No doubt you have noted that I have recently been spending a fair amount of my time discussing the importance of Business Intelligence (BI) to an organization in terms of driving best practice or value decision-making on a real-time, real-world basis.
While it is easy to fall into the trap of dismissing BI as semantically-based Madison Avenue “buzz words,” they are in effect a very real part of a much larger picture. A picture as I had alluded to in a recent post, “where the traditional lines associated with functional silos are ceding to a more holistic or enterprise-wide understanding of operational areas that were previously off limits.”
Specifically, and much like the hard lines that once defined departmental responsibilities and focus, data or intelligence was compartmentalized into neat packages of limited enterprise-wide understanding.
Bridging these existing operational chasms of isolated intelligence is the first important step in a two-part process that ultimately seeks to incorporate organizational experience and insight into a timely decision-making tool that consistently has an impact on decisions before they are actually made.
In an August 9th, 2007 post titled “Double Marginalization and the Decentralized Supply Chain,” I referenced a 2002 article by Forrester Research’s Navi Radjou who had stated that the “inherent problems of enterprise-centric applications from vendors such as Oracle,” is their lack of flexibility to interact with stakeholders on a real-time basis. The challenges this presented according to Radjou is that “batch-based supply chain tools can’t support a swift resolution of supply chain glitches.” In short, these “apps need time to collect and synthesize data from multiple sources.”
The main challenge with the”synthesization” process associated with ERP-centric applications is that the output is rendered ineffective in terms of responding to real-world situations. This forces organizations to rely on static, outdated historic data that provides a lens on what has already happened without giving meaningful direction as to what should happen.
Radjou’s conclusions that “unlike static, linear supply networks,” the emergence of adaptive supply networks that are “powered by multi-partner processes that are event-driven, real-world aware and self-regulating,” represents the framework upon which today’s innovative SaaS BI platforms operate. Despite the enthusiasm expressed by Oracle’s Larry Ellison regarding Project Fusion SOA offering near real-time interaction, it still falls far short of what is needed in a dynamic, globally-engaged enterprise.
It is of course at this precise point where Viador’s technological expertise and experience converge through what the company refers to as their Bi-Portal architecture that transcends the organizational divides of compartmentalized intelligence. This in turn delivers the needed insights that are necessary to consistently make the best decisions at any given moment in time.
Joining me on the PI Window on Business Show on September 22nd to delve further into the marriage of technological innovation and decision-making intelligence through Bi-Portal architecture is Viador Vice President, Services Tom Abbott.
In the meantime, you can utilize the Interactive Viewer below to review Viador’s “Knowledge is Power” introductory presentation.
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Procurement Insights 
Posted on August 31, 2009
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