Can BI Light a Spark Under ERP Data?
In many respects, companies have been facing a nasty storm when it comes to their standalone (un-integrated) enterprise systems: Many companies are “oversoftwared” right now, and there’s been a substantial backlash and pleas for real-world, usable innovation. With BI, in particular, surveys have shown that 40 percent of executives still trusted their gut in decision making (as opposed to their BI systems), and many more are frustrated with CIOs and IT for failing to give the business what it needs and deserves with analytic and decision-making tools. In recent Aberdeen surveys of enterprises with BI and ERP applications, BI has ranked number one (two years running) in terms of the technologies that will have the most impact in the next two to five years. Coming in second in the April 2009 survey was “Enterprise application enhancements / extensions.” According to Jutras and Hatch, that topic “refers to the ongoing improvements that drive extended value from ERP and CRM investments.
