Business processes in modern day enterprise are becoming more and more interconnected, non-linear and increasingly event driven in nature. The business applications architecture nowadays is far more complex than it was a few years ago and business users are crying out for greater access to accurate information which they can use.

These are just some of the drivers that present a compelling case for businesses to consider Business Intelligence (BI) and analytics software tools that can turn data piles into relevant and useful information and enable businesses to take better informed business decisions.

Get The Senior Management On BI Board
So what’s the problem? Well, the problem is that while most CIOs and IT managers realize the importance and benefits of a BI investment, the big guys don’t always get the message. Getting the senior management onboard is an essential part of any BI initiative. Without the corporate sponsorship, it’s virtually impossible to think of a successful implementation.

"It is one of the less talked about yet critical aspects of any BI initiative. Quite often IT people get too hung up on elements such as data integration, scalability, availability, security issues and tend to ignore the importance of having a project sponsorship and governance design," said Ted Friedman, research VP, Gartner. "The lack of support from the business side can and most certainly will lead to the failure of any BI project, simply because it’s the business that’s going to use it in the end."

Speaking further Friedman said, "Unfortunately, many BI efforts, data warehousing implementations, and data integration projects are done without a clear overall business strategy and without the corporate link. This is a dangerous trend and something that organizations can do without."

BI Projects Should Be Jointly Owned By IT And Business
Unlike other IT projects, BI initiatives should not be owned entirely by the IT departments, but rather handled jointly by the business and the IT. The key thing is to align every BI initiative with the company's long-term strategic goals and objectives and IT department should only view itself as the implementer of the technology.

While attempting a BI project, it is important that the IT department and the business form a BI team which sponsors and dictates design, development and deployment. The CIO needs to collaborate with a business executive such as CFO or COO and decide on budget, time and other resources.

BI initiatives are time consuming, money hungry technology investments which require careful handling for successful execution. Businesses shouldn’t merely look at BI as a tool for chopping and churning of data, but as the creator of actionable information that can help boost overall efficiency and agility of the organization and the onus lies on the CIOs and IT leaders to make their colleagues from the business side understand the criticality of BI.