Business intelligence, which is the latest buzzword in the technology industry, is now making its mark on the executive suite in Silicon Valley. With the rapid growth and evolution of this industry, there has been a need to upgrade business intelligence tools and methodologies. As part of this effort, the technology industry use business intelligence tools such as Six Sigma that helps identify quality improvement opportunities, identifies bottlenecks in process improvement, identifies value creation gaps and helps measure customer satisfaction. It also helps executives find solutions to business problems through problem solving and creative innovation. The importance of business intelligence has grown with time and is now embedded in all industries and businesses.
In fact, business intelligence: has become important for today’s businesses and is considered to be essential in every type of technology industry, even for those which are considered to be late-stage or blue-chip companies. The main aim of this methodology is to improve and analyze the business and its various aspects to come up with strategic and operational ideas. This is done by gathering relevant information from various areas like supply chain, marketing, supply management, research and development, financial management etc. This information is then combined with market and competitive intelligence, market and industry analysis, and customer and supplier relationship management. It also tries to study the entire lifecycle of a technology product and identify the key issues that affect its profitability over a period of time. Since technology changes so often, it becomes very important for companies to stay abreast of market changes and develop strategies to stay competitive.
There are a number of technology companies: that have adopted this methodology and have applied it to their business. For example, Cisco has designed various tools, which enable the company to better understand market competition and find appropriate solutions to specific issues. Cisco’s Internet Enterprise Solutions, for instance, helps in improving the company’s internal processes and providing various services that help in reducing operational costs and improving the quality of the products. Cisco’s Web Services for Data Center Architecting helps in developing the network infrastructure of a company and in turn reduces cost. By applying such tools to various facets of the organization, the company can effectively measure its success and efficiency. These techniques also help the company to build global competency in the IT sector.
Such companies rely on data supplied by all around the globe: The most popular data sources are market surveys, market analysis and consumer behavior. The gathered information is then processed to provide useful insights for the companies. It is then used to decide what to do, where to go, what technology to use etc. Thus, it uses market intelligence to forecast the market trends. In fact, this technology helps a lot in business decision making as well.
Marketing, customer care and service management: supply chain management and manufacturing industries have all started using these technologies, which helps them predict market demand, shape market needs and adjust their strategies accordingly. It is because of the fact that they have been able to gather and analyze large amount of data through technology that they were able to deliver innovative solutions to business problems. Also, these applications make the process of learning more streamlined and faster. This helps businesses to grow at an unprecedented rate.
As a technology industry leader: it is your duty to use business intelligence to solve business problems. You need to ensure that you are using the right technology to implement this solution for the right reasons. Also ensure that your managers are aware about the importance of this technology industry in delivering solutions to business challenges.
If you are one of those leaders who have not yet started using this technology for your company, then you are missing a lot of opportunities.
