Week Three - Wisdom of Crowds BI Study Begins

As Week Three of The Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study begins, I want to thank everyone for their enthusiastic support. What started off as an experiment has grown into a full fledged movement!

The study has two weeks left to go and will remain open until March 15, 2010. So, now is a great time to get involved and make your voice heard!

If you are using a BI tool of any kind, click on the link below and complete the survey. If you have experience with more than one vendor/tool, complete the survey for each product/vendor combination. It only takes two minutes to rate your vendor and product. Valid participants will receive a complimentary analysis and report of the findings.

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Haven't Filled Out The Survey Yet? - Click Here NOW!

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Study Demographics:

Here are some charts highlighting demographics of the study with the data collected so far. Please keep in mind that these numbers will change between now and March 15th, when the study concludes:

Industries Represented:

Organization size:

Functions Represented:

BI Vendors Represented:

Geographies

Top Ten Issues with BI Vendors/Products- Wisdom of Crowds BI Survey

The Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study is still well underway and will remain open until March 15, 2010. So, now is a great time to get involved and make your voice heard!

If you are using a BI tool of any kind, click on the link below and complete the survey. If you have experience with more than one vendor/tool, complete the survey for each product/vendor combination. It only takes two minutes to rate your vendor and product. Valid participants will receive a complimentary analysis and report of the findings.

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Haven't Filled Out The Survey Yet? - Click Here NOW!

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The Top Ten:While much more data is needed (hint, hint), it's already possible to identify some general trends. So, I have come up with the "Top Ten" issues/concerns that organizations have with their Business Intelligence vendors and products.

Over the next week, I will release them - one at a time - starting this morning with Number 10 and working my way up to the biggest issue - Number 1:

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Top Ten #10 - Experience level of the BI vendor's consulting group

Top Ten #9 - Ability to customize and extend product/technology

Top Ten #8 - Amount of time for Tech Support to resolve problems

Top Ten #7 - Continuity of Consulting Resources

Top Ten #6 - Sales Flexibility/Accommodation during acquisition process

Top Ten #5 - Upgrade/migration to new versions of product

Top Ten #4 - Contractual terms and conditions

Top Ten #3 - Understanding our business/needs

Top Ten #2 - Consulting value for price paid

Top Ten #1 - Integration with 3rd party technologies

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Remember,this survey is not underwritten or sponsored by any vendors and none of your detailed data will be shared with the outside world. It was conceived as a means for providing an unbiased view of the market to those interested in selecting the best BI vendors and products and is entirely dependent upon people like you for input! So, please complete the survey today and be part of this important project!

Click Here To Participate in The Study

More later!

Best,

Howard

Wisdom of Crowds BI Market Study - Week One

Hello Folks and thanks to those that have already made their voices heard by participating during the first week of the Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study!

But, we're only just getting started and your input is VITAL!!!

What You'll Receive for Participating: Participants will receive a complimentary copy of the findings for their own use in evaluating BI vendors and products.

Click Here To Participate in The Study

This is an Independent Study: This survey is not underwritten or sponsored by any vendors and none of your detailed data will be shared with the outside world. It was conceived as a means for providing an unbiased view of the market to those interested in selecting the best BI vendors and products.

More Input Needed: We've been pleased with the initial response and have assembled a few charts to share with you (below). However, we need much more data before we can consider this a reliable view of the market. So, please respond and also encourage others to do so.

Our Objective: The objective is to provide a fresh view into customers' experience with various Business Intelligence vendors and products. My goal is to collect input from as many organizations as possible before March 15, 2010.

Evaluation Criteria: Vendors and products will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1) Sales/acquisition process

2) Value for price paid

3) Quality and usefulness of product

4) Quality of technical support

5) Quality of consulting services

Once again, thanks for being a part of this import and independent market assessment!

Best,

Howard

Click Here To Begin The Study

Some Preliminary Findings from Week One:

Be Part of The "Wisdom of Crowds" Business Intelligence Survey!!

Having read some recent analysis of the BI market, I decided that it would be worthwhile to attempt a different kind of market study - one which is based on a large sample, using a fairly simple survey instrument.

As a result, I have launched the "Wisdom of Crowds" Business Intelligence Market Study.

What You'll Receive for Participating: Participants will receive a complimentary copy of the findings for their own use in evaluating BI vendors and products.

>> Click Here To Participate in The Study <<

This is an Independent Study: This survey is not underwritten or sponsored by any vendors and none of your detailed data will be shared with the outside world. It was conceived as a means for providing an unbiased view of the market to those interested in selecting the best BI vendors and products.

More Input Needed: We've been pleased with the initial response and have assembled a few charts to share with you (below). However, we need much more data before we can consider this a reliable view of the market. So, please respond and also encourage others to do so.

Our Objective: The objective is to provide a fresh view into customers' experience with various Business Intelligence vendors and products. My goal is to collect input from as many organizations as possible before March 15, 2010.

Evaluation Criteria: Vendors and products will be evaluated using the following criteria:

1) Sales/acquisition process

2) Value for price paid

3) Quality and usefulness of product

4) Quality of technical support

5) Quality of consulting services

Once again, thanks for being a part of this import and independent market assessment!

Best,

Howard

Click Here To Begin The Study

Visit My Website

Order my latest book

Meet me at Gartner's BI Summit - April 12-14, 2010 - Las Vegas

Why Performance-Directed Organizations Are More "Green"

While it’s great that renewable energy sources, energy-efficient transportation and green office complexes are being developed, the fact is that conservation can have more immediate impact. And, a performance-directed culture (and organization) promises to improve conservation by reducing the use of many forms of energy, thereby reducing an organization’s carbon footprint.

