Business Intelligence, is it all about Data Quality
Business intelligence is always important to companies, but how important is the key question. That is why MXI is conducting the Business Intelligence Survey. It will only take a few minutes of your time, and to sweeten the deal even further, we're offering one lucky respondent the opportunity to get their hands on an Apple iPad.
While we are completing our survey, we thought it would be a good idea to share one finding from previous business intelligence surveys.
Business Intelligence or Data Quality
People think of Business intelligence first before data quality. What we have found is there are still some companies with no data quality process but still go ahead and implement a business intelligence solution. They feel that they can deal with the data quality after the fact.
So why is data quality important for Business Intelligence?
Before we begin a new engagement, we focus on understanding our client’s project goals and related business objectives. No matter what people tell you every company is unique and should be treated as such. The same goes for your data and what you want to achieve from your data.
If your information is to be sliced and diced into something useful for your business then you must be able to rely on the result. This is not possible if the quality of the data is poor. Businesses need understands this as we still insist that data quality is the top performing component of Business intelligence at the moment.
We have found that data quality becomes even more important the more Business intelligence is expanded in the company. For these companies, it can be that data quality is the link that hinders user acceptance. Business users will only embrace the tools and processes if they see a direct benefit to them and they trust the results delivered are accurate. Incorrect results will make their work harder and is a killer for Business Intelligence adoption.
So, while data quality is often seen as a back-room technical exercise, it is critical for the success and future of Business intelligence which cannot be overstated.