BI for everyone

It isn't only BFSI and telecom that can gain by using Business Intelligence tools, says George Varghese, Head - Marketing & Alliances, SAS India.

Will companies in verticals other than BFSI & telecom benefit from deploying BI tools?

BI solutions can help companies in life sciences optimise the flow of scientific and operational data. It can help retailers understand past customer behaviour, predict buying patterns in the future, determine the net profitability of products, and see the effectiveness of promotional campaigns across multiple channels.

Manufacturing companies can turn data into knowledge, and develop unique demand, supply, operational and customer insights. Government and academic institutes can use BI tools to aggregate and clean data, and store it intelligently.

How can a CIO convince the CEO to go in for BI?

Today's CEOs realise the need for having the power of information in their quest to make the right business decisions. Keeping in mind the increased focus on corporate governance, as well as international compliance issues such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, enterprises are forced to invest in technologies and systems that make their organisations transparent.

A CIO needs to explain to the CEO that a BI solution offers the organisation a 360-degree view of the enterprise, a holistic view of the interdependencies, and how to optimise them for the best possible results.

Is there a method for getting the optimal benefits from a BI solution?

The solution should provide intelligence that can affect every aspect of day-to-day business operations, touching employees at every level and driving efficiencies throughout the enterprise. It should empower every employee to use data to make critical everyday decisions while reducing risk and increasing corporate performance and productivity. It should provide an intelligence infrastructure that is technically advanced, flexible, integrated and manageable, lending strategic importance to IT operations while requiring less training and fewer resources. Lastly, it should provide a technology platform that drives existing hardware and software infrastructure to improve efficiency and effectiveness.

- Soutiman Das Gupta