摘要

The BI(G) Discrepancy: Theory and Practice of Business Intelligence
Andreas Bitterer

There is a consistent gap between the promise of business intelligence (BI) and the hard
realities in today's implementations. This document highlights the discrepancy between
the ideal world of BI ("theory" sections), and the real world of BI ("practice" sections),
and provides targeted advice for each problem area.

Key Findings
Any BI program needs a business sponsor.
IT departments will always struggle "selling" BI to the business users.
Many BI programs get stuck in "reporting."
Technology is rarely the culprit if the BI program is considered a failure.
Recommendations
Assess the current BI initiative's organizational grounding. Who is ultimately responsible for BI?
Consider building a BI steering group (better known as BI competence center [BICC]), staffed by both IT and business representatives.
Run a series of brainstorming sessions and creative workshops to identify potential use cases for BI and to create a proper BI strategy.
Start educating business users and management about the BI's potential beyond reporting, in particular the combination with analysis and planning.