Ask the experts

A. The number of decisions, and those who make them, are rapidly growing. Accountability toward the success of a company lies in the hands of many different individuals, all working toward a common set of objectives and goals.

Every individual, within the confines of their daily responsibilities, will make decisions that have an impact on the business as a whole. As a result, employees, whether they are executives, analysts, managers or information workers, need tools that provide insight into information and the ability to investigate it as deeply as required to determine appropriate action.

To take advantage of the information assets stored throughout an organisation, companies must have the processes and the systems that not only provide critical information in a timely manner, but does it in way that makes it easy to consume and manage the information. Companies must also provide their employees an easy way to collaborate and share information with one another. These three things are essential toward making better and faster decisions.

Q. Why is this important – how can effective processing of that information be translated into better decision-making and ultimately achieving the competitive edge?

A. Staying competitive really comes down to who can make and act on decisions the fastest. That might sound simple, but we have found that for many companies making good decisions has become highly complex. There is constant pressure to be fast, an increasing number of decision-makers at levels throughout the organisation and growing volumes of data. These challenges have created an environment where companies are identifying issues after they’ve already affected performance.

Companies that are successful in staying ahead of the market have changed their management approach. They have adopted solutions and tools that enable them to be proactive – in identifying issues, in making decisions, in executing on them and in evaluating their impact.

Q. The amount and complexity of data in business today can be incredibly daunting. Despite the benefits, many companies would be put off even tackling the topic. How would you persuade them otherwise?

A. The complexity of corporate decision-making stems from the paradox between data volume and the human ability to act on it. Data keeps growing at an alarming rate, but the capabilities of the average worker to process the information inherent in the data haven’t changed.

Our need and our ability to aggregate data will only continue to grow; we live in a culture of more – more tasks, more decisions and more emphasis on improving results and performance. Add to this the volumes of data that can be generated from technologies such as RFID and you can quickly understand the importance of having a strategy to manage data and more importantly turning that data into knowledge.

Gaining knowledge about the business enables decision-makers to target specific issues they know about or ones they discover along the way. However, the key here is to garner that knowledge without spending precious time sifting through mounds of data.

We believe that this best accomplished if the critical information a decision-maker needs is proactively delivered to him, allowing that person to spend time translating it into knowledge. By using that knowledge, people will know what worked and what didn’t, they’ll be better prepared to decide and act in the future. But most companies only glean insight after it’s too late. Mistakes are repeated and opportunities are lost.

Q. What are the long-term implications – is it a case of once implemented you see instant results or does it pay off little by little?

A. We have found that the benefit of using business intelligence to proactively manage a company will improve overall performance and results. We work with manufacturers that have improved operational performance because they have better visibility into their supply chain, and with major financial services companies that are able to better mitigate risks and improve channel renewal. We have one major retailer that was able to recognise tangible results within weeks of launching our applications.

Q. What’s next for this – do you see a growing demand for these kinds of solutions and is it developing further?

A. Absolutely. Companies that want to remain successful and stay ahead of the market and the competition are adopting business intelligence, performance management and process automation solutions and tools that enable them to be proactive – in identifying issues, in making decisions, in executing on them and in evaluating their impact. Today, Panorama is helping companies manage their businesses proactively, unlocking the hidden value of information assets for improved business performance and results.