Data-driven entrepreneurs

Leading a business intelligence project can be like bootstrapping a startup. Doing it well demands the mindset of a data-driven entrepreneur, along with BI tools that leverage open data and enable an agile approach.

Data-driven entrepreneurs are individuals responsible for successfully applying their resources to transform data into actionable insights and profitable opportunities. They may be analysts, managers, or executives who work in an established organisation or are independently in charge of a startup. Their goal remains the same either way: to persuasively propagate the power of data into the lives of others, so that decisive actions can be taken quickly to grow income, reduce risk and save money.

Data denial and the downfall

Mid-sized organisations are looking to business intelligence in order to build resilience amidst the uncertain and complex business climate. It’s about having the capacity to change before the case for change becomes desperately obvious, but building resilience rarely happens in isolation. 

Having to reform an entrenched business model is a daunting task, particularly for the giant corporations among us. To build resilience is to develop the capacity to respond intelligently to changing circumstances. When we, as executives, notice a reason to change strategy, but choose to avoid what the data reveals, we're in data denial, and that could make the difference between a mid-sized organisation taking market share and the downfall of a behemoth.

Manufacturing intelligent services

We highlight a trend toward value-added services as a means for medium-sized manufacturers to drive innovation.

When you're a manufacturer on a slim budget, it's not easy to muster up the courage to innovate. When product demand begins to decline, however, innovation becomes a necessity. In an effort to survive organisations are seeking ways to commercialise successful innovations quickly. In some cases, the challenge has led medium-sized manufacturers to pursue a strategy called 'servitisation'. It is no quick journey to success, but research insight lends credence to the idea.

To 'servitise' means to combine value-added services with products that deliver additional capabilities to customers on an ongoing, 'pay as you go' basis. If, like other manufacturing companies, you're eager to pump all your innovative forces into generating income and saving money, then you might want to take note of the term, 'servitisation'. Even if you're not interested in the jargon, it's worth considering its essence: the shift from a focus on product to service.

Merger Analytics solution for M&As

Why successful mergers and acquisitions harness analytics to drive engagement around a shared vision, while reducing the headaches of system integration.

The ideal merger of two organisations should be a 'match made in heaven', but how rare they are. It has been said that 'successful mergers are usually about people and culture'. But by the time the executives discover that one culture is largely incompatible with the other, the merger has already disintegrated into a 'hellish wedlock'. What a headache.

Winning BIG with Self-Service BI

Experts indicate that midsized organisations can win BIG by outsourcing business intelligence to a self-service provider in the Cloud.

Business Intelligence has long been considered a challenge for midsized organisations. With costly systems overburdening IT departments, there is a failure to focus on the changing needs of business users. New business intelligence services in the Cloud are inviting IT departments to outsource their biggest data challenges to data specialists who can deliver a single version of the truth to multiple business users, on demand.