Business Intelligence Competency Centers: A Team Approach to Maximizing Competitive Advantage (Wiley and SAS Business Series) [Hardcover]

Gloria J. Miller (Author), Dagmar Brautigam (Author), Stefanie V. Gerlach (Author)

Book Description

Series: Wiley and SAS Business Series | Publication Date: May 19, 2006

Transform data into action for competitive advantage

"The knowledge assets of an organization are becoming increasingly important for competitive advantage, and therefore, the way in which knowledge is created, renewed, and communicated is critical. This book provides practical insights into how this may be achieved through the establishment of a Business Intelligence Competency Centre and is a valuable read for 'information professionals.'"
--Bill Sturman, Information Architecture Project Manager The Open University, United Kingdom

"BI is more than technology and projects. BI must live in the organization--as a BICC. This book helps to make BI tangible and understandable, bringing it to life."
--Miriam Eisenmann, Project Manager (PMP) CSC Ploenzke AG, Germany

"This book is a must-read for planning and implementing your BICC. It is a pragmatic guide that addresses a lot, if not all, of the questions you'll be asking yourself. Don't miss out on getting a head start from the people who thought this through from start to finish . . . Pray your competitors don't get hold of this book!"
--Claudia Imhoff, President Intelligent Solutions, Inc., USA

"Creating a BICC forces the organization to focus on the importance of centralizing the gathering, interpreting, and analyzing of information to create business insight."
--Anne Ulyate, Group Manager Business Intelligence Mutual & Federal, South Africa

"BI is a highly visible element in the 'business value' trend for IT investments. Initiatives, such as competency centers, should empower user organizations to drive even more value out of their BI investments."
--Marianne Kolding, Director, European ServicesIDC, United Kingdom

Editorial Reviews

Review

Creating a BICC focuses on the importance of centralizing the gathering, interpreting, and analyzing of information to create business insight. -- Anne Ulyate, Group Manager, Business Intelligence Mutual & Federal, South Africa

Initiatives such as competency centers should empower user organizations to derive even more value out of their BI investments. -- Marianne Kolding, Director, European Services IDC, United Kingdom

This book helps to make BI tangible and understandable, bringing it to life. -- Miriam Eisenmann, Project Manager (PMP), CSC Ploenzke AG, Germany

This book is a pragmatic guide that addresses numerous questions; it’s a must-read for planning and implementing your BICC. -- Claudia Imhoff, President, Intelligent Solutions Inc., USA

This book provides practical insights into how knowledge assets can be achieved, and is a valuable read for information professionals. -- Bill Sturman, Information Architecture Project Manager, The Open University, United Kingdom

From the Inside Flap

Today's successful organizations use information as a resource implemented in their business culture and realize that having an authentic vision for business intelligence (BI) is the key to optimal business performance. Business Intelligence Competency Centers: A Team Approach to Maximizing Competitive Advantage will show you how to turn your organization's data into actionable knowledge through the business intelligence competency center (BICC)—your company's one true source of sustainable competitive advantage. The result? A vibrant organization that drives revenues, manages costs, and realizes a consistent level of profitability.

This practical guide employs a holistic approach that addresses critical organizational dimensions, such as human capital, knowledge processes, culture, and infrastructure, providing you with invaluable advice on how to:

• Use BICCs as the brain of your BI efforts
• Implement a comprehensive BI strategy that supports organizational goals
• Ensure that every business decision made in your organization is backed up by the correct information

Required reading for potential executive sponsors, IT managers, and the business units who will be setting up, manning, and receiving support from the BICC, Business Intelligence Competency Centers helps you set up your BICC effectively, covering strategic information from developing and updating your long-term BI vision to tactical issues like keeping up with software enhancements and providing user training.

Written by renowned experts in the field, this pragmatic guide includes insightful case studies of four companies that have implemented BICCs in South Africa, Belgium, and Italy. In addition, a companion Web site with checklists, job role descriptions, and other useful tools accompanies this book.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (May 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470044470
• ISBN-13: 978-0470044476
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #264,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good choice if you're considering the subject of Business Intelligence..., December 29, 2006

By 

Thomas Duff "Duffbert" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Business Intelligence Competency Centers: A Team Approach to Maximizing Competitive Advantage (Wiley and SAS Business Series) (Hardcover)

When I think of "business intelligence", I tend to envision the gathering of competitive information. But it's really much, much more than that. The book Business Intelligence Competency Centers: A Team Approach to Maximizing Competitive Advantage by Gloria J. Miller, Dagmar Brautigam, and Stefanie V. Gerlach explores the subject and goes into what it takes to build a Business Intelligence Competency Center (BICC) at work...

Contents: Introduction; Business Intelligence in the Organization; Primary Functions of the Business Intelligence Competency Center; Planning a Business Intelligence Competency Center - Using the Information Evolution Model; Human Capital; Knowledge Processes; Culture; Infrastructure; Setting Up and Ensuring Ongoing Support; Cases from the Field; Ten Recommendations for a Highly Effective Business Intelligence Competency Center; List of Abbreviations; Additional Roles; Index

This book is authored by SAS employees, and the organization figures prominently in many of the examples and case studies. Even so, the content doesn't turn into a 200 page advertisement for the company. The significant issue for building a BICC (for me) was the emphasis on coordinating the use of data within the organization. Business intelligence encompasses the use of *all* the information in your company. The data marts that often end up as an IT resource should be the foundation of a BICC area. The goal is to have a single authoritative source for data and answers, and to eliminate the "one-off" areas of siloed information. The book goes into plenty of detail on how to design a BICC, what it takes to run one, and what type of changes a company will need to make to allow it to all work together. There's also a good series of questions at the end by which you can judge your potential options and plans.

This isn't necessarily a "fun" or easy read. It will appeal most to those who are already inclined to want to move down this path. It could well serve as your guidebook to manage the creation of your own BICC. And don't feel that you'll be steered down a specific software path (like SAS). For a book that's sponsored by a software vendor, it's more software-neutral than I expected...

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting concepts embedded with SAS promotion, October 2, 2007

By 

Jonathan W. Pearce (Marlton, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Business Intelligence Competency Centers: A Team Approach to Maximizing Competitive Advantage (Wiley and SAS Business Series) (Hardcover)

Some interesting ideas mixing the sociological and technical aspects of setting up a BI competency center. A little heavy on the capabilities of selecting a BI vendor, tilting the selection criteria towards SAS. Focused on large organizations - both the organizational structures and the software requirements would be somewhat onerous for a smaller organization.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Envision the activities of your analytical team, June 16, 2008

By 

Jose A. Padros Escalante "japadros" (México D.F.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Business Intelligence Competency Centers: A Team Approach to Maximizing Competitive Advantage (Wiley and SAS Business Series) (Hardcover)

Providing with analytical support requires much more than acquiring software: is about studying the business, assembling multidisciplinary teams and producing the workflows that will bring order, accountability and performance measures to such support. The book presents a mature vision of the logistics to consider for the management of operations such as designing executive reports, supporting new operations with measurements, or controlling operations through dashboards, yet it is not a guide and examples of such BI results must be sought elsewhere. This book is about the roles and the resources. I suggest all workers and managers of this growing field consider the vision this book communicates while their team is taking form.