Most companies build a data warehouse with some pretty strong expectations about achieving a Return on Investment. Most companies are still waiting on those returns. Why are the promises (and potential) of BI investments returns not being seen?
In its simplest form, the problem is with the model, and we don’t mean the data model. What improvements drove the business case for the BI system in the first place? You did create a business case, right?
What measures are really driving profit in your business? How does your data warehouse improve the Key Performance Indicators you use every day to track the health and success of your business? If you don’t have the answers to those questions, the ROIs you seek will prove to be very elusive.
Your BI environment should assist you in monitoring and measuring your success against KPIs. Are the processes you manage improved by the information you are able to obtain from the BI environment? While ‘better reporting’ is one benefit of an adequately built BI environment, that isn’t going to cover the high cost of building one.
Now for the hard part – what KPIs are important? Does every department understand how the work they do impacts those KPIs? Does every department even agree on what the KPIs are? These questions should be answered ideally before you even embark on a BI initiative. What if you’re already knee deep in an implementation or have a ‘legacy’ BI environment? Consider a Business Intelligence Competency Center (BICC). A BICC should have one primary goal, and that is helping your organization achieve a Return on its BI investment.