Global Business Intelligence

J Mark Munoz

• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• Year: 2017
• eBook ISBN: 9781315471112
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Business

Global Business Intelligence refers to an organization's ability to gather, process and analyze pertinent international information in order to make optimal business decisions in a timely manner. With a challenging economic and geopolitical environment, companies and executives need to be adept at information gathering in order to manage emerging challenges and gain competitive advantages. This book Global Business Intelligence assembles a cast of international experts and thought leaders and explores the implications of business intelligence on contemporary management.

Global Business Intelligence will be a key resource for researchers, academics, students and policy makers alike in the fields of International Business & Management, Business Strategy, and Geopolitics as well as related disciplines like Political Science, Economics, and Geography.

1
Introduction

J. Mark Munoz

Introduction

Globalization has redefined business and paved the way for the creation of new paradigms and operational models.

The evolution and proliferation of diverse technologies have forced organizations to think and operate in new ways. Companies are building their competitive advantages by utilizing and leveraging tools such as the internet, big data, web and social media analytics, among others. Business intelligence or the ability to gather and analyze information has become a critical tool for business success.

The abundance of gadgets and tools has accelerated a firm’s ability to gather, assess, and explore voluminous information. Knowledge-capturing and disseminating tools are widely used by majority of corporate executives. One can marvel at the volume of data that are distributed daily though mobile phones, tablets, laptops and personal computers, sensor-based internet-enabled devices, and radio tags. The notion of the Internet of Things has well arrived and brought the level of human and corporate connectivity to unprecedented levels.

This connectivity redefined the notion of business intelligence and spurred new initiatives in e-commerce, e-government and politics, science and technology, health, safety and security, among others.

Business intelligence has grown in prominence in the field of business (Gartner Group, 2006). This heightened interest in business intelligence is anticipated to grow. Business intelligence software and services expenditures are in the vicinity of $16 billion in 2016 (Gartner Group, 2016).

Business intelligence may be viewed in at least two perspectives. It can be viewed in a very broad sense and encompassing all data-gathering initiatives of an enterprise. It can also be viewed in a narrow perspective entailing the information technology angle relating to software, services, or both. In this book, the broader notion is used. It is however evident that the information technology aspect of business intelligence, while a narrow definition, is an integral part of the overall concept of business intelligence.

The practice of business intelligence denotes an action orientation and quest for knowledge. It is grounded on data collection and its analysis (Chaudhuri, Dayal, and Narasayya, 2011). It is an innovative process that is driven by availability of data and the competitive terrain (Brignall and Ballantine, 2004; Klaves, 2003). It is a cyclical process that includes phases such as planning, collecting, analyzing, and distributing (Philips and Vriens 1999; Den Hamer 2005).

Gathering the right information is an important step of the process. However, the way in which information is captured, organized, analyzed, and cognitively interpreted is equally essential. Cognition refers to how an individual processes knowledge based on gathered facts or information (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2010). The cognitive abilities of individuals and companies can vary significantly. Confusion may also ensue since business intelligence has different stages of growth (Watson, Ariyachandra, and Matyska, 2001).

Due to the fact that technology, employee skills, and data gathering resources are different, information gathered are processed in distinctive ways. Companies such as Microsoft, IBM, and Oracle have been leading facilitators of business intelligence through data processing and analytics (Sallam, Richardson, Hagerty, and Hostmann, 2011).

The level of involvement of employees and corporate executives has been largely uneven. Certain executives, especially those designated as CIOs have proactively used business intelligence in recent years (Grajek and Pirani, 2012).

Business intelligence impacts business in profound ways. It has affected business planning, accounting, risk management, and management control systems (Vijayan, 2012; Elbashir, Collier, and Sutton, 2011; Nasar and Bomers, 2012; Robertson, Boehler, and Hansel, 2007). Business intelligence transcends mere data, process, and technologies and refers to organizational competencies relating to comprehension, problem-solving, and effective action (Wells, 2008).

The way a company distributes and captures information defines its communication strength. Blogs are popular forms of communication that spread ideas and information and can be an effective source of business feedback (Adar and Adamic, 2005; Liang, Tsai, and Kwee, 2009). Blogs facilitate understanding of the competitive terrain as well as the external operating environment (Chau, Xu, Cao, Lam, and Shiu, 2009; Chung, Chen, and Nunamaker, 2005).

Business intelligence is an excellent tool for executives to understand the market, competition, as well as other forces that can potentially affect their business. Intelligence can help identify emerging trends, competitive activities, as well as political and economic risks. Competitive intelligence comprises a set of initiatives designed to examine competitor activities (Wright, Eid, and Fleisher, 2009). It can take place through both formal and informal networks and facilitates decision-making (Jaworski, Maclnnis, and Kohli, 2002).

When conducting business intelligence, the system and the process are key considerations. Information that is of quality would likely be utilized and translated into action (Maltz and Kohli, 1996). Relevance, credibility, and clarity of information gathered is essential (Yeoh and Koronios, 2010).

