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Shifting gears with information access

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Keeping up with changing demands and expectations

By Dale Vile, Freeform Dynamics • Get more from this author

Posted in Evolving Apps, 9th December 2009 13:02 GMT

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Mini Poll In our latest mini-poll below, we are looking at the way in which demand for information is changing among business users, and the ways in which evolving needs are being met.

READER POLL: SHIFTING GEARS WITH INFORMATION ACCESS

1. Do you see a growing demand for more relevant, accurate and timely information within the business?

Yes generally
Yes in quite a few areas
In a few specific areas only
No, but demand is already very high
No, our users are not that hungry for information
Other (please state)

2. To what degree is there a requirement for the following in your organisation?

  Well established requirement Emerging or growing requirement Anticipate future need in this area Not relevant to us
Use of business intelligence for high level business review and planning purposes
Delivery of relevant information/analyses for periodic operational review and planning
Availability of relevant information for ‘on the fly’ operational decision making during process execution (e.g. at the point of transaction, customer interaction, etc)
Proactive delivery of information alerts to relevant users when key business events or exceptions occur
Provision of electric information to business customers, partners and/or suppliers to help optimise the working relationship with them
Provision of electronic information to consumers (e.g. in a sales or customer service context)

3. To what degree are the following used and how is this changing?

  Level of use now   Change in coming 2 years
  Widely used Some use Little or no use   More use No change Less use
Reporting and analysis capability embedded in packaged applications  
Custom reporting and analysis solutions developed for a specific purpose  
User DIY analysis and reporting based on ad hoc download into Excel or other desktop tools  
Properly designed and supported self-service facilities  
Central data warehouse(s)  
Function or line-of-business focused data warehouses and marts serving specific needs  
Application independent information analysis and reporting architecture or framework  
Specific architecture for surfacing relevant information within business processes for operational decision making  

4. How well are your needs actually being met in the following areas at the moment?

  Needs fully met   Needs not met at all Not relevant to us
  5 4 3 2 1
Use of business intelligence for high level business review and planning purposes
Delivery of relevant information/analyses for periodic operational review and planning
Availability of relevant information for ‘on the fly’ operational decision making during process execution
Proactive delivery of information alerts to relevant users when key business events or exceptions occur
Provision of electronic information to business customers, partners and/or suppliers
Provision of electronic information to consumers (e.g. in a sales or customer service context)

5. Where do you see the emphasis being placed in terms of information delivery and access improvements looking forward?

 

6. Which of the following best describes your role?

Business management
Business professional
IT management
IT practitioner: Systems architecture/design
IT practitioner: Operations/management
IT practitioner: Software development
IT practitioner: Multi-disciplined
Other (please specify)

7. How many employees are there in your organisation?

More than 5,000
1,000 to 5,000
250 to 1,000
50 to 250
10 to 50
Less than 10

8. Which of the following best describes your organisation?

Industrial (manufacturing, engineering, construction, etc)
Commercial (goods based) trading (retail, distribution, etc)
Financial services (banking, insurance, etc)
Business services (legal, accounting, consulting, PR, etc)
Utilities (energy, water, telecoms)
Travel and transport
Research and education
Other (please state)

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