As more and more businesses make digital transformation their top agenda, data is fast becoming a core corporate asset. But in order to utilize this data, it must be readily available, of high quality, and relevant.
The Need for a Business Intelligence Governance Model
IDC predicts that by 2025, worldwide data will grow to 175 zettabytes and 30% of this will need real-time processing. The growth of data will continue to rise and technologies such as Machine Learning, Analytics, and Business Intelligence can be leveraged by organizations to transform their structured and unstructured data into actionable insights.
Business Intelligence (BI) makes use of tools to deliver fast, easy access to insights concerning an organization’s status quo using their available data. One of BI’s essential tools is a dashboard which can be used even by non-technical end users to automatically create charts and graphs from available data and generate reports which can aid in decision making.
Many organizations, however, think that buying off-the-shelf BI products is enough to give them detailed intelligence about the state of their business. But deploying the technology behind any BI initiative is the easiest part, and it is getting the personnel and the processes portions right that are challenging. In fact, 64% of business and technology decision-makers have difficulty getting answers from their dashboard metrics. Furthermore, the introduction of new tools and disparate data sources often create a complex environment where data analysis can become fragmented and decisions are inconsistent.
This is why BI governance is needed.
The emphasis of BI governance is on the design, implementation and effectiveness of BI tools to achieve business objectives and increase return of investment.
How to Enable a BI Governance Model
BI tools are invaluable to organizations because they can provide insights into new markets, ensure alignment with business objectives and adherence to regulatory guidelines. Adopting a BI governance model is essential in the implementation and sustainability of BI efforts for the long run. Here are the steps for developing a BI Governance Model:
1. Conceptualize
- Assess the need of BI tools in an organization
- Support business objectives through BI governance
2. Plan
- Define accountability
- Assign roles and responsibilities
3. Execute
- Address issues relating to data quality such as right data standards, architecture, and administration
- Tackle issues relating to data access, formatting, security, and training
4. Audit
- Measure and analyze the outcomes
- Assess the value against expectations
In order to maximize the benefits of BI, it is paramount to adopt a BI governance model. Failure to do so can lead to unfortunate consequences such as exposure to regulatory risks, loss of reputation and customer confidence.
If your organization does not have a BI department, consider working with a third-party provider that can assist you in your BI initiatives. ZenOptics offers its BI Analytics Catalogue that enables productivity, collaboration, manageability, and governance. Using a single interface, ZenOptics enables governance by providing cross-platform certification, a platform for self-governance, and complete analytics asset governance.
Connect with our BI experts today to learn how to enable a BI governance model that is perfect for your organization.
Published November 9, 2020