affordable option at the lower end.

For clarification, I better share my definition of the market we're talking about.

Generally (and obviously with exceptions), when I think of mid-sized businesses, I'm thinking of those from about $25 million per annum revenue, and going up to about $350M in annual revenue. I realize that annual revenue is a fairly arbitrary defining characteristic, however people like having boundaries, so there you have it. Under $25 million, generally there is not the scope of business operations to warrant much in the way of sophisticated BI, and over $350M, realistically we're no longer dealing with a mid-sized business.

As the president of a consulting firm implementing BI solutions in the mid-market, I'm hoping I can use my experience to give some insight into viable BI for smaller businesses, and how to get value from appropriate solutions.

And yes, I'll also share my opinion about industry trends and changes for those who care to read them :)

Stay tuned!