Understanding Business Intelligence

Outlined below are characteristics of the business intelligence practice:

Essential—business intelligence impacts organizations worldwide on a daily basis. An organization’s ability to understand its market, customers, and competitors well determines its operational destiny and success. A small town grocery store whose owner learned through research that a truck stop is about to be built a few miles from his town might use this knowledge to open up a concession stand in the truck stop. Small and large businesses worldwide gather and act on information on a daily basis. The impact of this information depends on the action taken. For some, the selected action would mean a few thousand dollars in additional revenue; for others it can be millions of dollars. Yet, for others non-awareness or non-action would mean loss of potential income. The reality is, a multitude of information passes through each business enterprise each day. It is important for organizational members to proactively seek or capture valuable information.

Diverse Methodologies—organizations vary with regard to the technology and executive talent they possess. As a result, how they gather and process information can be very different. Consider this: Company A and Company B are both in the call center business. Both companies have a similar size and cater to the same market. Company A has a CIO and a team of research experts while Company B does not. This scenario demonstrates that Company A prioritizes information gathering and research. The breadth and quality of information gathered by Company A will likely be different from that of Company B. The intelligence gathering methodologies and its business impact would likely be different. A diversity of approach towards business intelligence would vary from one company to another.

Differentiator—a company’s ability to gather and process information can be a business differentiator. Companies with a “passion for information” or ones having a “culture of research” can obtain unique advantages over its competitors.

Technology-Linked—the practice of business intelligence is often associated with technology. Innovative technologies have made the process of information gathering faster, better, and cheaper. Business intelligence software providers such as IBM, Oracle, SAP, SAS, Microsoft have products that are used by companies worldwide.

Infancy Stage—business intelligence, while widely used in the business community, is still in its early stages. Future innovation will likely make the information-gathering process even more convenient for companies. Numerous technological breakthroughs in the industry continue to emerge. Gartner Group (2016) pointed out the evolution in the contemporary business intelligence platforms: (a) data source (from upfront dimensional modeling to one that is not required), (b) data ingestion and preparation (from IT-produced to IT-enabled), (c) content authoring (from IT staff to business users), (d) analysis (from structured to free form), and (e) insight delivery (from the use of scheduled reports or portal to sharing and collaboration). Additional changes in the future may be expected.

Growing—the use of business intelligence in companies is on the rise. Gartner Group (2016) estimated that the global revenue in the business intelligence and analytics to increase by 5.2% in the period 2015–2016. Business Wire (2015) estimates the increase to be around 8.25% in the period 2014–2019.

International-Orientation—one defining nature of business intelligence is that it is not bounded by geography. As one does research over the web, information from all corners of the world can be accessed. This offers both opportunities and challenges. It is an opportunity since it casts a large net on information that can be acquired. It is a challenge since the information needs to be carefully vetted for accuracy, relevance, and reliability.

Cross-Industry—the practice of business intelligence is one where industry overlaps are common. With numerous data points worldwide, information across industries can easily be merged and combined. This is helpful in a sense that broader perspectives may be acquired. However, challenges can crop up when a very narrow or detailed set of information is required.

Inconsistent Interpretation—a serious challenge in business intelligence lies in the analysis and information of data gathered. Organizations have diverse skill sets and would therefore process information differently. The speed and the depth of information analysis would differ across organizations, departments, and individuals in organizations. Diversity of education, training, attitudes, and intelligence are key factors. Culture and geographic location are also factors to consider. Some countries for instance educate their students more extensively in the math and sciences. When processing high-level scientific information, some countries would be predisposed to perform better than others. It is also likely that in multinational organizations, there will be variances in business intelligence performance across countries.

Lack of Integration—in many organizations, business intelligence is gathered and used across units and not necessarily shared company wide. There is much room for a more cohesive way of gathering and sharing business information in organizations.

Numerous Applications—business intelligence is used and applied in countless ways and for diverse purposes. Given that individuals, companies, countries, and technologies differ, a huge range of methodologies and styles are used for gathering and processing information.

The attributes mentioned above are snapshots of key characteristics of contemporary business intelligence. The system can be viewed and interpreted in many ways.

In this book, the practice of business intelligence is viewed in a global context. Challenges and opportunities are examined alongside its applicability within an international operational framework.

The Business Intelligence Advantage

Organizations that have a well-developed business intelligence process and structure can benefit in many ways.

Outlined below are a few benefits associated with effective business intelligence.

Value Creation—effective intelligence helps find value in the organization that the firm can leverage. Data collection is a source for building a competitive advantage (Power, 2008).

Market Comprehension—effective intelligence gathering offers important insights relat...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Contributors
• 1 Introduction
• PART I Understanding Business Intelligence
• PART II Managing Business Intelligence
• PART III Strategies for Global Business Intelligence Success
• Index