Turning Business Intelligence into Actionable Intelligence
Decision makers in any business are expected to make critical decisions in support of their company’s strategy and the success of the company in general. To aid in making these all-important decisions more and more people are turning to business intelligence to produce actionable information to help them make informed decisions that will positively transform their companies.
This information is,
more often than not, ever changing in the fast-paced world of business and is best maintained by a strong business intelligence program that can rapidly collect the necessary data from various data warehouses and process the data to produce actionable information. This information can then be used to present various courses of action to senior leadership. Because they’re produced from business intelligence data, these reports will be timely, accurate, and defensible, instead of a gut reaction to the market.
In order to have access to true actionable intelligence, the business intelligence program needs to have constant access to important data for the company, as it is being generated. The program will then be able to turn the data into actionable information based on preset metrics and can then be used to gain a competitive advantage in a competitive time frame. Depending on how the metrics are set, the reports can be generated so that they make the most sense to senior leadership in terms of per-share earnings, sales required to cover expenses, and other key financial metrics. Because the reports are in a language that is easily understood by leadership, strategies can be approved and acted upon more quickly than strategies supported by reports that are undecipherable or need extensive explanation.
Actionable information supported by business intelligence shows senior leadership that the key decision makers for the business are making responsible, informed decisions based on data instead of guesswork. The data-driven business intelligence allows for discussion, plan development, corrective measures, and positive changes in the right direction for any business.
As the business intelligence program continues to provide actionable information, the company can experience continuous improvement and see tangible results that result in positive growth. Tangible results and positive growth will pave the way for more business intelligence projects within the company, enabling radical change across the board.
