WARNING: Your Competition has Better Business Intelligence Than You
CFOs and finance organizations, today’s acknowledged catalysts for improved performance and risk mitigation, face enormous challenges. They must balance a number of tasks for their enterprises, while keeping an eye on the tell-tale signs of the changing business environment. Because of this, organizations are changing the nature of how they plan. An enterprise-wide business intelligence solution is a rock-solid component that can change the nature of your organization.
Every company, everywhere, has data, and that data is always growing. What a lot of companies have yet to realize is that their data has all of the answers. Do you remember taking a test when you were young, and wishing you had the answers to the test before you took it? Your data is those answers, and it puts you head-and-shoulders above the rest of your competition – if you know how to understand it.
Understanding your data can be a challenge, but it is critical for successfully running a business. Business intelligence is growing rapidly. According to this infographic by Boston University, 75% of businessmen and women will employ business analytics and intelligence by the year 2020. The world we live in today is unbelievably competitive, and we have to constantly look for ways to gain competitive advantage.
My tip? Keep a close eye on your competition. What your competitors, or those who are constantly surpassing you, know could help you. Business intelligence is the key to gaining the advantage you need. The competition is even more fierce once you employ a business intelligence solution in your organization, and you have to keep on your toes.
3 signs your competition has better business intelligence than you
1. Your competition is easily identifying growth opportunities. You have been keeping an eye on your competition and it seems that they are always one step ahead of you. They are coming up with new ideas and patterns and jumping at every chance they can to grow their business. Their business intelligence is helping them look through a new lens and generate new ideas that your business has failed to see. The daily single version of the truth is simple enough to consume quickly and keeps the management team focused on the key metrics that are on the path to achieving the primary business goals.
2. Competitors are making decisions faster. You are suddenly realizing that your competition has more knowledge about their data because they are making decisions rapidly with each piece of new information they are learning. You can be rich in data, but it doesn’t mean you are rich in insight. 59% of CFOs agree that business analytics address the most crucial areas (decision making and facilitating analysis). Your competition’s ability to have their questions answered quickly means that their decisions will be made faster.
3. Competitors have ever-increasing revenue. Your competition is growing, they are making decisions quickly, and they are growing revenue and in turn driving profit. 54% of business professionals believe that their companies need to be more analytics-driven to stay competitive. And it is true. If your competition is surpassing you, there is more in the world of business intelligence that you can do. There is a never-ending amount of information in your data that can actually help you surpass your competition. Analytical insight can maximize loyalty and revenue by extending the right offer at the right time to the right consumer, as well as build personal interactions between company and consumer.
Savvy organizations are forging ahead with integrated planning strategies for managing performance and are recording impressive revenues and profits. These companies exercise improved decision making in all their business functions because they have a system of capabilities to help them with:
- Rapid response to change
- A holistic view of their key business functions created by understanding and modeling the interdependencies of business drivers that span multiple functions
- Timely visibility of performance gaps
- Insight into new objectives, performance targets and contingency plans that can make an impact
Companies with solutions move more quickly, gain more insight, answer questions faster. So how do you compete? By taking advantage of the best business intelligence solutions available. There is always more to learn. Your data, while sometimes overwhelming, has all of the answers for your company to succeed. It is those organizations that have the greater, most enlightening answers that will surpass you in the business world. Recognize why your competition is winning the race, pick up speed, and beat them to the finish line.
ARTICLE APPEARS AT SMARTCEO.COM