4% very satisfied with data integration and analysis

Recently the Economist Intelligence Unit published a paper (jointly sponsored by Intel and SAP) entitled "Business Intelligence: Putting information to work" The key findings here echo those my company has found in it its own research and vendor views given in partner briefings.

Key points

4% of respondents are "very satisfied" with their companies' data integration and analysis
80% agree that company operational performance would improve with broader dissemination of BI data - that is too few people have access to information needed to be effective in their jobs.
40% believe there staff make poor decisions based on inadequate data.

So what is inhibiting things?

Typical inhibitors identified by the EIU are:

Lack of a top down corporate approach, too many systems meeting tactical departmental needs often funded through department budgets.
Too many disparate BI platforms in use (15% of respondents have eight or more BI platforms)
Lack of quality around corporate data and compatibility between systems, especially where companies have grown through merger and acquisition
Inappropriate metrics being used for performance measurement

All this goes to show that master data management, rationalisation of platforms and developing business lead KPI measurements are key to implementing a successful corporate BI strategy