Dresner's Point: Organizations Need to Eliminate Data Sheep in BI

Perhaps a tag with “some assembly required” should be attached to business intelligence analytics tools.

We just released in July our Advanced and Predictive Analytics Market Study report in our Wisdom of Crowds series, and I wanted to explore the topic in more depth in one of my recent Friday #BIWisdom tweetchats. Our market survey found that awareness of the importance of BI analytics is high (90 percent), but adoption of analytics tools is in the early stages of deployment even though many of the tools have been available for decades.

I asked the tweetchat tribe about the current challenges that BI analytics face (from the users’ point of view) and, as usual, they tweeted a variety of opinions.

Several agreed that the biggest challenge is there are too many solutions and thus a lot of hype, which leads to confusion. Someone else commented that it’s not there are too many tools but rather that organizations haven’t found the right ones for their industry or segment specificity.

A dominant viewpoint among the group held that a lot of the analytics tools don’t scale or perform the way they were “told and sold,” especially when it comes to accessing multiple data sources. That comment generated a resounding thumbs-up response from several in the group. One person asked how it’s possible to “see through the PR fluff to the truth.”

Cost factors into the challenges too. Several agreed that user-based, per-seat license costs are too high. Another tweeted that license is never the biggest cost but is the first one looked at and often a driver. For that reason, vendors often discount license fees. But they rarely discount services such as implementation, maintenance and support, which are also significant.

The challenge that rose to prominence in our tweetchat is the lack of training and support for analytics tools. As the #BIWisdom tribe observed:
" A big challenge is data literacy. Users can see their stats but might not know what they mean.
" Companies are scrambling for analytics talent, and software companies are touting “everyone an analyst.” But not everyone is a data analyst. However, most users need to know how to adjust two or three key variables for better output. Data fluency among users is needed. Not everyone needs to be fluent in “talking” directly to the data, but every user needs a basic understanding. So a stratified approach is needed.
" Breeding a lifetime of data analysis starts with good training and support.

Most of the group agreed that education is playing a huge part in converting traditional data users to BI, but they dismissed the notion that it’s happening quick enough for the shift to analytics and predictive analytics.

And everyone agreed that all business people need education on critical thinking to become analytically driven. One of the tribe summed up the discussion: users lacking the ability to think critically are a big BI challenge for organizations today.

Bottom line: Organizations need to avoid what I call “data sheep” – creatures with a total reliance on software tools to present analysis and data. People still need to think. Knowledge of how to create a BI plot, for instance, and which type to use, is appropriate even if a tool automates it.

Sheep need the guidance of shepherds. Training in the principles of data analysis is necessary for BI analytics success, regardless of the tool. Also, even if a tool is ideal for an organization, the company culture will likely need to adapt, which requires education.

My opinion – and not stated sheepishly – is that all obstacles that stand in the way of business insights and users need to be minimized. The best way to achieve that is through training and support.

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Howard Dresner is president, founder and chief research officer at Dresner Advisory Services, LLC,  an independent advisory firm. He is one of the foremost thought leaders in Business Intelligence and Performance Management, having coined the term “Business Intelligence” in 1989. He has published two books on the subject, The Performance Management Revolution — Business Results through Insight and Action, and Profiles in Performance — Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change. He hosts a weekly tweet chat (#BIWisdom) on Twitter each Friday. Prior to Dresner Advisory Services, Howard served as chief strategy officer at Hyperion Solutions and was a research fellow at Gartner, where he led its Business Intelligence research practice for 13 years.

Dresner's Point: Mobile BI on the Move

“If I’m at Starbucks doing business intelligence via WiFi with my laptop, is that Mobile BI? If so, if I do the same thing at work, what is that?” That question started the discussion at one of my recent Friday #BIWisdom tweetchats.

When the tweetchat tribe tried to level set what this booming area of business intelligence really is, we found some differing opinions.

Mobile BI supports the transient workforce, someone tweeted. No, it’s mobile because it uses mobile devices and the device facets (GPS, camera), most agreed. Example: a static BI report delivered to an iPad is Mobile BI. But another member tweeted that the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 blurs the lines, so we can’t define Mobile BI by devices; it’s just any portable workflow.

My opinion? Mobile BI allows taking fact-based insights/information on a mobile device with you to a decision point.

Our annual Wisdom of Crowds Mobile Computing / Mobile Business Intelligence Market Studies reveal a multi-year trend of growing interest in Mobile BI as well as growing sophistication on the part of users.
Almost a year ago at another of my #BIWisdom tweetchats, I asked participants for examples of where they saw Mobile BI in use. Two folks observed that they saw Mobile BI only in discrete pockets and use cases. Having said that, one added that some of the use cases were strategically critical.

The group in my recent #BIWisdom tweetchat reported they see people interacting with Mobile BI at airports, on the bus, in stores, at a supply chain distribution center, while waiting on elevators in an office building in New York City or getting real-time data on the trade floor. One of the #BIWisdom group said his client can track 30 percent of sales directly to the use of Mobile BI for sales productivity.
Someone commented that being able to take BI everywhere and have continuous accessibility makes up for the slower data speeds on a mobile device. But another wisely tweeted, “Other than the fact that I can do BI most anywhere, what does Mobile BI bring that traditional BI can’t?” One of the group said it’s the ability to interact directly with surroundings. He shared an example: GPS to filter location, then taking a picture of a store shelf for collaboration.

However, someone else questioned whether that means that collaboration must be a part of mobile BI for it to be successful. The group pondered whether mobile BI means moving from “just reporting” to “true insight” that is based on a collaborative event but decided that there are definite use cases where mobile BI adds value without collaboration.

Bottom line: In late 2013, the cost of deploying mobile hardware was prohibitive to many companies. Security was also a concern, according to our Wisdom of Crowds market study. At that time many of our survey participants stated they wanted to use Mobile BI only to view (and select and filter) information, not interact with it.

Today security is still the top obstacle to greater use of Mobile BI. Regional regulatory issues (especially in government, healthcare and banking), are also prominent concerns for Mobile BI. Even so, Mobile BI is moving up in critical priority. It’s also morphing significantly with new-generation IT infrastructure. Undoubtedly there will be security breaches – some big. That’s why it’s critical that organizations put security policy/programs in place.

Our Wisdom of Crowds market studies reveal that mobile is about new use cases and new UXs; it’s not about porting desktop BI to an external device. Most existing BI is too data dense to fit on a mobile device, so a lot of design rethinking is required. But I believe that the maturity of uses cases and benefits are more important for growing success than the maturity of Mobile BI technology.

Mobile BI is definitely on the move in user penetration and in vendor support. Already it’s no longer a market per se; it’s a feature.

Here’s what I’m watching for:

" I expect we’ll see an intersection of Mobile BI, Cloud BI, and Collaborative BI.
" All needed business intelligence features will be available on mobile devices.
" Eventually “Mobile BI” will become just “mobile” and “mobile” will just become apps in the same way that “Big Data” will eventually just become “data.”

Howard Dresner is president, founder and chief research officer at Dresner Advisory Services, LLC, an independent advisory firm. He is one of the foremost thought leaders in Business Intelligence and Performance Management, having coined the term “Business Intelligence” in 1989. He has published two books on the subject, The Performance Management Revolution — Business Results through Insight and Action, and Profiles in Performance — Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change. He hosts a weekly tweet chat (#BIWisdom) on Twitter each Friday. Prior to Dresner Advisory Services, Howard served as chief strategy officer at Hyperion Solutions and was a research fellow at Gartner, where he led its Business Intelligence research practice for 13 years.