I recently had the chance to brief the Boulder Business Intelligence Brain Trust (BBBT) community on Dundas’ latest offering. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the BBBT community, it is a great assembly of independent BI analysts and experts, who are very knowledgeable of the industry and as such, are able to offer unbiased opinions of what practices really work in our industry and what products can truly make a difference. Fluff won’t fly with the BBBT community, which is a big part of why I genuinely enjoy discussions with them; it’s important to have strong arguments backed by solid proof.
Liberation from reliance on the IT department. That’s the promise of self-service analytics. Sounds nice right? Unfortunately that’s not always the case, as companies deploying self-service analytics often become overwhelmed and the chances of mismanaging data increases when the technology is simply handed over to business users. It’s becoming more and more apparent that self-service analytics do not exist to emancipate business users from their IT counterparts, but rather to create a balanced partnership, on the grounds of governance and self-service.
Sunburst Charts are beautiful and are great at both representing hierarchical data structures and increasing engagement of users. Often hidden in the simplicity of a circle, is a multitude of intriguing, distinctive qualities. What is lacked in precision, is often gained with an intuitiveness and aesthetic beauty that comes from its circular nature, which feeds our unique fascination with this shape.
When discussing Business Intelligence (BI) tools, adoption is arguably the single most important indicator of success. Little value will be derived from the tool if it is not adopted by end-users. Studies have shown that more than a staggering 70% of BI tools are not adopted by their intended end-users. This is alarming, especially when considering the amount of time, effort and resources invested in these projects. This begs the question… What can be done better by organizations implementing a BI tool, to improve adoption?
Imagine a skyscraper, with the landlord having a master key. Within this skyscraper, the landlord is able to build as many units as they please, to be occupied by their tenants – each with their own unique lock. These tenants know only of their own unit, and are unaware of the other units, or what contents are stored within. Externally, each unit may look the same, but within, a new light fixture, a shag carpet, an island with a built-in sink – you get the picture. By now you’re likely wondering, “How does this relate to software”?
