This is really fascinating.

It potentially reveals the common beliefs of a large group of business executives, based on what is likely a representative sample. This is exceedingly important, as this collective group, and the decisions they make, can have a huge impact on the economy of not just their home country, but globally.

On a single short page over at IT BusinessEdge.com, there are a few summaries of longer articles. Here’s the first, dated September 2006:

While executives widely acknowledge the value of business intelligence, many of them report problems with inconsistent or poor quality data and an ad hoc approach to installing BI systems. According to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, just 4 percent of respondents say they are “very satisfied” with data integration and analysis at their companies. Eighty percent say that their organization’s performance would improve if BI data were disseminated to employees other than senior and middle managers, and 40 percent report their workers often make poor decisions because of inadequate data. Other problems spotlighted in the survey: BI tools confined to individual departments or groups, too many BI platforms and incompatible systems.”

The Desire to Improve Communication is Universal

So in 2006 within this select group of executives, likely respondents to a survey, a mere 4% were happy with their current results, a whopping 80% thought they needed to improve how they share information, and 40% were costing their organization because of their inability to acquire the data they need to operate the organization properly. Further, not enough people had access to the tools that might help (but don’t forget that 96% were unhappy with their current outcomes), they allocated precious resources to multiple BI solutions (presumably because no one solution was enough) and their systems didn’t share key data.

OK, this is 2006, right? Not exactly the dark ages of computing technology. And almost half the group felt that they couldn’t get what they want, and they didn’t know how to publish it even if they could get it!?!

Only Wine Improves With Age

Surely the situation has improved now, hasn’t it? There’s been a huge focus on BI software over the last couple of years, with many software vendors addressing the needs of today’s organizations.

Skip down the page a little, to a summary dated January 2008:

According to Gartner, poor data quality inhibits strategic business initiatives. It suggests organizations create data-stewardship roles to improve data quality. A Gartner survey conducted in Europe revealed that 35 percent of respondents found data quality a prominent issue facing their businesses over the next 12 to 18 months.”

So over a year later and another group says that over a third of this group believe that their data is unreliable, and that they think that they may need a year and a half to improve the situation. A YEAR AND A HALF!

How would your organization fare if it made its decisions based on information they thought might be accurate?

Have the BI vendors now addressed the needs and concerns communicated by their customers? From the final summary on the page, dated January 2008:

This article says the days of double-digit growth for business intelligence are over, but insists BI will remain a critical part of business. Gartner analysts predict growth will be slower this year than in 2007. They also say BI value to users could increase from market consolidation.”

So the market has listened to the trail-blazers who have purchased and installed BI software, and possibly based on their results, fewer organizations are willing to even get involved with it. This sounds a bit like the recent HD-DVD fiasco, in the high definition disc format war, whose winner seems to be the Blu-Ray camp.

Maybe it’s just a case of the analysts forecasting that in tougher economic times, some organizations will tighten their belts and not have the resources to invest in these software solutions, thus leading to a downturn in sales. Then again, it does read “the days … are over”. Not temporarily depressed, but over. Finito. Done. Gone.

But regardless of the downturn in sales, they acknowledge that demand for BI solutions not only still exists, but is “critical” to business.

I would argue that in tough economic times, demand should actually increase for those people and software solutions that can both acquire and publish timely and accurate data because in those times the need for the right information, at the right time, in the hands of the right person, is absolutely mandatory.

Is the Era of Business Intelligence Software Over?

Finally, a summary also published in January 2008, found on still the same page reads:

Aberdeen research found that best-in-class companies are improving their time-to-decision by helping people get critical information faster, when and how they need it.”

This makes no comment on your BI solution budget, nor does it recommend any one solution over another. It only states the opinion that the best companies who now and in the future get the right information at the right time to the right person.

Now you might say that I’m a little biased, but if I didn’t know better, I’d say that they’re talking about you; someone with the skills to quickly acquire, analyze and publish accurate, mission-critical information.

Someone who is equipped with the right tools and who proactively chooses to excel with Monarch.