Business intelligence software sounded like a good idea, at first. You were looking forward to using it to ingest business data and present it in user-friendly views, like interactive reports and dashboards. However, now that you’re beginning implementation, you’re experiencing many challenges.
If this describes your situation, it might be time to start taking those red flags seriously.
Today, we’re taking a look at some of the main factors that lead to business intelligence failure. We’ll also share how your company can overcome these obstacles to leverage everything BI technology can offer.
7 Reasons for Business Intelligence Failure
1. Lack of Executive Support and Direction
The role of BI in businesses has evolved in recent years. BI is no longer seen as just a tool for reporting and analysis. It is now seen as a strategic asset that can be used to improve decision-making, drive innovation, and gain competitive advantage.
As a result, it’s more important than ever for BI initiatives to have the support of senior executives.
Engaged executives can provide the strategic direction you need for successful software selection. We recommend setting clear project goals before selecting BI technology. Moving ahead with a still-muddy vision could mean implementing a solution that doesn’t align with your business objectives.
It could also mean your BI solution won’t align with your current ERP software. Learn more, by reading our post, What is the Connection Between Business Intelligence and ERP?
A Failed Payroll System Implementation
Panorama’s Expert Witness team was retained to provide a forensic analysis and written report to the court regarding the failed implementation of a major software developer’s ERP/payroll system.
2. Too-Long Timelines, Too Little Engagement
There are many steps required to complete a successful BI project. Initial phases, such as gathering requirements and specifying technical and functional features, are just the beginning.
After a while, your project teams may begin to grow weary and disengaged. It might seem as though the time between planning the effort and actually delivering something tangible is enormous.
This is especially the case if you approach the implementation as a waterfall project, only beginning the next phase when the preceding one is complete.
If possible, try to take an agile approach, instead. This involves dividing up the project into smaller phases, which helps keep stakeholders engaged.
Testing and development activities occur concurrently in an agile project, which can facilitate ongoing communication among developers, managers, testers, and customers.
3. Unnecessary Dashboards and KPIs
As you configure your BI solution, it can be tempting to create a bevy of dashboards and key performance indicators (KPIs) just because you can.
Instead, consider how your business or department defines success, and look for ways to use BI to measure these criteria.
You don’t want to overcrowd your dashboards and scorecards with ambiguous performance indicators that overwhelm and confuse your employees, rather than help them.
4. Lack of User Adoption
Implementing business intelligence tools is one thing. Convincing your workforce to use them is another.
Without a strong focus on organizational change management, you won’t be able to prepare your employees to fully embrace the software at go-live.
These systems are sophisticated, advanced, and often intimidating for first-time users. This is true for even the most user-friendly data visualization tools. Most business users aren’t data analysts by trade, so knowing how to interpret insights can be challenging.
We recommend developing a change management plan to make sure employees are involved in the change process from the beginning. Then, provide them with the training and support they need to adopt new BI tools and processes.
5. Data Visualization Without Direction
A dashboard can be filled with all kinds of data points, but above all else, it should tell a story. Where were you before and where are you now? What happened along the way?
If your BI technology makes it difficult to interpret data visualizations and understand where business successes and failures occurred, you’ll struggle to make data-driven decisions.
6. Poor Data Quality
The availability of data has increased dramatically in recent years. This means that businesses now have more data to work with, but it also means that data is more complex and challenging to manage.
As a result, it’s more important than ever for businesses to have a strong data governance program in place to ensure data quality.
Your BI development team needs data that is clean and ready to use. Otherwise, they’ll move ahead based on existing data, which may not be completely accurate.
BI developers should work closely with data owners to ensure data is accurate. Be sure to take a look at our data migration and cleansing tips before you begin implementation.
7. Missing Data Inquiry Opportunities
To truly derive business value from your BI software, users must know how to dig deep and go beyond high-level analytics.
While the preconfigured dashboards may answer many business questions, this is only scratching the surface of what the software can provide. There many more insights to be discovered.
Business Intelligence Today
The business intelligence landscape is constantly evolving, and businesses need to be prepared to adapt in order to stay ahead of the curve. Some current BI trends include:
• Cloud-based BI solutions: These solutions are becoming increasingly popular as they offer a number of advantages over traditional on-premises solutions, such as scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) in BI: AI is rapidly transforming the BI landscape by automating tasks, providing insights, and making predictions. For example, AI-powered predictive analytics tools can help businesses predict future scenarios, such as customer churn or increased product demand.
• Increased focus on security and privacy in BI: As businesses collect and store more data, it’s more important than ever to ensure that this data is secure Strong authentication methods and frequent employee education are essential.
Get Back on the Road to Success
Companies that successfully adopt BI will be more competitive, agile, and responsive than those that don’t.
To avoid business intelligence failure, it’s critical to keep your project on track and consider project recovery if it’s veering too far from your expectations. Contact our ERP consultants below to learn how.
