Whether it is business intelligence (BI) or management information systems (MIS), local organisations need to find a way of evolving their approach to be more reflective of current technological innovations.
By Duncan McKay, business development manager at PBT Group
Machine-learning, real-time data analytics, and cognitive computing are increasingly common in business discussions. Given how important data has become as an enabler to create differentiation, decision-makers have no choice but to review existing strategies and identify how to adapt.
Yet, despite all these advancements and solutions available for analysis, many still have misconceptions around what BI and MIS entail.
At its most basic, BI covers all the processes from the data source to final reporting. For its part, MIS is a system where all organisational and system data are collected on a historical basis. The former, in theory, lives more in the present, while the latter is an important component to understanding the past.
Analysis paralysis
The confusion comes in when businesses start using these terms interchangeably. Some might even consider BI to be an evolution (or enhancement) of MIS. Yet, BI is more geared towards analysing customers and products while MI is focused on understanding the business in its entirety.
That is not to say that analysis in either (or both) have gotten easier. The data explosion means that there is such a wealth of information available for reporting, reviewing, and drawing insights, that some organisations do not know how to effectively do so.
Understanding data sources and how new channels have emerged thanks to the likes of social networking and the Internet of Things (IoT) are critical first steps. Back-end databases and systems need to be reviewed to determine their reliability for managing this influx of data.
A complicated affair
Irrespective of whether BI or MIS is used, neither approach or implementation is ‘plug-and-play’. While technology has made it easier to get up and running quicker than before, integration of these systemic solutions will not happen overnight or even in a few weeks.
Some make the mistake of trying to tweak either of these to fit into how the business was run previously. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts to be had and proper workflow needs to be adhered to if true value is to be derived from BI and MIS, respectively.
Gone are the days where the IT department can be saddled with ensuring these systems are installed properly. While they do play an important role, technical specialists need to work closely with all business units for an effective fit and to align the implementation with corporate strategy.
Despite new technology and trends, solid business principles should still apply to BI and MIS. Decision-makers need to be careful of not blindly chasing the ‘shiny lights’ of artificial intelligence (AI) and the like to the detriment of using business fundamentals.