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Business Intelligence Can Be a Long Journey So How Do You Start Delivering Value Now?
Richard Starnes Principal Information Management Deloitte Consulting LLP

4 Tips for Seeing Results Early and Often

BI is not a quick-hit initiative. Its a journey. But businesses can still see results along the way.

op quiz: What are your long-term business intelligence (BI) goals? What business problems will your BI solutions help you solve? Chances are you already have good answers to these questions since BI is now a leading business and technology issue for many companies. Business leaders know the value it can bring for supporting decision making, reducing risk, introducing cost efficiencies, and improving information quality. But what is your roadmap for reaching those goals? For many companies, the picture becomes cloudy here. For starters, there are more BI-focused software solutions available from SAP now than ever before. And, while its great to have options, it can be hard to know which configuration is the smartest choice for your business. Plus, many companies dont know where to begin since it can be difficult to analyze how well a companys current BI system works, where it falls short, and how much incremental value a transition will deliver. For all these reasons, BI is not a quick-hit initiative. Its a journey. But businesses can still see results along the way if they take the right approach. Here are four tips for demonstrating BI results early and regularly.

someone will champion your success. Find a partner from the business to help get you there faster.

3. Consider Leading with Lightweight Tools, Like SAP BusinessObjects Explorer

SAP BusinessObjects Explorer can be a useful, intuitive tool for putting BI functionality in users hands earlier, helping them to start generating results on their own more quickly. For example, the tool can help users dive into existing SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse data and master data relationships to present multiple data sets like sales and inventory with minimal effort. That means they can look beyond a specific query to see broader relationships more quickly. Its like data mining on the fly. And SAP BusinessObjects Explorer isnt the only tool that can help jump-start your analytics efforts. Preconfigured solutions that focus on the industry or purpose level (SAPs business analytics solutions, for instance) can also be rapidly deployed to deliver value.

4. Experiment with a Pull Model

SAPs newest generation of solutions (like SAP BusinessObjects Explorer and SAP BusinessObjects Analysis) were designed to help users change the standard BI model. Instead of pushing new capabilities out to users, give them the tools to start pulling their own weight enabling them to generate their own analytics, reports, and capabilities. Through this pull model, they can use BI to explore uncharted territory on their own.

1. Take Time to Plan

Experienced mountain climbers dont just grab their gear and head to the mountain not when theyre trying to reach an imposing new peak. They carefully plan out each stage of the climb with their hiking teams. Its the same with improving or implementing a BI solution you need to take the time to understand the real requirements, engage with stakeholders, and create a vision that will sustain everyone through the long haul.

Putting Your Best Foot Forward

With BI, you probably wont be delivering the promised value right away. That makes it even more important to drive incremental value along the way, keeping everyone engaged and helping them remember the big picture questions we asked earlier. Showing that kind of value is crucial to a BI project. The four tips weve offered here arent the only ways to make it happen, but our experience at Deloitte shows that theyre a great start. To learn more, visit www.deloitte.com/sap or drop us a line at sap@deloitte.com. n

2. Identify Business Leaders Who Can Help Deliver Quick Wins

Its best to deliver a BI system in chunks in a data set like General Ledger, for instance, or in specific applications, such as executive dashboards. That way, you can show progress and move the organization along in a more gradual, natural fashion. But dont deliver these chunks without outside help and just hope that

Reproduced from the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue of SAPinsider with permission from its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com