Business Intelligence: Analytics Solutions Catch C-level Attention
December 2005
Excerpted from Manufacturing Business Technology
Time was, senior management left the details of software purchases to the head of the IT department. But times have changed. Executives now know the power of business intelligence (BI) and analytics software, and its ability to enhance operational performance. As a result, they want a hand in picking these tools.
"Seven or eight years ago, you probably didn't see the president or CEO involved with the evaluation of analytical software packages. Now you always see them in demos," says Mike Hennel, president of performance management solutions vendor Silvon Software. "They always understood the need for analytics, but didn't picture themselves as users. Now upper management sees [analytics] as a solution to drive the business forward."
Robb Eklund, VP of Business Objects, says senior managers are investing aggressively in analytical software because they need to know they're getting the most value from previous business system investments. "Manufacturing 101 is to buy and manufacture at the lowest cost, and ship as expeditiously as possible," says Eklund. "Analytics allow me to understand the entire chain of events and see which [parts of the operation are not working at full efficiency] so I can fix them."
Hennel cites the need for a consistent view across global operations as further cause for C-level interest. "[CEOs must] ensure they are managing data the same way across the enterprise," he says.
Furthermore, investors are no longer willing to accept traditional financial statements and balance sheets as sufficient evidence of a company's financial health, claims Hennel. "Now CEOs are being asked more questions about what they are going to do to improve or support operations," he says.
Business intelligence software—and the key management information it delivers—also brings about renewed interest in executive dashboards. Once dismissed as a solution in search of a problem, more senior executives are using dashboards as a quick means of accessing vital information, says Hennel. "Some of the higher-level dashboards have a combination of financial and other operational metrics. About half [of this data] goes up to the CEO, and certainly to the VP level."