As a refresher, a performance-directed culture is one where everyone is actively aligned with the mission of the organization, where transparency and accountability are the norm, new insights are acted upon in unison and conflicts are resolved quickly and positively. A more complete description can be found in my new book: Profiles in performance – Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change.

The average organization thrives on long work days, numerous lengthy meetings, and an inordinate number of business trips to compensate for a chaotic lack of structure and context for the work that it does. Work-at-home is a luxury and is limited because the formal office setting provides the context needed to get work done. In these organizations, their lack of structure requires the co-location of people to manage interactions and cope with impromptu changes in management direction. Additionally, since a more rational context for work does not exist, management needs the physical workplace to ensure that their employees are truly “working”. Of course most of us that have worked outside of an office for many years know that productivity is vastly higher than when sitting at a desk in an office park.

In contrast, a performance-directed organization's initiatives can be carried out with relative ease – with each contributor understanding his or her role, related tasks and their relationship to others’. Both efficient and effective, it can bring initiatives to a more rapid and successful conclusion – which translates into less office time and fewer meetings and business trips. In turn, this reduces the need for extended-hours lighting and heating for office buildings and less business travel (e.g., trains, planes and automobiles).

Not surprisingly, a performance-directed organization facilitates and functions well with a work-at-home workforce better than one that is not performance-directed. Through work-at-home we can dramatically reduce the use of fossil fuels and associated pollution from automobiles used to commute to and from office parks, and further reduce the energy used to heat and light office space. In the longer term, fewer buildings would be required to be built – thereby preserving open land, reducing the use of raw materials and the energy required for construction.

So, in these times when we’re all striving to find ways to be more “green” and reduce our carbon footprint, becoming performance-directed is a vital approach. And, while you’re reducing your carbon footprint, you’ll also be improving your organization’s performance.

Of course, that's just my opinion. What do you think?

Best,

Howard

Visit My Website

Order my latest book

Meet me at Gartner's BI Summit - April 12-14, 2010 - Las Vegas

Jan/Feb Edition of Balance Scorecard Report

Attached is a link to an excerpt of the lead article that I authored for the latest Balanced Scorecard Report.

In this article I describe my Performance Culture Maturity Model (patent pending) which is the foundation for my new book, Profiles in Performance - Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change.

The article is available, in its entirety, from Harvard Business Publishing.

Best,

Howard

Visit My Website

Order my latest book

Meet me at Gartner's BI Summit - April 12-14, 2010 - Las Vegas

A thought (or two) for the New Year

Welcome and Happy New Year! I hope it’s a healthy, happy and prosperous one for us all.Like many other industry-resource-types, I would normally use the occasion to issue some predictions for the New Year. However, for now, I’ve decided to hang up my “crystal ball” and resist making any predictions. Instead, I’ve chosen to talk about what I think we ought to aspire to.

So, to start, I would like to posit a question: why do we (still) struggle to effectively use information to make better decisions and what can we do to improve?

Here are five ideas that might help:

1) Get the culture right: If a culture is not receptive to BI and EPM, those efforts will have limited impact. This is the basis for my latest book, Profiles in performance – Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change. In it I assert that organizations need to establish a “performance-directed culture” first – as a context or rationale for these solutions. To this end, I developed the Performance Culture Maturity Model (Patent Pending) and related methodologies for assessing an organization’s culture and offering a path to becoming more “performance-directed”.

2) Don’t get overly enamored with technology: This is not to say that technology isn’t important. You certainly will want to have appropriate technology once you have the right environment in place to use it. However, it’s a means to an end, not an end in itself and large sums of money can be wasted with a “technology-led” strategy.

3) Get strategic: There was a time when many/most organizations had “strategic planning” functions. They were chartered to think and plan for the future – developing multiple scenarios and associated action plans. Today, few organizations have this sort of a function and it shows. Most organizations have allowed themselves to become overwhelmingly tactical and reactive in nature. Moving forward we need to become better at thinking about the future. Granted, this is a very imperfect process. However, thinking about the future and those forces that may affect us allows us to better prepare - considering multiple possible realities and developing/understanding potential options. This is far better alternative to allowing ourselves to be caught off guard – and forced (once again) to respond tactically.

4) Get the metrics right: Assuming we have a well defined and communicated mission and strategy, we can use metrics as a means of measuring and managing execution. This is where things get complex and there’s a real risk of providing large quantities of information with little impact. Here’s where “less is more”. Metrics need to be focused upon alignment with the strategy in a way that they’re actionable. By way of an example, I refer to Mueller - one of the excellent case studies in my book. A manufacturer of sheet metal buildings and products in West Texas, Mueller is an inductee of the Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame. Having successfully rolled out scorecards throughout the organization with very positive impact, Mueller initially struggled to find metrics for Manufacturing, which would be readily understood, actionable and would allow them to align with the strategy in a meaningful way. After a great deal of reflection, Mueller focused Manufacturing upon the reduction of scrap metal. This was a brilliant move which was quickly embraced and immediately paid dividends in the form of substantial cost savings. It also bolstered morale through a strong sense of strategic inclusion.

5) Take action: Many of us either engage in “analysis paralysis” or rely upon intuition when faced with a critical decision. Instead, we should view Business Intelligence and associated analyses as part of a learning process – which uses information to inform our decision-making, but doesn’t make the decision for us. This requires taking calculated risks, since information will typically be incomplete. However, the former two scenarios expose the organization to completely unknown risks. So, frame the decision to be made. Collect and analyze enough information/facts to build workable assumptions. Assess the benefits, risks, and alternatives and make your decision. Finally, monitor the impact and adjust if possible and as needed.

As always, I look forward to your comments!

All the best,

Howard

Visit My Website

Order my latest book

Meet me at Gartner's BI Summit - April 12-14, 2010 - Las Vegas